The name of the organisation shall be the European Journalism Training Association (EJTA). The Association is a legal body under Dutch or Belgian Law. It is a non-profit making organisation which has its seat in Belgium.
Article II AIM
The aim of this Association is to enable institutes for journalism education, meaning departments of journalism education of universities/polytechnics as well as professional mid-career training centres, to collaborate in a regular manner to enhance common quality standards while promoting a European consciousness. This aim is to be achieved by the development of suitable activities, including, but not limited to promoting and organizing:
- Meetings to exchange ideas and to encourage dialogue between journalism educators from all over Europe,
- Research on a European level about major questions affecting journalism and journalism education,
- Student and staff mobility,
- Platforms for making joint journalistic productions,
- Activities that enable students, teachers and professional journalists to develop a view on the functions of journalism within the European context.
Article III MEMBERSHIP
Section 1
1) The criteria for membership of institutes of higher education are:
a) The new member subscribes to the Tartu Declaration and intends to implement it.
b) If a national or international compulsory accreditation system is in place for journalism education, the new member has to have a positive accreditation.
c) The new member has an active curriculum of professional education and a full cycle of education has been completed at least once.
2) the criteria for membership of mid-career training centres are:
a) The new member subscribes to the Tartu Declaration.
b) The new member is recognized by appropriate professional journalistic institutions.
c) The new member has a definite and varied training programme and a full cycle of training has been completed for at least one year.
Section 2
The new member must be independent from any political party or any group involving social, political, ideological, religious or racial discrimination, and must accept students without discrimination on social, political, ideological, religious or racial grounds and without conditions or obligations as to future jobs and employers.
Section 3
Each year before March 15th all members pay a single membership fee.
Section 4
Institutes for journalism education that are located outside of Europe can apply for an Associate Membership. They will have to meet the same criteria for membership as regular members. They will have the same rights and obligations, with the exception that they are not eligible to vote at the AGM (cf. Article VII).
Article IV ADMISSION OF NEW MEMBERS
Section 1
1) Any application for admission as member must be submitted to the Association in writing not later than 90 days before the date of the Annual General Meeting. It must be accompanied by a completed and signed EJTA questionnaire, and, where appropriate, letters of support from professional/journalistic bodies.
2) For candidates for membership, the Board will arrange for one or more representatives to examine the document(s) submitted and to carry out an inspection visit to the applying institute and to report back to the Board.
3) The Board will circulate an inspector’s report on a candidate for full membership, as well as its recommendation about admission, no later than 30 days prior to the General Meeting.
4) The General Meeting will decide on admission by a qualified majority of three quarters of the members of the Association in good standing who are present or represented by proxy.
Section 2
An applicant shall cover the expenses of the inspection visit. If admitted, the membership will officially start in the first month after the Annual General Meeting. The new member will get a discount on the yearly membership fee in the first year.
Article V WITHDRAWAL OF MEMBERSHIP
Membership of the Association will be withdrawn:
- As a result of non-payment of the annual subscription for two years, and/or
- In the event of changes in an Institute for Journalism Education resulting in an inability to continue to meet the conditions set out in Article III.
Article VI BOARD
Section 1
In between General Meetings the management of the affairs of the Association shall be vested in the Board and the Board shall act in accordance with policies established by the General Meeting.
1) The General Meeting shall elect a President and two Board members who shall serve for two years.
2) The General Meeting shall, in the year following the election in VI 1), elect two further Board members who shall serve for two years.
3) The Board members shall be eligible twice for re-election for two more years.
4) The President shall be eligible twice for re-election for two more years.
Section 2
The Board shall in its turn elect a vice-president, a secretary, a vice-secretary, a treasurer and a deputy treasurer.
Section 3
The elected officers are to represent the Association between General Meetings to the outside world, both in and out of court. The authority of the Board to make special representative provisions in certain cases shall be unimpeded by this.
Section 4
1) Board Meetings shall be held when the President or a majority of the members summon them.
2) At least three Board Meetings shall be held each year. Notice of meetings, including the agenda, shall be given in writing in advance of the meeting.
3) Decisions of the Board shall be taken by a simple majority vote of the members present or represented by proxy. In the case of tied votes, the President’s decision is final.
4) Minutes shall be written after each Board Meeting and approved in the next Board Meeting.
5) The Board can establish ad hoc subcommittees, including an Executive Committee consisting of the President and at least one other member elected by the Board. The Board shall lay down rules for the conduct of the business of all ad hoc subcommittees.
Article VII GENERAL MEETING
The General Meeting is the highest authority of the Association.
Section 1
1) A General Meeting of the Association shall be held annually, the place and date to be determined by the Board and announced no later than 90 days in advance.
a) Only members of the Association in good standing are eligible to vote. Good standing means: not being in arrears with the payment of the annual fee.
b) