1.0 INTRODUCTION

CONSTITUTION: refers to a set of rules and regulations that establish the affairs, administration and structure of an organisation. It may indicate the laws, form, structure, activities and management of an organization.

2.0 NAME  

2.1 The name of the Organisation shall be “International Student Care Organisation”, referred to as ‘Organization’. “ISCO” shall be the acronym of International Student Care Organisation.

2.2 The ‘International’ comprises students or members between nations from the five continents namely; the Americas, Asia, Africa, Oceania (Australia) and Europe. These regions are referred to as ‘The World Wide or Continental Coverage’’.

2.3 ‘Student’ shall refer to one who is engaged in  a course of study and instruction at junior high school, senior high school, training college, polytechnic, university or professionals and graduates who are learners of all ages.

2.4 ‘Care’ shall refer to all forms worry, anxiety, concern, serious attention, solitude, heed, protection, caution, affection and to make provision for one in time of need.

2.5 The ‘Organisation’ shall refer to a body of person organized to assist students and graduates.

3.0 MEMBERSHIP

3.1 Any student, natural and legal person can become a member.

3.2 The Organization consists of active and passive members (full members) as well as honorary members

3.3 Active membership are members directly collaborating in The Organization.

3.4 Passive Membership are members who in fact do not actively act within The  Organization, but promote and support the objectives and purposes of the Organization in an appropriate way.

3.5 Honorary Membership here members will be appointed if they have rendered outstanding services to the Organization. For this purpose, a decision of Annual General Conference is required.

3.6  Personal Membership of The Organization is open to anyone who has interests in education. Applications for personal membership shall be made on the Application Form provided.

3.7 Organizational Membership of The Organization shall be open to organizations which have a constitutional interest in education. Applications for organizational membership shall be made on the Application Form provided.

4.0 RIGHTS, PRIVILEGES AND OBLIGATIONS OF MEMBERS

4.1 The title and privileges of being an “Organizational Member of the Organization” shall only be enjoyed by an organization over a period for which all the dues required by The Organization have been paid.

4.2 The title and privileges of being a ‘Personal Member of The Organization’ shall only be enjoyed by an individual over a period for which all the dues required by The Organization have been paid.

4.3 The members are entitled to take part in all events offered by the Organization.

4.4 Members possess the right and privilege to file an application at the Board of Directors and the Annual Conference of members.

4.5 Members voting right can only be exercised personally.

4.6 The members are obliged to support The Organization and its purpose in a proper way, including in the general public.

5.0 MEMBERSHIP COMMENCEMENT

5.1 Membership must be applied for in writing to the Board of Directors.

5.2 The Board of Directors decides finally on the written application for membership with a simple majority of votes.

5.3 The Board of Directors is not obliged to inform the applicant about reasons for objection.

6.0 TERMINATION OF MEMBERSHIP

6.1 Changes of membership status (from active to passive membership) must be conveyed to the Board of Directors in writing, at the latest six months before to the end of the financial year.

6.2 The membership ends by voluntary withdrawal, expulsion, and death of a member or loss of legal capacity in case of legal persons.

6.3 The voluntary termination of membership is subject to a three-month period and must   be declared to the Board of Directors in the form of a written notice by the end of the financial year.

7.0 EXPULSION OF MEMBERSHIP

7.1 The expulsion of a member with immediate effect and for good cause may be expressed if the member grossly offends against the Rules, orders, purpose or interests of the Organization.

7.2 The Board of Directors decides on the expulsion of a member with a simple majority of votes.

7.3 Prior to the expulsion from the Organization, the member must be given the opportunity to comment on the reproaches objected, by setting a three months time limit.

8.0 BENEFIT EXCLUSION OF MEMBERSHIP

With termination of membership, for whatever reason, all claims arising from member relationship expire. A return of contributions, donations or other supporting services granted is basically excluded.

9.0 MEMBERSHIP FEES

The annual amount of membership fees, subsidies, admission fees are compulsory for all Board of Directors and Board Members assessments of these fees is determined by the respective applicable contribution regulation to be resolved by the Annual Conference of members. Students, representatives and can only make voluntary contributions.

