Presented at the Annual General Meeting Sunday, 12 September 2021, 11:00 am
By Andrew Spannenberg
Maitland RiverLights 2020 multicultural festival went ahead via a video stream. The Federation was represented in the Language Lounge section. President Andrew gave a lesson in Esperanto in front of a whiteboard and flag. It went OK and was well received.
Our Zamenhof Day celebration (13 December 2021) saw another “inclusion cake”: vegan, gluten-free, and decorated in the Esperanto flag. Yes, we went a little overboard and over budget. We gave it a damn good shot as a “we welcome our members!”
On the actual Zamenhof Day (15 December), Josh Szeps interviewed Jonathan Cooper on ABC Local Radio Sydney Breakfast, about the significance of Zamenhof Day and Esperanto.
In March 2021, a new Board member took over as editor of Telopeo. A styleguide for this and other forms of public communication was developed by Jonathan and uploaded to Google Drive for comments by the editor and other board members.
On 3 March 2021, Jonathan visited Newington College to talk to students in years 9 and 10 about Esperanto. Then, on 31 March, ten students from Newington College visited Esperanto House.
In a reminder that even Esperantists are mortal, we lost Professor Daniel Kane, linguist and expert on China. We have lost a voice of reason in these times of strained relations, as our politicians export unhelpful comments and innuendos. We need a new generation of Daniels.
With fewer language festivals happening, our exposure in the media was less than in previous years. Virtual meetings, coordinated with the MeetUp platform, occurred. In-person meetings were small by courtesy of COVID restrictions. A COVID-safety QR code was arranged for Esperanto House, with Service NSW.
The Manly and Central Coast/Newcastle clubs also maintained a presence on the MeetUp platform. Some physical meetings happened between lockdown times.
A small chess tournament was held at Esperanto House. Some small prizes were donated by Esperanto NSW, and partially offset by entry fees.
Due to COVID-19 pandemic restrictions, the awaited national congress did not materialise in Sydney in 2021. And, given more recent population dynamics and lockdowns imposed to bring infection numbers down, an Australian and New Zealand congress will happen as a hybrid event at Esperanto House in 2022, or perhaps totally virtually again. We are in a new world where virtual events are becoming the norm.
The bequest from Margaret Chaldecott is still not finalised, due to matters beyond our control. This was our largest source of income of recent times.
This year we continued the renewal of Esperanto House. Both toilets are now renovated and fully functional.
The guest room has a smoke detector. (The Esperanto language instructions to guests on what to do when the alarm sounds still have to be updated.)
Repairs to the commercial building at the rear of Esperanto House have been ongoing. We have investigated a possible termite presence. Leakage has been addressed, with the installation of two new windows.
We continue to receive requests for funding assistance, for Esperanto projects. Some international projects proved difficult to monitor for quality and efficacy. We continue, as this is part of the Esperanto culture – to have diverse input from many points of origin.
The Board has recognised a need for further skills development. I personally studied how to manage conflicts of interest. We have started a register of interests as a result, based on a template from the Australian Charities and Not-for-Profits Commission. The conflict of interest policy is still in draft.