Annual General Meeting 2019
Our twenty-sixth Annual General Meeting (AGM) took place in Bilbao, Biscay country, from Friday 20th to Sunday 22nd September, hosted by our member Bilbao Pride and sponsored by Pride Life Magazine.
What happened at the AGM?
You can download the full Agenda here. EuroPride 2022 Bids were presented to the AGM by Pride Barcelona, Belgrade Pride, Dublin Pride and a joint bid from ILGA Portugal, rede ex aequo and Variações LGBTI. Belgrade Pride were the winner, achieving 71% of members’ votes in the first round. Read more on the result. AGM 2020 Oslo Pride presented their bid to host our AGM in 2020, and this was approved by our members with 89% voting in favour. The AGM 2020 will be a joint event with InterPride – see the conference website for information. Board elections The following people were elected or re-elected to the Board for a two year term:
- Kristine Garina (Mozaika, Latvia) – President
- Lilly Dragoeva (Sofia Pride, Bulgaria) – Secretary
- Stein Runar Østigaard (Oslo Pride, Norway) – EuroPride Coordinator
- Juan Carlos Alonso Reguero (Madrid Pride, Spain) – Conference Coordinator
Katharina Kacerovsky (HOSI Wien, Austria) was elected Membership & Outreach Coordinator for a one year term. The role will be subject to election again in 2020 and then every two years.
Annual Report 2019 & Workplan 2020
The AGM approved the board’s Annual Report for 2019, and proposed Workplan for 2020. Resolution on the Association’s affairs in Belgium As an organisation based in Belgium, to enable EPOA to be compliant with Belgian law, AGM authorised The Belgian Pride to act on EPOA’s behalf on all matters in Belgium, subject to agreement of the board. The AGM thanked The Belgian Pride, and in particular Elio de Bolle and Sammy Vanoirbeek for their assistance. Auditor 2019 Roberto Muzzetta (Milano Pride) was appointed Auditor for 2019. He will inspect EPOA’s accounts and documentation after the year end and report to the 2020 AGM. Voting Voting took place electronically using the ElectionRunner platform. There were 50 member organisations (each with one vote) present, and 25 proxy votes from non-attending members. The AGM appointed two returning officers (from Pride Cymru, UK and West Pride, Sweden) before any bids or presentations were made.
Workshops
Four workshops were delivered during the AGM and we are very grateful to all those who presented these sessions. Homophobiatherapy™ A self-help therapy against trans-, bi- and homophobia. An 8-step therapy based on Cognitive Behavioural Therapy. For more information visit the dedicated website or Spotify. The package include
- Script for Homophobiatherapy™ available in English for translation to your language
- Three “clean” promotion films (in high resolution) for you to put graphic in your language
- The source code, including text and pictures for Homophobiatherapy™, for you to translate to your language and country domain
- Consultation and best practice when launching and uploading to Spotify
- Everything royalty free
We only ask for a small credit to West Pride and ‘Recommended by EPOA’ and a link to your version of the therapy to put on our web page. E-mail Emma Gunterberg Sachs for more information. emma@westpride.se
Screening and Q&A: Are You Proud?
The film’s director Ashley Joiner joined us for a screening of his film, ‘Are You Proud?’, followed by a Q&A with delegates. For more information about screening this film at your Pride, contact Peccadillo Pictures.
Attitude is Everything Attitude is Everything improves Deaf and disabled people’s access to live music by working in partnership with audiences, artists and the music industry to implement a Charter of Best Practice across the UK. We help the music industry to understand the requirements of Deaf and disabled people at live music events by building equality into the strategic process. The ethos of the Charter is that Deaf and disabled people should be as independent as they want to be at live music events.
Pride Cymru and Pride in London (United Kingdom) have both achieved the highest level of the Charter and in this workshop, Attitude is Everything discussed what it takes to create a truly accessible Pride.
For further information please contact Paul Hawkins at Attitude is Everything,
Pride Networks
Within Europe, Pride networks have been formed across different countries and regions to benefit Prides. Networks across Europe work well with their members and this panel discussion will introduce each network to EPOA members and give some background to what each network does, but also, to discuss topics within the room such as Prides’ expectations of their networks and what networks can do in the future.
Panel discussion led by JayJay Potter Peachey, Chair of Pride in Gloucestershire (UK) and a board member of UK Pride Organisers Network. For more information email JayJay.
Sponsorship
Sponsorship from Pride Life Magazine provides us with a generous financial contribution to help us grow and support the Pride movement in Europe. Delegates at the AGM will be able to hear from their representatives, and hear about their work to support Pride organisers.