The Bureau held its first meeting of the 2005-2010 quinquennium on the day following the second General Assembly of the ICHS, convened on the occasion of the 20th International Congress of Historical Sciences. The Bureau met from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. at the History Department of the University of New South Wales.

Present: José Luis Peset, President; Koichi Kabayama, Vice-President; Jean-Claude Robert, Secretary General; Sorin Antohi, Mikhail Bibikov, Marjatta Hietala, and Michael Heyd, Assessor Members; Jürgen Kocka, Counselor.
 
Excused: William C. Jordan, Vice-President, Pierre Ducrey, Treasurer, and Shahid Amin and Hilda Sabato, Assessor Members.

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Agenda

1.	Opening by the President
2.	The ICHS’s objectives for the next quinquennium, and the distribution of tasks
3.	Upcoming Bureau meetings
4.	Miscellaneous

1. President’s opening statement and remarks

The President welcomed the new members of the Bureau and asked them to introduce themselves briefly and indicate their area of specialization. He emphasized the importance of pursuing the previous Bureau’s work of developing the ICHS, and then gave the floor to Jean-Claude Robert.

2. The ICHS’s objectives for the next quinquennium, and the distribution of tasks

In addition to the general objectives the President mentioned, the ICHS must engage in other avenues before the next General Assembly (2007) as a follow-up to two motions approved during the first Assembly: to explore ways to widen membership, and to examine the procedure for selecting the themes for the next quinquennial Congress.

For these two initiatives, the Secretary General proposed forming subcommittees that would bring together Bureau members and representatives of the National Committees and Affiliated International Organizations. He would consult Bureau members further before the end of the year. The sub-committees could exchange opinions by e-mail or hold a meeting before the next Bureau meeting in October 2006, at which time the Bureau would be able to pursue the discussions in the presence of all the members of the sub-committees, with the ultimate goal of presenting solutions to the General Assembly in 2007. In addition, the Bureau restreint could contact some publishers and obtain concrete proposals to discuss during their meeting in 2006.

During the meeting we will also review the Sydney Congress. The Secretary General invites members to submit their comments as soon as possible in order to help him prepare a short document to focus the discussion. Members of the Bureau will receive a report prepared by the Australian Organizing Committee, and Professor Martyn Lyons and the President of the Netherlands Organizing Committee will attend the meeting.

3. Upcoming Bureau meetings

The next Bureau meeting will be held in Santiago de Compostela, Spain, at the invitation of the Spanish Committee of Historical Sciences. A longer duration is planned to provide time for joint meetings with the two sub-committees. It was proposed that the Bureau meeting begins on Thursday evening, October 5, and continues if necessary on Monday, October 9.

In 2007, the Bureau will meet in Beijing, before and after the General Assembly. In 2008, the Bureau will meet in Amsterdam. For 2009, the Japanese National Committee has invited the Bureau to meet in Japan in early September.

As for the logistics of organizing the Bureau meetings, the Secretary General reminded that he would contact members a few months before each meeting. The Bureau meetings are financed in part by the National Committees, which are offering lodging and a number of meals. Members are responsible for reserving their own airplane tickets. Lastly, on behalf of the Treasurer, the Secretary General reminded members of the guidelines concerning the reimbursement of travel expenses. Members are to buy the most economical tickets available (APEX), if possible from discount airlines. The ICHS will reimburse only the value of the lowest-priced ticket. It is not in a position to assume expenses for a travel companion.

4. Miscellaneous

As there was no further business, the President thanked the members of the Bureau and adjourned the meeting.