Charter

A copy of the original document can be found here.

Establishment

A non-profit Association, which is called Cultural Association Clean Mani-residents’ activation for the environment-waste management, is found in Stoupa of West Mani and it will have a round seal. On the external circle of the club’s seal’s “CULTURAL ASSOCIATION CLEAN MANI, year of foundation 2017″ will be written and, in the centre, there will be a green Maniot tower and a sun.

Organisation

The Association will be managed by

a)  the administrative council

b) the general meeting

c) the control committee

Aims

The Association aims

A) raise residents’ awareness about the rubbish through educational programmes

b) the residents’ activation for the elimination of rubbish, for its correct management, for the environment’s protection, for the protection of the natural beauty of our area so that the identity and the historic heritage will be stressed by the best way.

c) the participation in actions that derive by state bodies and at the frequent cooperation with the local town government about issues that have to do with the residents’ education and the waste management.

d) the participation in any team work ,of any approved type, that has to do with the environment’s protection in Messinia ,in the Peloponnese, but also in other places of Greece or elsewhere.

e) the protection of our area from any kind of pollution e.g. actions for the environment’s protection – noise  pollution, light pollution etc.

f) to raise the mental and cultural level of its members as well as fellow residents .

g)  the preservation and promotion of peace

h) the tightening of the relationships and the creation of friendly bonds among the members.

Means

The Association can, for the accomplishment of its goals

a) organize actions and  invite its members and anyone who would like to participate in them voluntarily

b) publish any type of documents and on websites

c ) organize events, educational seminars, meetings, festivals etc.

d)  collect subscription fees and donations from its members but also from individuals who would like to support its actions and to receive European, national or municipal sponsorship .

e) participate and have joint actions with other cultural assocations of the area. Representatives can be sent for this purpose.

f)  resort to Greek or international courts for issues that have to do with the environment’s protection.

Membership

All residents of West Mani , people who come from West Mani or residents of the area can become members of the Association if they are adults, accept this charter, and would like to work for the accomplishment of its goals.

The members could be a) regular b ) honorary.

1. The regular members are a) the founding members and b) whoever will be signed up afterwards. If someone would like to sign up, an application has to be submitted with the following details: complete name, father’s name, mother’s name, mother’s maiden name, year of birth, place of residence, telephone number, email, and the statement that he is aware of the charter, he agrees with its content and will work for the accomplishment of its targets.

The council will approve the registration during the next regular meeting, unless there are justified and proven reasons that this person would harm the best interests of the club and would not work for the accomplishment of its goals.

An annual fee of 10 euros is required for the enrolment of its member. The fee can be changed by the 2/3 of the members of the meeting.

2. Persons who have offered valuable services to the Association to fulfill its goals, will be declared as honorary members by the meeting of the Association, after receipt of well-documented recommendation of the council. An honorary member is declared as an honorary president in special occasions.

 The regular members participate in the elections of the Association .The payment of the subscription fee is due before the date of the elections.

The honorary members can also participate in the elections, without being obliged to pay any fees.

Member’s Rights

The regular members of the Association

a)  can participate in the elections, in addition to being candidates. They should have enrolled in the Association at least one month before the date of the election.

b)  are entitled to take part in discussions and voting

c)  are entitled to be present at all the meetings as observers

d) are entitled to be informed of any matter concerning the action of the club. The council should provide this information without any delay.

Member’s Obligations

The regular members of the Association are obliged

1. To aim for the achievement of the goals of the Association
2. To pay the annual subscription fee of the Association
3. To participate in the events and the actions of the Association as often as possible
4. To be informed and to check the council’s decisions orally or in writing.

General Meeting

The general meeting is the dominant instrument of the club, at which decisions are taken about the matters that concern the Association, and that are on the agenda. The general meeting is frequently convened once a year by an electronic invitation in autumn, and also urgently when it is decided by the council. The invitation is sent 10 days before the date of the general meeting. It is also convened if requested in writing by at least  20 percent of the members who have paid their fees. The reasons for the meeting and the issues that will be discussed should be mentioned in the quest form. The council is obliged to convene a meeting within 10 days .

If the council cannot convene the meeting within 10 days, then the control committee must in the following 5 days. If the meeting is not convened, then the signatories can convene the meeting by themselves. On such an occasion, the council and the committee are declared removed and they are obliged to give all the documents of the Association to the temporary council, which will be chosen during the meeting.

Quorum

The meeting has a quorum when at least half of the members who have paid their fees are present. If there is no quorum, then without a new invitation, the meeting is convened the following week at the same location, at the same time and with same agenda. There is then a quorum, regardless of the number of the attendees.

The decisions are taken by majority of the attendees.

