General Assembly 2020

BIO Deutschland held its 17th ordinary general assembly on 29 September. Due to the pandemic, the event took place entirely digitally this year. The board did, however, meet in person at the headquarters in Berlin in order to join the association’s employees for online discussions with the members. The approval of the annual financial statement for 2019 and the discharge of the board was done through secure digital voting, which was made possible by a special online tool. Oliver Schacht, Chairman of the Board of BIO Deutschland, moderated the assembly, reported on the association’s activities over the past year and discussed the consequences of Covid-19 on the work of volunteers and full-time staff and the association’s development. Norbert Hentschel, the association’s treasurer, presented the annual financial statement and the outlook for the coming year. In her presentation, Managing Director Viola Bronsema highlighted BIO Deutschland’s initiative “101 Years of Biotechnology”. The initiative was launched by BIO Deutschland in 2019 to mark the hundredth anniversary of the coining of the term “biotechnology”. This year, special focus is being placed on biotechnology’s contribution to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations. Many such examples are featured online at www.101jahre-biotech.de/nachhaltigkeit.html.