10.0 STRUCTURE OF ORGANIZATION

The structure of the Organization consists of the following:

1.    The Board of Directors.

        a. Chairman

        b. Co-chairperson

        c. Trustees

        d. Special Advisor

2.     The Board Members

3.     Student Representative Council Members

4.     Solicitors

5.     Auditors

11.0 BOARD OF DIRECTORS

11.1 The Board of Directors consist of the Chairman (Male),Co-Chairperson(always Female), Special Advisor(either Male or Female) and Trustees (Male and Female i.e two Directors and a Secretary). The current Board of Directors who manages the Organization consist of: (a) Prof. Dr. Frieder Klause Sieber, German Professor and President of  European Association for Science and Education, who is the Chairman of the Board of Directors, (b) Dr. Patrina Elena Nikoleavna, Russian lecturer and Vice-Rector on Additional Education & International Relation, who is the Co-Chairperson of the Board of Directors, (c) The Board of  Trustees consist of Madam Joyce Ogom Kwabi, who is the Director/Secretary and Alfred Alvin Annan, who is the Director/Founder. (d) Special Advisor to the board who is a Ukrainian.

11.2 The Board of Directors are elected by the Annual General Conference for a term of 4 (four) years. The unlimited re-election of members of the Board of Directors shall be eligible. Upon expiry of the time limit, the members of the Board remain in office until the accession of their successors.

11.3 The Board of Directors are responsible for running the Organization. It may adopt bylaws, assign specific tasks to its members and set up committees to perform or prepare such tasks.

11.4 Decisions of the Board of Directors are laid down in the minutes and must be signed by at least two members of the Board authorized to present.

11.5 If a member of the Board retires before expiration of his/her term of office, the Board is entitled to appoint a Board Member on commission. Members of the Board appointed in that way remain in office until the next Annual General Conference.

12.0 ACTIVITIES OF THE BOARD

12.1 The activities of The Board shall be addressed by such means as The Board of Directors shall decide. These means shall include the organization of Board and shall include the organization of the Annual General Conferences of The Organization.

12.2 Decisions made on behalf of The Organization shall be taken by The Board of Directors.

12.3 Each Board member shall have the right to one vote in any election concerning The Organization.

12.4 The Board of Directors shall consist of elected members, with at least two to four representatives from each country.

12.5 All nominations must be supported by a proposer and a seconder, who are Members of The Organization. The proposer and the seconder must also be coming from different Countries. Each of those elected will serve a four year term.

12.6   However, arrangements should be made as far as possible such that about half of the members on the Executive will be re-elected in every other two years to ensure smooth transition and continuity of work of The Organization.

12.7 Chairman, Co-chairman, Special Advisor, Directors, Secretary, Board Members and representatives will be directly elected among the elected members of The Board.

12.8 The term of office for each of the above-mentioned office bearers will be four years renewable.

12.9  If a position on The Board falls vacant, The Board of Directors shall fill it by whatever means they deem necessary and which do not contradict the above conditions, until the next occasion for an election.

13.0 DUTIES OF CHAIRMAN/CO-CHAIRPERSON

The duties of the Chairman/Co-Chairperson shall:

• Take charge of the affairs of The Organization, including presiding the quarterly meetings  and Annual General Conference of The Organization.
• Serve as a Chairman/Co-Chairperson of The Board.
• Be or designate a representative to affiliate organizations.
• Serve as or designate a representative as spokesperson for The Organization.
• During our Annual General Conference, The Co-Chairperson will present a written report, which shall include Audited Accounts of The Organization. This report will be uploaded onto the official website of The Organization for perusal by Members who were not present at the Annual General Conference of The Organization. In years when the Annual General Conference does not take place, the written report will be sent to all Members and posted on the website.

13.1 The Organizer of the next Annual General Conference of The Organization shall be to organize to support communication on research matters between members of The Organization and with others shall automatically be co-opted on to The Board.

13.2 Elections to The Board shall, wherever possible, take place during Annual General Conference of The Organization such that results may be announced at that Conference.

13.3 Amendments to The Constitution either shall be proposed by a majority decision of The Organization or shall be proposed by Solicitors and at least thirty other Members of The Organization who, in turn, must be coming from at least two of The Continents.

13.4 An amendment to The Constitution shall be agreed by a two-thirds majority of the members of The Organization who vote in the ensuing referendum.

13.5 The Headquarters of The Organization shall be established in a City or Country at the discretion of The Founder.

13.6 Important documents produced in the course of Organization’s activities shall have an   abstract in different languages upon request.

13.7 In order to conduct the business of The Organization, The Board of Directors shall be empowered both to collect an Annual Membership Fee from personal and Organizational Members of The Organization and to make applications to Fund-Awarding Bodies on behalf of The Organization.

14.0 THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES

These are the trustees of the organization and they are responsible for the policy direction of ISCO.  The trustees have representations from both EASE, AASE and Ukraine. It is constituted as follows;

1)     Chairman and Co-chairpersons

2)     Two persons nominated by the founder at least one of whom is a woman.

