JA-YE Alumni Europe - organisational rules & procedures

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JA-YE Alumni Europe Bylaws March 2012

JA-YE ALUMNI EUROPE

INTERNAL RULES AND PROCEDURES

ORGANISATIONAL BY-LAWS

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TABLE OF CONTENT

ABBREVIATIONS ............................................................................................................................................................................. 3

JUNIOR ACHIEVEMENT – YOUNG ENTERPRISE ALUMNI EUROPE .......................................................................................... 4

INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................................................................................................. 5

PART I – THE ORGANISATION AND ITS MEMBERS .................................................................................................................... 5

PART II – THE EUROPEAN BOARD ............................................................................................................................................... 6

PART III - ACTIVITIES ...................................................................................................................................................................... 9

APPENDIX 1 ................................................................................................................................................................................... 11

APPENDIX 2: .................................................................................................................................................................................. 12

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ABBREVIATIONS JA-YE Junior Achievement – Young Enterprise

ECB European Coordinators Board The elected board running JA-YE

Alumni Europe

SG Secretary in General

NC National Coordinator Chairman of National JA-YE alumni

Group

IC International Coordinator Member of national JA-YE alumni

board, responsible for

international affairs

MC Member Country National alumni group, which is part

of JA-YE Alumni Europe

NCM National Coordinators Meeting Annual meeting for the NCs

EBM European Board Meeting Annual meeting for the European board

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JUNIOR ACHIEVEMENT – YOUNG ENTERPRISE ALUMNI EUROPE

The following document constitutes the by-laws of the European youth organization JA-YE Alumni Europe. It was created and edited by the 2011-2012 JA-YE Alumni Europe board: Louise Edwards, President Preslav Mitranov , Vice-president Elena Tosheva, Vice-president Ricardo Martins Costa, Vice-president Sara Green Brodersen, Secretary in General Mikko Jaatinen, Member of Board David Eiras, Member of Board Samuel Salzer, Member of Board This document will come into force if approved by the National Coordinators and the 2012 National Coordinators Meeting taking place in Czech Republic in March.

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INTRODUCTION

In 2011 it was decided that the European JA-YE alumni network would gain from making its rules and procedures explicit. The expansion of the European board and the extension of projects undertaken by the organization suggested that an official document – organisational by-laws - would support the organisation’s development.

These by-‐‑laws will cover internal matters such as general procedures, meeting and election procedures, admission

of members and other administrative issues. Official guidelines for some of the organisation’s activities do exist, however, the aim of this document is to collect all procedures and descriptions in one place, making these; official, transparent and accessible for all members of this network. The European board hopes that the National JA-YE alumni networks can use this document as an inspiration when creating national organisational procedures and regulations.

PART I – THE ORGANISATION AND ITS MEMBERS

ARTICLE I Name

The name of this network shall be Junior Achievement – Young Enterprise Alumni Europe (JA-YE Alumni Europe)

ARTICLE II Object

The objective of this organisation shall be to promote the entrepreneurial spirit and to facilitate networking and personal development across borders, as well as to promote the educational programmes of JA-YE.

ARTICLE III Contact

JA-YE Alumni Europe has a regular renewal of the leadership and as a consequence the JA-YE Europe HQ in Brussels is the official home of JA-YE Alumni Europe.

JA-YE Europe asbl Rue Victor Oudart 7 1030 Bruxelles (Schaerbeek)

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BELGIUM

ARTICLE III Members

The direct members of JA-YE Alumni Europe are the national alumni networks of Europe, making JA-YE Alumni Europe an umbrella organisation. The national alumni network needs to be made up of students that have taken part in one of JA-YE’s entrepreneurial programmes aimed for the age group 15-30 and to be recognised by JA-YE Alumni Europe and the national JA-YE organisation as the official national JA-YE Alumni network to be eligible to be a MC. Any national organisation that has either been officially welcomed into the European network or implicitly, by their invitation to European event, can be characterised as a MC. JA-YE Alumni Europe reserves the right to exclude a member country if the group goes against the objective of the overall network, however, only if this is decided by the unanimous vote of the European board. The MC is represented by their chairman, known as the National Coordinator, and their International coordinator towards JA-YE Alumni Europe.

ARTICLE IV Commitments

MCs commit to filling out and handing in an annual report on the progress of the national organisation and to communicate and promote JA-YE Alumni Europe opportunities to their members. Furthermore they commit to collaborating with their national JA-YE organisation. Other MC commitments are specifies by the Country Criteria see Appendix 1.

