Public minutes of a BiCon Continuity Ltd General Meeting 12 Oct 2025

Housekeeping around the use of the Video Conferencing software (including selecting someone to manage the technical side)

Ian W volunteered to handle Zoom moderation, no objections.

Appointment of a Minute Taker to the Meeting

Ian Jackson volunteered as minute taker; no objections; appointed.

Election of a Chair of the Meeting

David Matthewman volunteered. No other volunteers. No objections, appointed.

Quorum/Attendance

There were 13 members in attendance, with one apology.

Quorum is 1/4 of the Members and there can be no more than 25 Members so quorum met.

Consideration as to whether any non-members of the company should be granted speaking rights for the whole of the meeting.

There are no non-members present.

Election of Directors/Trustees

Anna Sharman is stepping down. Vote of thanks to Anna for her work during her directorship.

One third of the directors are standing down, which is Ian Watters, who is standing for re-election.

Voting on Ian Watters’ reappointment: carried unanimously.

Report on BiCon 2025

Ian Watters reported:

Bicon 2025 was at Nottingham Girls’ High School, July 2025. Attendance 80-something, so fewer than December 2024 in London. Small loss, a few hundred pounds. Venue pencilled in to be used again 22nd/23rd August 2026.

Full organisers’ report will be available in due course.

Brief Q&A.

Vote of thanks from the meeting to Ian Watters, for running the meeting.

Report on other activities

Provided a £1000 grant to Biscuit for their Bi+ Community Event 31.8.25.

Provided Zoom for Bi Visibility Day event. This is now going to become a monthly UK Bi Visibility event, next one Monday 26th October.

Switched our bank account from HSBC to CAF.

Finance

We have about £31,000.

Accounts sent to Charity Commission and to Companies House, now accepted.

Volunteers

We do welcome volunteer effort, even from non-Members or non-Directors.
Heartfelt thanks to Elizabeth Barner as Treasurer, who prepared our accounts.

BiCon 2026 and future

Bicon 2026 will probably be Friday 21sst evening, Sat 22nd, Sun 23rd August, at Nottingham Girls High School.

We don’t have a formal offer of a volunteer to be the chair. We are asking for volunteers to help, or to run it.

Q&A.

Various people volunteered. Ian W has collected a list.

Any other Business

None.

Vote of thanks to David for chairing.

Thanks also to Ian J for minuting.

Just under two years ago, following a call for new people at BiCon 2022, I joined BiCon Continuity Ltd as a Director. I had been involved in the bi community for over twenty years, including being on several BiCon teams, but I thought that this would give me an opportunity to give back to the organisation which is tasked with keeping BiCons themselves running. Although I had been a member of BCL and had therefore attended the AGMs, I hadn't had any involvement in the day-to-day running of the company. I wanted that to change.

Being a Director of BCL is not time-consuming. The main regular commitment is the Monthly Director's meetings. These are usually kept to an hour, unless there's something that really needs a longer discussion which will usually be flagged up in advance of the meeting. Having them monthly keeps the pulse of discussion flowing in the quieter periods of the year when there are no urgent matters, and means that we can stay up-to-date with progress on long-term items. It gives the Directors a chance to check-in with each other generally, which is important given that we're widely distributed geographically and rarely if ever meet 'in person'.

The main focus of BiCon Continuity Ltd is, of course, the BiCon event itself. Part of the Directors' job is talking to prospective teams, guiding them about some of the things that running a BiCon entails and checking that they're prepared for what they're taking on. Unfortunately, since I became a Director we have gone through a period where teams willing to run a BiCon have been this on the ground. Both 2024 and 2025 have, at times, had people interested in being part of a team running a weekend-long, residential BiCon, but unfortunately none decided to go on to run a BiCon. I can't lie, that's been frustrating, as I would far rather have had a full residential BiCon last year, but it was also important not to pressure people into running an event they would regret agreeing to.

I'm happy with the smaller-scale event we ran last year and are running this year, and very grateful to my fellow director Ian for making it happen. Nonetheless, while we've shown that a non-residential smaller event is a model that can work for a BiCon, it's far from the only possibility, and it would be nice to see some different events in future years. I'm hoping that in my role as a Director of BCL, I can have some small part in shaping that.

Outside of BiCon, there are a number of other concerns for the Directors. Some of it, perhaps the bulk of it, is admin of one form or another. As both a charity and a company, BCL has reports and accounts that must be submitted to Companies House and the Charities Commission. We have also spent the last few months moving our bank account to one that's more charity-friendly. None of this is riveting stuff, but it is important to stay on top of it for the smooth functioning of the organisation. BCL is also a member of various wider LGBT+ organisations, and can draw on other resources generally available to charities, so we're not working on our own. It can be good to feel part of a wider movement, and stay in touch with the international community.

We're always on the lookout for new people, with fresh ideas and energy to bring. If you're interested in becoming a Director, this post gives you an idea of what's involved, and what you should consider.