Statute Approved
by We Are AGM September 2017
Art. 1: Name
1.1 The official name of the organisation is ‘We Are –
LGBTQQI Youth and Student Organisation’.
1.2 LGBTQQI is an acronym which stands for ‘Lesbian, Gay,
Bisexual, Trans, Queer, Questioning and Intersex’.
Art. 2: Nature
2.1 We Are is an independent and autonomous, non-profit
organisation which operates freely of any civil or religious body, any
political party, any commercial organisation and any other group, organisation,
society or body of persons.
Art. 3: Aims
3.1 Community
3.1.1 To organise regular social activities and provide a
safe and friendly environment in which people can meet and interact regardless
of their sexuality and/or gender.
3.1.2 To provide informal and confidential support to youth
and students who are questioning aspects of their sexuality and/or gender, and
to guide LGBTQQI individuals towards entities which offer professional support
and guidance.
3.2 Awareness and
Information
3.2.1 To provide information about issues affecting the
LGBTQQI community through the organisation of projects, campaigns, and any
other suitable means.
3.3 Education
3.3.1 To organise non-formal education activities for the
promotion of acceptance and diversity, to be a source of information regarding
LGBTQQI activities outside campus, and to enable members approved by the board
to represent the organisation at activities which contribute to the development
of the organisation.
3.4 Representation
3.4.1 To represent members of the organisation in accordance
with the other provisions of this Statute.
3.4.2 Without prejudice to what is stated in Article 2, to
establish links with other societies and organisations as might be necessary
for the pursuance of these aims.
Art. 4: Membership
4.1 All members have to support the aims of We Are.
4.2 Members of the organisation must fill in a membership
form with a monetary fee of zero euros (€0.00), that is, membership is free. This Value may be
altered by the general meeting.
4.3 Application: An applicant must submit an online or print application and
affirm agreement with the aims of We Are.
4.3.1. The application must be approved by an executive member. In the case of online membership, the member will be duly informed that their membership has been approved.
4.4. Admission: The Executive Board reserves the right to
suspend any member who on any occasion behaves in a manner which is considered
to conflict directly with the aims and beliefs of We Are.
4.4.1 A member may be suspended from membership by the
Executive Board for failure to comply with this Statute. The suspension, unless
revoked by the Executive Board, shall remain in force until the next General
Meeting (Annual or Extraordinary) where it shall be decided whether such member
is to be reinstated or expelled.
4.4.2 Members facing the possibility of suspension or
expulsion have the right to present their defence.
4.5 Only members are entitled to vote and can contest any
elections regulated by this statute.
Art. 5: Organisation
5.1 The Organisation shall be governed by the following
structures, in the following order of authority:
5.1.1 General Meeting (Annual or Extraordinary)
5.1.2 Executive Board
5.1.3 Sub Committees of the organisation
Art. 6: General Meeting
6.1 The General Meeting is the highest authority in We Are.
All members have one vote at the General Meeting.
6.2 The Annual General Meeting (AGM) shall be held at the
end of the term of the Executive Board, no sooner than 10 months and no later
than 14 months from the commencement of the new term.
6.3 The General Meeting shall meet in Extraordinary Session
when 10% of the members of the organisation make a request in writing to the
Secretary General.
6.4 The quorum at a General Meeting shall be one third (1/3)
of its members.
6.5 If, 15 minutes after the published start of the General
Meeting, 1/3 of the organisation’s members are not present, the Executive Board
has the right to commence the meeting with the amount of members present, which
shall constitute a quorum.
6.6 Notice of General Meeting shall be affected upon members
of the general public by at least two media not later than 14 days before the
General Meeting.
6.7 The agenda of the Annual General Meeting should be as
follows:
6.7.1 Appointment of Chair
6.7.2 Approval of Agenda
6.7.3 Approval of minutes
6.7.4 Matters Arising out of minutes
6.7.5 Administrative Report for the year
6.7.6 Financial Report
6.7.7 Auditor’s Report in cases where the income of the
Organisation exceeds the limits set by the VO commissioner.
6.7.8 Amendments to statute
6.7.9 Election of Electoral Commission
6.7.10 Nominations and presentation of the candidates for
the incoming Executive Board
6.7.11 Election of executive
6.8 The procedure at the General Meeting shall be regulated
by this statute.
