I thank everyone who voted for the proposed Executive Committee and especially for myself as Chair, and I am looking forward to contributing to the Association in this new role.  I wish to thank the other elected members of ExCo for their continuing service, and particularly Nicholas Rosellini who has stepped up to be the new Vice-Chair. I take this opportunity to thank Andy Flatt who has stood down as Chair, and I look to him for his contribution as a continuing member of ExCo. I joined BAFUNCS in May of 2020, just before I retired, and came to know the Association when activities resumed after the COVID lockdowns. I became the Regional Representative for the Oxford Region in 2022, and was co-opted onto the Executive Committee in December 2022 as leader of the Career Paths Programme. You will find an article on the Programme in the Spring 2025 edition of the Newsletter. I was elected as Vice-Chair in 2024, before agreeing to be proposed as Chair in the recent election. In the relatively short time that I have been a member, I have found the Association plays several key roles for its members, by representing their interests in relation to the UN Pension Fund and After Service Health Insurance, by offering information through its website and newsletters and advice on various matters including UK taxation, and by providing a social environment for retirees to share experiences and develop friendships. ExCo is responsible for maintaining all of these activities, and I will do my best to keep the various aspects of the show on the road. You can find a full account of my career on my LinkedIn profile (https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephen-rudgard-6268245/). In terms of UN service, I retired from 20 years of service with the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in June 2020, and have since undertaken a range of short-term policy-related roles with FAO.  Latterly in my full-time service, I was FAO Representative to Indonesia and Timor Leste, and before that to Lao PDR.  From 2000 to 2014, I worked in FAO Headquarters, latterly as Chief, Knowledge and Capacity for Development, where I established the global e-agricultural community of practice and FAO’s e-learning programme as parts of a rich and varied programme. Please send any comments and suggestions you may have for the way BAFUNCS operates to me at the email address chair@bafuncs.org.  I also encourage any member who is interested in contributing to how the Association is run to get in touch. Stephen Rudgard, Chair of the Executive Committee

Voting on the AGM 2025 Resolutions closed on 31 May.  The results have been certified by our President, Sir Mark Lowcock. All were approved by large majorities, with 76 members casting their votes. ♦ The Annual Report and Accounts of the Executive Committee (see the Spring 2025 Newsletter) were approved, together with the revised budget for 2025 and 2026. ♦ The Association’s Revised Constitution was approved and now becomes the official document which guides our work. ♦ The AGM took note of the Annual Report and Accounts of the Benevolent Fund. ♦ The following officers of the Association were elected: President:   Sir Mark Lowcock Vice-Presidents:  Bryan Suitters, Sheila Cooper, Cyril Groom Executive Committee: Stephen Rudgard (Chair), Nicholas Rosellini (Vice-Chair), Richard Saynor (Trreasurer), Richard Sydenham (Secretary), Aubrey Botsford, Andy Flatt, Carolyn Murphy, Nichola Rodgers and Mary Roll-Vallanjon. Click Here to read a Message from our new Chair, Stephen Rudgard.  

In addition to the Photo Album of the event which was originally posted on 31 May, we are now pleased to publish the three videos of our speaker sessions at the Norwich Annual Reunion, 19-21 May; these can also be viewed on the Association’s YouTube Channel (yes, we have one!) . We are also including links to the slide presentations made by Andrea Kelly and Asher Minns. “The World Turned upside down – and what Britain needs to do about it”: Rt Hon Andrew Mitchell MP, in conversation with our President, Sir Mark Lowcock “The values of the Broads National Park and the challenges facing its future”: Andrea Kelly, Environment Policy Adviser of the Broads Authority Andrea Kelly’s Presentation Slides “Climate change, international policy and UK strategies for energy security and climate risk”: Asher Minns, Executive Director, the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research at the University of East Anglia  Asher Minn’s Presentation Slides Video credits to BAFUNCS’s own cameramen, Richard Sydenham and Charles Robson AR 2025 Photo Album Photo credits to the BAFUNCS Paparazzi: Marilyn Carr, Robert England, Carole Harris, Charles Robson, Nicky Rodgers, Carol & Richard Saynor, Vida Sherkat, Coby Sikkens, Richard Sydenham and Nina Zealey.

At its meeting on 28 May 2025, the BBF Board was pleased to welcome two new trustees, Lynne O’Donoghue and John Cubbon, who were appointed by ExCo on 20 March. However, at the same meeting the Chair, Philip Daniel, announced his resignation as both Chair and as a trustee. Philip has provided excellent leadership to the Board since taking on the role of Chair in 2023 and the trustees would like to express their appreciation for Philip’s hard work on the Board’s behalf. The Board must have at least five trustees and can have up to nine. It currently comprises seven and will issue a call for two new trustees shortly. For the time being the Board will have a rotating Chair.