The Vegan Society Annual General Meeting is a great time to meet other active vegans and to get to know the Vegan Society.

Full members can also vote on any motions up for discussion and ask questions. There are several motions to vote on this year, so there's rarely been a better chance to help decide things for the Society. It's your Society, so come and have your say!

Programme for the day

First off, Network Contacts and any active vegans are welcome to come and help out in the morning with a free food fair being run by the wonderful Vegan Campaigns nearby. It will be a great chance to meet other active vegans, help with a wonderful veganising event, and even get inspired to try a food fair yourself. Find out more and say if you might be there.

There will be yummy vegan food to buy for your lunch, served by Shambhu's kitchen, and a Vegan Society shop so you can browse through all those lovely vegan books and things they sell. So it's a good idea to get there in good time. Do note that Shambhu's dishes will contain no chilli, but it will be there on the side for anyone who likes to add a bit of spice.

1pm - Network Contacts and any active vegans are invited to grab their lunch and come and sit together to munch, chat and exchange ideas, even hatching veganising plans for the future. Many great ideas and collaborations are born when such people get together. A special area will be set aside for this.

2pm - Annual General Meeting starts - grab a seat!

5pm-ish - this year the AGM will be followed by a memorial to our wonderful founder, Donald Watson, who died in the last year at the age of 95.

Shambhu's kitchen will be on again for dinner and a socialising event so you can stay on without hunger pangs. Please note the Vegan Society Awards Ceremony has been postponed until a later date.

What actually happens at an AGM

This is the big event in the Vegan Society calendar. It starts with standard company business like any AGM, but then it gets progressively more interesting.

All members are welcome to the Annual General Meeting, and it is particularly good to see active vegans like you there, who are such an important part of veganism.

It is where you can find out what the issues are, meet the people involved in the Vegan Society and play a part in it.

First they will go through the main business, such as the accounts and anything on the published agenda. This may sound pretty dull, but actually it can be enlightening, particularly when there are interesting questions from the floor (ie. you).

The results of the trustee (governing Council) election will be announced.

Then you can speak and vote on motions. The deadline for submissions has passed. You can see all the motions listed in the Annual Report of the Vegan Society which you'll be sent around the end of September. There are several this year, so it should be a particularly interesting AGM to attend and influence.

There should then be a chance for more general questions at the end of the meeting.

When you can have your say

Members from the floor can speak to the meeting in various ways, including by submitting motions in advance (the deadline for this has now passed), submitting written questions in advance, and putting their hand up on the day. Full members can also vote in the postal elections in the weeks before the AGM, and on motions at the AGM.

It's a good idea to think about and ideally submit your questions in advance, as then you will be able to make the most of your time to speak, as this is limited to give more people a chance. Questions submitted in advance are taken before those raised on the day.

Can you make it?

This year is likely to be a very lively and interesting event, with lots going on all day. So if you are going to come to any AGM, try this one!

You don't have to say if you are planning to come along as a member - just turn up, though it's always nice to know to look out for you, so do tell Sophie Protected email address if you get a chance.

If you can't make it and would like your name in the Vegan Society's minutes for posterity as well as to say you would rather have liked to have been there, then do pass on your apologies to the Vegan Society (see below). Apologies are stated and recorded at the beginning of the meeting.