SWEDISH ALUMNI NETWORK TURKEY

ISTANBUL CHAPTER

STATUTES

Version 1.0

1. Name and Description and Logo of Organisation

Name and Description of Organisation

Article 1: The name of the organisation is "Swedish Alumni Network Turkey, Istanbul Chapter" (hereafter “the Organisation”) and its Turkish translation is “İsveç Mezunlar Ağı Türkiye, İstanbul Şubesi”.

As well as being independent, the Organisation accepts that it operates under the rules of the Swedish Institute in order to be certified and these rules are binding. In the event of an internal dispute, the decision taken by the Board in accordance with the principles of this Swedish Alumni Network Turkey Istanbul Chapter Statutes (hereafter “Statutes”), which is prepared in line with the rules of the Swedish Institute, shall be valid; in cases where the Board cannot make a decision or there is no regulation regarding the dispute in the Statutes or if the dispute continues, the Advisory Board, if any, or the Swedish Institute  be consulted with.

Logo of the Organisation

Article 2: The logo of the Organisation is shown below (Figure 1) and it is mandatory to use this logo in any event. In addition to the logo, if necessary, the logo of the Swedish Institute, the Embassy of Sweden in Ankara, the Consulate General of Sweden in Istanbul and/or sponsor, project partner, etc. can be used. If financial support is applied for and granted by SI, the logo ‘Supported by SI’ should be used, and the Organisation will comply with the regulations in the Logo Usage Guide while using the logo of the Swedish Institute. Logo Usage Guide can be accessed from the internet address indicated in ANNEX I-i.  

Figure 1. Swedish Alumni Network Turkey – Istanbul Chapter

1. The Purpose and Activities of the Organisation and Field of Activity

Purpose and Activities of the Organisation

Article 3: The purpose of the organisation is to develop and increase member relations, to unite members within the framework of mutual understanding, to contribute to the development of their social relations and personal networks, to ensure that the members come together with cultural, social and educational activities and to encourage communication between them, to organize activities in line with the Sustainable Development Goals and sharing information and creating awareness by participating in these events in person.

For this purpose, the organisation encourages the recruitment of new members who has a connection to Sweden (see Article 6) and the active role of existing members.

The Organisation develops projects, organizes and/or attend the events such as conferences, symposiums, panels, open sessions, forums, fairs, exhibitions, charity sales, concerts, sports competitions and similar activities that will be beneficial for the society and especially for Sustainable Development Goals;

All kinds of service projects and works to be created and establishes partnerships to conducts investigations and researches on purpose and work issues through “Working Groups” to be formed within the Organisation or through experts and consultants;

Constructs and distributes souvenirs, promotional and educational items that are not of any material value (25 Euros or less); performs all kinds of works stipulated in the law to realize its purpose and works.

Field of Activity of the Organisation

Article 4: Besides the Organisation's fields of activity are in line with the strategic fields of activity of the Swedish Institute; also consist of

• Sustainable Development Goals
• Interaction between cultures and SI Networks
• Creating forum environment and thematic projects
• Membership Conditions

Article 5: Anyone who is willing to work for the purposes of the Organisation and fulfils the conditions below can become a member.

Acceptance to Membership

Article 6: Member registrations are made through the website indicated in Annex I-ii, by filling out and sending the necessary information in the membership registration form.

Criteria for acceptance of membership

• Residing in the Republic of Turkey and having studied in higher education (including exchange students, scholarship programs and short-term programs) or having worked in Sweden.
• Being a Swedish citizen and having studied higher education in Turkey (exchange student, including scholarship programs and short-term programs)

Upon acceptance of membership, the member hereby agrees and accepts that he/she gives his/her consent to receive emails from Organization relating to its activities governed under this Statutes.

Member Status:

Article 7: There are two types of membership, but there is no difference in terms of status when members participate in national and international events or during voting.

- Natural Member: To become a natural member, it is enough to meet the membership criteria (see Article 6), read and accept the Statutes and fill the membership registration form.

Natural members can attend the events held within the Organisation as invited, take charge in the activities, become the Chairman or Secretary and vote in the General Assembly. 

- Honour Member: It is earned by the fact that a member with the status of natural member is nominated as an honorary candidate in the General Assembly by the absolute majority of the members of the Board and is elected with absolute majority in the General Assembly.

There is no status difference between the honour member and the natural member, it is only an award given for the services that they provide to the Organisation.

