I just attended my third National AGM, and possibly the most exciting. There are fantastic things happening across the country and as a National body. It’s a great reminder that we are not only our rock. It’s also great to know that our chapter is very respected and many chapters have used us and our materials as inspiration and a model for how they operate as we have been inspired (and continue to be) by them.
The AGM was very productive. For those of you who have never had the privilege of attending it’s more than two full days of meetings. Representatives from every chapter (from as far and Yellowknife and Halifax), Icograda and this year the UCDA (University and College Designers Association).
Changes were made to the constitution regarding student membership, after heated debate and late night meetings in hotel rooms (updated constitution to follow). The UCDA and GDC have formed a partnership, this is a affiliation that is not only valuable to both associations but also something that is very close to me professionally as a designer for a University. The UCDA connects all designers who work with higher education institutions and design educators. I’ve been a contributor to the listserv for years, entered material in their awards and attended design summits. Also they have a strong stand on sustainability which is a great fit with our Green Team, it was a fantastic opportunity for Valerie to connect with them.
I was very proud to be part of the induction of Dale Simonson and Jim Rimmer as Fellows of the BC chapter. Yves Rouselle and Mark Busse both made very moving cases for their fellowship nomination.
We reviewed the new website design and some functionality, I really can’t wait for it to go live (date TBA but aiming for this fall). It will be much easier to use and a great asset for you as members.
Mark Busse, President of the BC chapter started a discussion regarding what we call our profession. Are we ‘graphic designers’ or is that too limiting? It’s worth buying the current issue of EYE magazine (or subscribe with a 15% discount for GDC members). Steven Heller has written an excellent article on this subject. You can also check out this link: http://www.eyemagazine.com/opinion.php?id=143&oid=372
One thing that we are going to do as a chapter is share events and knowledge with the BC chapter more. We are going to pair up Executives from each chapter (and National). They are not far away and our events compliment each other really well. Not to mention that they are a great group of people.
Also, our Green Team committee chair (the first GDC environmental committee in Canada) made valuable connections with ICOGRADA and other GDC chapter reps. Action plans for 2007-2008 are being created and headed up by Vancouver Island. More to come on this within the next few weeks.
Blogging VI Style
Our Executive has been a contributor to the GDC BC mainland blog for a year now and we haven’t done much with it. This is changing right now. All of the GDC VI members have been added to the blog. Our Events and news are going to be posted to this blog. You will get a notification and can comment on the post!
Also check out photos of the AGM at: http://www.flickr.com/groups/gdcagm2007/pool/
I know this is a big read but I think we need to be reminded that we are part of something big that influences our profession nationally and internationally.
I am still so proud of our chapter on the edge of a big country.
Cheers,
Kirsty
Kirsty Armstrong MGDC
President, Vancouver Island Chapter
May 4th, 2007 at 6:32 am
Kirsty is so right! The AGM really makes us realise that GDC is truly a National organisation. It is wonderful for designers from across Canada to discover that there are many other people out there who are concerned about the same issues. Does the business community understand what we can offer? Does the business community respect what we do (beyond making things look nice)? These and many other questions come up at every AGM. Being in a room with so many other dedicated professionals searching for solutions really gives us hope that answers can be found.
Another question that comes up is How do we communicate the value of membership in GDC? When you’re there it seems like a no-brainer. How could designers not see the value in giving a credible voice to their profession. And yet we find ourselves also discussing freebies and discounts (and there’s nothing wrong with that) because folks have a hard time seeing the bigger picture of National representation for graphic designers. This year we gained more members from Ontario and Quebec. We now have over 1000 members and we’re growing every year. Let’s keep the momentum going and see how many committed designers we can bring to the table for next year’s AGM.