BackThe Bylaws, Membership & Governance Committee, appointed during the Vienna meeting of the I.O.I. Board of Directors, held a meeting at the I.O.I. General Secretariat in Vienna on 27 May 2011.
I.O.I. President Beverley A. Wakem chaired the Committee and its membership includes Mr John R. Walters, Regional Vice-President of the African Region, Mr Rafael Ribó, Regional Vice-President of the European Region, Ms Lynette Stephenson, Board Member of the Caribbean & Latin American Region as well as Ms Diane Welborn, Board Member of the North American Region, and all attended the Vienna meeting. The Committee was joined by Mr Mats Melin, former acting IOI President and current consultant to the Committee as well as I.O.I. Secretary General Peter Kostelka.
Building on the work begun at the Board meeting in Bermuda, Mats Melin produced a refined draft paper detailing possible changes to strengthen and clarify the role of the I.O.I. in a constantly changing world. It is important to note that, in our ambition to be more inclusive in drafting the By Laws and to provide for governance changes, clear "bottom lines" need to be confirmed – that is, identifying the basic principles which we wish to reflect the nature and character of the IOI. There is also an ambition reflected to widen the membership of the Institute and to enable the organisation to grow and develop as the leader in the field of Ombudsmanship.
A revised draft will be considered by the Bylaws Committee, then the full Board and then will be issued as a consultation document to all members. The results of this consultation will be considered by the Board and a final draft prepared for consideration at the World Conference.
