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!!37th Annual General (Business) Meeting of members at the Barcelona Biomedical Park (PRBB)\\Doctor Aiguader 88, 08003, Barcelona
![Maplink|https://goo.gl/maps/z3abq4WSSMt7tBDV8]
!Zoom link: [https://us06web.zoom.us/j/89726799594]
!Wednesday 15th October, 2025\\17:00 – 19:00 (Barcelona time)
!!OPEN TO ALL MEMBERS OF THE ACADEMIA EUROPAEA\\NO Pre-REGISTRATION NEEDED
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!!Draft agenda 
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From 1 October, ALL DOCUMENTS can be found below.  
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__A series of pre-AGM membership wide electronic ballots on the motions were held online from 15th September to – 26th September.__
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(NOTE: an agenda and documents pack will be available at the door of the meeting room for any physical attendees). PLEASE ALSO SIGN THE ATTENDANCE REGISTER AT THE DOOR!
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__In the chair: The President – [Professor. Dr. Donald Dingwell|Member/Dingwell_Donald] (Munich)__

!1.	Welcome, adoption of the 2025 draft agenda  (members present) – 	[DOCUMENT 1|AGM 2025 Document 1 Draft Agenda (v4.0) 01-10-2025.pdf] (updated 1%%sup st/% October 2025)

!2. 2.	To adopt the minutes of the AGM held on 26th November October, 2024 – [DOCUMENT 2|Document 2 - Minutes of the Annual meeting 2024 Wroclaw.pdf]
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__Transaction of Ordinary Business__
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!3. Reports  (covering the past 12 months and going forward): QUESTIONS ARE INVITED

*3.1 President – Don Dingwell. 2024  Trustees (Activity) report [DOCUMENT 3.1|Document 3.1 - 2024 trustees (activity) report FIN signed (minus Hub reports).pdf]  and [Document 3.1s Supplement - President's summary|DOCUMENT 3.1 SUPP - Presidents statement to the Trustees report 2024.pdf].\\
__Please read the President's summary first.__
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__Report of the result of the online ballot of members, to the Motion: ''“That the AGM adopt the 2024 Trustees report”''. In favour 409__. Against 1. __ [DOCUMENT 3|Document  3 - Results from the E-ballots of members.pdf]
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*3.2 Finance – [Professor Stephen Evans|Member/Evans_Stephen] (Treasurer) a summary report has been tabled in advance and the 2024 examined  accounts made available online.  [Document 3.2|Document 3.2 - The Academia Europea Accts YE 31 12 2024 - Updated September 2025 (signed by Evans).pdf] and [Document 3.2s supplement - Treasurer's report|DOCUMENT 3.2 SUPP - Treasurers statement financial year 2024 draft.pdf].\\
__Please read the Treasurer's report first.__
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__Report of the result of the online ballot of members, to the motion: “''That members adopt the 2024 accounts''“. In favour 406.__ Against 1.  [DOCUMENT 3|Document  3 - Results from the E-ballots of members.pdf]
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*3.2.1 Outcome of the e-ballot of members on the Motion:__ “''That members agree to  re-appoint the Audit/Examiners: Messrs Keith Vaudrey and Co. Ltd, London''“.  Voted in favour 406__.  Against  0. [Document 3|Document  3 - Results from the E-ballots of members.pdf]
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*3.2.2  Annual members’ financial contribution for 2026
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Outcome of the e-ballot of members to the Motion: “__''The Members are asked to approve the trustees recommendation, for an  annual, [[voluntary] contribution based on an age–related scale, and effective from January 1%%sup st/%  2026. As follows:'' __
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The trustees are not proposing any increases for 2025.
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__Ordinary members:__\\
Members up to and including 65 years of age: 200 Euro [[168 GBP]\\
Members 66 - 75 years of age:  125 Euro [[100 GBP]\\
Foreign members (all age categories):  200 Euro [[168 GBP]\\
Members over 75: Voluntary donations are welcomed, but they are optional.
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The E- Ballot result was: : __Those in favour: 370;__ Those against; 32. [Document 3|Document  3 - Results from the E-ballots of members.pdf]\\
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*3.2.3 Additional motion for the room:
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''__"That the Members (present) are asked to approve a one-time establishment fee for all new (2026) members of 200 Euros, irrespective of age at the time of their acceptance of membership.”__''
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!4. Elections and appointments
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*__4.1 Election of a President__
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During 2025, There was a call for nominations for the vacant position of President. A search group was convened comprising the four class chairs plus [Dr Robert-Jan Smits|Member/Smits_Robert-Jan] (Honorary member) as independent chair. The search group interviewed the candidates and made a recommendation to the Board of trustees. The Board accepted the recommendations and moved to a member-wide confirmatory E-ballot proposing a single candidate – __Professor Don Dingwell__. The Ballot confirmed Professor Dingwell as the new President. The new President assumed the role of Chair of the Board of Trustees immediately following the ballot. __Professor Dingwell now formally assumes the role of President at this AGM__. His term runs for three years until the AGM of 2028. His position is renewable for a second and final term of three years.
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*__4.2a Appointment of a Class chair for Class A2 – Social and related Sciences__
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[Professor Martin Kahanec|Member/Kahanec_Martin] stood down as Class chair during 2025. [Professor Björn Wittrock|Member/Wittrock_Björn] stood in as ''pro tem'' Class chair to manage the identification of a new Class chair. The Board have approved the recommendation of the Section chairs (acting as Council) of Class A2 and have appointed XXXXXXX as the new Class chair, effective from 1%%sup st/%  January 2026. The Class chair has been co-opted onto the Board of trustees. 
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!Motion for the room

