It’s been an exciting year, a challenging year in many ways, and a year where the GESGB has continued to evolve with the support and direction of the Council.

So, what’s next for the GESGB? Well, that’s up to you, the members, if you would like to have a hand in steering the charity for the next two years then please put yourself forward.

You do not need to be a long-standing member with years of technical experience. You do need an enthusiasm for the industry and a desire to serve the membership.  The roles take time and energy but in return you gain valuable knowledge and insight into what makes a Society work and your learning journey may surprise you.

The Council, Volunteers, and Office Team work closely together and share clear ambitions for the Society, we are a member led organisation and all decisions are taken with the needs of the members in mind.

Our ‘key’ themes are

Community – Our members are our community, and we use this ‘ethos’ to inform all our decision making.  The changes we have made regarding the remit and name of the charity have all been to increase the inclusion of geoscientists, geologists and geophysicists who work within the subsurface energy industry.  

• There is still much work to do, gender diversity needs further research as the gender split is less than 18% women. Of the nine ‘protected characteristics’ we only have data on two of those and so work on inclusion and accessibility is a consideration in all our events.
• Opportunities to continue and build on the partnerships between GESGB and other societies that lead to an increase in benefits to our members.
• The Council have the capacity to directly influence the GESGB activities, for the members, by the members.

Technical Excellence

Technical Excellence informs all the elements of education that the Society provides for the membership.  We aren’t an academic society like the Geological Society, we are here for people who work, have worked, or want to work in the petroleum and other subsurface energy industries. Arguably the technical content for this group will be the very best as there is tangible investment in knowledge within this industry. 

• The GESGB office team look to the Council to make decisions based on the technical value of topics, presentations, and courses.

Charity

The GESGB is a charity, and it eschews profits for the benefits of the membership. The charity provides low-cost training opportunities for its members as well as significant discounts to events for those less able to pay, such as students, unemployed or retired.  The SIG groups, the magazine and information bulletins along with field trips and lectures are all subsidised by the charity.

• The GESGB is putting the focus on building sustainable growth for the charity through membership retention and membership growth.

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The GESGB office would welcome nominations for the 2025 positions on Council.

1. President Elect – an opportunity to spend a year deciding what elements of the GESGB you would like to add, change, or improve. Action your ideas as President and maintain the change and support your successor as Past President. In addition, this role is responsible for  the programme of London Lectures for their year as Elect, starting to set the tone for their Presidency in terms of the technical programme they curate. The amount of time you devote to this over and above the Council meeting depends on the individual. This role will maintain a balanced interest in Community, Technical Excellence and Charity.
   
2. Aberdeen Elect – Aberdeen is a regional area that’s ripe for ideas around membership engagement. If you want to influence the ‘offer’ for Aberdeen, plan and host the Aberdeen lectures (with the Aberdeen Director) and are willing to play an active part in the staging of DEVEX then this is a great role.   This role will maintain a balanced interest in Community, Technical Excellence and Charity.
3. Secretary
   The Secretary role is key to the success of the Charity Governance of the society and works closely with the Executive Director, it’s a role that involves detail, and method and if there are other elements of Council that you would like to become involved in, then you can.

4. Membership Engagement Director
   This is a new role that focuses on the membership as a Community, ensuring that we serve our long-standing members, rewarding their loyalty, while appealing to the next generation of Geoscientists and those working in the wider energy community. The diversity of the membership is a recognised challenge and this role will work to establish a baseline and then make incremental change until the society is considered a ‘home’ for all that work in the relevant industries.

Please email maria@ges-gb.org.uk with names of two GESGB members to support your nomination by
5pm on Friday 1 November.

NOMINATE TODAY