JOURNAL

ICAO 39 TH ASSEMBLY
BEHIND THE SCENES, ICAO
ADMINISTRATION TEAM MAKES
ASSEMBLY RUN SMOOTHLY
A record number of attendees – so many that they could not all
fit in the main conference room. A record number of working
papers and other documents – 30% more than previously.
A revamped electronic voting system. Livestreaming of open
sessions on YouTube. A new “app” for mobile phones and tablets.
Expanded WiFi coverage. And, as typical, translation of
everything into the six official United Nations languages.
The 39 th ICAO Assembly posed a herculean task for the
Organization’s Bureau of Administration and Services (ADB)
and, collaborating with the other bureaus of the Secretariat,
they managed a virtually flawless event.
ELECTRONIC VOTING – INSTANT RESULTS
The most visible example of Administration’s behind-the-scenes
efforts was the electronic voting system used for electing the
36 Member States of the ICAO Council. “This was one of the
critical points of the whole Assembly,” explained Vincent Smith,
ADB Director, who joined the ICAO staff in January. “We had to
make sure it was a credible process, which means the internal
auditor was involved. The external supplier had to be onsite.
And we ran the whole thing from our own servers.”
RECORD DOCUMENTS – OVERNIGHT TRANSLATIONS
The record number of working papers meant a record number
of translations, each of which had to be translated into Arabic,
Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish – and reviewed
and approved – literally overnight. For each paper presented,
there was a discussion on the topic among the delegates, and
therefore meeting “minutes” were generated. The minutes were
reviewed by the appropriate ICAO bureau and delivered to the
translators by 8:00 pm each evening. The translators worked
through the night so the documents could be made available
(both online and in hard copies) when delegates arrived the
next morning for the next Assembly session.
For late-day sessions, say, a discussion that concluded at 5:00 pm,
that allowed only three hours to write and review the minutes in
time for the translators to begin.
“It was an area that was ripe for potential complaints, people
questioning the process, much like in many countries where
when people lose an election, the first thing they do is question
the democratic process.”
Smith’s team went through “endless reviews, consultations,
and full practices” to make sure the system was ready.
When it came time for the voting during the Assembly, it was
first necessary to confirm the correct, accredited persons
eligible to vote. They received electronic notebooks and
personal identification numbers (PINs) to access the virtual ballot.
Instructional videos were shown on how to use the voting system.
Once all 171 accredited States’ delegates voted, the results were
presented within 30 seconds. In the past, voting (when it was
manual) took an entire day. This time, Smith said, “the entire
thing took an hour from start to finish. Due process was followed;
nothing was called into question. Everything went smoothly.
It was one of the points that everybody was most concerned
about … and most relieved over.”
One of the critical points of the 39 th Assembly – electronic voting for the
ICAO Council – performed without a glitch, thanks to the preparation of the
ICAO Bureau of Administration and Services team.
“Everything counts.
Everything matters.”
– Vincent Smith, Director
ICAO Bureau of Administration and Services (ADB)
ICAO JOURNAL – ISSUE 4 2016 25