IFLA EU secretary general report

IFLA EUROPE THE EUROPEAN REGION OF THE INTERNATIONAL FEDERATION OF LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS

MARINA CERVERA – SECRETARY GENERAL – COMMUNICATION GROUP CHAIR ROCA I BATLLE 14, 08023 BARCELONA | SPAIN | WWW.EUROPE.IFLAONLINE.ORG | [email protected]

IFLA EUROPE | AVENUE LOUISE 149/24, 12EME ETAGE / 12TH

FLOOR | 1050 BRUXELLES / BRUSSELS | BELGIUM WWW.EUROPE.IFLAONLINE.ORG | [email protected]

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IFLA EUROPE GENERAL ASSEMBLY 2013 BERLIN (GERMANY)

September 19th

- 22nd

, 2013

MARINA CERVERA

SECRETARY GENERAL

REPORT FROM COMMUNICATIONS GROUP CHAIR

REFLECTION

2013 is the first year that the Communication and Sponsorship committees (+ working groups) has been set-up as two separate

but collaborative groups chaired by the IFLA EU Secretary General and IFLA EU Treasurer respectively. The period has been

characterized by the great challenge of the organisation’s name change (From EFLA to IFLA Europe). The have been enormous

implications in terms of the established communications network (developed over time under the EFLA acronym). There have

also been significant challenges from the fundamental changes to be incorporated in relation to the re-branding and unifying

exercises prompted by the IFLA Secretary General. Our communication channels have focussed on dealing with three main tar-

get groups: national association members, collaborative and ‘sister’ association members and independent professionals (to be

encouraged to join their respective national association).

Communication Working Group Members

Marina Cervera (Chair), Christine Bavassa, Laure Aubert (France - Germany), Kris Herman (Poland), Haris Piplas (Bosnia- Swit-

zerland), Edina Pinter (Rumania) and Bruno Marquez (Portugal – Estonia); working under the approved Terms of Reference and

Strategic plan.

Sponsorship Working Group Members

Jeremy Dennis (Chair) and Aljona Galazan (Estonia)

CURRENT SUMMARY (JULY 7TH 2013)

Actions undertaken to date:

1. Corporate image and name change: January 2013 ‘IFLA Europe’ title was officially advertised via the ‘Moniteur Belge’. (See Appendix 1.1) The change of name coincided with the ‘brand’ guidelines introduced by IFLA Secretary General. The new logo etc., gives a unified appearance for all documents relating to the IFLA/IFLA EU corporate image. (See Appendix 1.2) All former ‘EFLA’ identities have now been reviewed, re-branded and re-launched. All national association delegates and individuals responsible for communications have been asked to update the IFLA EU brand internally. A Communications survey was sent to each association at the same time in order to try and harmonise the media links between the organisations. (See Appendix 1.3)

2. The Archive:

The office in Rue d’Auderghem was closed and a ‘virtual’ office linked to a zip box code established in Avenue Louise. All stored documents were reviewed, selected (in terms of relevance), ordered and digitised. There is now a digitised archive of all General Assembly minutes and agenda’s from 1989 to 2013, including other documents listed below (to be uploaded in the website member’s area). Enthusiastic former delegates, presidents and ExCo members are encouraged to add to the archive if they choose (e.g. historic images of meetings, events, seminars etc., to fill certain gaps and omissions in the EFLA history)

IFLA EUROPE GENERAL ASSEMBLY 2013 – CERVERA, M. SECRETARY GENERAL REPORT

IFLA EUROPE | AVENUE LOUISE 149/24, 12ÈMÉ ÉTAGE / 12TH


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3. Statutes & Regulations Revisions: As a consequence of the name change, two key documents had to be revised. This has lead to major discussions among ExCo officers and the ‘draft’ documents have been circulated for comments from all members. A new ‘draft’ Code of Conduct has also been presented as a matter of best practice. It is important to remember that IFLA EUROPE is a ‘second tier’ organisation and therefore relies heavily on member associations’ internal rules and regulations. It is hoped the new ‘Code of Conduct’ may prove to be useful guidance for members lacking such procedural documents. (See Appendix 2)

4. GA Bidding Procedures: Guidelines for ‘bidding’ for holding the annual IFLA Europe General Assembly have been presented in order to consolidate the procedures for forthcoming regional meetings across IFLA EU member countries. The 2012 GA, in Tallinn (Estonia) was a turning point for EFLA and the Regional Meeting concept. It confirmed the need to strengthen




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the links between EFLA and its member associations by promoting regional meetings throughout Europe. The initial quality of related seminars, conferences and congresses have been far superior to those previously confined to Brussels and this has prompted the need for a policy for “bidding“ procedures in order that clarity is ensured. (See Appendix 3)

Forthcoming IFLA Europe General Assembly (GA) & European Regional Meeting

2014 – Oslo, Norway – Voted at 2012 GA

2015 – Invitations to be encouraged

2016 – Turkey applied (attached) - To be voted in Berlin

5. Public Relations: Three main strategies are applied to IFLA EU public relations:

5.1 Consolidating IFLA EU communication platforms after the name change. This included the new IFLA Europe 2013

leaflet – an initial attempt to present a comprehensive flyer about the Federation and what it does on behalf of its

membership. Member cooperation is urgently needed here.

