The Annual General Meeting of WYSE Travel Confederation

Members and guests attended the Annual General Meeting (AGM) and Industry Panel ratifications of WYSE Travel Confederation ahead of the 2019 World Youth and Student Travel Conference (WYSTC) in Lisbon, Portugal on Tuesday, 8 October 2019. The formalities were followed by a networking reception for members of WYSE Travel Confederation.

The formal proceedings of the AGM included a report by the Director General on the activities of the last year, plus the review and approval of the accounts and new members of the association. The Management Board members and Director General of WYSE Travel Confederation shared successes of the past year and identified opportunities to build on these. It was revealed that WYSTC 2021 will take place in Lisbon.

Management Board members addressed listeners with short updates on the Confederation’s achievements in the last year, but also some of its opportunities for the coming year. Carye Duffin reminded members of the purpose of the Confederation’s Industry Panels, noting that the next step in their development would be to enhance communication on sector-specific issues. Chair Russ Hedge provided an update on the development of the Youth Travel Charter since last year’s WYSTC in Edinburgh. Providing further detail, guest speaker Anna Zanghi, who is acting in an advisory role in the development of the Charter and who was involved with the building of the 2012 San Diego Declaration, explained that 11 core principles had emerged from a brainstorming and member feedback review session that had been conducted by a working group in July 2019.

Nominations Committee Chair John Cedergardh noted significant progress had been made to identify and attract representatives with crucial skill sets to governance roles within the Confederation. Directly preceding the AGM, the chair of the recently formed WYSE Nominations Committee carried out procedures for the appointment of members to the Industry Panels.

Two new proposals were put forth to the membership and debated at this year’s meeting: a new mission statement and not-for-profit status for WYSE Travel Confederation. Members were encouraged to provide feedback on the proposals to the Management Board and Industry Panels so that the two proposals can continue to be considered for future adoption.

The next Annual General Meeting of WYSE Travel Confederation will be held on 22 September 2020 at WYSTC 2020 in Lisbon.

The following members of the Management Board and Industry Panels were ratified during the 2019 Annual General Meeting and Industry Panel ratification of WYSE Travel Confederation: 

          Accommodation Panel
·         Chairperson:  Pieter van der Zeeuw, Hans Brinker
·         Louise Garner, Clink Hostels
·         Etienne Matichard, JO&JOE
·         Kevin McCormick, University of Bath

          Cultural Exchange Panel
·         Chairperson: Carye Duffin, CIEE
·         Mark Overmann, InterExchange
·         Bastian Weinberger, Smaller Earth      

          Study Abroad Panel
·         Barry Rawlings, EDU Africa
·         Alex Seigel, The Dragon Trip     

          Travel Safety Panel
·         Chairperson: Nick Pound, World Nomads
·         Joël Marier, EBI Consulting Group
·         Claudia Reichstein, DR-WALTER
·         Alex Thompson, Legaroo, Inc.

          Management Board
·         Chairperson: Russ Hedge, HI USA
·         Member at Large: Vicki Cunningham, STA Travel
·         Member, Finance & Audit Committee: Dave Dahl, WISE Foundation
·         Independent Member, Finance & Audit Committee: Astrid Ludemann, Kroll