Following Mr. Alex Frediani’s decision to step down from the HIC Board as Representative for Europe, and the reception of his resignation letter on 3 June 2025, the General Secretariat launched a process to replace Dr. Frediani for the remaining period August 2025 to May 2027.
The Alternate to the Board, Irene Escorihuela from Observatori DESC (Spain), accepted to remain in her position until completing the mandate.
On 11 July 2025, an email was sent to the Europe Members mailing list (161 subscribers) calling for volunteers to represent the Membership in Europe as Interim Representative to the HIC Board.
The deadline to respond was 25 July 2025.
By the deadline, only one proposal had been received:
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Urbamonde, a HIC Member in Switzerland since February 2012, submitted a joint application from Lea Oswald and Pierre Arnold.
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Their proposal suggested that Pierre Arnold serve from August 2025 to March 2026, and Lea Oswald from April 2026 until the end of the mandate (May 2027).
On 29 July, another email was sent to the Europe Members mailing list presenting this unique proposal and giving Members one week to raise any objections, with clear justification.
As no opposition was received, Lea Oswald and Pierre Arnold were designated Interim Representatives for Europe to the HIC Board.
On 20 August 2025, both Representatives participated in a training/guidance session conducted by the HIC General Secretariat team. During this session, they were updated on the roles and responsibilities of HIC Board members and received the orientation pack corresponding to their new position.
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