Page 39 - Bulletin, Vol.80 No.1, May 2021

9. Anatoly Kondrachov has now taken over the functions of the treasurer, and Olgate
those of secretary. We have also benefited from the assistance of Gerald Walzer
and Carol Cosgrove-Sachs, who undertook to remodel our brochure to make the
Association more perceptible.

10. The members of the Committee, all volunteers, meet once a month.

11. A permanence, taken in turn, is open every Wednesday morning.

12. In addition, on Thursday morning Odette Foudral, France Henry and Margarete
Hahnen are present to ensure the follow-up to e-mails and voice-mail messages. It
is, however, wise to make an appointment by mail, telephone or e-mail (aafi-
afics@un.org), bearing in mind that the formalities for access to the Palais can take
some time and may be limited during large conferences. In any case, it is not
possible to enter by car due to the massive reduction of parking space during the
construction of the new building.

13. This year it has been particularly complicated for the volunteers who endeavour to
ensure that the Association is functioning correctly. The numerous innovations
introduced by the UNOG Administration are difficult to handle especially when it is
not on a daily basis. Some examples:

a. The telephone system – with an identity code of course.

b. The management of the photocopy machines, entailing the use of the access
card with a microchip in order to make one single copy.

c. Laptops to allow teleworking

d. Plus, of course, an e-mail system which is really not easy to use.

e. These numerous changes constantly perturb our work and complicate the
Wednesday permanence. A lot of precious time is lost that could be better
used for the benefit of our members.

B. OBJECTIVES FOR 2019

14. The Committee had set the following objectives for 2019.

15. To continue to examine all matters that are of concern to retirees.

16. To attract more members. This is crucial to ensure an optimal representation of
former international staff members on the Pension Board, where they are
represented by FAFICS. The greater the number of retirees who are members of
the different retiree Associations around the world, the greater is the representativity
of FAFICS both in numbers and geographically. FAFICS defends the interests of
retirees at the Pension Board and draws the attention of this body to the specific
problems of retirees in different parts of the world, making proposals to find
appropriate solutions.

AAFI-AFICS BULLETIN, Vol. 80 No. 1, 2021-05 37