A Guide to YMCA World Council Elections

M o n d a y 1 9 t h A p r i l 2 0 1 0 , 3 p m ( C E S T ) Summary: This year the 17th World Council of YMCAs will meet in Hong Kong from 19 to 24

July. One of the core responsibilities of the World Council is to elect the World Alliance of YMCAs’ Ex-

ecutive Committee Members for the next four years. In this webinar, Martin Meißner, President of the

World Alliance of YMCAs will explain the YMCA’s global governance structure, with particular focus on

the election process, and answer any questions on this topic.

Topics Covered Include: Nomination process for World Alliance Officers and Executive Committee Members, voting and election process at World Council, and quotas for geographical, gender and age representation.

Who should attend? This webinar is aimed at voting and non-voting YMCA delegates at-

tending the World Council of YMCAs who would like to learn more about this important process.

Duration: 60 minutes (30 minutes of presentation and 30 minutes of questions and answers).

Please note that you should ask your questions in written format using the “chat” feature.

Materials/Handouts: PowerPoint presentation will be shared during the webinar

How to Participate: To register for this webinar, please follow this link:

https://yusa.webex.com/yusa/j.php?ED=137210212&RG=1&UID=1121472012&RT=MiM3

You will be asked to complete a registration form. After completing the form please click on the “Regis-

ter” button at the end of the page. You will later receive a confirmation email with more details on how

to join the meeting.

Please note that there will be two key steps to follow to fully participate in the Webinar.

1. To participate visually, i.e. have access to visual materials and presentations during the Webinar,

you will need to follow the link that will be provided in the confirmation email. Please make sure you

are using a web browser that supports “Webex” software, such as Internet Explorer or Mozilla Firefox

(Google Chrome is not compatible), and that your browser allows pop-ups.

2. To connect to the audio features of the webinar, i.e. to listen to the presentation, and have the

possibility to speak, please open your Skype account (if you do not have Skype, please download it from

www.skype.com). Use the Skype dial pad to call 001 866-554-8472. Please note that this is a US-based

free number, and you do not need Skype credit to call this number from other countries. The operator

will ask you to enter the Conference Code. Please enter this number using your dial pad: 3687523020.

Please note that this webinar will take place at 3pm (CEST) – to find out what time this is in your city,

please visit: www.timeanddate.com

If you have any technical questions, please contact danthe@ymca.int.

YMCA of the USA is pleased to provide the technical platform for this webinar.

Webinar Presented by Martin Meißner (President, World Alliance of YMCAs)

Martin Meißner is the President of the World Alliance of YMCAs (2006-2010). His involvement with the YMCA began in 1975 when he served as President of the YMCA in Seckbach, Germany. He went on to serve the German YMCA in several voluntary leadership posts including President of YMCA Frankfurt (1983 – 1985) and President of the Executive Committee of City YMCAs in Germany (1997 – present). At World level, Martin has been a member of the World Alliance of YMCAs’ Executive Committee since 1998. In 2004 he was awarded the Order of Merit by the President of the Federal Republic of Germany for his commitment to the German and worldwide YMCA.

Martin has been practicing law since 1979, with a special focus in family law. He is currently a senior partner at Zeiser, Adler, Meißner and Associates.

Martin and his wife Gudrun live in the outskirts of Frankfurt.