WAYEB
Asociación Europea de Mayistas
(European Association of Mayanists)
INTERNAL REGULATIONS OF THE ASSOCIATION
International Association under Belgian Law
Version July 2003
(To be ratified at the General Assembly in November 2003)
The following regulations outline the principles that govern the European Association of Mayanists, Wayeb. They are subject to revision according to the needs of the Association
Membership in WAYEB requires compliance with the rules hereby established.
ARTICLE 1: Commitment
It is the responsibility of the active members to ensure that the Statutes and Internal Regulations of the Association are respected and followed. The active members ensure the proper functioning of the various organs that constitute the Association.
ARTICLE 2: Objective
WAYEB’s objectives are to develop and promote information exchange and research on Maya civilisation by connecting European scholars from various academic fields: pre-colonial epigraphy and iconography, archaeology, ethnohistory, ethnology, art history, linguistics and other related disciplines.
Wayeb recognizes the importance of interaction between cultures and, thus, in the future may, if necessary, open its field of investigation to other pre-columbian civilisations in order to enlarge and complete its knowledge of the Maya civilisation
WAYEB’s goal is to:
– promote and organise contact between European scholars through working sessions and conferences (see Art. 14);
– promote and publish the scientific works of scholars;
– carry out European research projects;
– promote awareness of and public education on ancient Maya culture.
ARTICLE 3: Composition
The organs of the Association are:
– the Board
– the Administrative Council
– the Council of Active Members
– the General Assembly
The membership of the Association is composed of individual members. These individual members include:
– affiliated members
– founding members
– active members
– supporting members
– honorary members
– sponsoring members
a) The founding members are those who have contributed to the Association’s foundation. They are automatically active members. There are six founding members: Philippe de CARLOS (France), Geneviève LEFORT (Belgium), Alfonso LACADENA (Spain), Frauke SACHSE (Germany), Laura VAN BROEKHOVEN (Belgium) and Christian PRAGER (Germany). In the event of death or resignation of a founding member, the remaining founding members may name a successor by absolute majority. The founding members enforce the spirit of the Association.
b) Active members are those who create and/or participate in the statutory activities of the Association. Together the active members make up the Council of Active Members, and they pay an annual registration fee.
c) Supporting members are those who support and benefit from the services proposed by the Association without participating in their creation or operation; they pay an annual registration fee.
d) Honorary members are those who have provided services to the Association or who, by their status, contribute to enhance its image; they do not pay an annual registration fee.
e) Sponsoring members are those who pay an admission fee equivalent to at least four regular annual registration fees.
The members of the Association are volunteers. However, if necessary, the Association may meet the expenses of some workers or even hire part or full-time workers. In this case, the reimbursement or salary would be fixed by the Board.
Only the founding and active members are entitled to vote and to be elected at the General Assemblies. The other members of the Association only have an advisory vote.
ARTICLE 4: Admission
General Measures:
Admission in the Association is granted regardless of sex, race, nationality or religion. The Association is respectful of each individual’s beliefs and is independent from all political parties or ideological groups.
All individuals interested in Maya Studies qualify as members of Wayeb as long as they accept and do not willingly violate the Association’s statutes, internal regulations, objectives or policies.
Wayeb membership is only open to individuals and requires the payment of an annual registration fee:
In order to be a supporting or sponsoring member of the Association, one must pay an annual registration fee.
In order to be an active member, one must submit a request, renewable each year, to the Board which deliberates at each of its meetings.
The membership card is valid for one year, beginning January 1st, and allows the holder to benefit from all concesssions associated with the membership card.
Membership in the Association entitles individuals to certain benefits and allows participation in Association activities (which might require an additional fee set by the Board).
The benefits of membership currently include a concession fee for Wayeb conferences as well as discounts for publications from the publisher Verlag Anton Saurwein.
