Introduction

TOPICS:

1. Purpose of the Annual Meeting

2. Hosting the Annual Meeting

3. Division of Responsibilities: ADB and the Host Country (HC)

4. Role of the Host Organizing Committee

5. Overview of the Annual Meeting

Useful Resources From This Chapter:

  1. Agreement Establishing the Asian Development Bank (ADB Charter)
  2. Rules of Procedure of the Board of Governors
  3. List of ADB Members
  4. List of Official Observers
  5. Appendix 1 - Annual Meetings of the Board of Governors (Place and Date)
  6. Appendix 2 - Process of Hosting an Annual Meeting
  7. Appendix 3 - Criteria for Selecting a Host City
  8. Appendix 4 - Organization Chart - HOC
  9. Appendix 5 - Annual Meeting Requirements
  10. Appendix 6 - Annual Meeting ADB Organizational Chart
  11. Appendix 7 - Schedule of Events
  12. Appendix 8 - Occupancy Schedule - Office, meetings and Events allocation
  13. Appendix 9 - Annual Meeting Registration and Badge Figures

5. Overview of the Annual Meeting

In this Section:

  1. Date

  2. Events

  3. Venue

  4. Participants

A. Date

The Annual Meeting usually takes place in the first week of May. ADB consults the other multilateral development banks to ensure there is no overlap. The official period of the meeting, as adopted by the Board of Governors, is 2 days; however, events start 2 days before that, making the total duration 4 days. The opening session is on day 3, and the business session is on day 4. 

B. Events

  1. The program of events (Schedule of events) usually includes a series of seminars and various meetings during the 2 days before the opening session (i.e., days 1 and 2) and the two official meeting dates (i.e., days 3 and 4), as well as networking events arranged by ADB and the host country .
  2. During the Annual Meeting period, other organizations and companies may organize their own events outside of the Annual Meeting venue. Some of these organizations and companies inform ADB about their events; others do not. Examples include the following.
    • ASEAN+3 (Association of Southeast Asian Nations plus the People's Republic of China, Japan, and the Republic of Korea) meeting. This is held every year in parallel with the Annual Meeting. ADB assists the ASEAN+3 Secretariat in finding a suitable venue for its meeting.
    • Bankers' events. The State Bank of India and many other banks always host a cocktail during the Annual Meeting.
  3. ADB and the host country host various networking events.
    • ADB hosts:
      • the President's reception, a cocktail (attended by all participants)
      • a media reception (attended by 200-250 persons, mostly journalists)
      • other cocktails for specific groups
    • The host country hosts:
      • luncheons for Governors (attended by 250 persons)
      • a reception with a cultural event, featuring, for example, traditional dance or popular songs (attended by all participants)
  4. To view the list of all meetings, networking events  including an example of the other organizations and company events, refer to <Master Room Occupancy Schedule>. This document should be used as a ‘bible” of sorts by the PCO when planning and booking venues.
    Tours Program (optional) may also be organized by the host country, to be paid by participants. These are tours that take place during the Annual Meeting (but not during the Opening Session). 

C. Venue

  • The Annual Meeting is held in an ADB member country or in ADB headquarters. 
  • The list of ADB members is on www.adb.org/about/members. 

D. Participants

  1. Usually, around 3,000–4,000 participants attend an Annual Meeting. This means that the venues and hotels booked need to cater to the upper regions of these numbers. There have been some years where delegate numbers have exceeded 4000. This total is composed of:
    • member delegations
    • ADB personnel
    • observer organizations and countries interested to become members of ADB
    • guests
    • media
    • NGOs and civil society organizations (CSOs)
    • Accompanying persons
  2. Member delegations. Governors of member countries and their delegations, which account for about 500 people.
  3. ADB personnel. Management, the Board of Directors, various ADB senior staff members, and the ADB Secretariat—usually about 200 people.
  4. Observer organizations and countries interested to become members of ADB. Usually about 100 observers attend the Annual Meeting. Countries and institutions may express interest in becoming observers and may be given that status for the meeting. The host country may also propose to invite international organizations that are not in the list. The list of official observers invited to attend the Annual Meeting is submitted to the chair of the Board of Governors for approval about 6 months before the date of the Annual Meeting.
  5. Guests. Around 1,500-2,000 members of the financial community, major consulting firms and contractors, special guests (e.g., former ADB Presidents, Vice-Presidents and Secretaries), local dignitaries, seminar speakers, members of the Association of Former Employees of ADB (AFE–ADB), representatives of other corporations and academic institutions, and personal assistants (e.g., interpreters and bodyguards).
  6. Media. Up to 400 broadcast and print media (local, regional and international).
  7. Nongovernment organizations and civil society organizations. NGOs, trade unions, foundations, institutes, professional associations, and other civil society groups attend. CSOs are given access to the meeting areas, official events, and official networking events. In recent years, the number of NGO and CSO participants has ranged between 150 and 300.
  8. Accompanying persons. About 200 persons accompany the participants (i.e., spouses, partners, or children 18 years and older).
  9. Badges. All participants (including accompanying persons) are required to register before attending the event to obtain an identification (ID) badge. The badges for all categories entitle participants to attend the sessions of the Board of Governors, seminars and official networking receptions. The badges should be worn at all times to have access in venues and attend events including the Opening Session, at seminars and networking events. Access to some official networking events may be by invitation only. Badges and registration is managed by ADB both during event pre-production and onsite.
  10. Statistics on attendance at past Annual Meetings are in Appendix 9.
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