5.2 Networking and direct dissemination with the new leaflet:

European Biennial of Landscape Architecture, Barcelona (Sept 2012).

IFLA World Council, Auckland (Apr 2013).

‘Rethinking the Contemporary Landscape, Hanover Conference (May 2013).

‘Les Rencontres du Paysage’, Le Notre 400th anniversary, Versailles (July 2013). The A5 Leaflet (front):




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The A5 Leaflet (rear):

5.3 Collaborative engagement with ‘sister’ associations and European organisations: 5.3.1 Signing UNISCAPE proposal for a Coordination of the European Landscape Observatories (Florence

27/28th June) IFLA EU to sign by July 2013. (See Appendix 4) 5.3.2 Engaging with ‘Europa Nostra’ to join the European Heritage Alliance 3.3 and become its 32nd member of our

Alliance. The Alliance comprises European/International networks and organisations active in the wider field of cultural heritage (launched in June 2011) and represents a very large constituency composed of tens of millions of Europe’s citizens. (See Appendix 5)

5.3.3 Assistance and monitoring of the CDCPP steering Committee meetings and activities (Strasbourg 27-29th May

2013 with Ms Deiana Danailova (Bulgaria) in the chair. A strategy is needed to link IFLA EU delegates with national representatives at CDCPP, in order to collaborate and lobby for the profession at a national level. (See Appendix 6)

5.3.4 Survey on new contacts acquired in 2013 and list of actions undertaken with every organisation. (See Appendix 7)

6. IFLA EU Brief news:

This is the official EFLA Blog emanating from the original EFLA Newsletter and the former Tumblr blog. The new name required a new Tumblr account and efforts have been made to inform everyone of the change. It is a blog for news only - it is to remain informative and ‘of the moment’ concerning all matters in relation to landscape, IFLA EU and the profession. Updating twice weekly could be increased to ‘daily’ if the need arises. (Your posts will determine this)

The system accepts suggestions from everyone - the editor determines publication

The system accepts re-Twittering on your twitter account, posting on Facebook, posting on G+ account or reporting the same post in another blog just by clicking on the icon. (See Appendix 8)

The system allows browsing by monthly configurations an intuitive calendar (See Appendix 9)

ACTIVE through the website home page (top right menu)

PASSIVE through Tumblr EFLA brief news subscription and from social networks (tweets in Twitter and posts in Google +, other Tumblr blogs and Facebook) via mobile device or computer

Upload anything (e.g. images, text, links, chats, videos, audios or quotations, etc.)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cultural_heritage

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constituency




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Check it out and contribute: http://iflaeunews.tumblr.com/

http://iflaeunews.tumblr.com/




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7. Web Home Page:

The IFLA Europe website was hacked in February 2013, a very serious concern for the committee. In May the whole iflaonline.org was hacked and the damage irreparable. A fundamental review has been underway since then and you will be asked to vote on the preferred network provider during this GA. There has been a limited amount of repair possible but nothing can be uploaded and this has been a crippling factor in our day-to-day operations. (See Appendix 10)

Some basic requirements moving forward are: 1. More visibility to national associations (e.g. interactive map) 2. Link to social networks (dynamic window in home page) 3. Archives in ‘Member-only’ areas 4. IFLA EU structure and activities more visible and comprehensive (e.g. diagrammatic links)

http://iflaonline.org/




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8. Social Networks: [Kris Herman (Facebook); Gertjan Jobse and Christine Bavassa (LinkedIn); Laure Aubert (Land and Lounge); Marina Cervera (Twitter) Social networks remain the best tools to lobby/promote on behalf of the profession, get new contacts and distribute information. They are a core facility for attracting young professionals that may yet to have made our ‘acquaintance’. One of the most positive communication set-ups IFLA Europe has engaged with. Social networks provide a wide audience for what we wish to promote (e.g. online journal, professional/education surveys, competition calls, etc.). Discussion space for professionals via online moderators is also imminent. Data so far: 3011 ‘likes’ in Facebook; 3736 ‘LinkedIn’ contacts; 102 in ‘Land & Lounge’ and 98 on ‘Twitter’. This presents a new ‘public engagement’ of about 6947 people. Add to this internal national association distribution lists, ELAN and LENOTRE and the total reaches approximately 8000 people in the profession. The launch of IFLA EU brand needs to be comprehensive, thereafter creating special interest groups (SIGs) to promote




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development across the profession. Social networking access has been improved via the home page (upper buttons) linking directly to each one (LinkedIn, Land and Lounge, Facebook, Twitter, Xing and the Tumblr Blog) 8.1 Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/pages/IFLA-Europe

3011 page likes as for 7.07.2013

Most ‘likes’ by country:

Countries

249 Poland

180 Portugal

174 Turkey

160 Italy

157 Serbia

126 Spain

107 United Kingdom

103 Germany

103 Romania

https://www.facebook.com/pages/IFLA-Europe




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Most likes by city:

