Dear colleagues,

After the decision of the GGN Executive Board which was taken in consultation with the Organizing Committee of the Conference, regarding the realization of the parallel events during the 11th International Conference on UNESCO Global Geoparks, the GGN Executive Board at its 160th meeting on May 6th, decided unanimously that the GGN Elections will take place at the 5th GGN Ordinary General Assembly.

In accordance with the GGN Statutes and Operation Guidelines, the GGN Executive Board is pleased to inform you that elections for the GGN Executive Board and the GGN Advisory Committee Chair and Vice Chair will be held on September 10th, 2025, during the 5th GGN Ordinary General Assembly. This assembly will coincide with the 11th International Conference on UNESCO Global Geoparks, hosted by Kütralkura UNESCO Global Geopark in Chile.

For the Global Geoparks Network

Professor Nickolas Zouros

President

GGN ELECTORAL PROCEDURES

The procedures for the election of the GGN Executive Board will follow the Article 3 of the GGN Internal Regulations and Procedures Document

Article 3 - ELECTION TO THE GGN EXECUTIVE BOARD

3.1. Candidacies

3.1.1 Nomination of candidates - Candidacy forms 

Candidates for election as Members of the GGN Executive Board and for the seats of the Executive Board Officers: President, Two Vice-Presidents, Treasurer, and General Secretary of GGN can be either representatives of Institutional Members or Individual Members.

A candidate can apply for a single function only, either as Executive Board member or as Executive Board officer.

a. Nomination of candidates

The GGN Institutional Members shall nominate individuals (Representatives of GGN Institutional Members or GGN Individual Members) as candidates for election as Members of the GGN Executive Board and for the seats of the Executive Board Officers: President, Two Vice-Presidents, Treasurer, and General Secretary of GGN.

The GGN Individual Members shall be nominated as candidates for election as Members of the GGN Executive Board and for the seats of the Executive Board Officers: President, Two Vice-Presidents, Treasurer, and General Secretary of GGN, solely by:

- the Advisory Committees (AC) of the GGN Regional Networks, or

- the GGN National Forum/Committee of the country where he or she resides; or

- at least 5 GGN Institutional Members coming from at least two different states than the candidate.

b. Candidacy forms

The candidacy forms presented by the GGN Institutional Members, Regional AC or GGN National Fora/Committees must be sent to the GGN Secretariat in accordance with the election procedure rules using the established forms published in the GGN Internet site. 

Each form must contain the name(s) of the Institutional member or GGN Regional or GGN National Forum/Committee that is nominating the candidate and must include a biographical profile of the latter.

3.1.2 Ineligibilities 

The following individuals are ineligible for membership of the Executive Board: 

- persons employed by GGN, GGN Regional Networks, GGN National Fora/Committees

- persons employed by UNESCO Secretariat or National UNESCO Committees

“Employee” refers to each individual who carries out functions for GGN, UNESCO, UNESCO Nat. Com. or its Committees and receives remuneration for these functions.

3.2 Candidacy application - Election Committee

Candidacy forms must be filed by the fixed date, which is set by the GGN Secretariat in accordance with an elections calendar adopted by the GGN Executive Board. 

This calendar must be published to the GGN website at least 80 days before the GGN General Assembly. 

Candidacies must be addressed to the GGN Secretariat. In the case where a candidacy is deemed inadmissible, a decision to that effect must be submitted to the Institutional Member, Regional or National Committee that put forward the candidacy, offering them the opportunity to correct the candidacy application within an allotted time.

Once the GGN Secretariat has examined the admissibility of the candidacy the applications are forwarded to the Elections Committee. 

The Elections Committee is comprised of three (3) GGN Members who are not candidates for election to the Executive Board. 

They are appointed by the GGN Executive Board for an indefinite term of office. 

The Elections Committee elects its Chairperson.

The GGN General Secretary takes part in the Elections Committee meetings. 

The Elections Committee must validate the admissibility of candidacies within no more than 15 days following the filing deadline. 

Upon expiry of the allotted time limit to check the candidacy application, the Elections Committee authorizes the GGN Secretariat to publish in the GGN website a list of candidates for membership on the Executive Board.

