Attendees: Sally Ingram (Council member for SE Region); Avis Furness ( Reading u3a, ex Chair Thames Valley Network); Sue Russell (Chair of Network Link); Carole Dickenson; John Russell (Tenterden); Caroline Sowers (Surrey network, Guildford u3a); Margaret Sharp (Guildford); Andy Forbes (SER Website administrator);Michael Brigden (Surrey Network); Joy Lyon (SW Hants Network); Kevin Stock (South central Network); David Ashton ; Pam Davidoff (west Sussex Network); Rob White (PRA Kent)

Quick recap
The group discussed the operational status of the Council, risk assessment forms, and the Southeast Region Communications team's efforts to demonstrate the value of networks. They also
discussed the Summer School, SERN's role in the region, and the new governance
structure of the organization. Additionally, they explored the creation of a closed
Facebook group for internal communication.

Next Steps

• Kate Cohen: Update and improve u3a documents, including risk assessments, role
  descriptions, and safeguarding policy, to make them more user-friendly and relevant.
• Kate Cohen: Improve the u3a phone line to provide better first-time answers.
• Sally: Work with the Communications team to improve collaboration and information
  sharing between SERN and the Comms team.
• Andy: Update the Southeast Region website with any missing u3a information provided
  by Rob or others.
• Sally: Bring up the suggestion to the Council that u3a national office staff should attend
  local u3a meetings as part of their induction.
• Avis: Follow up with Nelly at National Office about setting up a Facebook group for the
  Southeast Region.
• John: Send the presentation about recruiting new committee members to Joy.
• Carole: Organize training with National Office about valuing members and encouraging them to become trustees, including trustee myth-busting.
• Sue: Organize Sheila Crawley's presentation on Facebook for the June Network Link
  meeting.

SUMMARY

u3a Membership Tracking
The discussion covered two main topics:
First, Sally lead a discussion about tracking u3a memberships in networks, revealing challenges with maintaining accurate contact
information due to GDPR concerns and changing committee members. While trustee
information is available through the Charity Commission, there are concerns about data
security and spam.
SERN's Vision for Regional Collaboration
Sally shared her vision for SERN's role in the region, emphasizing the importance of
collaboration with the Comms team and maintaining valuable dialogue between
members. The group discussed concerns about national office staff's disconnect from
u3a operations, with Sally and Carole suggesting that staff should attend u3a meetings
(including via Zoom) as part of their induction. The conversation concluded with members
expressing enthusiasm about SERN's potential as a powerful regional group and Sue
noting optimism about the Board and Council's future direction to make involvement more
appealing.
New Governance Structure
The meeting focused on the new governance structure of the organization, with the
Council acting as a bridge between the Board and the regional teams. Council
members are not trustees but have different functions. The Council will have an
opportunity to comment and input on operational aspects of the organization. The new
governance structure aims to improve communication and feedback from the Regional
teams to the Board.
Creating a Closed Facebook Group
The team discussed the creation of a closed Facebook group for internal communication
within the Southeast Region. Avis mentioned that she had consulted with National Office
about setting up such a group at the regional level, but had not received a response yet.
The team agreed that the group could be a useful tool for sharing information and
comments. They also discussed the importance of moderation and setting rules for the
group. The team considered the possibility of having a social media policy for their use,
and Avis offered to share a presentation on using Facebook for publicity. The team also
discussed the potential for a future online meeting or gathering to discuss social media
strategies .