MEMBERSHIP APPROVES KEY DECISIONS AHEAD OF 82ND BWF ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING 2021
On Saturday 30 January 2021, the Badminton World Federation (BWF) staged its first virtual Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) as part of the comprehensive planning process leading up to the 82nd BWF Annual General Meeting (AGM) and the scheduled BWF Council Elections required to take place this year.
The EGM addressed a range of Council proposals to amend the BWF Constitution to include a clear framework for AGMs to take place in a virtual or hybrid format if necessary, and to use electronic voting systems.
This was in response to BWF Council’s conclusion that there was a high risk many voting delegates from Member Associations would not be able to travel and participate in a physical AGM called for 22 May 2021 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and restrictions around travel.
All three proposals were voted in favour of:
To ratify the interim procedures the Council has used to calculate Voting Strength due to the COVID-19 impact;
To approve amendments to the BWF Constitution; and
To approve the holding of a Virtual AGM on 22 May 2021.
A delighted BWF President Poul-Erik Høyer said this was an important step in allowing BWF to future-proof the key structures and governance procedures of the sport amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
"BWF’s focus continues to be on good governance and the Council proposals yesterday aim to do just that," Høyer said.
"Following the resounding success of our first Virtual AGM last July, and the slim prospect of a face-to-face AGM in 2021, we proposed to the Membership a framework for constitutional changes in preparation of a second Virtual AGM.
"The Council also gave due consideration and looked at the various COVID-19 factors that affected the criteria in the constitution related to calculating voting strength.
"I am pleased to confirm then that the BWF Membership passed all three motions tabled.
"I want to congratulate the Membership for taking this step and making it possible for BWF to maintain its high governance standards.
"This paves the way for further governance history to be made when we conduct our 82nd AGM and BWF Council Elections virtually on 22 May 2021."
There were 228 participants, of which 112 were voting delegates representing a quorum. Voting was conducted electronically using Lumi Technologies, and an independent lawyer was present to have oversight on the technology used and be witness to the EGM. The EGM was delivered in five languages – English, French, Spanish, Russian and Arabic.
Further details of the agenda and the full outcomes of the BWF Virtual EGM will be published in the minutes within a month on https://corporate.bwfbadminton.com/egm-2021/.
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