Executive Committee and Council News
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Those present: day(s) present
Member-Countries, Councillors or Proxies :
[] = not present p: = proxy
| At Austria: Anton Preisinger | |____8__10 |
| Be Belgium: Luc van Meervelt | |___ 8__10 |
| Bg Bulgaria: [ Olyana Angelova ] | |_________ |
| Hr Croatia: [ Boris Kamenar ] p: Stanko Popovic | |___ 8__10 |
| Cz Czech+Slovakia: Jindrich Hasek | |___ 8__10 |
| Dk Denmark: [ Robert Feidenhans'l ] p: Finn Krebs Larsen | |___ 8__10 |
| Eg Egypt: Karimat El-Sayed | |___ 8__10 |
| Ee Estonia: [ ] | |_________ |
| Fi Finland: Timo Paakkari | |___ 8____ |
| Fr France: Jean Louis Hodeau | |___ 8__10 |
| De Germany: Wulf Depmeier | |___ 8__10 |
| Gr Greece: [ Irene Mavridis ] | |_________ |
| Hu Hungary: Alajos Kalman | |___ 8__10 |
| Il Israel: [ Menachem Kaftory ] | |_________ |
| It Italy: Davide Viterbo | |___ 8__10 |
| Lv Latvia: [ Anatolij Mishnev ] | |_________ |
| Ma Morocco: Abdelmalek Thalal | |___ 8__10 |
| Nl Netherlands: Piet Gros | |___ 8__10 |
| No Norway: Berit Fjaertoft | |___ 8__10 |
| Pl Poland: Adam Pietraszko | |___ 8__10 |
| Pt Portugal: [ Maria Ondina Figueiredo ] | |_________ |
| Su Russia: Svetlana Zheludeva | |___ 8__10 |
| Yu Serbia: Slobodanka Stankovic | |___ 8__10 |
| Si Slovenia: Ivan Leban | |___ 8__10 |
| Za South Africa: [ Jan Boeyens ] p: Demi Levendis | |___ 8__10 |
| Es Spain: Xavier Solans | |___ 8____ |
| p: Santiago Garcia Granda | |_______10 |
| Se Sweden: Ivar Olovsson | |___ 8__10 |
| Ch Switzerland: Hans Grimmer | |___ 8__10 |
| Tr Turkey: Yalcin Elerman | |___ 8__10 |
| Uk United Kingdom: C.C. Wilson | |___ 8__10 |
| Ua Ukraine: [ Oksana Ivanivna Bodak ] | |_________ |
| Elected: Paola Gilli | |_________ |
| Elected: Carlo Mealli | |___ 8____ |
| Elected: Paola Spadon | |___ 8__10 |
| Elected: Keith Wilson | |_________ |
| Quorum count: | [ Total: ( 26 24) ] |
| IUCr Observer: M. A. Carrondo | |___ 8____ |
| Observer for Tunisia: Mongi Debbabi | |___ 8__10 |
| Other participants [ if not listed above ] | |
| SIG.2 Pierre Becker | |___ 8____ |
| SIG.4 Chris Gilmore | |___ 8____ |
| SIG.5 Giovanni Ferraris | |___ 8____ |
| SIG.6 John Helliwell | |___ 8____ |
| SIG-10 Mikail Kovalchuk | |___ 8____ |
| SIG-11 Alain Polian | |_______10 |
| SIG-12 Pierre Bordet | |___ 8__10 |
| ECM-20 Jacek Grochowski | |___ 8__10 |
| ECM-20 Wieslaw Lasocha | |___ 8__10 |
| ECM-21 Andreas Roodt | |___ 8__10 |
| Executive Committee: President: C. Lecomte | |___ 8__10 |
| Vice-President: P.T. Beurskens | |___ 8__10 |
| Secretary: G. Filippini | |___ 8__10 |
| Treasurer: T. Duarte | |_________ |
| Members: E. Dodson | |___ 8__10 |
| M. Jaskolski | |_________ |
| D. Viterbo | |___ 8__10 |
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The proposed agenda, some reports, and additional information have been distributed by e-mail circulars (June 11: Agenda, SIG-5, -6, -9 reports;
July 11: President and Secretary's, SIG-2, -8, -10 reports). On August 8, at the opening of the Council meeting were handed over: Treasurer's, SIG-3, -7 reports and SIG-11, -12 proposals.
Professor Claude Lecomte, the ECA President, was in the chair.
First session: 8 August.
1.1 Welcome to Council and Guests
The Chairman welcomed the Councillors, the observers and the guests.
1.2 Approval of the agenda
The Councillors approved the proposed agenda.
