Minutes of the membership meeting at Eurocrypt 2025
Tuesday, May 6, 2025, 17:45, Madrid

Michel Abdalla, President of the IACR, opens the meeting with a brief overview of the IACR, its structure, and missions. Brian LaMacchia, Treasurer, presents the financial report, and Bertram Poettering, Membership Secretary, reports on the IACR membership.

The open discussion begins.

Nigel Smart asks whether donations to the IACR are used in any particular way or go into a general pool. LaMacchia explains that small donations generally come with conditions specifying their use, while larger ones typically go into a growth fund.

Clémence Chevignard asks about how the money is invested and whether members have input on investment choices. LaMacchia responds that individual-level input would be difficult to process, but expresses interest in understanding what matters to the membership regarding investments.

Paula de Perthuis asks if it would be possible to pay registration fees in local currency. LaMacchia responds that it is desirable and has been exploring options. He notes that it is a complex feature to implement.

It is next asked if there will be a formal policy against issuing statements on political matters. Abdalla responds that no formal policy exists yet, but he agrees that the IACR should refrain from making such statements moving forward.

Serge Vaudenay asks if the delay between acceptance notifications and program publication could be reduced. Abdalla acknowledges this as a valid concern. Program Chairs and General Chairs are encouraged to minimize delays as much as possible, but it is unclear how to enforce a limit on the delay.

Andreas Hulsing asks whether the new IACR code of conduct will address reviewing and authorship matters. Bishop clarifies that separate plans exist for those topics, but the current draft focuses solely on conference attendance behavior.

Andreas Hulsing suggests considering a shift toward a conference format focused on talks of broad interest (as opposed to many dense, short expert-focused presentations). In other research areas, conferences consist mostly of invited talks. Abdalla responds that it is a good point, and we want members to get the most value out of our conferences. This suggestion is part of ongoing discussions to change our publication and conference models.

The President closes the meeting at 18:59.