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Article I Name
The Name of the Organization shall be Youth Alliance for Leadership and Development
in Africa.
No YALDA branch may change the name of the organization (please see Article XI,
Section 4 for details).
YALDA Head Office shall be located in Gaborone, Botswana. YALDA Botswana shall
be the YALDA Headquarters for all the international branches.
YALDA provides a forum for youth on the African continent and those abroad with a
commitment to the welfare of Africa. By networking with professionals, mentors and
each other, members will increase their capacity to take on positive leadership roles in
their universities, countries and on the continent. Through YALDA, members will
implement their long-term visions for Africa.
Article V Membership
Members are:
Required to be connected to all the branches via a mailing list and through the
Internet
Have full unrestricted access to the YALDA online database
Eligible to receive privileges from our international partner organizations,
awarded exclusively and solely to YALDA members.
Given the opportunity to submit any articles to YALDA newsletters
Eligible to apply to attend YALDA international conferences
Eligible to apply to their respective branches Executive Committee.
All other duties and privileges of members of each branch are left at the discretion of that
branchs Executive Committee.
Any student may become a member of His/Her Universitys branch with voting and
office-holding privileges within His/ Her respective branch. The headquarters of YALDA
will be in Gaborone, Botswana.
The amount of dues to be paid shall be decided upon by the respective Executive
Committees of the organization, and shall be paid by members only.
All other youths not currently enrolled at a University may apply to be YALDA members
provided they affiliate themselves and register with a YALDA University branch in their
country or region. These members should attend as many of that universitys YALDA
events as possible. Unlike student members, these members do not have voting nor
office-holding privileges.
The standards for qualification and the application process for being an Executive
Committee Officer shall be determined and administered by the respective branches of
the Organization.
Executive Director
The Executive Director is the chief representative of YALDA and shall
have general supervision of the affairs and business of the organization. The Executive
Director is also the chairperson of all Executive Committee meetings. The purpose of the
Executive Director shall be to provide administrative leadership for the Executive
Committee as it seeks to carry out its Africa-based vision to foster and network African
leaders of tomorrow. He/ She will manage the day to day business of the organization and
will develop procedures for the implementation of the Organization's policies and goals
such as the proposed biennial YALDA conference in Africa. He/She is also responsible
for auditing finances as stipulated in Bylaw1. The Executive Director shall be Co-Chair
of the Conference Planning Committee.
Assistant Executive Director
The Assistant Executive Director works primarily with the Executive
Director on administrative issues. The primary role of the Assistant Executive Director
shall be to manage the YALDA membership at their respective university, making sure
members have all filled out their registration forms, registered online and also keeping
membership information continually updated. He/She shall also be responsible for
recruiting members for their YALDA University branch. He/ She will assist the other
board members in any of their duties and takes up other tasks that are not being addressed
by the other board members or that do not have a designated board member to tend to
them. The Assistant Executive Director is therefore involved in all areas of the
organization. For those branches that choose to evaluate their respective YALDA
branchs board and committees, he/she will be responsible for ensuring that all members
have filled out their evaluations. The Assistant Executive Director shall be Chair of the
Project and Action Committee.
Inter-University Representative
The Inter-University Representative stands as the mediator on
organizational issues and concerns between the Executive Committee at their University
and the other Executive Committees of the Universities in Africa and abroad. He/She will
contact the various other representatives on a regular basis, to receive updates and pass
on new information to the Executive Committee at their own University. In addition to
the aforementioned responsibilities, the Inter-University Representative will establish an
internal dialogue among the African Universities by managing their YALDA email
account. The Inter-University Representative will have the added task of managing the
contacts of the African universities, other international universities involved with
YALDA, and youth in their regioninterested in YALDA but who do not attend
university. The Headquarters Inter-University Representative will have the added task of
managing the contacts of the African universities as well as other international
universities involved with YALDA, and receive all submissions for the newsletter as well
as other submissionssuch as those for competitionsfrom the various YALDA
branches. The Inter-University Representative shall be Chair of the Branches Expansion
Committee.
Financial Director
The role of the Financial Director will be to be the organizations treasurer and
manage YALDA finances and he/ she will be audited twice a year by the Executive
Director and one other member of the Executive Committee (worked out on a rotational
basis). The Financial Director will be liable for any inexplicable financial discrepancies.
Other responsibilities of the Financial Director will include opening a YALDA bank
account, sourcing various types of funding for the organization, which includes fund
raising, donations, grants and sponsors. The Financial Director will not
engage in getting any loans. All funds are for the purposes and missions of YALDA and
are not to be used by either non-members or for other unrelated activities. The Financial
Director shall be Chair of the Fundraising and Sponsorships Committee.
(see Bylaws for further responsibilities)
Research Director
The role of the Research Director will be to search and source for
information on other associations locally and internationally whose goals relate to youth
leadership training and development. He/She has the responsibility to get connections
with other organizations in order to establish contacts and foster networks as YALDA
shares ideas with the aforementioned groups as well as to work in collaboration with
them. An additional responsibility will be to keep track of events as they transpire within
the researched organizations and to keep the YALDA Executive Committee members
abreast with current information and events. He/She must also search for internships, job
opportunities and fellowships that will be beneficial for YALDA members. The Research
Director must facilitate all professional contacts research, whether by themselves or by
dividing tasks among his/her committee members. He/She has the responsibility of
sending all complied research data to the YALDA Headquarters Research Director, who
will then re-organize it and forward it to the Multi-media specialist for posting on the
website. The Research Director shall be Chair of the Partner Organizations and
Professional Contacts Committee.