The Secretary informed the Councillors that application from Morocco has been submitted according to our Statutes and By-Laws. The Chairman asked for approval. The Council unanimously approved with cheers.
Professor Thalal was asked to take his seat as member of the Council.
1.4 News and information from the Executive Committee.
2. Former e-mail decisions
No e-mail decision has been taken between the Council meetings in Krakow and Geneva.
3. Annual Reports by the Executive Committee (Aug. 2001 - 31 Dec. 2001)and preliminary progress reports (up to Aug. 2002)
3.1 Report by the President
Professor Lecomte summarised the report already sent to the Councillors. He informed the Council that the first Algerian meeting will take place at the beginning of November and contacts are in progress with Tunisia and other African countries. He also pointed out that it is time to think of possibility of organising European schools. In the discussion, it was suggested to upgrade the National schools to an European level (Mealli) and to organise them on the occasion of the ECMs (Helliwell). It was also reminded of an imminent school in Monastir-Tunisia (Debbabi) and of the existence of schools for PhD-students in the Netherlands and Intensive Courses in X-Ray Structural Analysis in the UK (Beurskens).
3.2 Report by the Secretary
Dr Filippini thanked the Councillors for many fruitful contacts during the previous year and remembered that the Executive Committee has only the task to carry out the proposals put forward by the Council, and by the crystallographic community at large, through the Councillors.
3.3 Report(s) by the Treasurer
For personal reasons the Treasurer, Professor Duarte, is unable to attend the meeting. She asks to be excused. The Secretary commented her report complemented with the report of the auditors - Professors M.A. Carrondo (who replaced Prof M.O. Figueiredo) and S. Garcia Granda. The Treasurer invited the Councillors to introduce a National collector for the IM's fees in order to simplify the procedure and save money. The situation of the budget is fine.
4. Approval by the Council of the submitted accounts (re 3.3)
4.1 Auditors for 2001
The Councillors approved the audited accounts and, deciding to continue with the internal auditing, confirmed Professors Maria Armenia Carrondo and Santiago Garcia-Granda as auditors for the year 2002.
5. Reports regarding SIG's
5.1 SIG.1 Macromolecular Crystallography
No report has been received. Dr Dodson reported briefly, pointing that all the efforts of the SIG were mainly devoted to the organisation of the microsymposia for the IUCr Congress. Efforts have been also put into schools and meetings in Heidelberg, York and Hamburg.
5.2 SIG.2 Charge, Spin & Momentum Density
The report has been e-mailed to the Councillors. Professor Becker reported on the many activities carried out or supported by the SIG and emphasised the collaboration between SIG-2 and other SIG's in preparing microsymposia at European and international level.
5.3 SIG.3 Aperiodic Crystallography
The report has been distributed to-day and is also available at the SIG-website.
5.4 SIG.4 Electron Crystallography
Due to lack of communication, the report is late and will be e-mailed to the Councillors as soon as possible.
5.5 SIG.5 Mineralogical Crystallography
The report has been received and e-mailed to the Councillors. Professor Ferraris informed that, following this very fruitful experience, an analogous Commission on Inorganic and Mineral Structures has been proposed within the IUCr.
5.6 SIG.6 Instrumentation and Experimental Techniques (IET)
The report has been received and e-mailed to the Councillors.
5.7 SIG.7 Molecular Interaction and Recognition (MIR)
The report has been distributed to-day.
5.8 SIG.8 Powder Diffraction ( SIGPD )
The report has been received and e-mailed to the Councillors.
5.9 SIG.9 Crystallographic Computing ( CCSIG )
The report has been received and e-mailed to the Councillors.
5.10 SIG.10 Diffraction physics and optics
The report has been received and e-mailed to the Councillors.
5.x Further developments re SIG's
Dr Mealli proposed a new SIG under the title "Molecular Structures and Chemical Properties": the main arguments were the importance of molecular structures in the past and the need to reassemble the practising crystallographers within the European community. It was observed that great part of the subject is already comprised in SIG-2 (Becker)and asked whether the new SIG would have included the "Service Crystallography" as it happens within the ACA (Beurskens). Many Councillors sustained the proposal and it was decided that an Inauguration document be prepared and distributed on August 10, as to be discussed on the second day of the Council meeting.
6. Reports regarding ECM's
6.0 Relationship between ECA and the ECM's
Professors Lecomte and Viterbo will circulate among the Councillors an improved draft with respect to the one presented in Krakow. After receiving all amendments and addenda, a final draft will be considered at the next Council meeting in Durban.