Part II – The European Board

ARTICLE V

European Board Members The European board shall consist of a President, three Vice-presidents (VP), three Board Members (MB) and a Secretary in General (SG). Terms of the Board. Board members shall assume their duties following their election and shall serve for a term of 1 year or until their successors are elected. No coordinator shall serve for more than four terms in total.

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Vacancy in Office. If a member of the board leaves within their term, it is up to the current board whether or not they want to find a replacement right away or wait till the upcoming election. However, if the Chairman leaves then the board will elect one of the willing board members to take over. If the vote is tied a vote from the current contact person at JA-YE Europe will be the tie-breaker. Exclusion: If any member of the board stops responding to emails and misses more than three board meetings in a row the remainder of the board can vote to exclude this person. Furthermore if any member of the board goes against the clear objectives of the organisation the board can vote to exclude this person. In these votes majority will rule. Special exclusion of the President: JA-YE Europe has committed to paying the JA-YE Alumni Europe president a honorarium, making it possible for this person to commit more time to the alumni organisation. With this JA-YE Europe retains the right to demand the president step down, if this person is not living up to his/her responsibilities. If this happens the board must elects a new president. Duties. Please see the board members’ duties and responsibilities in the appendix 2 Current structure of the European board:

Table 1 shows the European Board’s structure, this structure was implemented in 2009 and the titles were updated in the summer of 2011. The president leads the board. A team of two board members are responsible for a handful of NCs categorized by their national organisation’s status of development, ranging from new to developing to advanced. To see a

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description of the different requirements the categories have see Appendix 1. The background for this change in structure, from a more traditional organisational division of roles to a more country focused division, was a wish to create a stronger bond between the European board and the national alumni networks. The outcome of the structure is a European team able to truly represent and speak on behalf of the European network in its entirety.

ARTICLE VII Elections

European Board Elections. In autumn every year the elections for the European board will be held over the Internet. Criteria. To be eligible for the European board a person shall be or have been an active member of a European national alumni network. Furthermore the person shall not apply for a role on the European board if they will be a National Coordinator in the same period. Only current members of the European board are eligible to run for the President position, as this will secure that only alumni with a certain level of experience can take over this important role. Voting. The election of the board shall take place by voting. Each member country has one vote, which shall be cast by the presiding National Coordinator (NC) or International Coordinator (IC). If the NC and IC are unavailable to vote they can give their voting power to someone else from the national board. Each current member of the European board also has one vote each. The voting shall take place online during the designated Election Day with the current JA-YE Europe contacts person tallying votes. The result of the election shall be made known to all applicants and NCs as soon as possible following the election. ‘One vote’ entails:

- One vote for who should be President - Six votes for who should be European Coordinators

- One vote for who they be Secretary in General Alumni are allowed to run for more than one position. Hand-over. The retiring board members are urged to stay on as advisors in the capacity that they are needed. The president has to make sure that all important information is handed over to the new president and that this person is made aware of all relevant procedures currently in place.

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Part III - Activities

ARTICLE VI Meetings

Regular board meetings. Regular meetings of the European board shall be held once a month as a minimum. These meetings can take place over any medium that the board finds fit (e.g. Skype). European Board Meeting. An annual meeting for the European board shall be known as the European Board Meeting (EBM), this meeting shall take place face-to-face and for the purpose of strategising and deciding on the board member’s tasks going forward. National Coordinators Meeting. An annual meeting between the European board and the NCs shall be known as the National Coordinators Meeting (NCM) and shall have the purpose of information sharing between all present parties and supporting organisational development on both a national and European level. The location of the NCM shall be selected well in advance. All countries in the new, developing or advanced category are eligible to apply to become the hosting country. The board, with the advice from JA-YE Europe, will select the host country if more than one eligible country applies. ‘ The European board is exclusively in charge of the topic, content and flow of this meeting, with the hosting country in charge of logistics and accommodation.

ARTICLE VIII European Alumni Conference

Time. The European Alumni conference shall be held annually, and take place somewhere between June-September. The dates are decided by the hosting country in collaboration with the European board. Place. The location of the conference shall be selected one year in advance. All countries in the developing and advanced category are eligible to apply to the European board to become the hosting country. The European board, with the advice from JA-YE Europe, will select the host country, if more than one eligible country applies. Participants. The host country together with the European board decides how the selection of participants shall take place.

