Draft Letter for Elections etc.

this version was sent in 2006, to be adapted as needed:

Dear IVU member,

IVU's 2004 World Vegetarian Congress in Brazil greatly strengthened the vegetarian movement in Latin America and we hope that the 2006 Congress in Goa in India (from the 10th to the 16th of September) will bolster the vegetarian message in India. India has a very long vegetarian tradition which is now under pressure from globalisation and from media messages promoting meat-eating as modern and Western. A good turnout from vegetarians around the world will send a very positive message. For more information see http://www.ivu.org/congress/2006/index.html

The 2008 Congress will be in Dresden in Germany from the 27th of July to the 3rd of August and will be celebrating the centenary of the first IVU congress in 1908. For more information see http://www.ivu.org/congress/2008/index.html

At the Goa congress, this September, our members will decide the venue for the 2010 World Vegetarian congress. The IVU Council encourages any member societies interested in organising the 2010 congress to contact them via the Secretary (secretary@ivu.org).

As the last congress in North America was in Toronto in 2000 and the congresses since then have spanned Europe (Edinburgh 2002 and Dresden 2008), Latin America (Brazil 2004) and India (Goa 2006), a return to North America would be one possibility. Proposals from other regions which have not hosted a congress for some time would also be particularly welcome. Anyone considering putting forward a proposal should read http://www.ivu.org/members/con-rules-2000.html which sets out the guidelines for proposing and organising a congress.

At the Goa congress there will be an IVU general meeting on Tuesday 12th. This meeting will decide the venue for the 2010 Congress, review the audited accounts, elect up to ten members of the new International Council, and also consider any other proposals from the member Societies. These proposals
have in the past included calls to issue a particular declaration to the press or government and amendments to IVU by-laws.

Any proposed alterations to the IVU Constitution http://www.ivu.org/members/memorandum_articles.html must be received three months before the general meeting and other proposals should be received two months before the general meeting. Later proposals of a non-constitutional nature may be accepted at the discretion of the general meeting.

All candidates for the International Council must be nominated by a member society and must themselves be members of a member society. All candidates must be vegetarian and must submit a position paper of between 100 and 200 words to the Secretary by August 5th so that the position papers can be
circulated to the member societies a month before the general meeting.

I look forward to hearing your ideas and suggestions for progressing vegetarianism throughout the world and I hope to meet many of you in Goa.

Yours faithfully,

and the version sent in 2008:

Dear IVU member,

The 2008 IVU World Vegetarian Congress will be in Dresden in Germany from the 27th of July to the 3rd of August and will be celebrating the centenary of the first IVU congress in 1908. For more information see http://www.ivu.org/congress/2008/index.html

The 2010 WVC will be held in Jakarta, Indonesia, and at the Dresden Congress our members will consider the venue for the 2012 World Vegetarian Congress. The IVU Council encourages any member societies interested in organising the 2012 WVC to contact them via the Manager(manager@....).

As the last congress in North America was in Toronto in 2000 and the congresses since then have spanned Europe (Edinburgh 2002 and Dresden 2008), Latin America (Brazil 2004) and India (Goa 2006), a return to North America would be one possibility. A proposal from a Spanish speaking country could also be of interest as this is the 2nd most popular language on the IVU website but Barcelona, Spain, way back in 1963, has been the only such WVC. Proposals from other regions which have not hosted a congress for some time would also be particularly welcome. Anyone considering putting forward a proposal should read http://www.ivu.org/members/con-rules-2000.html which sets out the guidelines for proposing and organising a congress.

At the Dresden Congress there will be an IVU general meeting on Tuesday July 29th. This meeting will consider the venue for the 2012 Congress, review the audited accounts, vote for up to ten members of the new International Council (voting can also be by email in advance of the meeting), and also consider any other proposals from the member Societies. These proposals have in the past included calls to issue a particular declaration to the press or government and amendments to IVU by-laws.

Any proposed alterations to the IVU Constitution http://www.ivu.org/members/memorandum_articles.html must be received three months before the general meeting and other proposals should be received two months before the general meeting. Later proposals of a non-constitutional nature may be accepted at the discretion of the general meeting.

All candidates for the International Council must be nominated by a member society and must themselves be members of a member society. All candidates must be vegetarian and must submit a position paper of between 100 and 200 words to the Manager (manager@...) by June 22nd so that the position papers can be circulated to the member societies a month before the general meeting.

We look forward to hearing your ideas and suggestions for progressing vegetarianism throughout the world and we hope to meet many of you in Dresden.

John Davis
manager@...