XUNICEF News & Views — Expanded Editors Meeting Friday, February 20, 2026 | Attendees: Tom McDermott, Detlef Palm, Fouad Kronfol, Gautam (Soji), Robert Carr
Summary
The meeting covered three main areas: the Zimbabwe reunion, the transition to a new editorial team, and the future format of the blog.
On the Zimbabwe reunion, Gautam reported a productive meeting with Susan. The UNICEF Regional Director will attend in person (rather than by video), the Country Representative will present on the country program, and there will be a visit to a UNICEF-supported school. Two cakes will mark the discussion on the 80th anniversary of UNICEF and 35th anniversary of the reunions. Gautam suggested that Margherita Amodeo chair the XUNICEF session. Mary Racelis, absent due to a family wedding, could potentially join by video — ideally when the Regional Director is present, given Mary's own history as former RD.
On the editorial transition, Rob Carr will be replacing Doreen but has not yet been able to log into Blogger. Detlef will help him get started, using Chrome and switching to the editors' Google account. Tim Sutton has confirmed his interest and asked what he can do. Joachim Theis has confirmed as photo editor and Instagram coordinator, though he is traveling for the next week or two. The Instagram account remains a structural problem — it is a personal rather than group account, which means only one person can post to it.
A "Eurasia" editorial group was proposed, bringing together the new team members across time zones: Detlef (Germany), Gautam (Armenia), Rob (Albania), Soji (Nigeria), Joachim (Tokyo), Mary Ann (Philippines), and Tim (New Zealand). A trial meeting is planned for Tuesday evening European time — approximately 9 PM Germany / 8 PM New Zealand.
On blog format, Detlef proposed dropping the weekly editorial, arguing it is the most labor-intensive element and that a blog does not inherently need one. Tom agreed to complete this week's editorial and suggested Detlef write a short piece next week explaining the change. The group also discussed redirecting article submissions away from Tom's personal email to the editors' account, and potentially allowing contributors to submit drafts directly to Blogger.
Fouad noted he plans to stay through the end of 2026 (UNICEF's 80th year and his own 90th), but wishes to reduce his workload after that. He is also considering writing a historical piece on XUNICEF reunions, drawing on material from the Horst Cerni era and the original Dorothy Schlimer / WAWG organization.
Action Points
| Who | What |
|---|---|
| Gautam | Write to Joachim, Tim, and Maryanne to set up first Eurasia editorial meeting — copy Tom |
| Detlef & Rob | Work together to get Rob logged into Blogger via Chrome editors' account |
| Detlef | Write brief blog post next week announcing end of weekly editorial format |
| Tom | Complete and circulate this week's editorial draft today |
| Tom | Set up auto-reply redirecting article submissions to editors' account |
| Gautam | Confirm Margherita as chair of XUNICEF session in Zimbabwe with Susan |
| Tom/Gautam | Explore video link with Mary Racelis during reunion, ideally when RD is present |
| Fouad | Write to UNICEF Communications Director about UNICEF House |
| Fouad | Draft historical article on XUNICEF reunions (for blog) |
| All | Trial Eurasia meeting — Tuesday evening (EU time) |
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