On 1 August 2022, Ms. Gaby Schwarz took office as the new Secretary General of the International Ombudsman Institute (IOI). Ms. Schwarz was sworn in as a member of the Austrian Ombudsman Board on 11 July 2022 and takes over the office of IOI Secretary General from her predecessor Werner Amon, who resigned as Austrian Ombudsman at the end of June 2022.

Whilst the reach of national Ombudsman offices is very wide, some countries have established sector specific Ombudsman to deal with sector specific issues. The African Ombudsman Research Centre (AORC) invites you to a webinar to showcase sectoral Ombudsman – namely Municipal, Police and Military Ombudsman – which will be held on 23 August 2022. Save the date!

In their efforts to further increase the regional impact of the IOI, the members of the IOI Board of Directors decided at their Board meeting held in New York City in May 2022 to continue the regional subsidy programme for the membership year 2022/2023.