93 Belgrade, Serbia

75 Sofia, Grad Sofiya, Bulgaria

69 Warsaw, Warszawa, Poland

60 Budapest, Hungary

56 Lisbon, Lisboa, Portugal

46 Istanbul, Turkey

44 Ljubljana, Bohinj, Slovenia

43 Tehran, Iran

42 London, England, United Kingdom

40 Rome, Lazio, Italy

Page likes in the last 3 months (7.04 – 7.07 2013)

8.2 Land8lounge page http://land8lounge.com/group/EFLA%20 102 members and rising - the address cannot be changed but the name can be updated. The group is small and prospective of growth is limited. Those registered receive the latest news 4 times a year. Other statistics are not available.

http://land8lounge.com/group/EFLA




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8.3 IFLA EU Twitter account https://twitter.com/iflaEurope It was not possible to re-direct the old account to the new one, thus this is a completely new start. Your help is needed to build the audience that was once present on the site.

8.4 LinkedIn page http://www.linkedin.com/groups?mostPopular=&gid=38616 The name and e-address has been changed without losing the contacts. The management is now shared between CB

and Gertjan Jobse. (See Appendix 11)

https://twitter.com/iflaEurope

http://www.linkedin.com/groups?mostPopular=&gid=38616




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9. Yearbook: A unique ‘physical’ promotional product to be launched in Berlin (Sept 2013). The publication highlights projects par-

ticipating in the Students and Young Professionals Competition 2012. The competition page is to be found at

http://www.younglandscapearchitects.org/

The project was launched in February with a call for projects in 2 categories:

ON SITE:

http://www.younglandscapearchitects.org/




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§ PROJECTS – submissions that contain un-built, conceptual student projects in relation to a specific space, place, or

site

§ IMAGES - submissions that include photographs, plans, and drawings of built landscape architectural (LA) projects,

land/landscape art installations or any LA connected work that has been created in relation to a specific space, place,

or site

OFF SITE:

§ PROJECTS – pages that contain un-built or conceptual projects, etc.

§ CONCEPTUAL IDEAS – a broad category that can include pages with any creative work: written descriptions of ideas

and especially artwork (drawings, poetry, short essays, scenes from films, photography, animations, comic books, etc.)

created by landscape architects

The participants of the competition were asked to file a single A4 page submission (entries accepted from those aged

35 years or under) formatted according to competition rules. Each page will be used as the competition submission

and also as a page in an on-line catalogue that exhibits the works of young contemporary landscape architects from

across Europe. After the final stage of the competition the pages uploaded on the website would create a consistent

database with the submitted pages already formatted in a manner suitable for printing. This catalogue could be up-

dated every year as additional editions of the competition take place. Thus creating the first Youth Projects Landscape

Architecture Directory and improving website interest. This layout will also be used for the Yearbook publication to-

gether with the texts form the Jury.




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10. EFLA Journal: The second EFLA Journal, “Adaptive Capacity of Cities”, was launched in May 2012. (See Appendix 12) Authors comprised renowned academics and professionals from prominent institutions bringing IFLA EU's voice beyond the oft restrictive cir-cles of landscape architecture. The product was available via PDF files from the IFLA EU Mailing List, National Associations, LE:NOTRE system, ELASA Mailing List, IFLA EU's social networks and all many other networks especially ‘LinkedIn’. The Journal has also been distributed and uploaded by others (ref Google search) and positive and constructive feedback has been received. Distribution has been improved via a new IFLA EU ‘ISSUU’ account and complementary ‘McCloud’ system to get printed copies on demand. The ‘ISSUU’ platform has proved to be effective and adaptable to existing social networks. (See Appendix 13)

“Adaptive Capacity Of Cities” IFLA EUROPE Journal #2 was launched on 27th

May 2013. An ‘ISBN’ number for the publi-

cation has been obtained in order to be more present and popular for our contributors and readers.




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11. EFLA Image Competition:

The 3rd IFLA EU Image Competition was launched in December 2012. A wide range of excellent quality, beautiful

images were received from the 48 participants and the winner was announced as Pau Ardèvol, the author the project




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in Cap de Creus restoration of Cap de Tudela.

Preparations are underway for the 4th

Image competition (September 2013). A new category is to be introduced: Real

landscape photos and Created Landscape images. The hope is to increase the number of participants while promoting

one of the “arts “of our profession; the use of computer software for image creation by rendering and enhancement.




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You are encouraged to contribute your best images:




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This summarises the year’s activities from June 2012 to July 2013. Much of the detail requires further work and requires fine-

tuning but the ultimate aim is to increase IFLA Europe’s ‘visibility and engagement’ as a profession. The focus has been to pro-

mote productive communication and links across the widest possible spectrum. The work of the Communication group volun-

teers demands enormous thanks to everyone and equally, a massive ‘thank you’ to our sponsors who continue to believe in

what we do.

7th July 2013

IFLA Europe Secretary General

(Marina Cervera I Alonso de Medina)

Documents

IFLA EU secretary general report