The members present are asked to approve an initial term of three years (2026 – 2029). This is renewable for a second and final term of three years.
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*__4.2b Appointment of a Class chair for Class A1 – Humanities__
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Professor Poul Holm completed his term as Class chair in 2024. He oversaw the identification and selection process for a new chair. __The Section chairs from the Humanities class recommended that the Board of trustees appoint [Professor Genoveva Marti|Member/Marti_Genoveva] (Barcelona)__ as the new Class chair with effect from the AGM of 2025 and for a period of three years (renewable for a final period of three years). The Boad of trustees accepted the recommendation.  

!Motion for the room

The members present are asked to approve an initial term of three years (to the AGM of 2028). This is renewable for a second and final term of three years.
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__Other Business (as time allows)__
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!5. Report on the AE engagement in the SAPEA  Horizon Europe Project and G-20 (S-20) – President Prof. Dingwell

!6.  Brief AE Regional Knowledge Hub Reports 2025/26

__Barcelona__ (Prof. Jaume Bertranpetit Academic Director,  Ms Maite Sánchez Riera - Hub Manager) \\
__Bergen__ (Prof. Eystein Jansen Academic Director, Ms Kristen Baaken - Hub Manager) \\
__Bucharest__ (Sorin Antohi Executive Director,  Grigore Vida, - Hub Manager)\\
__Budapest__ (Prof. Peter Hegyi Academic Director, Hub manager)  \\
__Cardiff__ (Prof. Ole Petersen  Academic Director)\\
__Tbilisi__ (Prof. David Lordkipanidze Academic Director, Ms Natia Khuluzauri – Hub Manager) \\
__Wroclaw __(Prof. Arkadiusz Wojs Academic Director, Ms Anna Jarosz – Hub Manager) \\
__Graz Data Centre__ (Helmut Leitner - Technical Director, Ms Dana Kaiser - Administrator)\\

!7. Report by the Editor-in-Chief of the European Review – Professor Alban Kellerbauer

!8 Report by our Patron member The Hungarian Research Network (HUN-REN) – Professor Balázs Gulyás 

!9. Future plans (President)

!10. Future annual conferences

!11. Motion from Professor Cinzia Ferrini ( Philosophy) Trieste (and others) -  There will be a brief exchange around the following motion – no vote is needed:

