2008 FGPA ANNUAL MEETING

Quebec, Canada

(Edited with  notes taken by Tony Affigne of the USA, Silvaine Zimermann of Canada and Paty Doneau of Mexico)

The General Assembly is integrated by representatives of: Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, the United States, Mexico, and Venezuela. Representatives of the Federations of the Green Parties of Africa, Asia-Pacific and Europe, as well as representatives of the Green Global Coordination and the Global Green Network participate as observers. Representatives of the Green Party of Bolivia, Party Green Party of Guatemala and Party Les Verts de Guyane have been officially invited and are present at the meeting.

The Co-chairman Marco Antonio Mroz of Brazil inaugurates the Annual Meeting of the General Assembly of the Federation, introducing the other Co-chairmans: Julia Willebrand of the United States and Jorge González Torres of Mexico.

The Co President of the FPVA, Jorge González Torres of Mexico, opens the meeting indicating the increasing global force of the Greens and the necessity to continue working to further fortify the unit among all the Greens of the planet. He emphasizes that the main objective of the annual meetings of the FPVA is to share experiences and achievements among the members, observers and guests in order to strengthen the relations and contribute to the advancement of all the Green Parties of the world.

Marco Antonio Mroz proposes Tony Affigne, of the USA, as moderator. Julia Willebrand of the USA proposes Silvaine Zimermann, of Canada, to take notes for the draft of the meeting.

Agenda
Presentation of the proposed ,Agenda previously prepared with recommendations  of the Co Presidents of the FPVA and  the delegates of the member parties. The Agenda is approved in the following terms:

1. Introductions of the delegates to the General Assembly of the FPVA, as well as of the observers and guests
2. Definite approval of the act of the Venezuela Annual meeting.
3. Proposal for the acceptance with status of observers of: Green Party of Bolivia, Green Party the Greens of Guatemala and Party Les Verts de Guyane.
4. Proposal for the creation of a Foundation of  the Green Parties of the Americas.
5. Overseas European parliamentary elections.
6. Parliamentary elections of Mercosur 2010.
7. Development of the joint position of the FGPA, within the framework of the Global Green, for the World Social Forum of Bethlehem, Brazil in January of 2009.
8. Analysis of the participation of the Green Young people in the FGPA
9. Creation of the Women Committee in the FGPA
10. Presentation of the project to create the Secretariat of the Global Green as approved in the Green Global Congress of Sao Paolo. Position of the FGPA on the matter.
11. Analysis of the roll of the Global Green Network in relation to the proposed Secretariat.  Position of the FGPA on the matter.
12. Executive committee, rights and obligations.
13. Executive Committee election.
14. Web site FGPA
15. Statutes revision FGPA
16. Election of the country for the  next Annual Meeting
17. Other motions (Presentation of observers and non official guests)
18. Approval of the declaration and  Closing Ceremony


AGENDA OF THE 2008 ANNUAL MEETING

1.   Introduction of delegates, participant observers and official guests.

FGPA Co-Presidentes
Julia Willebrand (the USA)       Jorge González Torres (Mexico)   Marco Antonio Mroz (Brazil)

FGPA Delegates  
Julia Willebrand (United States, Green Party of the United States)
Jorge González Torres (Mexico, Partido Verde Ecologista de México)
Marco Antonio Mroz (Brasil, Partido Verde do Brasil)
Leonardo Álvarez Romo (Mexico, Partido Verde Ecologista de México)
Fabio Mariño Vargas (Colombia, Partido Verde Oxígeno)
Jean Cloutier (Canada, Parti Vert du Canada)
Silvaine Zimmermann (Canada, Green Party of Canada)
Fulvia Monti (Venezuela, Movimiento Ecológico de Venezuela)
Manuel Diaz Capdevilla (Venezuela, Movimiento Ecológico de Venezuela)
Manuel Baquedano (Chile, Partido Verde Ecologista de Chile)
Tony Affigne (United States, Green Party of the United States)
Roberta Moreno (Brasil, Partido Verde do Brasil)
 