Multi-media Specialist
The Multi-media specialist shall be in charge of the website and making
sure that it is updated regularly and accurately. He/She is responsible for formatting their
own branchs YALDA newsletter, brochures, posters and the like. All logistics pertaining
to public relations, that are any type of interviews for university newspapers, radio or TV
shows shall be handled by the Multi-media specialist via consultation with the Executive
Committee. The Headquarters Multi-media specialist shall receive all submissions for
the main YALDA newsletter from the Headquarters Inter-University Representative and
design the layout of the newsletter, and post it to the websitewith prior approval from
the Executive Committee.
Special General Meetings at the Headquarters may be called by the Executive Director at
his or her discretion.
Resolutions passed at both Annual and Special General Meetings shall not be binding,
subject to approval by the Executive Committee.
Officers shall be elected or voted in annually by the members of the group. Elections
should be held a month and a half before the end of the semester. For the duration of the
semester newly elected officers will learn their responsibilities under the previous officer
whose term only officially ends at the end of the semester. Newly elected officers shall
assume full responsibility for the leadership of the group beginning each holiday before
the beginning of the new school year.
Any member of the group may be nominated for election. Nominations shall be filed in
writing at least two weeks prior to the election date. All members will have one vote by
secret ballot.
At the discretion of the branch, any candidate who has not paid any outstanding dues
owed to the group by the day of the election will be removed from the ballot.
In the event of a tie, the membership will vote again if there were more than two
candidates in the previous roundotherwise the chairperson will break the tie.
Article IX No Confidence
Article X Discipline
The Committee shall choose one of its members as its Chair who shall report directly to
the Executive Committee.
The Disciplinary Committee shall be responsible for the orderly conduct of all members
and their adherence to all aspects of the Constitution. Any member who feels aggrieved
by another members conduct may approach the Disciplinary Committee for redress
Disciplinary action shall be taken on any member whose behaviour brings disrepute to
the integrity or mission of the organization:
The Disciplinary Committee shall investigate the matter and evidence and
counter-evidence must be presented and assessed before a final decision is made.
A hearing meeting shall be conducted by the Disciplinary Committee to ascertain
the veracity of the facts presented to it
If sufficient evidence is gathered then the Disciplinary Committee shall take the
appropriate action.
Disciplinary action shall include: a warning; revoking of voting rights; exclusion
from selected events; denial of certain benefits, and suspension from all activities
of the organization.
The Disciplinary Committee shall report its findings and decisions to the Executive
Committee.
Those who are not pleased with the decisions of the Disciplinary Committee may appeal
to the Appeals Board.
The Faculty Mentor of the organization shall provide support, counseling and guidance in
all situations. The mentor should not monitor or restrict the finances and has no decision
making privileges of YALDA.
Each branch is required to have at least two Faculty Mentors.
The mentor shall attend at least two YALDA meetings per academic year.
The Financial Director shall maintain up to date records of the finances and property of
the organization.
The Financial Director and one other chosen member of the Executive Committee (apart
from Executive Director) shall be authorized to sign and countersign cheques and bank
slips.
Members of the organization can propose amendments to this Constitution which will be
considered and voted for by the Headquarters Executive Committee in consultation with
other branches.
No branch shall change the name of this organization. Branches may add the name of
their university to the name, for example University of Botswana YALDA. Branches
with other names will not be considered YALDA branches.
Amendments approved by members shall be binding only after approval by the Registrar
of Societies.
Article XV Dissolution and Disposal of Assets and Liabilities
By-laws, not inconsistent with the constitution, may be adopted or amended by two-thirds
vote of the members at the respective University provided that by-laws are submitted in
writing at least one week previously at either a regular or special meeting of that
Universitys Executive Committee.
Bylaws
1. Financial Director
The responsibilities of the Financial Director are detailed below. All protocol regarding
financial management and disbursement of the Organization's finances is outlined below.
i. The responsibilities include finding any type of funding for the
Organization, which includes: fund-raising, donations, grants and
sponsors. The financial director will not engage in getting any loans. All
funds are for the purposes and mission of YALDA and are not to be used
by non-members or other unrelated activities.
ii. Keeping clear and balanced financial records of how and where the
money is going in the organization. All receipts, quotations and invoices
should be given to the financial director.
iii. Regarding quotations: The financial director must review the quotation
and follow it up to make sure the information is credible and from there at
his/her discretion to award finances. For quotations requiring large funds
(e.g. over $200) the Financial Director must consult with the Executive
Director and Assistant Executive Director before granting funds. Receipts
and Invoices must be returned to the Financial Director.
vii. All Balance Sheets and audits must be sent to the Headquarters Financial
Director by Nov 18th and April 18th of every year for review. Failure to do
so will result in suspension from the organization.
2. If a member is not satisfied with the decisions of the branchs Executive Committee
then the member can file a complaint to the Headquarters Executive Committee. The
Committee will then review the complaint by consulting the individuals Executive
Committee and all decisions made by the Headquarters Executive Committee are final.