__Motion:__ ''a policy to favour participation in the annual conference''
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a.. Members who only come to attend the meeting, without any role in the organization and program and/or without any financial support from their universities, face increasingly higher costs for traveling, accommodation (in expensive cities like Barcelona or Münich) and the registration rate (early bird of this year raised by 25%, 340 euros for the regular rate). In sum, many have renounced to join, especially from sections that do not sufficiently motivate participation involving their members with calls and attractive programs. Although this motion is under my sole responsibility and initiative, I personally shared this concern among a number of colleagues from the Humanities.
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b. The annual conference works as a catalyst and general context for regional hubs' activities, giving to members the unique possibility to meet and connect with colleagues of all disciplines across Europe. This exchange and encounter is at the very core of the AE's mission, is nothing but its ‘lymph’, and the Board should adopt a more inclusive policy to facilitate and encourage broader participation by all members, by reducing economic obstacles.
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c. Some suggestions:\\
i. empowering the action of class chairs to relaunch under-represented sections in the general annual program\\
ii. reduce general AE expenses to allocate more funds to the annual conference and/or reduce its  budget by limiting costs to strictly necessary expenses \\
iii. select localities where the organization costs (from catering to hotels) are more affordable\\
iv. reduce registration fees, calculating the necessary costs in a differentiated way: revise the current system of exemptions and charges, and/ or adopt the scaled annual membership fee to the conference registration rate\\
v. facilitate the payment of annual fees which entitles participation at the annual conference, allowing for payment with credit cards, instead of bank transfers which can be expensive and complicated from some countries
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Sincerely yours\\
Cinzia Ferrini (MAE)

!12. Questions from the membership

!13. Closing remarks (The President).

!14. Announcement; Call for nominations for election to membership – opened 01 October 2025 - 31 January 2026

!NOTES:

*[Trustee (Activity) 2024 report  and 2024 examined accounts|Acad_Main/Publications/Academia_Europaea_Annual_Activity_Reports_and_Annual_Accounts]\\ 
*[2025 consolidated AGM agenda and documents|2025 consolidated AGM agenda and documents.pdf] (pdf)
*[AGM 2025 agenda slides|AGM 2025 agenda slides.pptx] (pptx)
*[AE Statutes and regulations|Acad_Main/About_us/Governance]\\
*[AE Section chairs and committees|Acad_Main/About_us/Academic_Management]

!Regional Knowledge Hub websites

__Barcelona:__ [https://aebarcelona.eu] 	\\
__Bergen:__ [https://aebergen.w.uib.no]\\
__Bucharest:__ [https://acadeurobucharest.eu]\\
__Budapest:__ [https://mta.hu/aebudapest]\\
__Cardiff:__ [http://aecardiffknowledgehub.wales]\\
__Wroclaw:__ [http://acadeuro.wroclaw.pl]\\
__Tbilisi:__ [https://www.aetbilisihub.org]\\
__Corporate website:__ [http://www.ae-info.org]  	
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The Executive Secretary, __Ms Friederike Brandthaus__, AE Munich, 2025\\
Support office at London – __Dr David Coates__ and __Ms Teresa McGovern__
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!!Archive

*[2024 Annual Business Meeting of Members|2024 Annual_Business_Meetings]

*[2023 Annual Business Meeting of Members|2023 Annual Business Meeting of Members]

*[2022 Annual Business Meeting of Members|2022 Annual Business Meeting of Members]

*[2021 Annual Business Meeting of Members|2021 Annual Business Meeting of Members]

*[2019 Annual Business Meeting of Members|2019 Annual Business Meeting of Members]

*[2018: Annual Business Meeting of Members|2018 Annual Business Meeting of Members]

*[2017: Annual Business Meeting of Members|2017 Annual Business Meeting of Members]

*[2016: Annual Business Meeting of Members|2016 Annual Business Meeting of Members]

*[2015: Annual Business Meeting of Members|2015 Annual Business Meeting of Members]

*[2014: Annual Business Meeting of Members|2014 Annual Business Meeting of Members]

*[2013: Annual Business Meeting of Members|2013 Annual Business Meeting of Members]