International Steering Group (ISG) Meeting, 29 October-6 November
00:00, December 6, 2007 | Press Release
The UNOY Peacebuilders office in The Hague played host to the International Steering Group (ISG) during the week beginning 29 October, as they met for the first time. The ISG are an integral part of the restructuring process, and this first meeting was an important opportunity to discuss the future of the network.
Armine Sadikyan and Fred Barlue flew to The Netherlands from Armenia and the USA respectively to represent the ISG. They were joined in the meetings by members of the UNOY International Secretariat (IS) management team and Board member Maria Kooijman. The week of the ISG meeting was busy for all involved, with a variety of topics discussed and some important decisions reached. Each participant of the meeting brought a unique perspective to the discussions, and this resulted in a dynamic and productive atmosphere.
The ISG also benefited from the input received during the restructuring process from several of our network members, including clear advice and opinions. Amongst the topics discussed were new member applications, project proposals, the thematical focus of UNOY and the Policy Paper. All of these issues were successfully resolved and the IS team will be working hard over the coming weeks and months to implement these exciting changes. Fortunately there was also opportunity for some fun amongst the hard work, including a Social Evening, and of course the African Students Conference on 3 November. All of us at the IS found the experience of meeting with representatives of our member organisations to be very enlightening, and hosting them in the office for the week gave us an opportunity to exchange views on ways to improve the communication between the IS and our members. The ISG Meeting will now become an annual event that will hopefully provide UNOY with valuable guidance for many years to come.