OPTIMA Newsletter 38

O P T I M A N E W S L E T T E R O P T I M A N E W S L E T T E R O P T I M A N E W S L E T T E R
O P T I M A N E W S
by Gianniantonio Domina
OPTIMA Newsletter nº 38 maintains the cover and format launched with NEWSLETTER 37. It includes a huge
Notices of Publications section, as might be expected in view of the long break since the previous issue.
As you will know, OPTIMA Meeting XII is to be held in Antalya (Turkey) on 22-26 March 2010. The
First Circular is included here. Please make sure you pre-register as soon as possible and then register and
submit your abstracts in due time. With the hard work and great motivation of our colleagues in Turkey, we
are sure the XII OPTIMA Meeting will have great success.
INTERNATIONAL BOARD
2004-2007. The former Board members approved
the Annual Reports for the years 2003-2006.
In 2004 the International Board approved the
recommendation of the Prize Commission to attribute
the Gold Medal to Nikola Diklić. It appointed
Santiago Pajarón and Adrián Escudero as auditors
for the year 2004, renewing that decision in the two
following years. During the XI OPTIMA Meeting in
Belgrade it confirmed the recommendations submitted
to it by the Councel, detailed below.
In 2007, it followed the recommendation of
the Prize Commission and attributed the OPTIMA
Gold Medal to Vernon Heywood.
International Board elections were due for
the 2007-2013 term. Most of the members of the
International Board expresed their willingness to
serve for another term, if elected. The few who
declined proposed another candidate from their
country. The OPTIMA Secretariat did not receive
any additional proposals from members of the
International Board or Ordinary members of the
organization (Art. 16.4 of the OPTIMA Constitution).
Thus, the total number of candidates (including
ex-officio members) was equal to thirty, and as
no more than two candidates of any one country
of residence were proposed, the election was tacit
(Art. 16.8 of the OPTIMA Constitution).
The new Board met in Pisa at the XII OP-
TIMA Meeting, to appoint the Executive Council
Members and Officers for the term 2007-2013.
The governance of our Organisation underwent a
substantial change. Francesco Maria Raimondo,
former Vice-President (in which function he was
replaced by Georgia Kamari) is the new President.
The former President, Werner Greuter, was
unavailable for re-election but accepted to serve a
Secretary, on the condition that his task be alleviated
by the appointment of a supplementary officer
with the function of Treasurer. This required
the first ever change in OPTIMA’s constitution of
1974, a change that was approved by the Board
and became effective upon tacit agreement by the
OPTIMA Membership. The new Treasurer (and in
effect Deputy Secretary) is Gianniantonio Domina,
of Palermo. There were further profound changes
in the OPTIMA Council, as no less than four of its
members of long standing decided to leave their
place to new, and often younger, blood. José
Iriondo, who had been managing OPTIMA as its
Secretary for 12 full years, had long announced
that he would step down; his example was followed
by Nikola Diklić, Eleonora Gabrielian and
Joël Mathez. The Board, having duly honoured
their long years of devoted support, appointed in
their stead Mohammed Fennane, Daniel Jeanmonod,
Benito Valdés, and Olja Vasić. It also
appointed Pietro Mazzola and Giuseppe Venturella
as auditors for 2007, a mandate subsequently
renewed for the years 2008 and 2009.
Other important decisions were taken at the
Board Meeting in Pisa. One was to accept the
invitation by Turkish botanists, presented by Tuna
Ekim, to hold the next OPTIMA Meeting in Turkey,
namely in Antalya in the spring of 2010. Themes
and titles suitable for the symposia of that Meeting
10 OPTIMA Newsletter No. 38 May 2009