Dear Member Associations,
I am pleased to inform you that the preparations for our upcoming 56th Session of the FAFICS Council are going well.
Registration, security passes, Zoom link:
Following the invitation we sent to you all on 7 April, we now have about 32 Associations that have registered delegates via Indico (in person, virtually, or combined). Registrations will remain open until 15 July, but we encourage you to register as soon as possible to facilitate our preparations. The registration link is https://indico.un.org/e/
For those attending in person, please note that UN DSS security passes will be available for collection on Monday morning, 20 July, at the Gate 1 entrance of VIC upon presentation of a valid ID or the QR code issued by Indico. For those attending virtually, we will send the Zoom link before that week. Please note that we are still studying the mechanics of auto-text translations via Zoom from participants’ mobile phones/tablets/laptops during the week of the Council.
Council provisional agenda, work programme, documents:
We shared the Council provisional agenda with you on 7 April, but are resending it here for your reference, including the work programme (schedule), which is still evolving. Many of the Council documents that will guide our deliberations are still under preparation. We will send them in batches as they become available and will also organize all documents in an electronic folder, as we did last year, for easy access just before and during the Council sessions. We will endeavor to have many of these documents translated into French and Spanish, if not entirely, at least their executive summaries.
Please note in the work programme that on 20 July, there will be important ad hoc open meetings of the different FAFICS Standing Committees/Working Groups. Council plenary sessions will be held on 21-24 July, with Bureau meetings on 19th and 24th July.
I am also happy to report that both the UNJSPF Chief Executive for Pension Administration, Rosemarie McClean, and the SG’s Representative on Investment Matters, Robert van der Zee, will be joining us in person. Aside from ARICSA hosting the Council, we will also be welcomed by the new head of the UN Office in Vienna.
There are also ongoing follow-ups to possibly welcome 1 or 2 new Member Associations to FAFICS in July.
Nominations for open positions, elections:
As I have explained in several previous letters, elections will be held during the upcoming Council for several open positions, including President, Treasurer, three Vice-Presidents, and two Auditors. The extended nomination deadline of 10 June has passed, and I am pleased to report that we have received several nominations for these positions from around the world. We have sufficient nominees to hold elections for all the positions mentioned above.
More information, including background information for each nominee, will be provided via an electronic folder link very soon, once we have ascertained that all relevant information has been collected. At this point, I will simply state that I would be pleased to see either of the two candidates for President (Darshak Shah, currently President of AFICS/NY, and Marashetty Seenappa, former President (now Emeritus) of AFUNPI, Bangalore, India) elected, as they are both very experienced and dedicated.
The elections will be held strictly electronically, using the same software as in previous years. The designated Head of Delegation will be the only person allowed to vote. Please note that Member Associations that have not paid their dues by the end of June 2026 will not be eligible to vote. The major change this year is that the voter will have to cast as many votes as there are open positions (i.e. one for President, three for Vice-Presidents, one Treasure, two auditors).
Another change is that I will appoint a small, independent group to assist the FAFICS Secretary in ensuring that proper procedures have been followed and verifying the results.
We live in interesting times. I am certain the 56th Council will be engaging and productive. I look forward to seeing you in Vienna.
With warm regards,
