Held on Friday the 2nd of April 2005
London, England
Scribe: Lynn Leith
Status: Final Version
Revision: For final approval at the General Meeting 2006, Princeton
Web site: Posted to the web site April 28, 2005
Published: April 28, 2005
The President of the DAISY Consortium, Elsebeth Tank, opened the meeting at 9:00 a.m. She welcomed the participants to the General Meeting in London, England and thanked everyone for coming.
Each person attending introduced themselves and their affiliation. Those in attendance were:
Chris Friend brought greetings from Dr. William Rolland and gave assurance of the WBU's commitment to the DAISY Consortium. He confirmed one of the WBU leading objectives: achieving a world which is accessible to blind and partially sighted people. The WBU is looking forward to working with DAISY and IFLA LBS. Elsebeth Tank returned the greetings, stating that the DAISY Consortium looks forward to cooperation with the WBU.
There were no apologies received.
Lynn Leith was confirmed as scribe.
All 12 of the Full Members were present. The General Meeting had a quorum.
The voting Members representatives were:
Elsebeth Tank, President of the DAISY Consortium, noted that the notice of the General Meeting was sent February 8th and the papers were sent March 17th, therefore the meeting is put forward according to the Articles of Association.
The agenda was approved, with the addition of item 9.3 Elect the Treasure, which will be addressed after the budget.
RESOLUTION: That the minutes of the previous General Meeting, held in Zürich, May 7th, 2004, be confirmed.
The minutes were approved.
The Financial Report for 2004 (paper 2) detailing the financial highlights, the Statement of Operating Income and Expense for 2004 (paper 3a), the Balance Sheet as of 31st December 2004 (paper 3b), the Auditor's Report (paper 3c), and the Budget for 2005 - 2006 (paper 8) were distributed by e-mail in advance of the General Meeting.
The positive balance of $109,000 in Operating Income and Expense is a result of reduced staff costs, reduced travel expenses, and reduced costs related to projects. The reduction in staff costs is temporary and does not indicate that additional staff resources are not required. The other figures are similar to those in previous years.
The Balance Sheet is divided in 2 parts: assets and liabilities. The capital of $479,000 is allocated to the DFA project. Financially we are in a "safe" situation.
The Auditor's Report is standard. The official Auditor's Report will be circulated to Full members
RESOLUTION: That the Statement of Accounts, recording income and expenditure for the calendar year 2004, be received.
The resolution was approved.
RESOLUTION: That the Balance Sheet for the year ended on December 31st 2004, be received.
The resolution was received.
RESOLUTION: That the Auditor's Report, recommending that the General Meeting should approve the Statement of Accounts and Balance Sheet for 2004, be received and noted.
The resolution was received and noted.
The Annual Report was distributed by e-mail in advance of the General Meeting.
Elsebeth Tank read an excerpt from the report and also mentioned the Microsoft Follow up meeting held two days prior to the General Meeting, and that Members and Friends were invited to participate.
Elsebeth Tank invited comments and questions. None were forthcoming.
RESOLUTION: That the Annual Report for the year 2004 be adopted.
The resolution was adopted.
Bernhard Heinser explained the meaning of discharging the Board and that it is a legal requirement by Swiss law. By discharging the Board, the General Meeting takes over the responsibility for the work and the decisions made by the Board in 2004.
RESOLUTION: That the General Meeting discharges the Board for the year 2004.
The resolution was approved.
There were no new Full Members in 2004.
We are experiencing a growing commitment to the DAISY Consortium. In 2004, we have 3 new Associate Members:
RESOLUTION:That the decision of the President, to accept these organizations as Associate Members of the DAISY Consortium, be ratified.
The decision of the President was ratified, the resolution was approved.
Five applications for Associate membership have been received to this point in 2005. Elsebeth Tank welcomed them. At the 2006 General Meeting they will be submitted to the GM for acceptance. The organizations are:
In 2004 five new Friends joined the DAISY Consortium:
RESOLUTION: That the joining of the following organizations as DAISY Friends is noted with pleasure.
The resolution was approved and the new Friends were welcomed.
To date in 2005 one application for membership as a Friend has been received. Elsebeth Tank welcomed them. At the 2006 General Meeting they will be submitted to the GM for acceptance. The company is:
There are currently 12 Full Members, 51 Associate Members and 20 Friends of the DAISY Consortium.
Full Members are asked to appoint a representative to the Board. There were no changes to the Board representatives for this year.
