The current approved laws and guidelines by which the SWY AA Ecuador is handled in the present are the following:
BYLAWS OF THE ECUADOR-SWY ALUMNI ASSOCIATION
ARTICLE I – NAME, PURPOSE
Section 1: The name of the organization shall be Ecuador SWY Alumni Association.
Section 2: The Ecuador-SWY Alumni Association is organized to foster cultural sensitivity, understanding and friendship through the youth of the world, to provide the means of communication for former and present participants of the Ship for World Youth Programs (herein “SWY”), to provide the means of communication between the Alumni Association members and the Cabinet Office of the Japanese government and the International Youth Exchange Organization of Japan (IYEO), to organize post-program activities locally and internationally. The alumni association is also responsible for accepting invitations, advertising the invitations, and selecting Ecuadorian alumni to represent us at conferences and sponsored events by the Cabinet office and the IYEO. For example: the Tokyo Conference, Ex – PY’s Advisor program and others.
ARTICLE II – MEMBERSHIP AND RIGHTS OF MEMBERS
There shall be two types of membership: Voting and Non-voting membership.
Voting Membership consists of Ecuadorian ex-participating youths of the SWY Program. Voting members have the right to serve as board officers in the Ecuador-SWY Alumni Association, and to participate as representatives of Ecuador in future SWY Programs, reunions, conferences, and/or related SWY international activities. In addition, they will have the right to belong to the official Ecuador-SWY Alumni Association’s e-mailing and Internet group.
Non-voting membership consists of non-Ecuadorian ex-participating youths of the SWY Program who reside in the Ecuador and want to become involved in the local activities of the Ecuador-SWY Alumni Association. Non-voting members have the right to belong to the official Ecuador-SWY Alumni Association’s e-mailing and Internet group, and to participate in local activities organized by the Ecuador-SWY Alumni Association. Non-voting members cannot serve as board officers of the Ecuador-SWY Alumni Association nor represent Ecuador in international and/or national SWY related programs, reunions, conferences, or other activities.
ARTICLE III – BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Section 1: Board Role, Size, Compensation. The Board is responsible for overall policy, direction, and for day-to-day operations to the President and committees. The Board shall have three (3) members. The board receives no compensation. The initial Board Membership will be comprised of the current members of the Executive Committee. Once these by-laws are approved, a new Board will be selected in compliance with the election rules established by the by-laws.
Section 2: Meetings. The Board shall meet at least once a year, at an agreed upon time, place, and manner.
Section 3: Board Elections. Election of new directors or election of current directors to a second term will occur as the first item of business at the annual meeting of the organization. Directors will be elected by a majority vote of the current voting membership. For the first board election, the election shall be conducted, and the votes will be collected and counted by a volunteer voting member of the organization or the organization’s legal counsel who will ensure confidentiality and an accurate account of the votes cast. Once the initial Board has been established, the outgoing Board Secretary shall conduct the election and votes shall be submitted to the Board Secretary who will provide an accurate account of the votes cast and results of the election. A copy of the votes and voting results shall be provided to the organization’s legal counsel. If the Secretary is unable or unwilling to conduct the election, the organization’s legal counsel shall conduct the election. At no time shall the person keeping track of the votes and counting the votes be running for a position in the Board at the same time.
Section 4: Terms. All Board members shall serve two-year terms, but are eligible for re-election to either the same or a different position. There are no limits on the number of terms that a board member may serve.
Section 5: Quorum. A quorum must be attended by at least 2 out of 3 people of the Board before business can be transacted or motions made or passed.
Section 6: Notice. An official Board meeting requires that each Board member have written notice two weeks in advance. An e-mail message shall be considered sufficient to satisfy the written notice requirement.
Section 7: Officers and Duties. There shall be three (3) officers of the Board consisting of a President, Vice President, and Secretary. Their duties are as follows:
The President, aka Key Person, shall convene regularly scheduled Board meetings, shall preside or arrange for other members of the executive committee to preside at each meeting in the following order: Vice-President, Secretary, and serve as one of the two official E-mail Receivers registered with the SWYAA-council mailing list.
The Vice-President, aka Assistant Key Person, will chair committees on special projects as designated by the board, and voting membership. The Assistant Key Person will work with the Alumni on linking the Ecuador Homestay program to the IYEO, Website maintenance and updates.
The Secretary, aka Communications Director, shall be responsible for keeping records of Board actions, including overseeing the taking of minutes at all board meetings, sending out meeting announcements, distributing copies of minutes and the agenda to each Board member, and assuring that corporate records are maintenance. And serve as one of the two official E-mail Receivers registered with the SWYAA-council mailing list.
Section 8: The Ecuador-SWY Alumni Association Board of Directors shall with a majority vote of the Board designate the person to fulfill the position of Ecuador-SWY Legal Counsel. The Legal Counsel will serve at the pleasure of the Board of Directors for as long as the majority of the Board decides to retain his/her services. At this point, Diogenes Diaz SWY11 shall fill the position of Legal Counsel and his email is diaz_diogenes@yahoo.com.
Section 9: Vacancies. When a vacancy on the Board exists, nominations for new members may be received from present voting members by the Secretary two weeks in advance of a Board meeting. These nominations shall be send out to all voting members with the regular Board meeting announcement, to be voted upon within the following two weeks by all voting members via e-mail messages that shall be sent to the Secretary, or in cases where it would be a conflict of interest for the Secretary to conduct the count, the messages shall be sent to the Legal Counsel. A copy of the votes and voting results shall be provided to the organization’s legal counsel. If the Secretary is unable or unwilling to conduct the election, the organization’s legal counsel shall conduct the election. At the next Board meeting, the Secretary, or designated Board member, shall provide the result of the votes submitted. These vacancies will be filled at the end of the particular Board member’s term, or when a Board member resigns.
Section 10: Resignation, Termination and Absences. Resignation from the Board must be in writing and shall be e-mailed to all the members of the Board. A Board member shall be dropped for excess absences from the Board if s/he has three unexcused absences from Board meetings in a year. A Board member may be removed for other reasons by a two-thirds vote of the remaining directors.
Section 11: Special Meetings. Special meetings of the Board shall be called upon the request of the President or two-third of the Board. The Secretary shall send out notices of special meetings to each Board member two weeks in advance.
ARTICLE IV – COMMITTEES
Section 1: The Board may create committees as needed, such as fundraising, selection and others. The President shall appoint all committee chairs with a majority approval of the Board
ARTICLE V – AMENDMENTS
Section 1: These Bylaws may be amended when necessary by a two-thirds majority of the voting members. Proposed amendments must be submitted to the Secretary to be sent out with regular Board announcements.
Sara Jijon SWY1 and Diogenes Diaz SWY11 at the 1st National Assembly of the Ecuador SWY Alumni Association presented these Bylaws for approval on August 2nd of 2008 that were approved by unanimously vote of the Assembly members.
* The preceding text is also contained and explained en the following document (click on the link to download and read)