Dear Members,



We are operating in difficult times and your Executive Committee (ExCom) is keen to enhance its contacts with members to not only inform them but also to hear their views and needs. Face to face gatherings will not be possible for some time to come. In order to achieve these targets, the ExCom has started searching on the market for 'virtual' communication techniques to enhance contacts with our members.



The ExCom decision last March to postpone the 50th GA to sometime in the fall (pending a sustainable solution of the corona-virus crisis), led to the establishment of a Working Group (WG) on the above subject.



The WG is pleased to report that most of its targets have been successfully achieved, also thanks to the technical assistance provided by our colleagues in FAO/IFAD/WFP RBAs:

  *   The Zoom video-conference platform has been identified as a suitable virtual environment to handle FFOA meetings, considering that the same tool is successfully being used by our RBAs
  *   The attached Quick-Start User Guide has been developed to support our members in the use of the mentioned software environment.

This message is to announce that, after you have had the time to familiarize yourself with the software platform by going through the attached Guide and perhaps by navigating the Zoom Help-Center Webpage mentioned in the same document, practice sessions of 1 hour will be organized by FFOA during the last week in May as follows:



1)      Date: Wed 27/5 – Rome Time: 11:00 – Language: English

Meeting Link**: https://fao.zoom.us/j/95664237786         Password: 123456 **



2)      Date: Thu 28/5 – Rome Time: 11:00 – Language: Italian

Meeting Link**: https://fao.zoom.us/j/95317069452         Password: 654321 **



3)      Date: Fri 29/5 – Rome Time: 18:00 – Language: English

Meeting Link**: https://fao.zoom.us/j/91832243137         Password: 123456 **



DISCLAIMER **

Access to this virtual meeting is password protected. We remind you that you are responsible for not sharing, disclosing or otherwise divulging this access and its content to any third party without written consent of  the FFOA.



Members who would be interested to attend may join the preferred session (ENG or ITA) by clicking on the above links and by supplying the relevant password.



Once the above sessions have been completed, virtual meetings (that we decided to call “Far-but- Together”) will be launched on substantive matters (e.g. Medical Insurance, Pensions, etc.) early in June, for which you will be receiving specific invitations at the appropriate time.



Looking forward to your active involvement.



FFOA Secretariat



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