Art. 7: Composition and Functions of the Executive Board
7.1 Election to the Executive Board (EB) of the Organisation
shall be held during the Annual General Meeting. If the AGM follows a period of
dormancy according to the regulations of the governing body (KSU), the EB can
be elected either during an EGM or any period up to two weeks prior to the EGM.
7.2 Should a member of the Executive Board choose to leave
their position, the executive has the choice to either call an Extraordinary
General Meeting, or can call for a co-option, provided that a notice of the
vacant position is made in at least two different media, and with at least 14
days chance for possible candidates to apply for the vacant position. In the
event that the number of candidates surpasses the number of vacant positions, a
vote must be taken by the executive board with a unanimous result. Should there
be no unanimous result, an EGM must be held.
7.3 The Executive Board is:
7.3.1 responsible for the day-to-day running of the
organisation
7.3.2 responsible to implement the decisions of the General
Meeting
7.3.3 responsible to direct the policies of the organisation
throughout the year
7.4 The Executive Board will be made up of six officials, and the positions to be
filled shall be as follows:
7.4.1 President
The President is responsible for the general direction of
the organization and for directing Executive Board policy with the help of the
Secretary General.
7.4.1.1 Resignation of this post shall be effected to the
Secretary General.
7.4.1.2 The president is responsible to co-opt a project
manager from We Are members after a call is issued, with two thirds (⅔) majority of the executive in agreement
when a long term project is being worked on. The co-opted project manager is
subject to the rules and obligations as per article 4.
7.4.2
Secretary General
Along with the President, the Secretary General is a legal
representative of We Are and shall aid the President in the function of their
duties.
7.4.3
Treasurer
The Treasurer shall prepare records of accounts and other
financial statements, and be responsible for the handling of We Are’s bank
account and cash books.
7.4.4 Communications
Officer
The Communications Officer (CO) is responsible to spread relevant information to members and general public
related to the organisation and its aims.
7.4.4.1 The CO has the duty to maintain the organisation's
social media and any other media the organisation, from time to time, makes use
of.
7.4.5
Awareness and Education Officer
The Awareness and Education Officer (A & E Officer) is tasked with
creating, organizing and promoting any awareness campaigns or short term
projects for We Are and may make use of any media tools to achieve this.
7.4.5.1
KPS meetings are within the remit of the A&E Officer. In case they cannot attend
the meeting, they are to find a suitable replacement within 24 hours of the
Exec meeting.
7.4.6. The Community Officer is responsible to maintain the community-feel within the organization. They must create, maintain and constantly update the members’ database.
7.4.6.1 Events forum meetings are within the remit of the Community Officer. In case they cannot attend the meeting, they are to find a suitable replacement from the executive, 24 hours before the meeting.
7.5 The President and the Secretary General shall be vested
with the legal representation of the organisation.
7.6 The function of each Executive Board members shall be
further defined in the ByLaws of We Are in accordance with article 8.
7.7 Proceedings during the Executive meetings shall be
regulated primarily by this Statute or by Standing Orders/regulations which
will conform to the Statute
7.8
At least half of the executive board must be comprised of current University of
Malta students, or Alumni of the University of Malta.
7.9
The EB is entitled to officially represent the organisation.
7.10
The EB may delegate tasks to other persons, but it will remain responsible for
these tasks at all times.
7.11
An EB member shall cease to hold office:
7.11.1
with the election of a new board by the Annual or Extraordinary General
meeting;
7.11.2
by a written resignation addressed to the President;
7.11.3
by removal from office by a decision of the Annual or Extraordinary General
Meeting;
7.11.4
if one ceases to be a member of We Are, even if such member ceases to be a
member under the terms described in article 7.12.3
7.11.5
Executive Board members failing to attend three (3) consecutive meetings or to
four (4) non- consecutive meetings without a just cause shall be dismissed;
7.11.5.1 The EB member is expected to inform the rest of the
EB of their inability to attend a meeting via group social media or email. The
lack of doing so, unless there is a just cause, will be considered as a lack of
commitment to work and will be affected by Article 7.11.7.
7.11.6
By one’s death.
7.11.7
If any member of the EB does not commit themselves to work and is perceived as
un-accountable or a detriment to the organization, this person can be asked to
resign by a majority decision of the board.