Rights and Obligations of Members

Article 8: Organisation members have the rights specified in Article 7. The members of the organisation are under the obligation not to act against the Statutes, to perform their duties in line with the purpose and priorities of the Organisation.

Leaving Membership

Article 9: Each member has the right to leave, provided that they notify them in writing. As soon as the e-mail of the member requesting to leave the membership reaches the Board, the leaving process must be started, and the registration information must be deleted from the Organisation database within 30 (thirty) days at the latest.

Cancellation of Membership

Article 10: Regardless of being a natural member or honorary member, a member can be dismissed from membership only if he/she acts against the Statutes and/or against the objectives of the Organisation and/or violates the regulations in the Swedish Institute's Code of Conduct Guide. The Code of Conduct Guide can be accessed from the internet address indicated in Annex I-iii.

In the event the member acts in the manner stated above, his/her membership could be suspended by the Board until the first General Assembly or Extraordinary General Assembly to be held. In this case, the member cannot participate in the activities and cannot take charge in the activities.

The final decision regarding the cancellation of membership is taken by the absolute majority decision at the General Assembly or the Extraordinary General Assembly and is notified to the related person in writing by e-mail.

1. Bodies

Article 11: The authorized and responsible bodies of the Organisation are the General Assembly, the Board and the Advisory Board. All bodies perform their work on behalf of the Swedish Institute which is the highest authority, and all bodies are accountable to the General Assembly.

Establishment Form of the General Assembly

Article 12: The General Assembly is the top decision-making body of the Organisation; and consists of all natural and honour members registered to the Organisation. The General Assembly convenes every year in January to maintain relations with the Swedish Institute and to apply for certification to the Swedish Institute, unless otherwise required, the exact meeting date and meeting place are determined by the Board.

• The General Assembly convenes ordinarily at the time specified in this Statutes,
• Extraordinary General Assembly convenes within at least 1 (one), at most 4 (four) weeks after the date of the request by the Board, in accordance with the relevant Articles or upon the decision of the Board or the Advisory Board decision, if any, or upon the written request of at least 20 (twenty) members.

Method of Call for the General Assembly and Postponement of the General Assembly

Article 13: The date and the location of the General Assembly and the planned meeting agenda are notified by the Board to all members by e-mail at least 2 (two) weeks before.

If the General Assembly is postponed for any reason, the reason for the cancellation/postponement of the call is notified to the members in writing by e-mail, together with the new meeting date and location. The time between two General Assembly meetings cannot be less than 2 (two) weeks and more than 4 (four) weeks. Members are reinvited to the second meeting according to the stated principles. The General Assembly can be postponed at most once.

Quorum, Method and Agenda of General Assembly Meeting

Article 14: The General Assembly takes place in accordance with the following issues.

1. The General Assembly starts with the attendance of simple majority of the members who accept the invitation to General Assembly.
2. Since only members have the right to attend in the General Assembly, in cases where there is no identity check at the entrance to the meeting place, the identity of the attendants is checked by the Board and they are asked to sign the area corresponding to their names in the General Assembly participation chart prepared previously.
3. The meeting starts with the opening speech of any Board member.
4. Candidatures are presented for the election of the Chairman of General Assembly and election is done. All members, including the members of the Board, could be candidates for the Chairmanship of the General Assembly.
5. Under the management of the elected Chairman of General Assembly, candidatures are presented for the election of the Secretary of General Assembly and the election is done. All members, including members of the Board, could be candidates for the Secretariat of General Assembly.
6. The Board presents a report for the previous year and answers the questions of the members.
7. The General Assembly continues with open questions, complaints and suggestions of all members. The Chairman of General Assembly acts as a moderator for the smooth progress of this process.
8. The General Assembly continues with the election of the new Board. After all members cast their votes, votes are counted under the supervision of the Chairman of General Assembly, the Secretary of General Assembly, the current Board and candidates for the new Board.
9. Members who do not work in any board but cast votes can also follow the counting process.
10. The topics discussed and decisions taken at the meeting are written in a minute by the Secretary of General Assembly and signed by the Chairman of General Assembly, the Secretary of General Assembly, the current Board and the new Board elected.
11. The newly elected Board applies for certification with the Swedish Institute and the current Board continues its task until the approval from the Swedish Institute.
12. The current Board notifies the summary report of the decisions taken to all members in writing within 2 (two) weeks after the General Assembly.

