Statutes

Name, Seat, Legal Status

The name 'European Association of Youth Orchestras' refers to an association of youth orchestras and youth orchestra societies in European countries. The Association, which is subject to the Swiss law on societies (Art. 60 ff of the Swiss Civil Code of 10 December 1907, Catalogue of Federal Laws, SR 210), is politically, ideologically and confessionally neutral and has its official seat in Berne. 'Europe' means geographical Europe, extending east to the Ural mountains, south to include the Mediterranean and south east to include Turkey. The Association has all the powers of a natural person, except as restricted by these statutes. All powers of the Association are delegated to the Board, except as reserved to the General Assembly under the terms of these statutes.

Aims

The Association, which is a strictly non-profit organisation, aims to support youth music, especially chamber and symphony orchestras.
It serves to foster mutual interests and to strengthen ties and contacts between youth orchestras and young musicians in Europe.

Membership

Membership is open to

associations for youth orchestras,
individual youth orchestras,
patron members.
Patron Members may be individuals or businesses which support the Association. Patron Members have no voting rights.

Admission, Resignation and Expulsion

Membership is approved by the General Assembly after application has been made in writing. The Board may, temporarily, grant an applicant the status of associate member until the next General Assembly. An associate member does not have the right to vote. Resignation from the Association requires a written declaration at the end of the calendar year giving six months' notice. Members can be expelled only by the General Assembly.

Organisation

The organs of the Association are

the General Assembly,
the Board of Directors.

General Assembly

The General Assembly is the highest authority of the Association. An ordinary General Assembly is held every two years. The Meeting will be convened by the Board. An extraordinary General Assembly may be convened by the Board or at the request of one fifth of the members. Two months' notice must be given, and the agenda must be specified in each case. The President presides over the General Assembly and the decisions of the Meeting are recorded in the minutes.

Duties

The General Assembly has the following duties:

Election of the President and Board of Directors
Election of auditor and substitute auditor
Acceptance and approval of the Board's reports on activities and business conducted
Establishment of a work programme, without the implication that the programme is either fully inclusive or mandatory on the Board
Approval of the Treasurer's accounts
Fixing of the membership subscriptions
Approval of the proposed budget for the forthcoming two years, without limiting the authority of the Board to change the plans in the light of circumstances and opportunities
Acceptance and expulsion of members
Nomination of honorary members and honorary presidents
Amendment of the statutes
Liquidation order

Voting Rights

Rules about the voting rights of members are as follows:

There is a maximum entitlement of 6 votes for any country.
Several members from the same country are entitled to a maximum of 6 votes between them.
If a country is not represented by an association, individual youth orchestras are entitled to vote.
Each individual youth orchestra is entitled to 1 vote.
Individual members from the same country are entitled to a maximum of 3 votes between them.
When votes are equally divided the President has the casting vote.
Associate members are entitled to vote after their membership application has been approved by the General Assembly.
Honorary members and honorary presidents are not entitled to vote.
Members who come under 2 or 5 above must agree between themselves how chair votes are to be distributed and inform the Board accordingly at the beginning of the General Assembly.

Quorum

The General Assembly has a quorum when half of the corporate members are present. If the General Assembly does not have a quorum, then, at the proposal of the Board, two-thirds of the votes represented at the Meeting are needed in order to declare a quorum.

Voting Procedure

Decisions at the General Assembly require a simple majority of the votes represented at the Meeting, insofar as these statutes do not stipulate otherwise. Amendments to the statutes which must be mentioned in the Agenda require a two-thirds majority of votes.

The Board

The Board of Directors consists of a President, Vice-President(s), Treasurer, Secretary and other Board Members as appropriate. There shall be a maximum of two co-opted members. The Board is encouraged to recognise the potential of young people to contribute to the work of the Association by co-option on to the Board.

Election, Terms of Office

The President and Board of Directors are elected by the General Assembly for a period of two years. The Board constitutes itself. After the expiry of its term of office, the Board remains in office until new elections are held. Re-election is possible.

Duties

The Board represents the Association internally and externally. The President (or, if not present, the Vice-President) is authorised to sign jointly with another member. The Board is responsible for the execution of all decisions approved by the General Assembly. The Board may assign special duties to committees of experts. The Board determines its agenda. Membership of the Board is honorary.

Transaction, Languages

The official language of the Association is English. Efforts will be made as appropriate to accommodate additional languages.

Finances

The activities of the Association are financed by:

Members' subscriptions as determined by the General Assembly.
Proceeds from services offered by the Association and rights to which it is entitled.
Contributions from national and international public institutions, governments and so on.
Donations from private individuals and businesses.

Liability

Only the Association's property may be liable to meet the Association's obligations. Personal liability of members is excluded. The personal liability of Board members is limited to liability incurred without the explicit or implied consent of the Board.

Dissolution, Liquidation

The dissolution of the Association may be called for by a two-thirds majority of votes, at an extraordinary General Assembly. In the event of liquidation, funds will either be distributed among members in accordance with the liquidation order, or will be donated to an organisation whose aims are comparable with those of the Association.

Final Clauses

These statutes were approved and put into effect at the founding meeting of the Association on 30 November 1990 in Zug, Switzerland, amended by subsequent General Assembly at Valencia, Spain on 30 October 1993 and the 2nd General Assembly on 7 September 1997 in Bad Nauheim, Germany.