RESOLUTION: That the names of the twelve persons serving on the DAISY Board of Directors and the Full Members which they represent are noted as follows:
The resolution was approved.
Elsebeth Tank presented the strategic plan for the years 2005 - 2006. When looking back it is impressive to see what we have gained and done: development of the Standard, production tools, creation of DAISY content, plus we have gained a good reputation giving us influence. A lot has been achieved. At same time it was clear we need to find a new way, to find improvement, a wider scope. We have taken the first steps in this process. We now need to develop a long term strategy for the next 10 years. The Board has been working through this and has asked for your input about what our focus should be for the next two years. We have begun to outline the long term plan. The strategic plan for 2005 and 2006 is a good plan, indicating what we want to achieve and what our goals are. Our Vision remains the same. The plan has 7 themes:
Yesterday we had our first open Board meeting to allow our Associate Members to participate more fully and have a greater understanding the organization.
Elsebeth Tank invited comments on the strategy.
Peter Osborne welcomed the approach to the strategy, saying it is inclusive and open. It has been possible to comment on it, and comments were incorporated. It seems a transition phase, making sure that members have what they need to continue to implement, while parts of it are reaching out to the future. Peter then asked if there is a process for the long term plant that can be inclusive in same way, a way for members to register what they think is important for the Consortium for the next 10 years.
Elsebeth replied that we have just started this process, and with the contribution from members, this process will be as open and inclusive as possible, including ideas from our shared community.
There were no other comments
RESOLUTION: That the Strategic Plan be approved.
The Strategic Plan was approved.
The Work Plan contains 28 separate projects over a 2 year period. There is a direct correspondence between the Strategic Plan and the Work Plan which will evolve over the next two year period. The Board has moved toward a process in which a project is identified that has a defined scope, deliverables and budget. It is then submitted to the Board for approval, and monies are then budgeted for the project. Some projects are 'core' projects, for example, standards activities and work. These do not have a specific project budget, but are contained within the overall budget. Other projects will have a separate budget line. We rely on our members to participate in Work Groups to move projects forward, for example, the DMFC (DAISY Multi Format Converter) project has 20 people on the list, and is an active project which is moving forward. Another such project is looking at tool development for DAISY/NISO standard DTB's. The 2005 Standard will be approved by ANSI in May. This Work Group is looking at an API that will make it easier for the creation of playback and production tools. A meeting including DAISY members, plus SMIL and W3C representatives will be held in May. This project is reflected in this year's and next year's budget.
Communication with our members needs to be improved and we need to get people communicating with each other to avoid duplication of effort.
Stephen King commented that the strategy is a strategy of all of us, Full and Associate Members and Friends; we have to take some responsibility to assist in these projects and help them to move forward.
George Kerscher noted that the Consortium sends a 'call for participation' from time to time, and that this is an opportunity for Members and Friends to participate. Active participation is required. Our Web site is being remade and we hope to be able to put up projects and work plans.
RESOLUTION: That the Work Plan be approved.
The resolution was approved.
Bernhard Heinser noted that the two largest sources of income for 2005 are membership fees and funding income for DFA (DAISY For All). Expenses include projects and standard expenses as incurred in past years. He explained that there is growing interest in DAISY, which will generate more work. The Board decided to increase staff by 2 FTE (Full Time Equivalent) at the Board meet in Hamburg. Current staffing is at 2 FTE. The most important position is the fund development position. With additional projects and work additional income sources are needed. In this year we expect two more FTE beginning in August or September. This is reflected in the 2005 budget.
There were no questions or comments regarding the budget
A verbal summary of the tentative budget for 2006 was given. Income includes an increase in the number of members and a 5% increase in membership fees. The US dollar is dropping. Income of $100,000 is shown as income from fund raising. In following years this figure should be higher.
RESOLUTION: That the budget for 2005 and the forward estimates through 2006 be received.
The resolution was approved, and the budget for 2005 and the forward estimates for 2006 are adopted and received.
To stay within the forward estimates for the 2006 budget, this increase is required. Costs have risen over the past 8+ years, but Membership fees have not increased.
Current membership fees are:
There was discussion about the proposed 5% membership fee for Full Members. It was confirmed that the increase, if accepted, would be effective January 2006.
There were no objections.
RESOLUTION: That the DAISY Consortium Full Membership fee be increased by 5% effective January 2006.
The Resolution was approved.