Voting and Decision-Making Procedures and Forms of the General Assembly

Article 15: Voting at the General Assembly is made through secret voting. However, by absolute majority decision, the other ones except board election can be performed by open voting. General Assembly resolutions are taken by absolute majority of the members attending the meeting unless otherwise stated in this Statutes.

Duties and Powers of the General Assembly

Article 16: The matters written below are discussed and resolved at the General Assembly.

• Election of organisation bodies,
• Approval and / or amendment of the Statutes,
• Discussing the decisions for dismissal from membership,
• Discussing the presentation and activities of the Board,
• Discussing the future activity suggestions prepared by the Board,
• Discussing the problems of the organisation, future strategies and plans,
• Election of the new Board

The General Assembly controls the other organs of the Organisation and can always dismiss them for good reasons. The General Assembly makes the final decision on acceptance to and dismissal from membership. As being the top body of the Organisation, it performs the works that have not been given to another bodies of the Organisation and uses the powers.

Board

Formation of the Board

Article 17: The Board consists of the Chairperson, Vice Chair, Secretary, Finance Officer and Communication Officer with the roles specified below. The Board consists of 5 (five) permanent and 3 (three) alternate members, who receive the greatest number of votes among the candidates and the Board serves until the next General Assembly with an agenda of election. The permanent members elected distribute duties within at most 1 (one) week after the General Assembly.

Chairperson: Chairperson is responsible for coordination in the Board and make the Board carry out in line with the purposes in the Statutes.  Chairperson acts a "spokesman" on behalf on any board member who does not attend the meeting, however he/she can vote only on its behalf. Also, he/she is responsible for communication with Swedish Institute, Consulate General of Sweden in Istanbul and other authorized Swedish organisations and networks.

Vice Chair: Vice Chair is responsible for approving of member registration, progress internal procedures such as GDPR and acts on behalf of Chairperson when Chairperson is absent.

Secretary: Secretary acts as a moderator for the smooth progress in board meetings and is responsible for preparing minutes of meeting, communication with other authorized Swedish organisations contributively to Chairperson.

Finance Officer: Finance Officer is responsible for financial and administrative affairs and purchases, cash flow and balance and financial reports. Finance Officer can give mandate to only Chairperson and/or Vice Chair as a spending authority.

Communication Officer: Communication Officer is responsible for communication with members by sending e-mails on Mail Chimp platform (an email and campaign service provider), managing social accounts such as Instagram; also manages website and updates it.

All board members should represent the Organisation at the highest level; due to this reason, each board member can delegate other board members authority except spending authority and takes responsibility equally. For the avoidance of any doubt, the Organisation has a flat structure and therefore there is a horizontal hierarchy within it. 

During the term of office, if one of the permanent members leaves or is dismissed from the membership of the Board, it is replaced by an alternate member having the highest number of votes. In such a case, Board may redistribute duties if only the absolute majority demands. If four Board memberships are vacant in a term, the Extraordinary General Assembly call is made.

The Board can form a Working Group/Groups upon the proposal of the General Assembly or if it deems necessary, on condition that it determines its job descriptions and a responsible Board member.

Working Method of the Board

Article 18: The Board convenes at least once a month and the decisions taken in its meetings are determined by the Secretary in a minute and are announced to the permanent and alternate members of the Board and to the members of the Advisory Board, if any. Members of the Board are required to attend the meetings. Members of the Board who do not attend any 3 (three) consecutive meetings or 3 (three) out of 5 (five) consecutive meetings with or without excuse are deemed to have resigned. Resignation does not depend on acceptance and cannot be withdrawn.

Alternate members may attend meetings of the Board, give opinions, but cannot vote in any decision voting and cannot use the title of Member of the Board. Unless otherwise stated in this Statutes, a decision is made with the absolute majority of the permanent members attending the meeting.

Duties and Powers of the Board

Article 19: The Board performs the following tasks.

• It is the body that is authorized in all works carried out in accordance with the purpose of the Organisation.
• Represents the Organisation or appoints one or more of its members in this regard.
• Makes transactions regarding income and expense accounts.
• Presents the strategic planning for the next period and/or periods to the General Assembly.
• Prepares regulations regarding the works of the organisation, submits to the General Assembly and takes decisions.
• Implements the decisions taken at the General Assembly.
• Takes and implements all kinds of decisions to realize the purpose of the organisation.
• All actions and transactions of the Board are subject to the audit of the Advisory Board, if any.

