AGM 2020 Report
We were delighted to welcome 30 Europa Nostra members to our AGM held online on 7 October 2020. In addition to the brief reports outlined below the usual formal business was transacted. Sara Crofts was able to reveal the results of the election for new Committee members and welcome Torsten Haak, Peter Ovenstone, Alexander Goodger and Jenna Johnston to the Committee.
Sara also noted the Committee's gratitude to Phil Turner who was standing down after many years in the role of Honorary Treasurer and to Richard Morris, who stepped down earlier in the year. Sara thanked both for their contribution to the Committee's work.
Sara Crofts, Chair of Europa Nostra UK, reflected on the different position of Europa Nostra UK in 2020 compared to 2019, highlighting the upheaval of the global pandemic and the committee’s actions to re-think our initiatives. The committee have pulled together a summary of ENUK’s mission in 5 points, which can be found on the Europa Nostra UK website. Sara stated that the website has been updated, which is often summarised in the newsletter circulated via email. She invited members to contribute feedback on the newsletter and the website. Both of these communications are supported by the ENUK Twitter account, which is gradually attracting followers and will no doubt help to broaden Europa Nostra membership. Sara then summarised the online events held during the year and highlighted their success. She informed members that the UK Award Winner ‘Project Iron Bridge’ was to be featured on the front cover of the Europa Nostra Awards brochure as a symbol of the bridge between Europa Nostra and Europa Nostra UK in the face of Brexit.
Kate Pugh, Secretary of the Europa Nostra UK, gave an update on the policy and advocacy work carried out by the committee in the last year. Kate highlighted the committee’s progress, referring to the development of the 5 objectives in the new mission statement of Europa Nostra UK; the stakeholder mapping initiative, which encompasses our members and previous award winners; the ENUK Members Forum which was held online on 28th September; and the continued contribution of the UK to Europa Nostra policies and reports, particularly the recently published COVID-19 paper.
Jamie Davies, trustee, updated the members on the committee’s Young Member initiatives, highlighting the UK’s top rank for Young Members in Europa Nostra. In the past year, Jamie and Lucy Hockley, both Europa Nostra UK committee members, have begun organising networking and mentoring events for Young Members of Europa Nostra, utilising the broad and valuable network of Europa Nostra members. Whilst the Coronavirus did disrupt some of the proposed networking opportunities, the committee were able to continue their initiatives online. Jamie and Grace Connelly, Support Officer for Europa Nostra UK, brought together the Young Members to discuss how the committee could best support them. Jamie also organised a virtual roundtable event on the topic of Climate Change, hosted by Justin Albert, Director of the National Trust for Wales. Jamie expressed the committee’s continued plans to develop networking events and mentoring opportunities.
Grace Connelly, EN UK Support Officer, gave a summary of her role working with Europa Nostra UK, highlighting her part in designing and maintaining the website, facilitating the awards programmes, increasing visibility of Europa Nostra UK via the Twitter account, assisting the committee with administrative tasks, and helping to organise and run the online events, such as the Iron Bridge lecture, Young Members’ roundtable, and the AGM.
