The annual FIA Executive Committee meeting was held on the 12th and 13th of November in London, where Equity UK kindly hosted the committee’s members. This meeting was the opportunity for the Secretariat to evaluate the work performed within FIA since the Marrakech Congress where the last Executive Committee meeting had been held, to take a look at what has been done in a year and what remains to be carried out. Indeed, the agenda was pretty heavy, and most matters were extensively discussed: progresses made at the WIPO; New Media Report made by FIANA/ESG technicians group; piracy, its dramatic consequences on our industry and the presentation of some national responses to the issue, such as the graduates response method recently implemented in France; … The meeting thus allowed the Executive Committee’s members to give the Secretariat some guidelines or to approve of its already taken positions in its defence of performers’ rights regarding all these issues.
The topic of Twinning Agreements was also brought on the table. After hearing positive and enthusiastic echoes from CAEA (Canda) and AEA (USA) concerning their respective experiences with ORUUANO (Namibia) and NATAAZ (Zambia), Equity UK reported on its newly established connection with GAG, Ghana’s union, which they had met with in Accra a few weeks earlier. The numerous advantages of the twinning practice were put forward by the Secretariat and by the unions already involved in such experiences, stressing notably on the importance of solidarity between performers’ unions around the world.
This meeting was also the occasion to evaluate FIA’s regional groups’ progresses. For instance, members of the Committee were pleased to hear about the AfroFIA meeting held in Accra, in Ghana, just a few weeks earlier. Reports from FIA’s Gerneral Secretary and President, both present in Accra, confirmed the energy and great potential to be found in this FIA regional group. A report on the FIA-NA/ESG October meeting, held in Los Angeles, was also presented and a EuroFIA meeting was held in London the very next days following the Executive Committee meeting. As for FIA-LA, our Latin American group, it is about to hold a meeting in Brazil during the first days of December. FIA is delighted to observe all this energy and activity. This kind of meetings is essential for FIA to be truly effective and it allows our members to establish ambitious working programs, for the three next years to come in some cases, thus strengthening the bounds existing between FIA affiliates and optimizing not only their work but the Secretariat’s too.
The Executive Committee was pleased to welcome British actor Alan Rickman during its meeting. He joined us to present and support IPAT (International Performers’ Aid Trust), an organisation for which he offices as President. IPAT’s objective is to help the most deprived artists, performers who struggle to make a living, struggle even to survive, while preserving their local cultures and bringing joy to others. IPAT thus proves to be an essential source of help in several countries, on all continents, participating to the preservation of cultures and to the battle against poverty.
A motion was also passed during the meeting to stress FIA’s help and support to MEAA. Indeed, the Australian affiliate of FIA is invested in a strike by Australian performers as a result to the termination of the ‘Offshore Commercials Agreement’ by the SPAA (Screen Producers Association of Australia) concerning remuneration for performance and broadcast and other rights for artists contracted in the production of international television and theatrical commercials produced in Australia or by an Australian party. Download this motion here below.
