Report on WBAA Board meeting in Athens from 26 to 28 November 2021

From 26-28 November, 13 WBAA Board members and the Service Provider met in Athens for a Board meeting to discuss the current issues around the network. The special thing about this meeting was that it was designed as a handover from the outgoing to the newly elected Board members. Seven Board members were elected at the end of October, 7 Board members left the Board at the end of November and 5 people remain on the Board. The focus of the meeting was therefore to make this transition smooth, sustainable and to ensure the exchange of knowledge.

On Friday, the board therefore met in its old constellation to prepare the handover and clarify open points. To ensure that the former Board members can continue to support WBAA and the Board with their experience, it was decided to set up an Advisory Board in which all former Board members can become active. Another important point was the ongoing restructuring of the WBAA teams and how to proceed further.

On Saturday the new Board members joined and four Board members, who were not able to travel to Athens, also participated virtually in the event. Most of them are already experienced WBAA members, so it was easy to get started. The programme on this day was full, after a short introduction and a summary of the points discussed on Friday, representatives from the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA) and European Commission (DG EAC) joined virtually. At the beginning of next year there will be a new specific contract with the service provider and it was discussed together what recommendations can be made for this new contract for the future work of WBAA. Other topics on Saturday were the WBAA Projects, the Tracer Study, the next General Assembly and the activation of WBAA members. After all the discussions, the Board members then got the chance to know each other better. First, they got to explore the beautiful old town of Athens in a treasure hunt. The evening was later concluded with dinner overlooking the Acropolis. On this occasion, the outgoing Board members were duly farewelled.

On Sunday, the Board met in its new constellation to discuss cooperation and organisation within the group and with the service provider. Furthermore, the dates of meetings in 2022 were set. In the afternoon, there was a team building session for the new Board.

Overall, it was a very productive meeting, but one that also included social activities and getting to know each other. In view of the pandemic situation, everyone was grateful that such a meeting could still take place in compliance with hygiene measures.

We have a lot planned for the future of WBAA and look forward to working together with the new Board. The detailed minutes of the meeting will soon be available in the WBAA online community in the group 'Library'. So check the Community Portal regularly for all the latest news on WBAA.

Your WBAA Team

Laura Jarmatz on behalf of the Service Provider

Cologne, 06.12.2021