Procedure of the General Meeting

1. Quorum is ascertained. The attendees sign in and receive a confirmation in writing from the treasurer that they have paid their fees.
2. The president of the General Meeting is elected by the raising of hands. The president or a member of the council starts the meeting by announcing that quorum is ascertained and he asks the assembly to propose a president for the processing of the procedure. After the elections the president of the meeting will take over. A member of the outgoing council cannot be a candidate for the president because the members of the council are judged. Also the  president of the meeting cannot be a candidate for the upcoming council.
3. A secretary and an election commission ( if the meeting is electoral accounting) are elected by the raising of hands. The president asks the attendees to propose one or two secretaries to assist him during the procedure, and afterwards to write the minutes of the meeting. He also asks three persons who are not candidates for the election commission to be proposed.
4. The procedure starts and the order of the issues is decided. The president reads the topics on the agenda and then he asks if there is a question about the procedure. If there is a proposal about changing the order of the issues or if a new issue is added, then he has to present the question to the meeting unless it is approved by the council.
5. The administrative and financial review is read by the president or the secretary of the council.
6. The report of the control committee is read
7. The list of speakers is presented and their time of talking is decided after the president’s proposal to the meeting.
8. The issues are decided one after the other by the raising of hands after the end of the discussion for each issue.
9. Elections will take place as long as the meeting is electoral accounting. The election commission is responsible for distributing ballot papers with the candidates’ names. The outgoing council is responsible.  If for any reason there is no ballot, then the electoral commission should do that. The candidates are obliged to register their nomination  to the council at least two days before the general meeting.
10. Resolutions will take place (if that is needed for matters of general interest)
11. The end of the general meeting is declared.

The president of the general meeting is responsible for writing the minutes in the general meeting book within 15 days, and giving it to the council of the Association, with any other documents that they have been given during the general meeting.

Election Commission

The election commission, which is elected by the general meeting, should have the same number of ballots as the members who are going to vote .Also, to make sure that the voting will be confidential according to the time that was defined by the general meeting (usually, it is after the end of the general meeting when all the attendees vote). Afterwards, it opens the ballot box and counts all the votes cast for each candidate. It draws up and signs the minutes, and then writes the names of the candidates, starting with the candidate who has the least votes. The first nine persons who received the most votes are the members of the council. The other candidates are runners-up and will be asked to become a member of the council, if there is a vacancy, according to the number of their votes.

The election committee gives the minutes, with the ballots, to the new elected council.

Elections

Elections take place every two years, at the end of the general meeting that will be called electoral accounting ,starting from 2017. The council sends invitations to its members, at least 10 days ahead, in which it states the place ,the time and the topics of the agenda. The topics of the agenda will be 

1. The approval of the administrative report
2. The approval of the financial report
3. Planning for the new time period
4. The election of the council and of the electoral commission will be the last topic.

Also it will be mentioned in the invitation that whoever would like to be a candidate should state that by an e-mail two days before the date of the general meeting.

Two members can also suggest someone else as a candidate, but the suggested candidate should confirm this personally during the general meeting, otherwise his candidacy will be cancelled, and if his name is written in the ballot ,his votes will not be taken into account.

The Council and Control Committee

The council has 9 members and the control committee has 3 members.

The election for the council’s nomination are in a single ballot in which there will be an alphabetical list with the names of the candidates for the council at the top, and a list with the names of the candidates for the committee below.

The voters vote up to nine persons for the council and up to three persons for the committee.

The outvoted candidate invites the remaining candidates to form the council within three day after the elections. Failing this, it is the responsibility of the second in line. If he declines, then it is considered that everyone has resigned so the runners-up are the temporary council and they should arrange a new general meeting within a month for the election of the new council.

The control committee is convened within three days of its selection to decide who the president and the two members will be. It announces in writing its formation during the first meeting of the council.

Administrative Council

A)Formation

The members of the council will be convened within three days of their selection to form the council. The president is elected by secret voting and then he is in charge of the procedure and the vice-president, the general secretary ,the treasurer ,the organizational secretary and 2 or 4 members are elected.

Afterwards, the council receives from the previous president or secretary a document which states anything that has to do with the association (files, property, treasury etc.) and is informed about any obligations or agreements that have been signed between the Association and other third parties. The obligations are carried out by the new council unless it decides that these are harmful for the Association, in which case it negotiates.

Also the council receives the minutes, the ballots and all other documents from the election commission.

Furthermore, it takes the constitution minute of the control committee.

B) Council’s responsibilities

The council manages the Association.

The council manages the Association’s property and it handles every issue that concerns the Association.

It convenes the general meeting and it defines the topics of the agenda.

It compiles the administrative and financial review of each administrative period.

It carries out the general meeting’s decisions and it decides for every issue that is not specified by the charter.

Its meetings are open to the members only as observers.

If the president allows one of these members to address the council, then all the other members can address the meeting but they cannot vote. A regular meeting is convened once a month and there could be a special meeting if it is decided by the president or if two members ask for it in writing. On such an occasion, the president or the vice-president should convene a special meeting within three days.

