The Governing Body Commission (GBC) of ISKCON resumed its regular online meetings on Wednesday, 6 December, after the Kartik break. Two significant topics were discussed at this meeting:

1) CPO Directorship
An important topic discussed was the strengthening of the international Child Protection Office (CPO), including future and succession planning. The discussion grew out of a shared report submitted by two GBC-appointed committees to review the current CPO systems and structures and propose improvements. One conclusion of the committees’ two-year study was to clarify the length of office for the CPO Director, which has now been set as a three-year term.

The current director, Kamalesh Krishna Das, has ably served the global ISKCON society in that role for seven years, and the term of the current Director expires at the annual meeting in 2024.

As with all Committees and Ministerial assignments, the position of CPO Director is appointed during the GBC annual meeting held in February-March. To this end, the GBC resolved that: “The GBC hereby forms a committee composed of the GBC Executive Support Office, along with Navin Krishna Das, Champakalata Devi, Chaitanya Mangala Das, Govinda Lilamrita Devi, the regional CPO Directors, and the CPO advisor Anuttama Das, to identify qualified candidates for CPO directorship. The current CPO Director, Kamalesh Krishna Das, will be consulted in this process.”
[Note: The members listed here are tentative membership. Some are yet to be confirmed.]

[Note: Social media posts have erroneously rumored that Kamalesh Krishna Das was purportedly dismissed as the Director of ISKCON CPO. That is false. Kamalesh Krishna Das continues to serve in his role as CPO Director, and the GBC continues to support the CPO in its work of ensuring the safety and protection of children within ISKCON.]

2) Midterm General Meeting 2024
The second decision made during the 6 December meeting was to confirm that the 2024 Midterm General Meeting (MGM) of the GBC will be held in New Vrindaban, West Virginia, USA, in the first week of October 2024. In its efforts to better understand the unique growth and experience of ISKCON in various regions of the world, the GBC intends to hold its MGM in locations outside of ISKCON’s international headquarters in Mayapur, India.

The GBC held its last MGM in Pune, India, in October 2023. At that session, the GBC spent one day exclusively interacting with the leaders of ISKCON India. The 2024 meeting will include time set exclusively to meet with the leaders of North America to better understand the challenges, progress, and unique opportunities of ISKCON in North America.