Between the 5th and 7th of October 2018, BeMSA hosted its first National General Assembly (NGA) of the term 2018-2019 in Zedelgem, close to Bruges, Belgium. The weekend started on Friday (5/10) night, where the new BeMSA Team of Official members and Local Committee representatives gathered for the first Team of Officials Meeting (TOM) of the term. The team presented their focus areas and planned activities for the term to each other, scheduled all future meetings of the term and got to know each other a bit better.
On Saturday (6/10), about 100 BeMSA members from all over Belgium joined us for the most accessible day of the weekend. In the morning, the participants split up and joined 7 different parallel sessions. New members learned about the basics of BeMSA during the Newcomers Sessions, National and Local Officers gathered in the Standing Committee Sessions (SCOPH, SCORP, SCORA, SCOME and Exchanges) to get to know each other and learn about pressing topics, while the Local Committee Presidents and Vice-Presidents joined the Presidents Sessions to discuss the future of BeMSA and learn about everything that would be voted upon during the plenary. Right before lunch, there was time for some small presentations, as well as the presentations from the candidates running for the remaining vacant Team of Officials positions.
After lunch, participants were able to join one of 6 different parallel training sessions, hosted by IFMSA-certified trainers from Belgium and The Netherlands. Following a small coffee break, the participants rejoined their sessions for another 2 hours. Finally, a night game was organized as social program, followed by dinner and hot chocolate milk by the bondfire!
On Sunday (7/10), the day started off with the plenary. Our members voted on the translation of our bylaws to English, as well as over 150 bylaw changes, enabling BeMSA to continue growing and professionalizing. Four new Team of Official member were elected, completing the team. A new Memorandum of Understanding with VGSO (www.vgso.be) was signed and approved.
Finally, after lunch, a second set of two parallel training sessions was provided. Participants said goodbye and returned to their homes with new knowledge, skills and friendships. We welcome all members at our next National General Assembly between the 15th and 17th of February 2019 in Leuven!