FGPA Executive Secretariat
Patricia Doneau (Mexico,  Partido Verde Ecologista de Mexico)

Observers of the Green Federations and the Green Global organisms
Margaret Blakers (Australia, The Green; Global Green Coordination-Asia/Pacific)
Catherine Grèze (France, Les Verts; Global Green Coordination/Europe)
Johan Hamels (Belgium, Groen; Global Green Coordination/Europe)
Adamou Garba (Niger, Rassemblement pour a Sahel Vert; Global Green Coordination/Africa)
John Rensenbrink (the USA, Green Party of the United States,  Global Green Network)
Justine McCabe (the USA, Green Party of the United States Co-chairman, International Committee)

Official Guests to the FGPA Annual Reunion
Margot Soria Saravia (Green Party of Bolivia)
Roberto Cáceres (Party the Greens  of Guatemala)
Matilde Baján (Party the Greens  of Guatemala)
Michel Didier Dumoutier (Party Les Verts  de Guyane)

2. – Report  of the Annual Meeting of the Federation of the Green Parties of the Americas, that took place in Caracas-Valencia, Venezuela 2007
Participants are informed that the report of the Venezuela meeting  was sent to all the members of the FGPA and that it was placed and available in the Web page of the Federation during the course of several months. The observations of the participants were taken into account and were included in the act. It is unanimously accepted.

3. – Propose to incorporate new parties with an observer status.
The Assembly unanimously agreed to grant to the Green Party of Bolivia and the Party “The Greens” of Guatemala, an observer status as a previous step to initiate the process towards obtaining a full membership, after fulfilling the established requirements. The process will be reviewed during the following annual meeting of the FPVA. Manuel Baquedano  (Chile) is the one in charge of receiving and reviewing the documentation required from  both parties.

The Assembly unanimously agreed to grant to the Party Les Verts de Guyane an observer status. The Assembly also  agreed to analyze the possibility to include in the statutes a new kind  of permanent observer status destined to  parties in the  Continent that have  similar conditions to those of Les Verts de Guyane.

Following approval of their  observer status, the representatives of the Green Party of Bolivia, The Green Party of Guatemala and Party Les Verts de Guyane, were welcomed to sit among the General Assembly. Their representatives informed the Assembly of the situation and the achievements of their parties.

4. - Proposal for the creation of a Foundation of Green Parties of the Americas
After hearing an  Exploratory Committee report by  Marco Antonio Mroz ( Brazil), Manuel Diaz Capdevilla (Venezuela) and Manuel Baquedano (Chile), the General Assembly unanimously agreed  to endorse in principle, the  creation of a non-governmental organization, a Green Foundation, to promote the growth of the Green parties in the Americas.
The Assembly unanimously appointed Manuel Baquedano  as the Coordinator of the project. It was agreed that each party member of the FGPA could designate a person in charge of the legal matters concerning the creation of the Foundation and that the final proposal and the draft of the statutes should be distributed in Spanish and in English, and sent to the members of the FGPA no later than a month prior to the 2009 Annual Meeting.

5. European parliamentary elections of overseas deputies.
The Assembly unanimously  agreed that  the member Parties of the FGPA should support their  Green militants with double nationality, with the capability to be candidates in the European parliamentary elections. Fulvia Monti (Venezuela) displayed the specific case of the Italian Greens  and the elections programmed for June 7, 2009. Marco Antonio Mroz was designated to provide legal details and background information.

6. Parliamentary elections of the Mercosur in 2010.
The Assembly unanimously agreed to support  the members of the Green Parties of the FGPA in the Mercosur area: Argentina, Brazil, and Venezuela (Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, and Peru are associated members of  Mercosur) in their efforts to organize the Green candidacies for the Mercosur Parliament,  to be elected  in 2010. The Assembly also agreed to  recommend that the Green Parties of the Mercosur area should  form a working committee  in order to  analyze joint preparations  leading to  the participation in the electoral process of the Mercosur Parliament.

