1st General Assembly 2015 (1st to 6th Board Meeting)
Table of Contents
- GV General Assembly
It took place on 17 May 2015.
PROLOGUE:
2012 was the year of energy.
This year was marked worldwide by the hope that humanity would prosper. All countries on this planet were striving to achieve prosperous coexistence through economic agreements. It was also a new dawn for civil society. Many people realised that they had the power to bring about change through their own decisions.
During this period, many leaders, whether in democracies or dictatorships, had to recognise that
people want to have a say and be involved in decision-making. Unfortunately, this did not sit well with some presidents of certain countries. And as promising as 2012 began, 2015 turned out to be a stormy year.
2015 was the year of change. The Arab Spring had already begun and was reaching its peak. In the summer of 2015, the EU was so overwhelmed by the ongoing migration flows and so challenged by its own human rights that Central Europe let in almost all the migrants who were pushing their way into the EU from Turkey. The rush was so powerful that all border barriers fell and internal protection mechanisms failed.
Since then, world events on this planet Earth have changed. Crises and hopes alternated at such a rapid pace that the leaders of nations, both at home and abroad, simply ran out of the energy to want and be able to do anything. Many were simply overwhelmed. The time of populists and nationalists returned. Simple speeches and quick scapegoats were quickly found by right-wing conservative forces, and many fellow citizens fell for their rhetoric. Because when it comes to solutions that require change, it should always be someone else who has to change, not those affected. Democracies in some European countries began to falter. The Visegrád states believed that things were better in the past and accelerated their move towards autocracy
Several events in 2012 led to the founding of the NADEUM association.
After a period of training and active participation by the future president of NADEUM within the NGO ‘GAFÉIAS’, it was decided in 2015 to go our own way.
- Announcement to NADEUM members of the ZVR Number and confirmation by the LPD-Wien Vereinsreferat (Vienna Police Department Association Department) of the approved establishment of the NADEUM association.
- Presentation of the NADEUM concept.
- Election of board members in accordance with the statutes Presentation of current and planned projects Determination of possible cooperation with like-minded associations
- Determination of the association’s address, e-mails, signatures, guidelines
- If the statutes are accepted and there is a positive joint declaration of intent to found the association ‘NADEUM’, the newly founded association will be announced by e-mail to the LPD Vienna Association Department.
The first board meeting is expected to take place on 13 June 2015.
Today, on 14 February 2022, some state leaders were so afraid of being overthrown that they resorted to the worst possible means: war. This has caused such enormous economic and human upheaval worldwide that no one would have thought it possible that NATO would experience a strengthening and revival of its idea. The EU and its member states also realised that they would have to rely more on themselves in the future. Thus, NADEUM will probably be more relevant than we had hoped in 2015.
Board meetings 1-6
- BOARD MEETING
The first board meeting (1.VS) took place on 13 June 2015:
The following projects were discussed:
- Following the official election process and notification of the election results to the relevant LPD Vienna authority, the board members were appointed to their positions.
- In addition, the board was tasked with opening a current account at a bank.
- Youth exchange with a German-speaking school in Guatemala and Vienna, for students in upper secondary school or aged 17 or older.
- The possibility of a youth exchange between Austrian and Nigerian young people aged 17 and above was also discussed.
- In addition, a proposal was made to plan a social project in the city of Kobane in Syria in cooperation with the Kurdish association FEYKOM.
- Another topic was cooperation with GAFÉIAS on the issue of plastic waste disposal.
- BOARD MEETING
The second board meeting (1st VS) took place on 30 July 2015:
Reading of the decision of the association authority LPD-Wien
A cooperation with the Kurdish association Feykom was finalised.
[FEYKOM: The website was still available in 2015, but is no longer accessible in 2018. Therefore, the following link ‘Wiener Kurden’ has been chosen as a replacement]
- report on the meeting with the chairman of the Austrian-Jordanian Friendship Society was read out. Exploration of the current political situation.
- The chairman felt that Europe had a duty to act. If investments were to be made in refugee camps, Jordan would not be involved. <Surprising: at that time, I (President of NADEUM 2024) had not yet understood the sensitivities of the Arab world, nor later those of the African world>.
- Report on a meeting with Kilian Kleinschmidt, former manager of the UNHCR refugee camp in Zaatari, Jordan – his assessment of the situation and his recommendations for NADEUM to get involved in cooperation with GAFÉIAS on the issue of accommodation in Jordan
- Report by Blessing Chukwukere on how a student exchange programme between Austria and Nigeria could work – who would be the contact persons in Nigeria
- Philipp Scherbaum (Deputy Chairman: It is planned to discuss the NADEUM statutes again and take into account the comments of the external legal advisor.
The third board meeting is scheduled to take place on 13 February 2016.
- BOARD MEETING
[3] The third board meeting (3.VS) took place on 13 February 2016
- The following is a brief report on the meeting with FEYKOM (Kurdish Association).
- A possible collaboration with the Austrian-Jordanian Friendship Society was also discussed. (2024 retrospective note: It fell through because NADEUM had not yet fully grasped the political implications of the project at that time.
- A report was also given on the further development of the Nigeria project.
- The association’s statutes remain an issue – explanations are still needed.
- A report was given by our cooperation partner GAFÉIAS on recycling options for plastics in Austria and worldwide.
- A wide variety of ideas and progress were documented. The project was initiated by an information evening organised by UNIDO.
