International Council for Traditions of Music and Dance

A Non-Governmental Organization in Formal Consultative Relations with UNESCO

The 2021 Election of the ICTM Executive Board

Call for Nominations

In October 2020, the Nomination Committee of the 2021 Election requested proposals for nominations to fill positions on the Executive Board that would become vacant at the time of the 45th General Assembly of Members, to be held online on 24 July 2021.

The Nomination Committee was formed by Helen Lawlor (Ireland, convener), Marie Agatha Ozah (Nigeria), and Cara Stacey (Eswatini).

By the time of the General Assembly, Salwa El-Shawan Castelo-Branco (Portugal) would complete her term as President; Svanibor Pettan (Slovenia) would complete his as Vice President; and Tan Sooi Beng (Malaysia) and J. Lawrence Witzleben (USA) would complete theirs as Ordinary Members. An additional Ordinary Member position would also become available, made vacant after the occupant was elected an Officer. Consequently, the vacant positions to fill in the 2021 election were:

  • 3 Ordinary Members
  • 1 Vice President
  • The President

Candidates

The following candidates were selected by the Nomination Committee from proposals made by ICTM National Committees and by individual ICTM members (from at least two different countries for each proposal).

Candidates for Ordinary Members of the Executive Board (2021–2027)

  • Lonán Ó Briain (UK/Ireland)
  • Silvia Citro (Argentina)
  • Thérèse Smith (Ireland)
  • Kendra Stepputat (Austria)
  • Jasmina Talam (Bosnia and Herzegovina)
  • Ioannis Tsioulakis (UK)
  • Sean Williams (USA)

Candidates for Vice President (2021–2025)

  • Razia Sultanova (UK)
  • Tan Sooi Beng (Malaysia)

Candidates for President (2021–2025)

  • Samuel Araújo (Brazil)
  • Svanibor Pettan (Slovenia)
  • Ricardo D. Trimillos (USA)

According to the existing Statutes, Ordinary Members of the Executive Board are elected for a term lasting until the third General Assembly of Members after their term has begun (typically six years), and are eligible for re-election only once. The President and Vice Presidents are elected for a term lasting until the second General Assembly of Members after their term has begun (typically four years), and are eligible for re‐election only once.

Voting procedure

The voting was conducted exclusively via Election Runner, the same third-party voting platform used in the 2019 election. 

On 1 May 2021, all ICTM members in good standing received an email that allowed voting with a unique username and password. Voting was open until 22 July 2021 at 23:59:59 Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). 

Results

A total of 660 votes were received, or 55% of the 1,195 eligible voters. It was the highest participation in an election yet, since the standardisation of voting in 2005.

The results of the election were announced during the online General Assembly of Members, on 24 July 2021.

  • Elected Executive Board Members (2021–2027): Silvia Citro (Argentina), Jasmina Talam (Bosnia and Herzegovina), and Kendra Stepputat (Austria)
  • Elected Vice President (2021–2025): Tan Sooi Beng (Malaysia)
  • Elected President (2021–2025):  Svanibor Pettan (Slovenia)

Helen Lawlor, the convener of the Nomination Committee of the 2021 election, presented a prerecorded report with the results of the election. The full report can be read here.