Annual meeting in Örebro

Each member organisation has the right to appoint voting representatives according to the statutes. The basic rule is that each organisation has one vote. In addition, each member organisation gets one more vote if it has more than 15,000 members or annually collects more than SEK 25 million for international activities.

Each organisation is welcome to participate with several representatives, the participation itself is not limited by who has the right to vote, but we see it as positive that more people get an updated picture of SMC’s activities and have the opportunity to meet representatives from other member organizations and the office. Not least, we believe that this morning’s thematic deepening sessions are of broad interest. In your registration, however, you need to indicate which of the registered persons have the right to vote.

09.30 Breakfast

10.00 Start of the day followed by thematic session (see more below)

12.00 Lunch

13.15 The annual meeting negotiations begin

16.00 Final coffee and mingling before departure

Thematic session

The morning’s thematic immersion session will deal with the challenging and current theme: Swedish mission council in a time of political and societal change – how then?

After the 2022 election, we find ourselves in a new political landscape in Sweden. At the same time, a number of political initiatives over time, including the current government’s reform agenda around aid, point to a real renegotiation of the Swedish social contract between the Swedish state and community/civil society. A renegotiation where the focus has gradually shifted from civil society as a voice carrier anchored in a popular movement, to civil society as a service provider. In parallel with that renegotiation taking place, Sweden is pointed out by religious sociologists as a strong candidate for the EU’s most multi-religious, rather than most secular, country. Questions about religion, secularism, secularity and freedom of religion are therefore both increasingly topical and increasingly politicised. These trends also affect the funding possibilities of faith-based civil society. What does it mean to be an ecumenical mission council in the midst of this?

The documents will be published no later than May 10 on SMC’s FABO page, which will be created for the meeting. All registrants will receive an email with instructions on how to access the documents. We will then also come back with suggestions for suitable connections to Brickebergskyrkan as well as overnight accommodation for those who need it. All participants are responsible for their own transport and any overnight accommodation.

Member organisations are welcome to submit proposals and motions to SMC’s annual meeting.

The motions are sent to the board via info@smc.global no later than April 12.
Please write Motion to the annual meeting in the subject line of the email.