Practical details for registration:
To be a member of the Association one must:
– send a signed and completed registration form to the Association’s secretary
– meet the requirements corresponding to the type of membership being applied for:
– supporting members are only required to complete the registration form;
– honorary members yield services to the Association or contribute to the image of Wayeb. Honorary membership is granted by the Board;
– sponsoring members are required to complete the registration form and pay a registration fee equal to at least four regular annual registration fees;
– active membership is granted upon application to and approval by the Board. To become an active member and participate in the statutory activities of the Association, a member must first be supporting or sponsoring for a full year (starting in January), during which he/she is expected to familiarise him/herself with the Statutes and Internal Regulations and demonstrate his/her interest in participating actively in the running of the Association. He or she then informs the Board of his/her wish to become an active member, specifying if necessary his/her motivations. The Board usually makes scholarly and academic interest or any other kind of demonstrable active involvement in the field a prerequisite to active member status. The Board replies in written form and if the application is accepted, a photocopy of the passport or identity card must be presented. Europeans with dual citizenship, or who live abroad, belong to the national delegation of the country where they have residency; for these members, a certificate of residency must be presented.
Foreign active members:
Persons who are not citizens of a country in the Council of Europe may also join the Association. The registration procedure is the same. However, the number of foreign active members may not exceed 20% of the total of active members of the Association.
ARTICLE 5: Registration fee
To be a member of the Association, one must pay an annual registration fee. The amount has been set by the founding members in European currency (€) at the creation of the Association, and may be adjusted accordingly by the Administrative Council.
The annual fee varies according to the type of membership.
– supporting members (€ 35)
– donor members (€ 140)
– honorary members (no fee)
– active members (€ 35)
ARTICLE 6: Elections
Elections of the members of the Administrative Council:
The Administrative Council is composed of both elected and non-elected members:
The members of the Council of Active Members elect amongst themselves the members of the Administrative Council. There are six elected members. All active members who have completed at least one year of active membership may apply. To be part of the Administrative Council, candidates must meet the three following requirements:
– be of age,
– have full legal capacity,
– be a citizen of at least one of the countries in the Council of Europe.
The candidates must apply in written form at least one week before the election of the Administrative Council and include all necessary documents proving compliance with the three requirements.
The six founding members are permanent members of the Administrative Council and are no elected.
Elections of the members of the Board:
The members of the Administrative Council elect among themselves the members of the Board. The candidates must apply in written form for a specific position and state their nationality. At least three nationalities must be represented. The members elected by the Administrative Council are, in hierarchical order: the President, the Vice-President, the Secretary, the Treasurer, the first Advisor, and the second Advisor.
The elections take place in hierarchical order (President to second Advisor). All members vote, including the candidates. Each voting member writes the name of his/her candidate on a ballot. The ballots are then collected and counted. The candidate obtaining the most votes wins. Elected members are eligible for reelection.
Hierarchical order:
The highest ranking member of the Board present at a session shall serve as the session’s president. In the event that the president is momentarily absent or for whatever reason is unable to perform his or her duties, the Vice President shall take on the responsibilities and power of the presidential office and perform the duties associated with the office of the presidency. If the Vice President is also absent or unable to perform these duties, another managing member may step in. However, any decisions made by such a managing member are only temporary and must be ratified by the Administrative Council. Once ratified, these decisions become permanent.
ARTICLE 7: Procedures
Meetings:
All the meetings of the Association take place as follows:
– the President invites the members at least twenty-one days prior to the date of the meeting; this invitation includes a preliminary agenda,
– all members who want to add an item to the agenda must submit a written request at least fifteen days before the meeting,
– the President of the Association or the session’s president opens the meeting,
– an attendance sheet is passed around. Present members shall sign and print their name and include their address and membership status,
– it is determined whether there are enough present and represented members to have a quorum,
– the agenda is followed. Only items on the agenda may be discussed. However, if an item not on the agenda is presented to the session’s president at the beginning of the session and is approved by the majority of the present members, it may be added to the agenda. An exception to this rule is the session’s president, he or she may add new items to the agenda at any time.
