Vote for Lowell Flanders for the AFICS/NY Governing Board

VOTE FOR LOWELL FLANDERS FOR MEMBER OF THE AFICS/NY GOVERNING BOARD (FULL BIO BELOW)

CALLING ALL AFICS/NY MEMBERS

2018 Elections to the AFICS/NY Governing Board (Association of Former International Civil Servants)

Dear AFICS/NY members,

Some of you have already received the ballot for the 2018 election. Others may still be on the way. Please note that you may vote for one or more, but not more than six candidates. If you vote for more than six, your vote will be INVALID. The deadline for submitting your ballot is 31 May 2018.

I urge all AFICS/NY members to get out the vote for Lowell Flanders. Lowell has been consistent and committed in his efforts to safeguard our Pension Fund.

See his full bio below. Call and email your AFICS/NY friends and colleagues and urge them to vote and to submit their ballots on time.

Statement of  Lowell Flanders for Election to the AFICS Governing Board

I served several consecutive terms as President of the United Nations Staff Union, and was involved in staff representative functions throughout my UN career. After retirement, I followed closely pension issues and particularly how retirees have been represented in AFICS. Along with other concerned staff and retirees, I have been active in alerting our community to problems within the Pension Fund and how AFICS has served (or not) our common interests.

As a Governing Board member I would work to ensure that AFICS prepares, publicizes and consults its membership on policy positions it plans to take with the Pension Board, prior to its meetings, as well as share relevant documentation that may affect retiree benefits.  AFICS should also prioritize its active lobbying to protect retiree interests, over social functions.

I am concerned that the Governing Board of AFICS has been too entrenched with little turn over in membership. I believe that the Statutes of AFICS need to be revised to encourage more transparency, open elections and democratic procedures. With the volatility in the financial markets and the documented management problems in the Fund Secretariat, there is the need for AFICS to be ever vigilant and active in close cooperation with the Staff Unions of serving staff. There is strength in numbers and solidarity and cooperation with currently serving staff can only strengthen the effectiveness of AFICS. We need to make more active use of social media to keep retirees informed of current challenges.

In my UN service, I was Assistant Director, United Nations, Division for Sustainable Development, which served as the Secretariat for the Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD) from 1993 to 2002.  I was Chief of the Policy Integration and Programme Coordination Branch. Prior to that I was Chief of the Environment and Sustainable Development Unit of the Department for Economic and Social Development. I served for several years as the Deputy Chief of the Water Resources Branch of the Department for Technical Cooperation.  I started my international career in 1965 as a US Peace Corps Volunteer in India where I served for two years.  While a graduate student in public administration at UCLA in 1968, I was a research fellow with the Central American Research Institute for Industry in Guatemala City.  After joining the United Nations in 1970, I served with the UN Relief Operation in Bangladesh and was for two years Assistant Resident Representative with the United Nations Development Programme in Venezuela.  I managed technical cooperation programmes in various countries of Africa, Asia and Latin America. 

If you believe with me that protection of our common interests as retirees requires constant vigilance, I ask for your support and vote as a member of the AFICS Governing Board.