In this period of pandemic which continues to impact travelling, the F.I.C.B. General Assembly 2022 was held as planned in Paris on 29 January, but under the same exceptional conditions as in 2021. As French legislation allows for voting by correspondence due to travel restrictions, the resolutions submitted for approval by the General Assembly were prepared by a remote meeting of the Board of administration on 19 January. Members had 3 possibilities to participate: to be present, to give a proxy to a member present or to vote by correspondence on the resolutions proposed by the Board. Thanks to this provision, the statutory quorum (18, i.e. at least one third of the members having paid their 2020 and/or 2021 dues present or represented ) was largely reached: 7 members present, 4 proxies and 27 having voted by correspondence (votes checked by 2 scrutineers) , out of 54.
The main decisions of the General Assembly were the following:
- Approval of the President’s report, the profit and loss account and the 2021 balance sheet (impacted by the cancellation fof the 2021 International F.I.C.B. Congress in Italy and by possibility given to members in difficulty due to the pandemic to pay only one contribution for 2020 and 2021);
- Update of the F.I.C.B. international events calendar: “F.I.C.B. International Wine Tasting and Rating Challenge” organised in Hungary by the Order of the Ladies of Pannonia from 2 to 7 June 2022 (registration closes on 31 January 2022), first “F.I.C.B. sponsored wine discovery tour” organised in Madeira by the Food and wine brotherhood of Madeira from 22 to 27 September 2022 (registration opens in February 2022) and the “International Congress of Wine brotherhoods – F.I.C.B. 2023”, organized by the Portuguese Federation of Wine Brotherhoods in Portugal from 27 May to 3 June 2023 (registration opens in February 2022)
- Presentation and promotion of the F.I.C.B. Diploma of Honor
- Adoption of the modification of the statutes of the Federation, proposed by the Executive committee and approved by the Board of administration, aiming at :
- Clarifying the conditions for the renewal of the mandates of the members of the Board of administration
- Specifying the responsibilities, mode of designation and representativeness of the Vice-presidents
- Refering to the “F.I.C.B. International Charter of Wine Brotherhoods” adopted in 2015
- Including the new types of F.I.C.B. events created since the last revision of the statutes in 2011: “F.I.C.B. International Wine Tasting and Rating Challenge” and “F.I.C.B. sponsored wine discovery tours “
- To give the possibility of voting by correspondence for the General Assembly, when external circumstances require it
- Approval of the action plan for 2022, which, in addition to the promotion and development of F.I.C.B.’s international events, includes the promotion of our multilingual lexicon “Talking about wine”, the production of a “guide for the organisation of competitions of blind recognition of grape varietals “ for the use of wine brotherhoods, and the redesign of our website
- Approval of the 2022 Budget with renewal of the membership fees (active member: 150€, associate member: 100€, admission fee: 50€)
- Fixing of the date of the 2023 General Assembly on Saturday 4 February 2023 at 10:00 in Paris
At the end of the general assembly, the president thanked the members for their understanding and their adaptation to the particular circumstances of the organisation of this general assembly, and wished “everyone good health and the forthcoming end of the period of pandemic which is affecting the whole planet, hoping that the horizon would soon be clearing to allow us to enjoy again the convivial meetings which characterize our brotherhoods and our federation, illustrated by the wonderful events that we have programmed for 2022 and 2023”.
click here for a more detailed presentation of the summary of the 2022 General Assembly.
click here for the proposal to amend the statutes
click here for the profit and loss accounts for 2021
