The GEMA General Assembly - the centre piece of the association!
Once a year, GEMA members meet in order to decide on the future issues of their association. The three-day General Assembly is at the heart of the solidarity community with its 90,000 members and is vital for a strong internal democracy. Members need to be able to actively exchange opinions via their contributions on items of the agenda, discuss matters with each other, network and co-determine their GEMA. After all, the meeting thrives on a personal exchange on site and has been a fixed date in the calendar of many members for years.
Since 2022, the GEMA General Assembly has been held as a hybrid event. The hybrid General Assembly has become a fixed format within the GEMA membership and enables participants a straightforward exchange, legally compliant elections and a democratic co-determination process, irrespective whether members can take part in person on site or not.
The personal gathering continues to be well received and remains relevant for shaping the association. As such, about 400 members took the opportunity to be there on site and hold personal exchanges. About 200 members took part digitally. A vivid participation of the members is important because their decisions and their votes are in demand when it comes to determining the future of GEMA.
From an on-site event via a purely virtual meeting to a hybrid General Assembly
In 2020 and 2021, GEMA had managed to enable this exchange virtually because the General Assembly had to be held in virtual space only due to the pandemic. Through a technologically sophisticated, certified system, members were able to discuss items during the live transmission of the meetings, connect via video contributions and decide on motions via live voting features or elect the nominated candidates into the committees. The main assembly as well as the separate meetings of the professional categories (composers, lyricists and publishers) took place in virtual rooms. About 1,000 composers, lyricists and publishers had gathered this way. The experience and benefits of a digital participation were successfully integrated into the format of an on-site event. Members embraced the hybrid format gracefully and are actively using this democratic participation opportunity.