6.1 ECM-20 (2001) Krakow
Professor Grochowski read the financial report signed by Professor Hodorowicz.
6.2 ECM-21 (2003) Durban
The Council decided to postpone this item to August 10.
6.3 ECM-22 (2004) Budapest
Professor Kalman gave more details on ECM-22 in 2004 in Budapest. The meeting will take place in the last decade of August at the newly built Faculty of Sciences of the University of Budapest.
Second session: 10 August.
SIG-11 and -12 were definitively approved.
On SIG-13, the Councillors, after more discussions, decided that all suggestions and comments should reach the Secretary within one month after receiving these minutes and then be approved following the Trivial Voting Procedure.
6.2 ECM-21 (2003) Durban - 24-29 August 2003
Professors Roodt reminded the ECM-21 website (www.ecm21-africa.co.za) and showed pictures of the Conference site and the possible accommodation. The Program Committee, consisting of representative of the ECA and of the SIGs, has been set up and will meet within five days. Preliminary information on possible packages for travel from Europe have been given: flight costs may be as low as ? 450 to 700. Considering that accommodation and meals are cheap, it is possible to foresee that the total cost for attending the meeting would not be much higher than usual. It has been decided to hold the conference excursion on the last day. The meeting will consist of four full days (with gathering on Sunday 24 afternoon), with one (possibly two) plenary lectures, 12 MS (each of four lectures of 30') in four parallel sessions on August 25 and 28, and only 8 MS on 26 and 27 leaving these afternoons for posters. The MS will be 40 in total and will be subdivided mainly among the 13 SIGs.
The INDABA meeting has been planned for the week before the ECM. The title will be "Pattern in Nature".
7. Proposals and decisions regarding ECM-23 ( and ECM-24 )
The proposal of Darmstadt has been postponed to a later date.
Two proposals were presented and illustrated to the Council:
After discussion and secret ballot, the choice was Leuven. The Council decided that, if Darmstadt proposal is not renewed at the Council meeting in Durban, the site for ECM-24 in 2007 will be Marrakesh.
8. Proposal of amendments to Statutes and By-Laws
The Secretary opened the discussion by saying that, let aside the possibility of voting due to Statutes 17.2 ("The proposal including the verbatim amendments shall be open to inspection at least three months before and until the close of the Council meeting at which the vote on the proposal is to be taken"), the proposal for having a Past-President was founded on the necessity of a minimum of continuity between two Executive Committees and the one of having the SIG's chairs as members of the Council was simply a recognition of their relevance in running the ECA affairs.
In the discussion which followed, it was suggested some caution in modifying our Statutes (Stankovic) and to introduce the SIG's chairs into the Council via the IM's representatives (Beurskens).
The Council agreed that further discussion was very important and invited the Secretary to remind the Councillors of this item well ahead of the Council meeting in Durban and to collect all suggestions and comments.
9. Organisation of the voting for election of the IM's representatives to the ECA Council for the triennium 2003-2006.
The Secretary, with the help of the webmaster and of Dr Kuzel, will take care of the procedures.10. The ECA : what to do - where to go
The President emphasised the role of ECA in helping co-operation among African Countries. He informed of the close collaboration with the IUCr in arranging for support in favour of the young scientists, in the form of bursaries for PhD students, funded also by South African Universities. It will be started a flow of old instruments to Africa shipping costs being shared among IUCr, ECA, manufacturers and UNESCO and with the co-operation of retired technicians to provide for training and repairs. A new approach in the Visiting Professors scheme will also help for teaching and training. Most of this will be finalised at Durban. There will be a workshop on the Cambridge Database at the next ECM.
The Vice-President stressed the importance of ECANEWS as a mean of building closer relationship between the Executive Committee and the crystallographers in Europe.
It has been suggested to inform our IM's of the way we are spending their and the National fees, i.e. devoting a significant amount of money to bursaries for attending ECM's and in future the European schools (Dodson). Moreover, it has been proposed to wave the IM's fees to young students for two years (El Sayed).
The Vice-President informed the Council of a meeting held yesterday with our Corporate Affiliate Members (CAMs) to find a better procedure for the organisation of the Exhibition Hall at the ECM's. Further details will be given later on.
11. Any other business
There being no further business, the President thanked all the Councillors and declared the Council meeting closed.
12. Close
Minutes of the ECA
Council , Marrakech 2007
Minutes of the ECA
Council , Leuven 2006
Minutes of the ECA
Council , Florence 2005
Minutes of the ECA
Council , Budapest 2004
Minutes of the ECA
Council , Durban 2003
Minutes of the ECA
Council , Krakow 2001
