A/HRC/15/38 to allow indigenous representatives to attend meetings of the Ad Hoc Open-ended Intersessional Working Group on Article 8(j) and Related Provisions under the Convention on Biological Diversity and the Voluntary Contribution Fund for Accredited Indigenous and Local Communities to provide travel grants to attend meetings of the Intergovernmental Committee on Intellectual Property and Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge and Folklore established by the World Intellectual Property. IV. Sessions of the Board of Trustees 14. Since the establishment of the Fund, the Board has held 23 sessions. The Board meets annually in Geneva, in February or March, for five working days. At the beginning of each session, the Board elects the chairperson, a position which rotates annually. 15. At its sessions, the Board has an extensive agenda. The members of the Board review the implementation of the recommendations taken at its previous session; the financial status of the Fund; the new admissible applications received for funding; and other relevant matters that fall within its mandate. The Board also meets annually with present and potential donors. 16. During its sessions, the Board also meets with the relevant OHCHR staff working on issues related to human rights and indigenous peoples, including the Assistant to the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights and fundamental freedoms of indigenous people (the Special Rapporteur), the Coordinator of the Indigenous Fellowship Programme and the secretariats of various treaty bodies. Under the agenda item devoted to the developments in the United Nations system concerning relevant mandates, the Board has also met, for example, with representatives of the Expert Mechanism to discuss cooperation between the two bodies and the proposal made by the Expert Mechanism regarding the expansion of the mandate of the Fund to enable indigenous representatives to also attend sessions of the Human Rights Council and treaty bodies. 17. The Board adopts recommendations for approval of the High Commissioner for Human Rights on behalf of the Secretary-General. The approved recommendations are then implemented by the secretariat of the Fund within OHCHR. V. Intersessional decision-making 18. The Board has developed a range of practical working methods to pursue work between sessions. If a decision needs to be taken on a grant or on any other relevant urgent issue, the Secretariat will contact the chairperson of the Board and the Board member of the geographical region to which the question refers. They will make a recommendation that will be conveyed to other Board members for information and submitted for approval to the High Commissioner for Human Rights, who acts on behalf of the Secretary-General. If the matter needs the advice of all members of the Board, the Secretariat, through the chairperson of the Board, will involve all members in the formulation of a recommendation. Intersessional communication is done via electronic mail and videoconferencing. 19. Intersessional decision-making has proven important especially in situations where the mandate of the Fund has been extended by the General Assembly between sessions. In such cases, all the Board members are contacted to provide intersessional advice and make recommendations. This was done, for example, in 2001, when the General Assembly approved the expansion of the mandate of the Fund in late December to allow representatives of indigenous communities to attend the newly established Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (by virtue of resolution 56/140). In order to ensure support for participation in the first session of the Forum, the Secretariat organised intersessional 5