TYA UK Board Meeting Minutes

Meeting held at the John Lyon Room, Unicorn Theatre on September 8th 2008 at 1.00

 

1. Present: Steve Ball (SB), Ben Eccles (BE), Akua Obeng Frimpong (AOF),  Paul Harman (PH), Guy Holland (GH), Marigold Hughes (MH), Vicky Ireland (VI), Jude Merrill (JM) Richard Croxford (RC), Jeremy Turner (JT), Karen Draisey (KD) Steve Collins (SC), Nina Hagiyianni (NH)

 Apologies:  Ali FitzGibbon (AF), Kevin Lewis (KL) Tony Graham (TG), 

2.Notes of Last Meeting: PH proposed that the minutes for the last meeting (dated 26th June 2008) were an accurate record of the meeting, GH seconded this proposition

 

3. Major Agenda Item: three year development plan

 

BE presented the development plan to the board, clarifying that the plan focused on three main questions (i) what do we want to do? (ii) what are we doing now? (iii) what changes do we need to make to get there? BE stated that the purpose of this drafted document was the subsequent development of an action plan. BE then proceeded to go through the plan.

 

BE asked the board to separate into sub-groups focusing on different objectives of development such as Lobbying/Advocacy, International activity etc, stating that these development objectives would form an important component of the overall plan. In these groups, board members articulated agreed actions to be taken in furtherance of these objectives and a three-year timescale for these actions. BE asked those present to submit their responses by Thursday 11^th September.

 

SB stated that TYA UK would not approach ACE for funding until this strategy document was in place.

 

 

4. Devolution of TYA UK

 

SB raised the issue of a devolved structure, which would see England, Wales, Scotland and N.Ireland having their own TYA organisations. SB suggested that the chairs of these different organisations would form the basis of TYA UK.

 

SB noted that at the last board meeting GH voiced objections to this proposal. SB informed those present that he had held initial conversations with Richard Croxford re. Northern Ireland and with Jeremy Turner re. Wales and he wanted to use this opportunity to further these conversations.

 

RC expressed the concern about the size of the sector in Northern Ireland, which is comparatively small and that he is worried about missing out on the opportunities that the current structure offers. RC stated that he had talked to Ali Fitzgibbon at Young At Art about his concerns and they had decided that as long as the four countries are represented on TYA UK then the proposed structure need not have adverse repercussions. RC stated that the necessity for strong communication in between meetings was high and also that the meetings between the four chairs would need to be longer than the current board meetings. RC concluded by stating that the devolution would have a positive effect on their relationship with ASSITEJ Ireland – which is growing stronger.

 

JT began by stating that he became involved in ASSITEJ GB twenty years ago because of a desire to build bridges between countries, progressing to say that since the government structure has changed it makes sense for TYA UK to match it with a devolved structure of its own. JT noted that there are a number of regions/countries within larger countries that have suggested to ASSITEJ International that that they should have their own country membership. At the moment, ASSITEJ works under UN criteria of member states - i.e. only accepts countries that are officially "states" - whether that will continue to happen in the future is unclear.

 

JT discussed the current structure for relationships between companies in Wales: there is now an association of these companies which work together to provide theatre for young audiences. The fact that this association is already in place would neatly dovetail with the idea of a devolved TYA UK and JT stated that it would be a great benefit for Wales to have their own identity.

 

SB reported on a conversation he had with Tony Reekie regarding the proposed devolution and that he had expressed support for the idea.

 

JT raised the issue that there are organisations in Scotland that don’t have a relationship with Imaginate and that they feel isolated. JT stated the necessity of ensuring that each of the countries of the UK are allowed to have access to TYA UK and also stated the importance of encouraging access to it.

 

KD expressed a concern regarding the potential dislocation of each country’s board members from the central hub of TYA UK, raising the possibility of other board members having an observer status. KD also suggested the idea of naming the central board organisation ASSITEJ UK and separating the four countries into TYA England, TYA Wales and TYA N.Ireland.

 

BE declared his support for observer status for meetings.

 

JT re-iterated that the idea of a devolved TYA UK can only work properly, if the board and the TYA UK membership promote an international awareness that TYA UK is compromised of the four countries and not just England. JT also suggested that the AGM of TYA UK takes place in a different country each year.

 

GH expressed surprise at the absence of the proposed plans for devolution in the organisational development plan. SB responded by saying that if the proposal for devolution was accepted at the AGM then the current organisational development plan would be for TYA England and that other countries could compile their own plans.

 

AOF suggested that this organisation development plan could be adopted by each of the four countries to prevent them having to “start from scratch”.

 

VI stated that it would be worth re-visiting the constitution and the principles outlined there, noting that it would be the function of this document to unite the four countries of the UK.

 

SB stated that he would plan a meeting in Belfast, Cardiff or Edinburgh with the four representatives of the central board.