Advisory Board

Formation of the Advisory Board

Article 20: The formation of the Advisory Board is decided upon by voting at the General Assembly. The Advisory Board is not obliged to be form by the Organisation however if it forms, this body shares its know-how with newly elected board and audit the works done in Organisation on behalf of the General Assembly during a term of office (see Article 22 for the roles of Advisory Board). If it is decided to form an Advisory Board with absolute majority at the General Assembly, it is determined in accordance with the following issues.

• The Advisory Board consists of 3 (three) members. At least one of these persons must have been a member of the Board before.
• 3 (three) candidates who get the most votes from the candidates are elected to the Advisory Board. As a result of the election, the member who receives the highest number of votes continues his duty as “Spokesperson” being responsible for the Organisation. If the number of votes is equal as a result of the election, the Advisory Board selects the Spokesperson by voting among themselves at the first meeting.
• The Advisory Board is the top advisory body of the club after the General Assembly.

Working Method of the Advisory Board

Article 21:

• Meets at least every 3 (three) months.
• All members and bodies can apply to the Advisory Board to protect their rights.
• Advisory Board may open an investigation based on the application result and the results of the Advisory Board meeting.
• Advisory Board may impose warnings, condemnations, deprivation of certain membership rights or suspension.
• For decision of the Advisory Board, absolute majority vote is required in favour of the decision. Penalty decisions are taken unanimously.
• Advisory Board decisions are final, and the objections can only be submitted to the next Ordinary or Extraordinary General Assembly.
• If an investigation is opened to any of the members of the Advisory Board, the relevant Advisory Board member cannot participate in the voting within the scope of the investigation. No requests can be made to open an investigation against more than one member of the Advisory Board. In such a case, an Extraordinary General Assembly call is requested.

Duties and Powers of the Advisory Board

Article 22: Advisory Board gives advices the Board about all administrative actions and procedures to carry out in line with the purpose and General Assembly resolutions, shares its know-how and helps to not violate the rights of members in accordance with the Statutes.

Advisory board transmits the audit results to the Board in a report at intervals not exceeding 3 (three) months. The Advisory Board calls the General Assembly for a meeting when necessary and submits a report to the General Assembly regarding its activities.

V.    Other Provisions

Amendment of Statutes

Article 23: The Statutes is amended by the decision of the absolute majority of the members attending the Ordinary or Extraordinary General Assembly in consequence of the written proposal of at least 10 (ten) members or any of the bodies of the Organisation.  The amendment proposals must be sent via e-mail at least 3 (three) days before the meeting date.

In the case of adding a new section to the Statutes or deleting an existing section, the number of versions (for example from Version 1.0 to Version 2.0); in case of adding a new Article to existing sections, changing or removing an existing Article, version side revision number (for example from Version 1.0 to Version 1.1) is updated.

Lack of Provisions

Article 24: If there is a lack of provision in the Statutes, the subject is respectively addressed to the Board, the Advisory Board, if any, and the General Assembly or the Extraordinary General Assembly, and the decision of the competent body is valid.

Regulations

Article 25: The provisions of the Statutes shall be applied together with the regulations to be prepared by the Board and to be approved by the General Assembly. The provisions of the regulations cannot violate the Statutes. If there is a conflict between the Statutes and regulations; priority will be given to the provisions of the Statutes.

VI.  About Implementation

Article 26: This Statutes consists of 9 (nine) pages and 26 (twenty-six) Articles and is valid as of the date of approval by the General Assembly and announced to all members after the closure of the General Assembly.

ANNEX I

i- https://si.se/app/uploads/2018/12/alumni_network_brand_guide.pdf

ii- https://swedishalumniturkey.org/Register

iii- https://si.se/app/uploads/2019/11/code-of-conduct-alumni-networks.pdf

Temporary Article 1 - In accordance with the 12 and 16-b Articles of the Statutes, it was decided General Assembly to convene once a year and to approve or amend the Statutes at the General Assembly. However, Covid-19 outbreak was declared as pandemic by World Health Organisation on 11 March 2020. As quarantines, lockdowns and precautions are being applied within the scope of the fight against Covid-19 virus in Turkey since March of 2020, the Extraordinary General Assembly cannot be held for the approval of the Statutes. For that reason, this Statutes will be used in related places in accordance with the unanimous vote of the Board; in case the pandemic hazard disappears, it will be voted at first General Assembly or Extraordinary General Assembly.

ACTION HISTORY OF THE STATUTES

Organisation

Swedish Alumni Network Turkey – Istanbul Chapter