MEMORANDUM
- The organization’s name is Proqvi, an international association for women and youth.
- Purpose
Proqvi is established with a purpose to formulate, emphasize and promote interests and special needs of women and young people who feel themselves outside of the social system and who lack knowledge about, and a way to personal development and active participation in social life, because of their culture, social background or special obstacles.
Personal development, democracy and integration are in the center of organization’s activities.
Organization will work for use of opportunities and developing of mechanisms that would make it easier for social interaction and exchange in terms of society’s lifestyle, human rights and business culture, as well as it will contribute to mutual development of knowledge about women and youth role in the society, by:
– check and discussion of the activities that today exist in different social praxis: services, everyday routines, education, entrance to the labor market etc. with regard to accessibility for women and young people who have difficulties win their learning and communication;
- education of wide publics as well as investigation of reasons for obstacles in personal and career growth, and dissemination of the learnings;
- Spreading awareness about diversity of interests of women and young people, also crating a plattform for development of these interests;
- Creating space for each person to grow;
- Working for motivation and support of own members’ initiatives as well as creating of extra opportunities for personal growth.
- Promoting women’s and youth’s driving forces;
- Promoting equality among men and women, women’s right to work and rest.
- Planning and conducting own activities designed to widen the contact network with related organizations in other countries;
- Organization’s home and geographical area of activities.
Proqvi has its own office in Helsingborg (Sweden) and is operating nationally and internationally. - Membership
Membership is open for all women and young people up to 21 yo, private persons. Legal entities are encouraged to engage into a partnership.
Member is the one who have payed a membership fee.
Men can only be supporting members. As a supporting member, person can take part in the activities arranged by the organization, but don’t have a vote right and cannot be elected into the board of the organization so that they create a majority, neither be elected as a chairperson.
By joining the organization, a person binds herself to follow its memorandum as well as certifies that she/he wants to act towards the organization’s purpose.
Members should act according to basic ethical principles:
– Do Good: strive to do the good thing, and not to harm.
– Human Value: to respect human rights.
– Autonomy: to respect individuals freedom and will, also respect individuals with limited autonomy.
Besides that, participants should always watch that the personal information about other participants that became known through activities within the organization, would not be used in inappropriate way. - Membership fee
Members should pay a yearly fee, amount decided at the yearly meeting.
6. Exit from the organization
Exit from the organization should be done in a written form, by application to the board, and therefore the member is considered as have instantly left the organization.
7. Exclusion from the organization
A member may, by the decision of the board, be excluded from the organization. This is in case that the board finds that the member had been acting in a way that harmed the organization’s or it’s members’ interests. Exclusion may take place in case if other activities of this member have been countering the organization’s purpose and efforts, as well as because of violating the memorandum of the organization, as well as because of ignoring payments of yearly fee.
The exclusion process cannot be executed until the member have got the information about circumstances that led to that his/her membership became questionable. The final decision cannot be taken until the member got a chance to appeal within 14 days after being informed about the exclusion. In the decision by the board, the reason for exclusion should be stated.
The member should be notified about the decision within 7 days after the decision is taken.
The decision about one’s exclusion is to be taken at a board meeting, with or without the respective member. Call to the meeting as well as decision about exclusion is to be delivered by post to the address that has been given by the member at registration.
Payed fees are not reimbursed.
8. Organization and the board.
The yearly meeting is the organization’s highest decision making organ.
The yearly meeting decides the board representatives.
The board consists of a chairperson, secretary, accountant and other members of the board that organization might find necessary. If someone resigns, a replacement comes in until the upcoming yearly meeting. One member can take over assignments from another one if there is a clear logical reason for that.
The board should implement decisions taken by the yearly meeting, take care of organization’s economy and run the accountings.
The board has a decision power if at least 2 of the members are present. The board is elected by the yearly meeting for a period of 1 year at a time.
The board can hire personnel for administration and in the projects, as wells decide the working tasks.
The board conciliates when the chairperson finds it necessary or if at least two members of the board request that.
9. Election office
Election office should consist of at least 2 persons (where one has mandate to call for the meeting), and have a mission to propose new or reelection of candidates for the board, to the yearly meeting.
10. Accountings and audit.
Accounting year is the same with the calendar year.
By the yearly meeting, an auditor and a replacement is elected. The auditor has a task to check the accountings. The accountings should be available for the auditor any time of the year.
At the yearly meeting, the auditor presents his/her result of control of the organization’s accountings for the year the have passed, as well as propose or reject his proposition whether the board can be discharged.
11. Subvention membership
In some cases when the board decides that the woman or a young person is in need of membership in the organization but is obstacles to pay the fee, can she/he be granted a subvention (free of charge) membership during a limited period of time.
12. Personal information and security.
All members have a right not to state their personal information at the registration of their membership if there is a clear logical reason for that.
13. Regular meetings.
The organization should have at least two ordinary members meetings during a calendar year. Every member has a right to make any proposition during these meetings. Extra meetings can take place, in that case the chairperson announces it.
Except for the regular meetings, at least 8 meetings per year should take place, open and designed for the public.
14. Yearly meeting.
A yearly meeting is hold every year before the end of April and is open for all members. Extra yearly meeting can take place when at least 5 members of which at least 2 are board members, or the auditors, find it necessary. Decisions are taken by simple majority or present members. In case the votes are equal, the chairperson has a right to make a decision.
During the meting there are following question to be discussed:
- Opening of the meeting
- Determining the legitimate votes number
- Questioning reasonable informative invitation to the meeting
- Determining the agenda
- Choice of a chairperson, secretary and a minutes checker for the meeting
- Treating the board’s yearly report as well as result, and balance accountings for the past (active recent) year.
- Treating the auditor’s report about the recent active year.
- Question about discharge of the board (freedom from responsibility)
- Decision about a membership fee for the next year
- Decision about plan of activities and budget for the next year
- Election of a chairperson for a period of one year
- Election of other board members for one year
- Election of a auditor and a replacement
- Treatment of board’s propositions and other notes that were delivered in proper time before the yearly meeting
- Decision of criteria for membership
- Decision about eventual payments to the board and auditors
- Diverse questions.
15. The right of signature
The organization’s signature is valid done by the board. The board can decide one of more persons as the lawful signature providers.
16. Change of the memorandum
The yearly meeting has a right to, by simple majority, decide about such changes that don’t implicate change of the organization’s non-profit purpose. This change should be announced in the call for the yearly check.
17. Connection to other stakeholders.
The organization can ba anchored at local municipalities, regional government or regional resource centre. Organization’s activities are perceived as possible to be conducted internationally, independently or in cooperation with other stakeholders.
18. Resolution of the organization
A proposition to resolution can be set up by the board at a regular or extra yearly meeting, and the proposition should be announced in the call for the meeting.
After the resolution, the organization’s assets are to be transferred to research purposes or given to organizations that work in line with Proqvi’s purpose.
Ekeby, 2010-05-04