Case Study | Gumala Aboriginal Corporation: Hybrid AGM drives 32% increase in attendance

Introduction

Gumala Aboriginal Corporation (GAC) has served the Banjima, Yinhawangka and Nyiyaparli peoples of the Pilbara region in Western Australia since 1996. As a community-led organization, GAC exists to support and empower Traditional Owners through education, training and development.

Its Annual General Meeting is a central pillar of that governance, providing a platform for GAC and Gumala Investments Limited Pty (GIPL) to update Members and Beneficiaries on key work completed during the year, and to give members a voice on economic, social and community matters.

With members spread across a vast and remote region, GAC needed a way to make its AGM genuinely accessible without compromising the quality of participation. To achieve this, GAC partnered with Lumi Global to deliver its first ever hybrid AGM.

The challenge

The geographic spread of GAC's membership across the Pilbara presented a significant barrier to in-person attendance at previous AGMs. Members and Beneficiaries living at distance from the venue faced considerable travel requirements, limiting participation and reducing the representativeness of the meeting.

GAC also needed to manage a voting process of particular complexity, with:

• Board elections requiring online and in-room voting
• Three distinct language groups represented within the membership
• Separate polls required for each language group
• A requirement that only eligible votes be counted for each respective poll

The solution

Lumi Global delivered a hybrid meeting environment that allowed Members and Beneficiaries to participate fully from any location, with the same access to discussion, voting and consultation topics as those attending in person.

The solution included:

• The Lumi Platform supporting simultaneous in-room and online attendance
• Pre-event login testing made available ahead of the meeting day
• Keypad voting for in-room participants alongside online ballot access
• Separate poll management across three language groups
• Automated vote aggregation with results calculated and displayed live during the meeting

The results

Held on October 6, 2023 at Wanangkura Stadium in South Hedland, GAC's first hybrid AGM delivered its highest ever attendance figure.

• 32% increase in attendance compared to the 2022 meeting
• Over 700 members joined online
• Live vote results displayed in real time during the meeting
• Precision voting ensured only eligible votes counted per language group poll

Speak to our experts to find out how you can deliver your next meeting.

 Lumi Global gave us the ability to let our Members and Beneficiaries attend online and vote on our consultation topics, including voting in our new Directors. As a result, we had our highest attendance for an AGM." 

 Justin Dhu, Executive Officer, Gumala Aboriginal Corporation