 3.3 Presentation of candidates 

A candidate presentation document is published in English and put on GGN’s Internet site. 

This document shall contain a presentation of each candidate and a description of the election process. 

3.4 Election of Members to the Executive Board 

The election of Members of the GGN Executive Board and for the seats of the Executive Board Officers, shall take place during the General Assembly meeting held during the General Conference. 

The Members of the GGN Ordinary General Assembly constitute the voting Members. 

Voting rights are set forth in the Statutes. 

Each Institutional and Individual member has one vote. 

Voting Members who are unable to be present on the days of voting may choose to vote by proxy, whereby they may designate another voting Member to vote on their behalf. A voting Member may have a single proxy only for a single absent voting Member. 

Only proxy forms established by the GGN Secretariat and published on GGN’s Internet site shall be accepted at the time of voting. Upon presentation of the proxy, the voting Member shall receive the voting ballot of the Member he or she is representing.

The voting ballot for ordinary membership on the Executive Board should set forth the candidates’ names in alphabetical order. In order to be valid, a vote must provide the option to select, by ticking a box, a maximum of five (5) candidates for ordinary membership on the Executive Board. 

If this condition is not satisfied, the voting ballot shall be deemed invalid. 

In addition, for each seat of the Executive Board Officers, the voting ballot must provide the option to select, by ticking a box, no more than one candidate. 

If this condition is not satisfied, the vote for the relevant seat of the Executive Board Officer shall be deemed invalid. 

Only voting session pertaining to an election are to be held by secret ballot. 

The Elections Committee shall determine the date and time open as well as other procedures for the election and the voting stations. 

Candidates for seats of the Executive Board Officers obtaining the largest number of votes shall be elected.

Candidates for seats on the Executive Board obtaining the largest number of votes shall be elected, as prescribed in the GGN Statutes Article 11, Sections 1.

Electoral rules reiterating and specifying these guidelines shall be drawn up by the Executive Board and validated by the Elections Committee for each election. 

The voting ballot system may be replaced by any technical means making it possible to use an electronic voting or remote voting system, approved by the Elections Committee and the GGN Secretariat. 

The election of Members of the Executive Board is effective from the close of the General Assembly meeting during which they were elected.

Chair persons of the GGN Advisory Committee

The procedures for the election of the Chair persons of the GGN Advisory Committee will follow the Article 4 of the GGN Internal Regulations and Procedures Document

4. Advisory Committee 

4.4. Election of the Chairperson and Vice-Chairperson of the Advisory Committee 

The appointed representatives of GGN National Fora/Committees and Affiliated Organizations shall elect the Chairperson, then the Vice-Chairperson during the General Assembly. 

The Chairperson and Vice-Chairperson terms of office will last four (4) years, shall expire upon the election of their successors and can be renewed for another four (4) year term once. 
At least three (3) months prior to the expiry of the current terms of office, the General Secretary shall write a letter to the Chairperson and the Vice-Chairperson of the Advisory Committee, to Chairpersons of all the GGN National Fora/Committees, calling for candidacies for the offices of Chairperson and Vice-Chairperson of the Advisory Committee. 

The General Secretary must receive the candidacies no later than 40 days before the election date as set forth in the call for candidacies. The General Secretary shall submit the names of the candidates, together with any biographical profiles, to the Members of the Advisory Committee at least one (1) months before the election is to be held. 

As an exception to the previous provisions, candidates wishing to run in the election for Vice-Chairperson shall also be able to come forward during the General Assembly, at the close of the result announcements for the elections of the Executive Board and of Chairperson of the Advisory Committee.

The candidate for each office having received the largest number of votes shall be declared elected, provided that he or she obtains more than 50% of the votes in the first voting round. If no candidate obtains more than 50% of the votes, a second voting round is to be organized between only the two candidates having received the highest number of votes in the first voting round. At the conclusion of the second voting round, the candidate having received the majority shall be declared elected. The elected Chairperson and Vice-Chairperson shall take office once the results of their election have been declared. 