– minutes are taken by the general Secretary or the session’s secretary,
– after having concluded all matters stated in the agenda, the session’s president closes the meeting.
Votes:
If an item on the agenda requires a vote, the vote occurs following the discussion of this item.
All votes of present or represented members are cast by secret ballot. In order to approve a resolution, a simple majority must be reached (see the Statutes for exceptions). With the agreement of all the present members, the president may call for a show of hands instead of a secret ballot. Members who are unable to attend may be represented by other members by proxy. Each voting member cannot cast more than one proxy vote. Each proxy must be handed in to the session’s president before deliberation. Each active member has one vote; the other members of the Association have an advisory vote. No one is allowed to have more than two votes (one’s own vote and a proxy vote). Members may also vote by mail or internet on an item clearly defined in the agenda. Voting by mail is only valid for meetings of the Administrative Council and the Board. For each vote by internet, a report must be made and signed by the majority of the members of the Administrative Council or the Board.
Deliberation takes place according to the following procedures:
– the session’s president presents the item to be voted upon,
– the members with an advisory vote cast their vote,
– any proxy votes shall be turned in to the session’s president. Following the collection of proxy votes, administrative members cast their own vote,
– the proxy votes are added to the administrative member’s voting totals.
– all votes (including the advisory votes) are counted, and the president reads the totals of votes “for” and “against” the resolution and notes the number of “abstention” votes. Although advisory votes are included in the totals, only the votes of administrative members count. The voting totals of the administrative members are recorded on a deliberation sheet. The deliberation sheet shall be added to the deliberation book. Each deliberation sheet should include the item put to deliberation, the result of the vote and the signature of the session’s president and that of at least two other present members.
Voting in the case of a conflict of interest:
Each voting member with a conflict of interest with regard to the item of deliberation may not participate in the vote. He or she will be asked to leave the room while the vote is taking place.
Languages:
French is the official (legal) language; however, all European languages may be used to communicate within the Association, and Spanish and English are preferred.
Vacancies:
The vacancy of a post of an administrator because of resignation, expulsion, removal, or any other reason, is dealt with according to the following procedures:
– a vacant post in the Administrative Council shall not be filled, but rather remain unassigned until the next election of members for the Administrative Council.
– a vacant post in the Board may be filled in the following manner:
o if the vacant post is that of the President, the Board replaces the President temporarily with the Vice-President. The power of the new President ends upon the expiration of the original term. The post of Vice-President is then temporarily replaced with a member of the Administrative Council.
o if the vacant post in the Board is other than that of the President, the post shall be temporarily filled by a member of the Administrative Council.
In all cases, the powers of the replacement members end upon the expiration of the original term.
ARTICLE 8: Disciplinary measures and Removal
Disciplinary measures:
Disciplinary measures may be taken against members who breach the Statutes or Internal Regulations, or for any other serious reason. These disciplinary measures are, in order of seriousness:
– a warning; three warnings constitute a reprimand;
– a reprimand; three reprimands justify removal.
Disciplinary measures are taken against the member by the Administrative Council. Disciplinary measures against a member of the Administrative Council are taken by the other members of the Council or by the Board. Disciplinary measures must be ratified by half of the present administrators, plus one; proxies are not allowed.
Removal:
Membership status may be lost through:
– Resignation:
The members who wish to leave the Association or their administrative post within the Association must send a dated, signed and registered resignation letter to the Administrative Council, addressed to the President.
– Membership termination:
The Board can terminate the membership of a member for non-payment of the annual registration fee (see Appendix 1), a breach of the Statutes or the Internal Regulations or for any other serious reason. The individual concerned is asked by registered letter to comply with his/her obligations or to explain his/her behaviour to the Board.
– Removal from a post:
Non-attendance at meetings must be justified in written form to the Administrative Council.
