I was honoured to be
part of the UK team at this important meeting held in Slovenia last week and,
for me, it constituted ten consecutive days of meetings – all of which went
something like this
- 06.30 wake up and get up
- Wash and dress (jacket and tie) and take COVID test (supplied by the IWC secretariat) – if negative proceed!
- Check messages (emails, whatsapps etc. – in fact, check repeatedly throughout the day)
- Breakfast with strategic discussions
- 08.00 Head to meeting room/great hall
- Find seat and ear phones (for translation), plug in lap-top, try not to trip up delegates
- Attend day-long meeting – with strategic coffee, tea and lunch meetings – input as appropriate (hopefully) to meeting/delegation/anyone who might be listening
- At end of meeting (~17.00), unplug lap-top, return ear phones and exit meeting room
- Shower and change to slightly more casual evening outfit
- 19.00ish attend reception/strategic dinner with team/delegates
- ~22.00 strategic final debrief
- ~24.00 sleep a bit
Some images of the meeting here:
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| The 68th meeting logo. |
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| UK delegation mascots |
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| Slovenian ministers and local mayor on stage with the meeting chair for the opening session. |
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| Kate O'Connell of AWI (in the middle with Rebecca Lent (the IWC Exec Secretary) and, from NOAH the Norwegian animal welfare group, Maria Lien. |
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| Matt Collis (IFAW) and Niki Entrup (OceanCare) plotting at the back of the room. |
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| A somewhat distinguished attendee with rare purple lanyard, matching tie and discordant Swiss handkerchief. |
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| Team AWI - Kate and Sue Fisher (also on the UK delegation). |
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| Front row UK Delegation poised for action |
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| The Brazilian delegation and friends |
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| The retiring IWC Conservation Committee Chair, Lorenzo Rojas-Bracho and Vice Chair (now chair), Cat Bell |
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| Break time in the great hall |
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| An evening reception buffet |
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| An evening buffet being enjoyed by many, including Jose Truda Palazzo in the foreground |
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At
a special evening event, Mrs Jenny Lonsdale OBE is awarded the Schweitzer Medal for her work on animal protection by
Andrej Bibic, the IWC Chair (in the centre), and DJ Shubert of AWI (to the left). |
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| Toasting Jenny! |
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| A rare foray into the sunshine - the UK support team - Sue, me and Lucy Babey |
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| The Australian delegation - Dr Nick Gales - the new Vice Chair of the IWC at the microphone |
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| The redoubtable Miguel Iniguez of Argentina and a big fan |
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| Lucy Babey thanked for her efforts in coordinating the UK NGOs at and before the meeting. She is given the Order of the Knitted Mouse (OKM). With Ed Goodall of WDC, Sue and Sarah Dolman of EIA. |
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| A more formal view of the Australian delegation (thank you Alexia for this and the next photo). |
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| Meeting with old colleagues - Grettel, Alexia, me, Rebecca and Madison. |
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| That UK team in full. |
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| Spain |
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| Luxembourg |
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| Post-meeting drink - UK delegation and NGOs. |
And that is that!
