2020 Annual Meeting Cancelled Due to Pandemic Emergency
UFA Co-Chairs, Mr Abu Hena Mohd. Razee Hassan, of Bangladesh, and Deputy Commissioner Ian McCartney, of Australia, regretfully announce that, due to the extraordinary circumstances related to the COVID-19 pandemic emergency, and the uncertain amount of time that travel restrictions have been implemented across the UFA region, the annual meeting scheduled to be convened in Dhaka, Bangladesh in July 2020 cannot now proceed.
At the UFA Governance Committee meeting on 2 April, UFA Co-Chair Deputy Commissioner Ian McCartney acknowledged the significant efforts made by Bangladesh authorities to date in preparation for this meeting and he expressed his regrets that due to the current circumstances the membership could not meet this year in Dhaka.
Should circumstances improve in the future Bangladesh is prepared to host an UFA annual meeting.
The UFA Co-Chairs and Governance Committee are working within a business continuance plan to ensure that UFA business progresses smoothly and with the least disruption - as far as that is possible - within this current environment. Critical policy and other decisions will be made on a consultative basis with the membership through the Governance Committee's five sub-regional groups. Four key Governance Committee meetings will occur between April and July 2020. Documents for those meetings will be available in the secure area of this website for member-delegates and through sub-regional representatives. Minutes of each meeting will be made available to all delegates.
The UFA Co-Chairs are confident that, while the 2020 annual meeting has been cancelled (the first time since the establishment of the UFA in 1997), the important work of the UFA will not be adversely affected by the current health emergency.