7. Development of the joint position of the FGPA, within the framework of the Global Greens, for the World Social Forum of Bethlehem, Brazil in January of 2009.
Upon  request of the representatives  of the Global Green Coordination (GGC present in the meeting: for  África (Adamou Garba), for  the Americas (Jorge González, Julia Willebrand and Marco Mroz); for  the Asia-Pacific (Margaret Blakers) and for  Europe (Catherine Grèze and Johan Hamels), the General Assembly analyzed the importance of a Green Global policy, to be advanced  by the Greens attending the World Social Forum in Bethlehem, Brazil, on 27-31 January 2009 and the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, 28 January – 1 February,2009. The Assembly  unanimously agreed  to oppose  the resurgence of  nuclear energy development  throughout the world, to condemn the use of food crops in the production of ethanol, to strongly endorse the accelerated development of  solar, wind, and other renewable and sustainable energy sources, and to explain the Global Greens vision to the world, in  its ecological crucial dimensions, as well as in its positive economic dimensions. It was also agreed that the representatives of the FGPA in the Global Green  Coordination will present the approved Federation position  to the rest of the Global Green representatives,  to promote   a coordinated action.


8. Analysis of the Young  Greens participation in the FGPA
Roberta Moreno, (Brazil), presented  a rough draft of statutes for the formal integration of the  Young Greens of the Americas  organization. The statutes were produced from the works carried out during the Sao Paolo Green Global Congress, in  2008. The Assembly unanimously agreed to support the efforts of the Young Greens and  if necessary, to  open statutory spaces in the parties in order to enable the participation of the Young Greens within their own parties. The statutes of the organization of the Young Greens of the Americas should  be presented for their revision to the FGPA Assembly during the next annual meeting to be celebrated in 2009. It was also agreed that the member Parties of the FGPA will support the Young Greens of Americas  so they can  achieve an important participation during  the next meeting of the Global Young Greens in Graz, Austria,  30 August – 6  September  2009.

9. Integration of  the FGPA Women’s Committee
Fulvia Monti of Venezuela made a presentation on this matter, remembering that during the Venezuela’s Annual Meeting, with the attendance of all the women  delegates to the General Assembly of 2007, it was  agreed to present a formal proposal in order to create within the FGPA a Women’s Committee. The General Assembly, approved by majority the creation of the Women’s Committee and agreed to incorporate it into  the statutes. The organization of this Committee will be coordinated by Fulvia Monti (Venezuela), with the participation of Flor de Maria Hurtado ( Peru), Claudia Moy ( Argentina) and Regina Goncalvez (Brazil).


10. Presentation of the project for the creation of the Secretariat of the Global Greens as decided in the  Global Green  Congress of Sao Paolo and the FGPA  on the matter.
The representative  of the Federation of  Green Parties of Asia- Pacific, Margaret Blakers ( Australia), along with other members of the Global Green Coordination participating in the General Assembly of the FGPA, displayed a proposal to establish a Global Green Secretariat, and to approve a work plan for the Global Greens, that would serve as the Secretariat’s like  mandate, until the next Global Green Congress in 2012 or 2013.

In principle, the design and functions of the proposed Secretariat (GGS)  include:
*Improve the cooperation among the Global Greens 
*Develop joint opinions and campaigns
*Facilitate Green presence at global events
*Strengthen the relations with the Global Green Network (GGN)
*Strengthen interchanges of knowledge and support among  the Global Grees.
*Promote Green values and help implement the Global Green Charter
* A proposal that the secretariat has its site in Australia.
* A proposal that it is governed by the Global Green Coordination (GGC)
* An initial budget of 100,000 Euros per year
GGC requested  that the member parties of the Federation : 
*Distribute the Work  in order  to be analyzed by their national parties
* React within  one month of  receiving the final Plan of the GGC
*The Plan must be authorized by the FGPA, as well as by the other three Green  Federations.
* Develop a system to finance the Secretariat’s work  (including financing of 1% as requested)

The General Assembly of the FGPA unanimously agreed to approve in principle the Global Green  Work Plan, and the Secretariat’s  proposal.