- >In 2012, selected students and interested parties had the opportunity to attend a screening of the film ‘Plastik Planet’ produced by Werner Boote at the ‘Schikaneder Kultkino’ cinema. This event was organised by UNIDO and its then sponsor partner ‘MA48’<
- Appointment of press spokesperson for NADEUM
- Presentation of the association’s logo and corporate identity and future business cards
The fourth board meeting was scheduled for 12 March 2016.
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- BOARD MEETING
The fourth board meeting (4th BM) was held on 12 March 2016.
The proposal for a new logo and business cards by Christian Murczek, a graphic designer at the IT company CASC, was approved.
Resolution 3:
All expenses incurred during NADEUM board meetings will be paid by the participants themselves in future.
- In order to make NADEUM more visible to the outside world, the chairman commissioned the IT service provider ‘http://www.casc.at’ to create the NADEUM logo. The domain administration of ‘http://www.nadeum.eu’ and ‘http://www.nadeum.at’ as well as all email accounts ending in ‘xx@nadeum.eu’ or ‘xx@nadeum.at’ will also be created and maintained by this IT service provider and made available via its own server.
- In addition, the design for two magnetic advertising boards on the sides of cars has been commissioned. These orders are approved and commissioned by the chairman with his own funds and with the approval of the NADEUM board.
Resolution 2:
After a detailed discussion, it was decided that each member shall pay a monthly contribution of 20 euros to the NADEUM current account or the liquidity account at Oberbank with immediate effect. The aim is to ensure that NADEUM has sufficient financial resources available in the future.
The resolution was passed unanimously.
RESOLUTION 1:
In addition, it was decided that all costs for courses, workshops, trips and excursions, as well as various other educational events, should be supported proportionally with these funds.
- The NADEUM statutes will be finalised shortly.
- A report on a meeting in Bad Hall indicates that refugees from Africa living under the care of the local church in Bad Hall became aware of NADEUM through a meeting with the chairman and a Nigerian. They expressed interest in further information. One refugee signalled his willingness to maintain contact with NADEUM.
- The Nigeria project is to remain active.
The fifth board meeting was scheduled for 1 April 2016.
- BOARD MEETING
The fifth board meeting (5.VS) took place on 1 April 2016
- 1.) Presentation of banks that could offer suitable current accounts for NADEUM. We are looking for an Austrian bank with as little international business as possible. Oberbank met this criterion perfectly and set up a current account for NADEUM.The quarterly costs amount to approximately €25
- . 2.) Honey was selected as a sustainable natural product suitable for NADEUM, as bees are an integral part of our cultural landscape and a scientific study in the EU has shown that their extinction would lead to a 90% reduction in harvests in the EU. There is currently a heated debate in the EU about the use of chemical pesticides in agriculture. These pesticides harm bees and insects, both beneficial and harmful.
- 3.) The board attended a course at the Vienna Beekeeping School in the event room of the Pfarre-Hütteldorf kindergarten. The Vienna Beekeeping School offers its knowledge to interested parties as part of these training courses. Many of the younger participants are now becoming beekeepers themselves as part of a generational change. The children and grandchildren of the beekeepers were interested in the preservation and conservation of bee colonies. My wife and I were interested in bees, their pollination of crops and the resulting product, honey. We wanted to know everything that had to be done to obtain such a wonderful natural product. At the end of the course, we were presented with a certificate of participation in the beekeeping course by volunteer beekeepers and the chairman of the Rodaun Beekeeping Association, Mr Beier Josef. The chairman met a young beekeeper who is interested in working with NADEUM. (For data protection reasons, his name is not mentioned here. Suffice it to say that NADEUM has been sourcing honey from this gentleman ever since. It is genuine Viennese summer blossom honey.
- 4.)The statutes have now been adopted and are available to members with immediate effect.
- 5.)A meeting has been scheduled with Oberbank and the future advisor.
- The sixth board meeting has been scheduled for 16 August 2016.
- BOARD MEETING
The sixth board meeting (6th VS) took place on 16 August 2016.
- Due to budgetary constraints on the part of some NADEUM board members, the monthly payments could not yet be made despite the resolution passed (Resolution No. 2).
- The work equipment provided to us, a laptop, was used improperly. The chairperson was no longer able to bear the resulting costs himself. The user was therefore offered the opportunity to purchase the laptop. However, this offer was not accepted. As a result, the laptop was confiscated by the association.
Resolution 4:
After careful consideration and with the best of intentions, the board has decided that all future NADEUM members, regardless of their function, must provide their own work equipment.
- The person responsible for the Nigeria project was unable to carry out the project due to scheduling conflicts. The project was therefore suspended for the time being.
- The person responsible for the Nigeria project was unable to carry out the project due to scheduling conflicts. The project was therefore suspended for the time being.
- Similarly, the project was suspended for the time being due to political tensions in Guatemala (2016).
- Due to the ongoing challenges in Syria, in particular the civil war, the NADEUM association unfortunately does not see itself in a position to continue the projects in Kobane (supporting traumatised children for 90 days in Austria for recovery) and in Jordan (the rapid construction of wooden houses).
- The partnership with a beekeeper will continue and a honey harvest is being aimed for.
- With regard to the recycling of plastics from the oceans, the following domino projects have been generated so far. ‘Oceans’14’ and GAFÉIAS ‘Oceans 2050’ emerged from the Plastic Strikes Back project idea. These projects will continue to be pursued.
The second general meeting will take place on 10 August 2018.