Franka from A.S.V.Gay
General questions
GMM stands for 'General Members Meeting', it is where members of the association come together to discuss the current state of affairs within the association. The GMM is the highest body of an association and therefore is above the board. Even though the board runs the association, they have to act according to the needs of the members and the rules of the GMM. That is why it is important to attend the GMM; so you can make your voice heard in A.S.V.Gay!
GMMs can sound tedious, technical, and complicated. Even though it may seem like that at first because of all the rules, it can also be a lot of fun. And eventually, you'll come to the understanding that those rules are helpful to keep it concise and straightforward. A GMM works as follows:
Two weeks before a GMM you will receive the agenda and the GMM documents. This includes discussion points and a more in-depth explanation of these points. Additionally, there will be a link to Google Forms where you can put in your questions in advance of the GMM. During the GMM these documents will be discussed and voted on.
To keep the discussion organized, the finger system is used. It works as follows:
1 finger - new question or remark about point of discussion
2 fingers - direct question or remark on last question or remark
Pinky - technical question or remark
OK-sign - a bullshit remark or joke
After discussing one of the points, there will be a vote. Only members can actually vote. Donators, honorary members, alumni, and other invitees are allowed to attend, however, they are not allowed to vote. During voting there will be four options:
A vote in favor of the proposal
A vote against the proposal
A blank vote, which indicates that the voter disagrees with the votingprocedure, this will count as a vote against the proposal.
A withholding of vote, indicates that the voter is not voting. During the vote count, this vote won't be taken into consideration by the total amount of votes.
The things discussed during a GMM have a direct influence on the association, such as: who gets to be on the board, the conditions that must be met to become a member, where the money gets spent, and many other things.
In addition, some commissions and workgroups will be appointed by the GMM, for the reason that they are seen as supporting bodies of the association. This means that new members have to be voted in, and old members have to be turned down. This concerns the following committees and workgroups:
Acquisitions Committee
Financial Audit Committee
Advisory Council
Selection Committee
Diversity Working Group
Bylaws Working Group
It is customary at A.S.V.Gay to organize three GMMs per year, with each having its own discussion points. In the year 2022, there was an experiment to split up the Change GMM into two GMMs: one ceremonial Change GMM where the old board presents the year report, and one Policy Plan GMM where the new board presents their policy plan and the budget plan. Additionally, there can be an extra GMM planned in December, this is to keep the GMMs more concise and to discuss smaller discussion points. More on this will be announced soon. Here are all the GMM dates listed:
29th of September 2022: Change GMM
Here the old board and the upcoming board will swap
3th of October 2022: Policy Plan GMM
Here the new board will present their policy plan and the budget plan
1st of December 2022: December GMM
Here the media plan will be presented among other discussion points
20th of February 2023: half-year GMM
Here updates will be given from the board, treasurer, Financial Audit Committee, the Advisory Council, the Acquisitions Committee, and the current working groups
The Selection Committee will be voted in
Gayker: an award for someone who has offered great help to the association
13th of June 2023: Voting of the new board GMM
For more questions about the ALV send an email to voorzitter@asvgay.nl!