GPEAN AGENDA SUGGESTIONS
by Prof. Bruce STIFTEL

Nine planning school associations have now endorsed the Shanghai Statement and have named representatives to GPEAN. These are: ACSP (US), ACUPP, AESOP, ALEUP, ANPUR (Brasil), ANZAPS, APERAU (Francophone), APSA, and ICCRPEA.

This past November, in Cleveland USA at the time of the annual ACSP conference, Jo Looye and I (ACSP), Tom Harper (ACUPP), and Louis Albrechts and Hans Mastop (AESOP), and Prof. Bruce Stiftel discussed how to move the committee forward. They proposed that the committee should meet in Volos, Greece during the AESOP Congress this coming July; a proposal that was subsequently endorsed by other members of the committee without dissent, and which led to. They also proposed the following basic agenda items for the Volos meeting:

1) Selection of a chairperson of the GPEAN Communications Committee;
2) Selection of ground rules for the committee's deliberations (such as what constitutes a quorum, what will normally be considered sufficient voting support to make a decision, when further meetings are expected, how to handle advance costs associated with the committee's activities, etc.)

More recently, Angus Witherby made the following suggestions of preliminary issues:

Form of network (formal structure or peer to peer)
Membership of the network (sub-points individual or institution or both;
language groupings; resources)
Aims and role of the network (sub-points collaboration on teaching;
research into planning education)
Methods of communication (face-to-face meetings/conferences, electronic,
website)
Support for developing world groupings/academics.

Given this background, Prof. Bruce Stiftle has taken the liberty of developing the following preliminary agenda proposal for our meeting in Volos.
PRELIMINARY PROPOSED AGENDA FOR VOLOS MEETING OF GPEAN COMMUNICATIONS COMMITTEE

9 July:

I. INTRODUCTIONS AND COMMENTS ON OBJECTIVES

II. ELECTION OF CHAIRPERSON

III. AIM AND ROLE OF THE NETWORK

IV. ADOPTION OF GROUND RULES FOR COMMITTEE DELIBERATIONS
(to include membership, voting, meeting schedule, finances)

V. WEBSITE

VI. COMMUNICATION GROUPS

VII. GLOBAL BEST PAPER SERIES

VIII. OTHER POSSIBLE INITIATIVES

IX. OTHER BUSINESS

***Recess until 14 July***

X. RECONSIDERATION OF OLD BUSINESS, AS NEEDED

XI. NEW BUSINESS, AS NEEDED

XII. FORMAL ADOPTION OF ACTIONS, AS NEEDED

A final agenda and identify persons, who will take the lead in preparing specific items for discussion, will be set later.