Art. 8: Bylaws
8.1 To regulate matters not described in this statute We Are
has bylaws.
8.2 Bylaws have to comply with this statute.
8.3 Amendments and changes to bylaws have to be decided by
the General Meeting (Annual or Extraordinary) by a simple majority
Art. 9: Sub-committees
9.1 Sub-committees may be set up either by the General
Meeting (Annual or Extraordinary) or by the Executive Board to deal with needs
and issues that arise from time to time.
9.2 All We Are Sub-Committees, function under the same We
Are statute and bylaws of the time.
9.3. Subcommittees fall under the responsibility of the
relevant EB member related to their function and aims. A member who wishes to
resign from the subcommittee must inform the President of their wishes. The
resignation becomes effective within 15 days of submission of such. The member resigning is obliged to give a
handover to their Supervising Executive Member.
Art. 10: Elections
10.1 Elections to the Executive shall be organised by
Electoral Commission.
10.2 Only members of the organisation are eligible to
contest these elections.
10.3 Elections shall be held through a ‘First Past the Post’
system i.e. the candidate with the majority of valid votes wins.
10.4 A list of candidates to these elections shall be
published and a notice is to be issued to all members informing them of the
time and place where voting will be held
10.5 If six or less nominations for the executive board are received by
the deadline stipulated, then the nominations received must be put to a vote of
confidence of the members present at the AGM to confirm their place on the
executive board.
10.6 If six or less nominations for the executive board are received by
the deadline, then nominations can be received up till the start of the AGM.
10.7 Should less than six members be nominated to the executive board during the AGM,
then a co-option call for the specific vacant role should be called upon by the
new executive by not later than two weeks after the AGM.
10.8 Those members who are unable to attend an AGM will be
able to vote by proxy, provided that the proxy is sent in and acknowledged up
to 24 hours before the start of the AGM. Any member may hold no more than one
member’s proxy.
10.8.1 Members are only allowed to be one other person’s
proxy.
Art. 11: Amendments
11.1 Temporary or permanent changes to any part of this
Statute can be carried out only after presentation and approval of two thirds
(2/3) of the members present during a General Meeting.
Art. 12: Dissolution
12.1 Dissolution of We Are shall be decided by the General
Meeting (Annual or Extraordinary) by a three quarter majority of all members
present and voting.
12.2 Upon dissolution, all assets of the organisation shall
be applied in favour of other non-profit-organisations (NGOs) with similar purposes
as those of We Are. The same General Meeting is to decide which NGOs are to
receive these assets and the type and percentage of assets to each if more than
one NGO is selected.
Bylaws Approved by
We Are AGM September 2017
1 The term of office of all EB members is 10 to 14 months, until the date of the Annual General Meeting. In the
period between their election and the commencement of their term of office,
called the handover period, the EB officers elect, with the help of the
outgoing officers, shall thoroughly familiarise themselves with the duties and
responsibilities that they will assume in their term of office. If for any
reason apart from death or serious illness, the term of an EB member terminates
before the election of the next EB, a proper handover period it so follow their
termination from the respective EB post.
1.1. Should an executive member resign before the end of their term, a handover period is still required between this member and the rest of the team, or the person replacing them.
2 The EB shall meet regularly. Meetings are called by the
President on their own initiative or after being asked to do so by one third
(1/3) of the EB, who will do so by means of a written petition addressed to the
President.
3 The President is to chair all EB meetings. In their
absence, the EB must appoint a chairperson from its members by a two thirds
(2/3) majority.
4 Minutes of all EB meetings must be taken by the secretary
general. These minutes should be available to all We Are members. Minutes have
to be approved in the following EB meeting and followed up as a point on the
agenda: Matters arising from the Minutes.
5 When voting, any member may ask for a secret vote.
Procedural motions (or decisions on policy) require a two thirds majority to be
carried. Other motions and decisions require a simple majority. The Chairperson
may vote. If cases of parity or borderline absolute majority arise the
Chairperson is in duty bound to use their casting vote.
6 Observers have to be approved by the EB prior to starting
any EB meeting. Observers have to leave the meeting when a voting procedure is
carried out or when any member of the EB deems fit.
7 In the absence of the President and Secretary General, any EB member may
call a meeting if one thinks it appropriate and necessary for the operations of
the EB.
No comments:
Post a Comment