International activities 4. International activities 4.1 International Ombudsman Instititute (IOI) Vienna Meeting of the IOI Board of Directors The annual meeting of the IOI Board of Directors took place in Vienna in late October 2014 and Secretary General Günther Kräuter received around 30 guests from all parts of the globe on the premises of the Austrian Ombudsman Board. The IOI, whose headquarters have been at the AOB since 2009, links more than 170 independent ombudsman institutions from more than 90 countries in Africa, Asia, Australasia & Pacific, Europe, Caribbean & Latin America, as well as North America. New members During the meeting in Vienna, twelve ombudsman institutions were accepted as new members of the IOI. John Walters, Ombudsman of Namibia, became President, taking over from New Zealand Chief Ombudsman Dame Beverley Wakem who had held the office since 2010. For their extraordinary services to the IOI, Dame Beverley Wakem and former Ombudsman and Secretary General of the IOI Peter Kostelka were named honorary life members by the Board of Directors. The Board of Directors concluded numerous projects that had been implemented during the IOI’s 2013/2014 fiscal year and initiated new projects for the year to come. IOI election reform For example, a far-reaching election reform was resolved. This reform - if accepted by the General Assembly - will not only make electronic voting possible, but for the first time, give all voting members of the IOI the right to vote directly for the offices of the IOI President, the two IOI Vice-Presidents and the IOI Treasurer. Policy paper on privatisation of public services Furthermore, the Board of Directors adopted a policy paper on the subject of privatisation of public services. More and more frequently, ombudsman institutions worldwide are facing the problem that private providers take over public services and thus, citizens no longer have the possibility to direct a complaint to a public institution such as the Austrian Ombudsman Board. The IOI policy paper resolved in Vienna summarises the position of the IOI vis-à-vis this increasing privatisation of public services and is intended to provide support to ombudsman institutions worldwide in again incorporating monitoring and control of such privatised services into their area of responsibility. Cooperation agreement with Institute of Latin American Ombudsmen In the effort to deepen the cooperation with like-minded regional and international organisations, a cooperation agreement was signed between the IOI and the Institute of Latin American Ombudsman (ILO). Other cooperation agreements with other regional ombudsman institutions are planned. Ombudsman Günther Kräuter also took advantage of his 18