Report IAG General Assembly, 10 May 2026 Brussels
The meeting of the General Assembly of the International Ambassadors Guild for the year 2026 was held in Brussels, on Sunday 10 May 2026, at 12.00 pm. at the Offices of the Scouts AISBL (Belgium), (LES SCOUTS, aisbl) rue de Dublin, 21, 1050 Brussels, kindly organized by Anton Penneman. As you may know we could not any more use the premises of the Scouts Pluralistes since they moved.
On the spot we were welcomed by Alain Roba, President of the Belgian Scouts and Guides Fellowship (BSGF). He was pleased to have us in these premises he had been frequenting since 1952 when he became a Scout. On behalf of the GA members, Nana thanked Alain for giving us access to the offices of the Scouts and for his warm welcome.
Present : From the Board: Nana Gentimi, president, Anthony Florizoone, treasurer; Elin Richards, member.
Members of the GA: Pierre Decoene, Jean-Luc De Paepe, Angela Dernbach, Maita Garcia Arrizabalaga, Faouzia Kchouk, while six members sent a proxy for voting.
We were very happy to welcome Thorvald Sigmarsson from Iceland and 2 new members Brigitte Ahlert, from Germany and Wilhelm Kerschbaum from Austria, who were present as observers.
Since our Secretary Helen Watson was absent, Nana proposed that the minutes of the meeting be taken by Faouzia Kchouk who was very kind to accept and this was agreed by those present.
The Minutes of the 2025 General Assembly, the Report 2025 and the Financial Report 2025 were presented and approved.
Members “Gone Home”: Nana invited the members to observe a minute of silence for our friends, IAG members “Gone Home” in 2025. Jane Wardropper (UK, IAG Secretary) , Roselyne Daenens, Pierre Decoene’s wife ( Belgium) and Hansdieter Wittke (Germany). They will be deeply missed.
Nana informed the GA that our Vice - President, Bjorg Walstad and our Secretary, Helen Watson, resigned from their positions on the Board for health reasons. They will remain members of the General Assembly. Nana, after wishing them the best for their health, thanked them for their commitment and for supporting the IAG, each from their position and for the time they have exercised their duties, with the hope that they will be with us again soon.
Nana looked back on her decision to become a member of the IAG and how, with the encouragement and support of Bjorg, Jane and Mida, she took over the Presidency of the IAG. She noted that she feels that the time has come to hand over the Presidency so that there is a renewal. However, because Bjorg's and Helen’s resignation creates a vacancy in the Board, she stated that she intends to remain President for another year and asked everyone to try to find a new person for this position.
In the light of the above and to be in line with the Belgian law, we need to have two more members on the Board. Nana invited Elin Richards to become Vice-Chair and she accepted and Jean-Luc to be also on the Board, as Secretary and he accepted. Nana asked Faouzia if she could become a member of the Board. Faouzia agreed to be an ex officio. She would be involved with the minutes.
As a result of the above the IAG Board for 2026-2027 is formed as follows.
Nana Gentimi, President, Elin Richards Vice-President, Jean-Luc de Paepe, Secretary, Anthony Florizoone, Treasurer, Faouzia Kchouk, ex officio Secretary and members Mida Rodrigues, Martine Levy and Ana Rodrigues the Chairman of the ISGF World Committee, ex - officio member.
The General Assembly unanimously approved the New Board.
Participation in ISGF events in 2025
Three ISGF Sub-Regional Gatherings took place in 2025
a) The Nordic-Baltic (NBSR) Gathering, organized in Norway, June 2025. Two IAG members, who were present at the Gathering, received their Life member diplomas after 10 years of annual membership. Helen Watson, Secretary and Angela Dernbach, IAG member, responsible for its fb, were present and made the presentation.
b) The Western Europe (WESR) Gathering, 10-14 October 2025, organized in the village of Bergeijk (Netherlands). Around 10 members of the Guild attended the event. A new member from Ghana was welcomed. 2 Members became Life members after having been annual members for over 10 years. They received their Life Member diploma. Helen Watson, secretary and Angela Dernbach, IAG member, responsible for its fb were present and made the presentation.
c) The 7th Southern Europe Sub-Region (SESR), and the 18th Mediterranean meeting (MED) were organized in Djerba, Tunisia (1-6 November 2025) with the participation of Nana Gentimi and Maita Arrizabalaga. A presentation was made with the participation of SESR members and members from Tunisia. There were no new members from the Arab Countries but a Life member from Spain.
Future ISGF Events
ISGF 12th EUROPE CONFERENCE CYPRUS, 2-6 November 2026
The Conference was scheduled for March 2026 but due to the problems in the Middle East it was put off for next November. We are looking forward to participating and meeting IAG members and friends trying to promote IAG work and recruit new members.
Reports on Projects funded in 2025:
In 2025 the Budget was €10,000, which supported the following projects:
1. KENYA –Leadership Training events and Family Empowerment sessions, also an extra support after the devastating floods.
2. IVORY COAST – To expand the Septic Tank at the CKFN site.
3. GERMANY – To build an outdoor kitchen at the Thuringian campsite.
4. NETHERLANDS – To install self-generated energy equipment (whole site being rebuilt following a fire.
5. BELGIUM – To install a green roof on a new Scout Group building.
6. SWEDEN – To phase out fossil fuels and switch to green electricity for the Sea Scout activities.
Projects applications and Budget 2026
The list of projects requesting support in 2025 was discussed.
a. Benin; To buy computers and logistics for the Scout Headquarters.
b. Kenya: To organize Scout camp, Leaders’ training, Family empowerment, Environmental campaign plus an extra amount as relief after devastating floods in 2026.
c. Austria: For a year exhibition to celebrate 75 years of NSGF and 50 years of unity of Scouts and Guides.
After a thorough discussion it was agreed to allocate only 5000 Euros for the above projects, as the income in 2025 was not as satisfactory as expected. The transfer of the money will take place as soon as all the necessary procedures to the Belgian Authorities will be completed by our Treasurer, who will also provide the new IAG address.
Update of the Constitution ;
Pierre worked on this document in association with Anthony, Helen and Angela.
The following points, in accordance with the Belgian law, were put forward:
• The registration of the IAG’s offices.
• The obligation to have 3 to 4 members on the Board.
• The necessary decision to renew Anthony’s mandate as director (that would facilitate some administrative acts within Belgium).
The above were unanimously agreed.
However, any further amendment to the Constitution would have to be carried out by a lawyer, a process that would be costly and something that is not feasible under the current circumstances.
Taking the above into account, it was agreed that the proposal to amend and update the IAG Constitution should not be implemented for the time being to avoid additional cost and since IAG is operating legally.
COMMUNICATION
Please note the new IAG email address
General Assembly in 2027
The date of the 2027 meeting of the General Assembly will be announced later this year when the date of the annual ISGF World Committee meeting is confirmed, taking also into account that 2027 is the year of the 31ST ISGF World Conference in Kuwait, 17-22 October.
It is convenient to plan our GA before or after the ISGF World Committee meeting in order to have members of the WCOM attending our meeting. This would request that we plan our meeting at the same time as the WCOM’s, whenever possible.
I wish to thank the members who attended the General Assembly 2026 for their positive work and dedication. IAG needs support to continue.
Hope to see many members in Cyprus next November.
YIF
Nana Gentimi
IAG President of the Board
Athens, 25 May 2026
pdf Report IAG General Assembly, 10 May 2026(316 KB)