AGM - Info and reports
Annual General Meeting of the EBU - business meeting agenda
September 23,24,25, 2005
session 1: Friday evening (8.30pm-10pm)
- 1 - welcome
2 - matters arising
- 2.1 legal and constitutional structure
Registration of EBU with Paris prefecture is now complete (report Claudine) EBU Bank account update (report Tcheudreun)
2.2 website
update (Zarko)
3 - office bearer's reports
<dd>Vice-president/secretary's report (Claudine)</dd>
<dd>Treasurer's report (Tcheudreun)</dd>
session 2: Saturday (9am-12 / 2.30pm-6.30) Ateliers
Saturday will be organised to allow deeper, more open discussion.
The plan is to organise this day as an 'open space' discussion. We would aim to finish with the more practical topics producing action points, and for each member go away with a task, even if a small one.
A number of topics were suggested by the discussion at the last agm, and we have collected them from the minutes of last year's workshop facilitated by Jonathan, for possible further discussion. Potential topics include:
- 1 Internal organisation
Consensus decision making + the 'culture' of the ebu
2 Dialogue with European Union
3 Basic dharma
Can we, should we, be looking for a basic European dharma?
Ethics, psychology, ecology, peace.
A way of life, a broad culture, a shared support for deeper training and practice.
4 European Buddhism
Why do we need the Dharma in Europe?
Dialogue with European culture: art, psychology, ecology.
What does European Buddhism look like?
How much of Eastern culture do we need to support the experience?
5 ebu as source of information
sharing dharma experience
sharing legal information
6 Education
Reaching young people
7 Congress/conference/ retreat/ big event
8 Inter Buddhist dialogue
How to exchange experience between groups Promoting interbuddhist dialogue on specific subjects Develop meeting between different sanghas, national, regional levels
If there are other topics that you think it would be of value to discuss, please let the board know.
session 3: Sunday morning (8.45am-12.15)
- 1 Applications for membership
- 1.1 Polish Buddhist Mission
The Buddhist Mission - Three Refuges- of Poland is a Union of Buddhist schools realizing the rules and precepts formulated by Shakyamuni Buddha. The activities of the Mission includes studying the teaching of the Buddha, propagating the ethics and moral rules arising from the teaching of the Buddha, propagating Buddhist culture, Buddhist practice, charity, educational activity, activity for the protection of natural environment. More informations on the website www.mahajana.net
The board recommends we accept this application for membership.
1.2 Kwan Um Zen Centre
As written in its registered constitution, the Kwan Um Zen association is under the spiritual direction of Master Wu Bong (Jack T. PERl), in charge of the Kwan Um school in Europe. It aims at the propagation of the Buddhist philosophy, according to the Corean Zen tradition. More informations on the website www.pariszencenter.com The board recommends we accept this application for membership.
1.3 Buddhist college, Budapest
In 1988, in Budapest, a number of minor Buddhist communities set up the "Gate of the Dharma" Buddhist Church, an ecumenical foundation based on Mahayana principles. Now, with over 2000 members and associates, it is the second largest Buddhist community in Hungary.
Because of the unusual nature of the Buddhist college, we suggest this application is discussed more fully. A representative of the Buddhist college will be invited to the meeting to describe the college and its activities.
1.4 Fo Guang Shan
Report from Dhammarati
1.5 Membership
Since the incorporation in Paris, the EBU is legally a new association, whose founder members are those organisations who had paid their subscription and submitted their documentation as required at the time of registration. A number of previous members had not formally done so when we registered in October last year.
We suggest we allow a shorter membership process for previous members: if they re-apply for membership in the next 12 months, we would automatically accept.
Proposal to be discussed at agm.
2 World Buddhist Summit
Update since last meeting
3 Financial
- 3.1 fees (report from Tcheudreun)
3.2 Unesco debt (Update from Maria Angela)
4 Contact with enbea (Update from Maria Angela)
5 Election of Officials
The board was elected in 2002 and finished its commission.
- 5.1 President
Maria Angela has served her three years term as president, and by the terms of the constitution, we need to elect a new president this year. The board would like to raise for discussion the possibility of extending her term of office by one or two years more. We would like to explore two options:
- i Election
One is that we go ahead, and hold the election of a new board as scheduled. If anyone would like to stand, or to nominate someone for the president's post the procedure is described in section 7a of the constitution:
7. NOMINATION OF OFFICERS
(a) Nominations for Officers may be made by member organizations of the Association in writing and must be in the hands of the President 21 days before the Annual General Meeting at which such elections will be held. Should nominations exceed vacancies, election shall be by ballot, PROVIDED THAT the first members of the Council shall be elected by personal vote at the first General Meeting of the Association.
ii Extension
The EBU has been in a time of transition, re-organising the legal structure and rethinking the nature of the agm. and Maria Angela's long experience of the history of the EBU has been essential in the work that the board has been doing. We believe that there would be value in extending Maria Angela's period of office for one or two more years, till this transitional phase is over, establishing the new organisation and culture, and passing on her long experience to the newer members of the board.
The 'constitutional' permission for this, should we need it, would come from the fact that since the registration in October 04, the ebu is in effect a new organisation.
Discussion + decision
We would like to propose a new board position of membership secretary, to encourage new membership of the ebu, and to rationalise the membership procedure.
(added: 2005/07/26)