An accumulation of non-justified absences of an administrator at the meetings of the Administrative Council or of an active member at the meetings of the Council of Active Members will result in the removal of the member from his/her position. The removal is decided by the Administrative Council. The removal of an administrator for any other reason can also be decided by the Extraordinary General Assembly under the conditions stated in article 9 of the Statutes. In the case of repeated absences, even justified, the Administrative Council has the right to decide on the removal of the administrator. The removed member has the right to defend his/herself.
ARTICLE 9: Role of members
Roles of Board members:
– The President:
The President manages the Association and represents the Association to all third parties and in all legal matters. The President is in charge of executing Administrative Council and General Assembly resolutions, as well as assuring the proper functioning of the Association. He or she makes, after consulting the Board, all decisions that are not reserved for the Administrative Council, the Council of Active Members or the General Assembly.
– The Vice-President:
The Vice-President assists the President. The Vice-President has the same prerogatives as the President; however, the Vice-President is not allowed to make decisions outside the authorities of the Association without the approval of the Administrative Council. The Vice-President can stand in for the President in extenuating circumstances. He or she then assumes the same responsibilities and powers as the President. If the President resigns, the Board replaces him/her provisionally with the Vice-President. The power of the new President so appointed by the Board ends upon completion of the original presidential term.
– The Secretary:
The Secretary assists the President in carrying out his/her duties. He or she is in charge of the written communication of the Association. All written communication that has been approved by the President or the Vice-President may be signed by the Secretary.
He or she is reponsible for:
– managing the Book of Deliberations, which contains:
o possible modifications made to the Statutes, as well as all modifications made with regard to the administration or the direction of the Association;
o a record of all decisions (i.e. the minutes) made by the various authorities of the Association (General Assemblies, meetings of the Council of Active Members, Administrative Council and the Board).
– keeping the Book of Registrations, the annual list of registered members with their documents and registration forms.
He or she is responsible for sending out invitations to the various meetings of the Association. He or she is responsible for sending out membership cards, signed by the President or the Vice-President, to new members. Renewing members shall receive an updated sticker for each registered year.
He or she is responsible for keeping the archives of the Association.
– The Treasurer:
The Treasurer manages the money of the Association; the President maintains control and responsibility for the money. He or she manages and updates the books and receives the revenues. He or she may be assisted by a professional bookkeeper. If necessary, and in accordance with the law, he or she makes the books available to the Auditorships. He or she makes out the balance and the annual statement of accounts.
– The Advisors:
They assist the President, the Vice-President, the Secretary and the Treasurer in their tasks and they monitor the functioning of the Association.
Role of members in charge of projects (see Appendix 2):
An active member who is responsible and competent in one field of activity of the Association may be placed in charge of a project. After meeting with the President and a member of the Administrative Council, his/her designation as a project leader must be approved by the Board and ratified by the Administrative Council.
The Board defines the projects of project leaders. The performance of project leaders is assessed and overseen by the President and a member of the Administrative Council. If the project leader is a member of the Administrative Council, he or she shall be overseen by the President and a member of the Administrative Council who is hierarchically superior.
Each project leader selects the members of his/her working team from the pool of active members; this working team is called a Working Group, and it functions in collaboration with the President or Vice-President.
The project leaders may distribute their own written communication; however, this written communication may not commit the Association to a third party. Before distribution, the written communication must be approved by the President and a copy must be sent to the Secretary to be filed in the archives.
ARTICLE 10: Meetings of the Council of Active Members
The members of the Council of Active Members meet at least once a year in a country in the Council of Europe. However, given the difficulties of such European meetings, internet meetings may be organised.
ARTICLE 11: National Coordinator and National Delegations
The National Coordinator is elected by the active members of the country that he or she represents. Following the voting procedures stated in Art. 7 of these regulations, the National Coordinator is voted into office within two months of the election of the Administrative Council.
Only active members of the Association who have the citizenship of the country they wish to represent are eligible. They must be voted in by the active members of that country.