The proposed 5% membership fee for Associate Members and Friends was discussed. Hiroshi Kawamura expressed concern that this increase may be an issue for developing countries in relation to their local currencies. Organizations receiving support and training from DFA are asked to join the DAISY Consortium. Elsebeth Tank stated that the fees for Associate Member must be the same but noted that we do have the Developing Countries Grant specifically to address such concerns. Chris Friend asked if it is possible for a group of organizations to join together to become an Associate Member. It was explained that this is not permitted and the Articles of Association were quoted: "associate membership cannot be shared". Organizations s within a country may join to become a Full Member. In developing countries forming a legal body made up of several organizations is an option, as has been done in Thailand. The Thai Associate Member has legal status, and is made up of several organizations. This is not against the articles as it is a legal body.
Hiroshi Kawamura stated that he would like his reservations put on the record as he will approve this increase, but with a reservation for some measures to be taken to accommodate special cases in developing countries. Peter Osborne asked if the amount of the Developing Countries Grant would increase accordingly. The Board stated that developing country grants will increase to accommodate the increase in membership fees.
RESOLUTION: That the DAISY Consortium Associate Membership and Friend fees be increased by 5% effective January 2006.
The Resolution was approved, with the reservation as stated by Hiroshi Kawamura documented in the minutes.
The third proposed change in fees is the elimination of $35,000 entrance fee for Full Members. The reason for this is to attract more full members. There was discussion, with the following points raised:
Following the discussion the Board indicated that the proposal for removal of the Full Member entrance fee is withdrawn for further examination and consideration.
Three additional people joined the meeting at this point:
Bernhard Heinser agreed to continue in the position of Treasurer for a four year term.
RESOLUTION: That Bernhard Heinser be elected Treasure of the DAISY Consortium for a four year period.
The Resolution was approved.
This reorganization must be formally approved.
Elke Dittmer provided information about this change for those attending. They have a new copyright law, but still have to have contract with the Association of Publishers. To do this they need one legal entity to deal with this group. They therefore formed a single coordinated organization and wish to continue Full Membership with this new name.
RESOLUTION: That the reorganization of the German DAISY Consortium Full Member, under its new name (MEDIBUS - Media Association for Blind and Vision Impaired People), be formally approved.
The Resolution was approved.
Information on DFA is on the Internet at www.daisy-for-all.org. There is also a link from DAISY web site. Hiroshi Kawamura outlined the key points established with this project:
It was noted that the WSIS project is in DAISY Work Plan, that there is a budget for it, and that a portion of it is being funded by the DAISY Consortium. Hiroshi Kawamura is the project lead.
Ama Dadson of eTAP pointed out that DFA is focused in Asia, and that to have a similar project in Africa a sponsor would be needed. She asked if it be appropriate to ask Microsoft to sponsor this. It was explained that the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has been asked to support libraries for the blind, but this is not a priority for the Foundation. The DAISY Consortium will be working on changing this, and if successful, there may be an opportunity for approaching the Foundation for support for DAISY for Africa and other major initiatives. There are other foundations that can be approached at the same time. The DAISY fund developer would be involved in raising funds for implementation of DAISY around the world.
Chris Friend of Sight Savers International noted that there is an embryonic DAISY for Africa. South Africa, Ghana and Tunis are implementing or looking at implementing. At this point it is really a group to raise interest. The Secretary General has agreed to set up a discussion list for this group on the DAISY e-mail list management system.
Funding from the NIPPON Foundation is limited to Asian regions for focal point development, but some activities in developing countries in other parts possible, in particular the software and possibly some training can be shared. The Summit in Tunis will be one of best opportunities to look at ways to meet the needs of developing countries. One major aspect of the Summit is the Solidarity Fund for Southern Countries. The Summit will develop a 10 year plan of action. Invitations to Summit will be sent out.
There was discussion about the cost of DAISY players and what can be done to develop inexpensive players that can be used in developing countries. There are plans for AMIS Next, which will be platform independent. AMIS Next is focused on less expensive playback options than can be used on inexpensive platforms. SMIL is being investigated as a potential platform for DAISY playback and authoring.
Elsebeth Tank announced that the RFB&D has offered to host the 2006 General Meeting in Princeton, April 29th, 2006.
RESOLUTION: That the invitation from RFB&D to host the 2006 General Meeting in Princeton on April 29th be approved.
John Churchill extended a verbal invitation, saying that he hopes everyone can attend.
The resolution was approved and carried.
There was no other business. Elsebeth Tank reminded those attending that the afternoon program will begin at 1:30
Elsebeth Tank told the General Meeting that it is a privilege to serve as President of the DAISY Consortium and thanked the staff for their commitment.