Our Society has come of age!...

On 17th October 2009, the SSiB had it first Annual General Meeting, which has been announced six weeks ago. It was the first opportunity for our Society to look back, with pride and contentment, at our achievements, and to look forward, with hope, to our future and aspirations.

The SSiB President started by welcoming the Members who attended, and read his detailed Report. He outlined the Society's activities, its achievements, and some of the challenges that lie ahead. He thanked the Members for their support and trust, and thanked his fellow Council Officers for their hard work and dedication.

The Treasurer presented his report, which confirmed the Society's solid financial position, outlining the total income from Membership fees, and the various events, as well as the expenses incurred from organizing the various events and activities that the Society has held so far.

Following that, there was a lively debate about the proposed motion to change the name of the Society. This was in response to concerns raised by His Excellency Dr Khiyami, the Ambassador of the Syrian Arab Republic, that the current name might suggest that we claim exclusive representation of the Syrian Community in Britain. As we have no intention of making such claims, nor do we have the resources to fulfil such a role, it was agreed that we should consider changing our name.

The name that received most support was 'Syrian Friends in Britain'. The motion was put to vote, and was approved by all except two of the Members in attendance. Consequently, the motion was duly passed, and the Council was instructed by the AGM to commence proceedings to change the name of the Society accordingly.

After that, the Society's Secretary announced that voting in the Council Elections will start. He read the names of the candidates, and these included eight of the existing Council Officers, and two new Candidates. The Secretary then asked the two new Candidates to introduce themselves and say a few words about themselves, their backgrounds, and their attributes. Official ballot papers were handed to all Members who were eligible to vote, and proxy voting forms were collected and verified. Three observers were selected from the Full Members in attendance, and they supervised the running of the ballots. A total of 75 votes were cast, and the three Observers carried out the count. After verifying the results, the Observers declared the results, and announced the names of the new Executive Council Officers. The successful candidates, in alphabetical order of their surnames, were announced as:

• Heba Abu-Kalam
• Lena Amir Baurak
• Faten Bakleh
• Fawaz Haffar
• Bachar Hakim
• Mounir Hakmi
• Ayman Jundi
• Summer Mouallem
• Rolla Rostam
• Samera Tayan

It was very significant that all the successful Members have received quite substantial support from the Members... The candidates have attained between 61 and 75 votes each (81% - 100% of the eligible voters' votes). This ensured that the new Council Officers have a clear and unequivocal mandate, and confirmed that they enjoy the overwhelming support of the Society's Members.

After all those who attended enjoyed a delicious meal, courtesy of the SSiB, the Members joined in singing various popular songs, accompanied on the piano by Lena Amir Baurak, who thrilled the audience with her delightful repertoire.

Afterwords, the elected Council held its first meeting, and agreed the distribution of the Council Posts as follows:

• Dr Ayman Jundi as President
• Mr Fawaz Haffar as Vice President
• Dr Bachar Hakim as Secretary
• Dr Mounir Hakmi as Treasurer
• Mrs Faten Bakleh as Membership Officer
• Mrs Heba Abu-Kalam as Activities and Social Affairs Officer
• Mrs Lena Amir Baurak as Activities and Social Affairs Officer
• Mrs Samera Tayan as Activities and Social Affairs Officer
• Mrs Summer Mouallem as Media and Communications Officer
• Miss Rolla Rostam as Student and Young Members Officer

This was a highly successful event on a number of levels. Firstly, it demonstrated that our Society is a democratic forum where our Members can comfortably debate and express their constructive views freely. It also confirmed that we, as a Society, are flexible and accommodating, and very sensitive to the best interest of the Syrian Community in Britain, and to the wishes of its members, in accordance with the best interest of our beloved country, Syria. The outcome of the meeting confirmed that we, as a Society, are a non-political, non-denominational, non-sectarian organization, that holds as its highest concern the well-being and the interest of our Community and our beloved Syria.