European Crafts Alliance’s General Assembly took place in Edinburgh on 6 June followed by a two-day conference 7-8 June 2018 organised by Craft Scotland. Both the General Assembly and the conference were very well attended and Craft Scotland organised a great programme of activities and opportunities to network.
Some highlights of the General Assembly included the presentations on WCC Craft Cities, networking opportunities and presentations by members on ‘Craft Training and Education’ and the excellent ‘New Ways of Seeing Conference’ organised by Craft Scotland which followed the GA.
Photo courtesy of Craft Scotland. Image by Neil Hanna Photography
A huge thank you to Craft Scotland for such a wonderful time in Edinburgh and also to all of the members that took the time to engage with and attend the programme of events.
Some ECA members have already sent their presentation text on ‘Craft Training and Education’ to Shauna at wcceurope@dccoi.ie. We kindly ask for any outstanding text’s to be sent on as soon as possible so that they can be shared on the ECA website as a resource.
One of the key points of the GA included the incorporation of ECA as a company limited by guarantee. ECA President Louise Allen presented the rationale for incorporating as a CLG as follows:
- Legal Protection under EU law -Members Liability of €1
Accountability
- Board of Directors accountable for ECA activities and transparency
- Everything ECA does will be able to stand the test of scrutiny by the public, members, stakeholders, funders and the courts.
Financial Records and Auditing
- Accounts filed annually
Corporate Governance and Code of Conduct
- Development of a manual and training for board
- Voting procedure will change from 2019 forward whereby each organisation will have 1 vote per member
- Discussion took place in relation to membership fees. It was noted that some members have not paid fees in 2017 due to limited funds. The board will discuss this with individual members who have fees outstanding.
- It was agreed that going forward all members must be fully paid up members in order to vote at the GA, this will mean that in 2019 invoices will be issued earlier in the year to facilitate payment.
Members agreed to approve the constitution in principal with a period for members to respond with any queries or amendments. In order to incorporate ECA members were asked to sign the subscriber papers supplied – any members who were unable to attend the GA will be sent the papers to sign.
Georgia was also chosen as the host country for the next General Assembly in 2019 after sending on their presentation and application to host.
Read the full minutes from the 2018 GA HERE
And finally, please see a link to some pictures from the GA and conference HERE. Please feel free to use these across print and digital platforms making sure to credit Craft Scotland and the photographer’s name (listed in the file name).