6th May 2025

The GGN Executive Board

GGN EXECUTIVE BOARD 

CALL FOR CANDIDATURES

Following the GGN Statutes the GGN Executive Board invites: 

All eligible GGN members - in good standing (Representatives of the Institutional Members and Individual Members) to submit their candidacy to run for a position in the GGN Executive Board. 

The GGN on September 2025 has 229 Institutional Members from 50 countries and 40 Individual Members. The Member lists and Numbers are published in the GGN website. 

Deadline for submissions: June 8th, 2025 at 24:00 GMT.

Official GGN Institutional Representatives must be addressed to the GGN Secretariat: secretariat@globalgeoparksnetwork.org

GGN Executive Board

The new GGN Executive Board will be elected at the 5th GGN Ordinary General Assembly which will take place on September 10th, 2025 during the 11th International Conference in UNESCO Global Geoparks, which will be held by Kütralkura UNESCO Global Geopark.

The new GGN Executive Board will consist of 15 seats: 5 for the Executive Board Officers: President, Two Vice-Presidents, Treasurer, and General Secretary of GGN and 10 Members. A candidate can apply for a single function only, either as Executive Board Member or as Executive Board Officer.

Following the provisions of the GGN Statutes, Article 11, section 1, and taking into account the current location of the 229 GGN Institutional Members, the 10 Members of the Executive Board should include:

2 seats representing Institutional Members from APGN

2 seats representing Institutional Members from EGN

1 seat for a representative of Institutional Members from GeoLAC

1 seat for a representative of Institutional Members from North America

1 seat for a representative of Institutional Member from Africa

3 seats for a Global Geopark Individual Member.

The GGN Institutional Members shall nominate individuals (Representatives of GGN Institutional Members or GGN Individual Members) as candidates for election as Members of the GGN Executive Board and for the seats of the Executive Board Officers: President, Two Vice-Presidents, Treasurer, and General Secretary of GGN.

The GGN Individual Members shall be nominated as candidates for election as Members of the GGN Executive Board and for the seats of the Executive Board Officers: President, Two Vice-Presidents, Treasurer, and General Secretary of GGN, solely by:

- the Advisory Committees (AC) of the GGN Regional Networks, or

- the GGN National Network/Forum/Committee of the country where he or she resides; or

- at least 5 GGN Institutional Members coming from at least two different states than the candidate.

Candidature form for GGN EXECUTIVE BOARD MEMBER-OFFICER (Member, President, Vice-President, Treasurer, General Secretary)

Deadline for submissions: June 8th, 2025 at 24:00 GMT.

Candidacies must be addressed to the GGN Secretariat: secretariat@globalgeoparksnetwork.org

May 6th, 2025

The GGN Executive Board

GGN ADVISORY COMMITTEE

CHAIRPERSON & VICE-CHAIRPERSON

CALL FOR CANDIDATURES

Following the GGN Statutes the GGN Executive Board invites: 

The appointed representatives of GGN National Fora/Committees to submit their candidacy to run for the position the GGN Advisory Committee Chairperson and the Vice-Chairperson. 

Deadline for submissions: June 8th, 2025 at 24:00 GMT.

Candidature form for GGN ADVISORY COMMITTE CHAIRPERSON & VICE-CHAIRPERSON 

Candidacies must be addressed to the GGN Secretariat: secretariat@globalgeoparksnetwork.org

May 6th, 2025

The GGN Executive Board

GGN OFFICIAL REPRESENTATIVES

The GGN on September 2025 has 229 Institutional Members from 50 countries and 40 Individual Members. The Member lists and Numbers are published in the GGN website. 

GGN Institutional Member should nominate their Official Representative in the GGN Ordinary General Assembly with authorization to vote in the GGN Elections.

Deadline for submissions: June 8th, 2025 at 24:00 GMT.

GGN Institutional Member Representative Form [This form should be fill in by all GGN Institutional Members (UNESCO Global Geoparks) to nominate their Official Representative in the GGN Ordinary General Assembly with authorization to vote in the GGN Elections]

Official GGN Institutional Representatives must be addressed to the GGN Secretariat: secretariat@globalgeoparksnetwork.org