Role of the Coordinator:
The National Coordinator is an active member who represents the members of his/her country. He or she can be invited to sit on the Administrative Council, but he or she only retains an advisory vote. The National Coordinator has the following duties:
– act as the mediator between the Association and the active members of his/her country;
– disseminate information and transmit ideas at the request of the National Delegation;
– recruit new members;
– set up and conduct local Association activities.
The registered office of the National Delegation is decided upon by the active members of each individual country. It may be an office or a mail box.
ARTICLE 12: Budget of the Association
Budgetary expense categories of the Association:
The financial resources of the Association are distributed in the following budgetary expense categories:
– operation expenses of the Association, i.e. travel, lodging, food, telecommunication (phone, fax, e-mail, internet), post, photocopies, equipment, training (books, subscriptions);
– start-up costs for Association publications, i.e. articles, journals, books;
– European Research Projects, i.e. short or mid-term projects for the running year or long-term projects for the following year;
– scholarly events, i.e. European Maya Conference (EMC), Workshops in Maya epigraphy.
Distribution of monetary funds:
The distribution of monetary funds shall be proposed in budget form by the Board at the beginning of each year and ratified by the General Assembly. Any changes that might take place during the year must be ratified by the Administrative Council.
Any revenue received by the Association may be placed in a bank account to collect interest.
ARTICLE 13: Web Site
The objective of the Association’s web site (http://www.wayeb.org) is to disseminate information about the activities of the Association, promote the scientific works of European scholars and provide a platform for European scholars to present and discuss their research on Maya culture. The web site serves as the virtual office of the Association; it may serve as a notice board, a forum or a medium for technical and administrative matters.
The contents of the site is monitored by a Working Group, which is composed of members of the Administrative Council and/or active members in charge of an assignment. This Working Group determines the contents of each page. The Administrative Council has the right to retain, modify or reject all proposals.
The details of the organisation and internal functioning of the Working Group are outlined in the Baytaah section of the web site.
ARTICLE 14: European Maya Conference (EMC)
see Appendix 3
ARTICLE 15: Regulations and Appendices
The internal regulations are subject to revision. Amendments or modifications may be suggested by an active member at the request of his/her National Delegation, or they may be directly proposed by a member of the Administrative Council. All changes must be voted upon by the Administrative Council.
The appendices of the Internal Regulations govern matters not provided for in the regulations, and they are decided upon by the Board and approved by the Administrative Council.
APPENDIX 1: Non-payment of the registration fee, procedure
– Each year, members are invited by the Board to renew their membership. Membership should be renewed by the end of January.
– In February, those members who have not responded to this invitation shall receive a first reminder to renew their membership.
– If membership is not renewed, i.e. the membership fee is not paid, the Board sends the member a second reminder.
– If there is no response to the second reminder, a third reminder may be issued. This third reminder contains a deadline for payment. If the member does not respond to this third reminder, the Board retains the right to terminate the membership of the member, as stated in Art. 6 of the Statutes and Art. 8 of the Internal Regulations.
APPENDIX 2: Working Groups
Each project organised by the Association shall be managed by a designated Working Group (WG).
– The project leader (active member) is designated by the Board and approved by the Administrative Council.
– The WG is composed of active members selected by the project leader. Supporting members are welcome to participate and are encouraged to apply for active membership.
– The number of members participating in a WG is not set, but rather is subject to the needs of the WG.
– If necessary, a WG may be divided into smaller WGs.
– The project leader is responsible for sending regular reports to the Board and the Administrative Council. Project reports shall be available to all members online in the Baytaah section of the web site.
– Projects proposals, progress and results must be presented at the General Assembly and approved by the active members.
– An active member may request the institutionalization of a WG within the Association. The WG then prepares a proposal to reorganise the WG into a specific board with formal regulations (cf. the Conference Board but the model may be different). The new Board must be approved by the General Assembly. Following this approval the new specific board regulations shall be added to the Wayeb Internal Regulations.
APPENDIX 3: Internal Wayeb Regulations for the Organisation of the European Maya Conference Series
(see extra document)