 

MH raised the question of whether the board are proposing this devolution as a matter to be voted on at the AGM or whether we are informing the membership of it happening. MH stated that if it is a matter of voting, it might seem inappropriate to hold a meeting before the voting as that concretises the decision. It was stated that it would be a matter for voting on at the AGM.

 

SB articulated the nature of the proposal which would be voted upon at the AGM. The proposal would be to devolve TYA UK into four countries of the UK and that we hold two tiers of meeting 1) national meetings 2) TYA UK meetings involving chair representative and international reps. JM emphasised the importance of using the least prescriptive wording possible.

 

5. International Activity:

 

International Deputy Rep

 

It was proposed that the matter of the Deputy Rep should be an agenda item at the AGM and it was agreed that preparing a candidate for the next term is an important matter.

 

SB stated that Tony Graham had nominated Akua Obeng-Frimpong as the Deputy Representative.

 

JT stated that he would be in favour of the idea of bringing in somebody new. He noted that as we have decided to devolve the organisation – the International Representative and the Deputy Rep should not come from the same country.

 

SB responded by saying that, in principle, he agrees with JT on representation across the UK. He proposed that they initially look at a twelve month period – in which VI takes on the role and AOF “shadows” her and then re-assess the situation in twelve months – once the TYA UK structure has been finalised.

 

KD pledged her support for AOF as opposed to making hypothetical decisions on candidates from N.Ireland, Scotland and Wales.

 

PH emphasised the importance of having an open and equitable system for electing next candidate.

 

PH proposed that we have delay until 09, by which time the new candidate could be elected. Until then, the position could be left in the hands of VI and AOF.

 

Following a vote it was agreed that VI will continue as Deputy International Rep until the 2009 AGM when an election for the post will take place.

 

International Rep. Report

 

PH explained that the shape of Take Off has changed and shifted in the last few weeks. PH had originally programmed two events linked together i) Small Size ii) Wed-Fri “old format” Take Off e.g. discussion and performances.

 

Recently, the board of CTC decided that the necessary resources (namely the allocation of time of the paid employees of CTC and of Darlington Arts Centre) could not be made available and the scale of the festival had to be reduced. PH then explained that the current situation is that the early years project is going ahead as intended but will be a separate event to Take Off.

 

PH asked for board approval to go ahead with preparing a small conference: a TYA event looking to discuss action points for the next decade.

 

PH announced that VI will go to represent UK at the LINZ festival and also informed the board of a meeting of African countries that is taking place in November/December and the possibility of sending someone to represent the UK, on the basis that whoever travels writes a report about their experiences.

 

JM suggested that some of PH’s funds go towards supporting productions and ensuring more British work gets seen. It was also proposed that a portion of these funds be allocated to Next Generation projects.

 

With regard to the 2011 World Congress, VI enquired as to what how we want to represent ourselves and what work/movements we want to showcase – suggesting that work focusing on disability, TIE and multi-cultural performance has attracted significant international interest. VI stated that the above items can be represented more through workshops than through actual performances and that these fields can be as much tied to “thinkers” as to actual examples of practice.

 

6. Next Generation: Nina Hagiyianni to discuss ACE report

 

NH embarked on “feeding back” the ASSITEJ World Congress 2011 Next Generation project to the board, discussing the project as a professional development opportunity - born out a desire on behalf of the organisers of the Festival/ Congress to inject younger influence into ASSITEJ. NH explained that the project was partly for the development of individuals and partly for the development of the network as a whole – questioning how ASSITEJ works and what role younger practitioners might have in the structure of ASSITEJ

 

NH spoke enthusiastically about the opportunities the project afforded her in regard to engaging with other artists across the world. Fired up by the project and by the other participants, NH spoke about continuing the dialogue with the main “next generation” group and it is hoped that the work of this group will continue in other forms; not just for the people involved in this group but for a wider group of emerging practitioners.

 

7. Treasurer’s Report

 

GH presented his report to the board and enquired as to the lack of audited accounts over the past two years – which Wendy York informed Guy was "at the request of the board". PH explained this by saying that the annual turnover of TYA UK is so small that it falls below the threshold of obligation. GH responded by saying that the accounts for 06/07 and 07/08 will be done – that TYA UK is not in trouble and it is, moreover, simply a matter of catching up.

 

GH proposed that the current accountant would cease to be employed by TYA UK, in favour of another accountant – perhaps from the Unicorn or Quicksilver. GH suggested that the Quicksilver accountant be approached.

 

SB put this proposition to vote and it was unanimously passed.

 

GH emphasised the importance of deciding upon budgetary spending, but acknowledged that this cannot be decided until the Organisational Development Plan has been completed. Within this spending, GH agreed that professional development was a priority area

 

8. A.O.B.

 

The next board meeting will take place on Wednesday 12th November at 4pm in Darlington.

 

VI stated that Tony Mack is coming to London soon if anyone was free to meet up with him…