Report from the EURASF General Assembly, August 9, 2019

Agenda:

  1. Biannual Report and Financial Report;
  2. Granting discharge to the Board;
  3. Election of a new auditor;
  4. The chairman's suggestion for the new board, that stands for election;
  5. Developments regarding possible EU funding for science film festivals and networks;
  6. Mission Statement of EURASF;
  7. EURASF-Award at the Krakow Film Festival;
  8. Membership Meeting at the ROS film festival/Barcelona; 

The general assembly took place in the form of an Skype audio chat. Confirmed participants include: Wolfgang Haberl; Christoph Krachten; Daisy van de Zande; Fabrice Estève; Jakub Ráliš; Ondřej Kazík; Irina Belykh; Ricardo Dominguez; Thilo Körkel

1. Biannual Report and Financial Report;
The chairman, Wolfgang Haberl, reports that EURASF has currently 72 members, including about ten European film festivals. Achievements during the past 24 months include the award ceremonies for the »Best European Science Film« in 2018 and 2019, the grant of the SF-Aid award to the movies »Science in Exile« and »Atomic Dialogues« and the »European Talent Hub for Science Media« at the Sunny Side of the Doc 2019 in La Rochelle, France. The website, eurasf.com, also made big progresses.
The auditors, Christoph Krachten and Daisy van de Zande, had checked the balance sheets and proposed that the chairman be discharged. To optimize financial management the auditors also recommended that, in the future, there should be an income-outcome-balance, done digitally.
Since nobody objected, the chairman was discharged.

2. Granting discharge to the Board;
The chairman asked if everybody agreed on discharging the board. Since nobody objected, the board was discharged.

3. Election of a new auditor;
The auditors for the current term are Christoph Krachten and Franziska Moosbrugger.

4. The new board that stands for election;
Haberl presented his thoughts on the new board to be elected. According to him, the original idea to have every festival represented by a member in the board should be changed, due to the rapid growth of the academy, to a new model. »The board is about working«, he said, »not about representing.«
According to Haberl, the number of board members must be between six and twelve. 
No competing suggestions were made. Wolfgang Haberl announced that he would propose the new board via e-mail to the members and invite them to a digital election process.
The proposal for the new board was confirmed a few days later by an anonymous online vote of the members:

Chair: Wolfgang Haberl
Deputy: Jakub Ráliš 
2nd Deputy: Christine Reisen
Secretary: Thilo Körkel
Deputy: Fabrice Esteve
Cashier: Michael Schinogl
Deputy: Daisy van de Zande
Hanka Křepelková Rezková 
Irina Belikh

An extended discussion arouse on the question on what exactly the Academy will be. A network of festivals? Or rather a group of members of different types, including individuals, platforms, festivals? How can festivals benefit from the EURASF, mainly in terms of finding synergies and search for funding? Do board members act in their own name, or do they represent the institution they might be affiliated with?
In this context, the idea was born, to establish a festival section within the EURASF. Fabrice Estève, Daisy van de Zande and Jakub Ráliš voted for such a section.
Discussing these questions the participants of the meeting agreed – to the extent possible in such a call – on the following: Members of the board should act as an individual, not as representatives of an institution. Members of the board are expected to actively contribute to EURASF's successful development. A festival section within EURASF is welcome. The chairman hints at the fact that the board is legally responsible for the activity of EURASF.

5. Developments regarding possible EU funding for science film festivals and networks;
The chairman reported on his contacts and ongoing conversations with representants of the European Union. Fabrice Estève, Jakub Ráliš and Daisy van de Zande agreed to prepare a position paper. 

6. Mission Statement of EURASF;
The chairman announced that he will send a EURASF mission statement, conceived by Wolfgang Haberl, Christine Reisen, and Thilo Körkel, to the members of the EURASF.

7. EURASF-Award at the Krakow Film Festival;
The chairman reports that the Krakow Film Festival will award the »Best European Science Film 2020« during the opening section. Haberl considers this to be a big opportunity to make EURASF more visible.

8. Membership Meeting at the ROS film festival/Barcelona;
Ricardo Dominguez confirms that the EURASF general meeting 2020 can probably take place during the ROS film festival in Barcelona, Spain, from 9th to 11th of July, 2020.