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The host. The host of the conference is responsible for organising, carrying out and securing funding for the event. JA-YE Alumni Europe is there to help and support in this process. JA-YE Alumni Europe will furthermore facilitate the contact to JA-YE Europe any regular sponsors of the European alumni conference. The host has to agree to the Conference Agreement created by the European board before starting their host duties. Duration and Content. The conference duration shall be approximately four-five days and focus around leadership and entrepreneurship. However it is encourage that the host come up with a specialized theme of the conference.

ARTICLE VIII By-laws

The rules and procedures governed by these by-laws shall be followed in all cases to which they are applicable to JA-YE Alumni Europe matters. Any content in the appendix shall be seen as mere guidelines and can be edited by the European board without following the amendments rules specified below. The European board shall decide on any unforeseen dilemma that may occur, which is not governed by these by-laws. If the board is tied the President shall make the final decision.

ARTICLE IX Amendments

These by-laws may be amended at the annual NCM by a two-thirds vote (one vote per country and per European board member), provided that the amendment has been submitted in writing prior to the event. Only NCs, ICs, the European board members and JA-YE Europe staff have the power to suggest such changes. At the NCM any amendments shall be taken up and the voting shall take place. Adopted _____________ (Date) Signature of current JA-YE Alumni Europe President ____________________ Signature of current JA-YE Europe CEO _____________________

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Appendix 1

Member Country Criteria

Initiating country § Show interest in starting up an alumni network1 § Spokesman to represent the group § Contact made to JA-YE Alumni Europe § JA-YE Alumni Europe must recognize the group as founders

New country

§ All of the above criteria § Name and a logo § Minimum of 5 members § Board and a National Coordinator § Intentions to participate in European activities § Cooperation with national JA-YE and JA-YE Alumni Europe § Report to JA-YE Alumni Europe annually for the annual report

Developing country

§ All of the above criteria § Facebook page or website § Minimum of 30 members § International Coordinator § Participation in European events e.g. the Alumni Conference § Organisational structure and member database § Organize at least one national event yearly

Advanced country

§ All of the above criteria § Minimum of 100 members § Capable of hosting NCM, Alumni Conference or other European event § Have close collaborations with national JA-YE office § Have a budget § Have one or more sponsors § Have organisational by-laws or the equivalent

1 Can either be initiated by JA-YE alumni or JA-YE officials

Decision process It is the European board that judges whether or not an alumni group is ready to move up a category (and is some special circumstances down). The decision will be based on the alumni group’s fulfilment of the stated criteria and a meaningful dialog with the national group. The countries moving up in a new category will be recognized at the yearly National Coordinators Meeting.

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Appendix 2:

European Board Job Description

The entire board shall:

1. Develop at one year strategy plan for JA-YE Alumni Europe; 2. Facilitate and provide opportunities to the network in its entirety; 3. Communicate official documents to the rest of the network; 4. Support and assist the NCs where necessary; 5. Prepare and take part in the regular European board meetings; 6. Prepare, organise and take part in the EBM and the NCM; 7. Co-ordinate and lead the discussion about the future development of JA-YE Alumni Europe; 8. Support the organisation of the annual JA-YE Alumni Europe conference; 9. Fulfil such other duties as may arise.

The President shall:

1. Be the face and voice of the organisation; 2. Ensure the collaboration of the European board; 3. Represent JA-YE Alumni Europe to JA-YE Europe;

a. Keep in regular contact with the JA-YE Europe office; 4. Be responsible for the external communication;

a. Represent the network to stakeholders; 5. Facilitate the creation of the annual report; 6. Organise internal meetings together with the GS; 7. Fulfil such other duties as may be assigned by the European board.

The Board Members shall:

1. Ensure a strong contact to the NCs of their respective country category; a. Communicate and promote the European network towards NCs b. Respond to requests, project offers and questions from within the network; c. Secure that the NCs fill out the annual report and are made aware about upcoming JA-YE Alumni

Europe events; 2. Be willing to take on other projects and tasks; 3. Fulfil such other duties as may be assigned by the European board.

The General Secretary shall:

1. Record the minutes at European board meetings; 2. Call the European meetings and distribute the previous meeting minutes; 3. Prepare the European board meetings in collaboration with the President; 4. Maintain the internal communication of the board members; 5. Administrate the calendar; 6. Fulfil such other duties as may be assigned by the European board.

JA-YE Alumni Europe - organisational rules & procedures

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