There is quorum in the meeting when at least 5 members of the council are present.

The decisions are taken by a simple majority of the members who are present. In case of a split vote the, president’s vote prevails.

The member of the council who is absent inexcusably for three consecutive regular meetings is called to apologise in writing, and if this absence continues then this member is removed from the council and the next in line takes his place. If the person removed was the president, the vice-president or the secretary, then there will be a restructuring of the council. If the number of the runners-up is used up then a run-off will take place so that new members will be elected.

The president

The president of the council convenes and manages the meetings of the council.

He represents the association in all its relations and to any authority.

He acts on decisions made by council and at meetings. .

He is responsible for complying with the charter.

He signs invitations, the convergence for the general meeting, the Association’s announcements and all outgoing documents.

He signs, with the secretary and the treasurer, the bills of exchange and the payment orders.

The vice-president

The vice-president represents the president when he is absent, or when he is unable to carry out his duties.

The general secretary

The general secretary compiles the meetings’ minutes. He plans with the president the topics of the agenda for the council’s meetings and he also signs the invitation and all outgoing documents. Also he compiles and signs with the president the invitation for the general meeting according to the council’s decisions. He is responsible for the Association’s seal as well as all the other documents and books, except for the treasury book.

He signs with the president and the treasurer all the bills of exchange and the payment orders.

The treasurer collects the subscription fees and all income of the Association, issuing receipts or any other voucher. He executes payments that have been decided by the council , with money order, which have been signed by the president and the secretary. He can pay current bills without the council’s decision. The treasurer cannot have more than 100 euros and he is obliged to deposit any extra sum of money to one of the banks in a current bank account, jointly with the president and the secretary. The withdrawal can take place only if it is decided by the council.

The treasurer updates the council about the financial status of the Association in each meeting.

When the treasurer is unable to carry out his responsibilities , he is substituted temporarily by another member of the council, who is chosen by the council.

The arranging secretary.

The arranging secretary proposes to the council the organization of the events, and he is also responsible for the image and the public relations of the club in co-operation with the secretary.

He is responsible for the storage and the maintenance of the events’ materials.

He is responsible for the library (if there is one).

He substitutes for the secretary when he is unable to perform his duties.

Control Committee

It is composed of its president and two members.

It checks all the administrative and financial activity of the council and it is entitled to check the Association’s books at any time, to make sure that the actions of the council are in compliance with the charter and the decisions of the general meeting. The council is obliged to provide all the facts that will be asked by the control committee.

A report about the council’s actions is read during the general meeting. If the control committee discovers any very serious matter concerning the Association, then it can ask  convergence of a general meeting from the council if there is unanimity. The council has to call a general meeting within 10 days.

It convenes regularly every 2 months and more often whenever it is necessary, should the president so decides. It files all comments so that he will be able to compile a review for the electoral accounting meeting every 3 years. If the review is not unanimous then the opinion of the member who is minority has to be written down.

Funds

The Association’s funds result from

1. The annual subscription fees of the members (10 euros).
2. From lotteries
3. From events
4. From donations, bequests and financial support from legal sources
5. From funding from European programmes and national or international sponsorships.

Member’s Removal

No member is removed from the Association unless it has been proven that he acts at the expense of the Association, or that his behavior and morality harms the Association, or that he obstructs its smooth operation, and also after he has been invited to apologise to the council. In such a case, the council presents the issue at the general meeting, which can decide that the removal of the member can take place, but only if there is a majority of 2/3 of the present members, and as long as 50% of the members who have paid their membership are present. A member can request to be removed from the Association, if he so wishes.

The Association’s Books

1. Members’ register
2. Council’s book
3. General meeting and control committee book
4. Treasury book
5. Protocol’s book
6. Property’s book.

Charter’s Modification

Any modification to the charter is only possible by the general meeting, provided there is an invitation by the council, in which the council has to refer to the article and the reason why it has to be changed.

The quorum is 2/3 of the members who have paid their membership and the required majority is ¾ of the present members.

Association’s Disbandment

The Association cannot be disbanded unless there is an invitation to a general meeting about this issue by the council, unless there is a quorum by the members who have paid their fees and a majority of ¾ of the present members.

The members can re-define the Association if it resumes at any time. If this is the case, a volunteer committee  is responsible for summoning a general meeting that will decide the next steps, so that the Association will resume according to the charter. In case of the association’s disbandment , its property will be given to a school, a public surgery or to another association in the municipality of West Mani.

Matters Not Mentioned

Whatever is not mentioned in the present charter is regulated by the ordinance “About Associations” of the civil code and other relevant statutes.

Article 22

The present charter comprises of 22 articles, it has been read and approved by the legal quorum and majority by the general meeting that was summoned in Stoupa today on the 16th of October 2016, and the council has been authorized to ask for approval by the court in control according to the law.