3)     Two representatives of EASE

4)     Two representatives of AASE

5)     Directors of ISCO

6)     Secretaries of ISCO

The members of the Board of Trustees shall be appointed by the Founder, Chairman and Co-chairperson in accordance with article of our constitution.

Administration: The day to day running of ISCO is headed by Directors, Secretary,  Chairman, Co-chairperson and Special advisor to the board.

15.0 SOLICITORS

15.1 The Board of Directors in consultation with our solicitors shall, if necessary, establish the legality of this Constitution under national or international law as appropriate.

15.2 The Solicitors are solely responsible and independently entitled to present the Organization in and out of court.

16.0 AUDITORS

16.1 It is required to elect at the Annual General Conference and audit firm for a term of 4(four)years each.

16.2 Auditors are responsible for checking the accounting records and their appropriate posting as well as the utilization of funds, and for determining in particular the fiscal correctness of application of funds in accordance with the Rules on hand. The audit does include an evaluation of expediency of tasks performed by the Board of Directors. The auditors have to inform the Annual Conference on the results of cash auditing.

17.0 ANNUAL GENERAL CONFERENCE OF MEMBERS

17.1 The supreme body of the Organization is the Annual General Conference of members. It has in particular the following functions:

–          To receive and debate the annual reports

–          Rendering of accounts for the preceding financial year

–          Discharge of the Board of Directors

–          (In the selection year) to elect the Board of Directors

–          To dispose of the Rules, amendments to the Rule and dissolution of the Organization.

–          To elect the auditors who are neither part of the Board of Directors nor one of the bodies appointed by the Board of Directors and who are not be employed by the Organization.

17.2 A regular Annual General Conference is convened by the Organization’s Board of Directors, as needed, at least once per financial year, if possible within the first half of the financial year. The invitation, to be delivered to the last known address, is carried out in writing by the Board of Directors 14 days in advance and announces the provisionally drawn agenda.

17.3 In particular, the agenda of a regular Annual General Conference must include the following items:

a) Report of the Board of Directors and report of the auditor;

b) Discharge of the Board of Directors;

c) Election of the Board of Directors and election of two cash auditors;

d) Approval of budget computed and submitted by the Board of Directors for the current financial year.

Determination of contributions / assessments for the current financial year or for agreeing on contribution regulations, respectively, and Resolution on motions submitted.

17.4 Agenda-related motions of members must be submitted in writing to the Board of Directors two weeks prior to the Annual General Conference, at the latest. Agenda items subsequently submitted must be communicated to the members in due time prior to the commencement of the Annual General Conference of members.

Later motions – including motions field during the Annual General Conference – must be put on the agenda, if the majority of the members who appeared and are entitled to vote assents to processing these motions (privileged motions).

17.5 The Board of Directors must immediately convene an extraordinary Annual General Conference of members if this is required by the interests of the Organization or if the summoning is claimed from the Board of Directors by at least one third of Organization members, entitled to vote, specifying the purpose and the reasons in writing.

17.6 The Chairman or his / her deputy presides at the Annual General Conference of members. Upon proposal of the Chairman, the Annual General Conference may determine a special chair.

17.7 Within a period of two weeks following the Annual General Conference, the resolutions of the Assembly are set down in the minutes and signed by two members of the Board of Directors. Any of the members has access to the minutes at the Organization’s office.

18.0 VOTING RIGHT / QUORUM

18.1 Entitled to vote are all types of members. Upon completion of the 10^th year, each member has one vote, which can only be exercised personally.

18.2 The Annual General Conference of members is competent to pass a resolution regardless of the number of members appearing.

18.3 The Annual General Conference adopts its resolutions by a simple majority. Abstentions from voting shall not be considered. In the event of an equality of votes, the motion is considered rejected.

18.4 Voting in the Annual General Conference are made openly by show of hands or acclamation.

18.5 For amendments to the Rules and resolutions concerning the dissolution of the Organisation, a three-quarters majority of the voting members present is necessary.

19.0 DISSOLUTION OF THE ORGANIZATION

The members of the Board of Directors holding offices are authorized to present the Organization are appointed as liquidators, unless otherwise finally agreed by the Annual General Conference.

20.0 ADOPTION OF ORGANIZATION’S CONSTITUTION

The Board of Directors and the Annual General Conference adopted, enacted and gave to themselves the aforementioned contents of the Constitution in January, 2004.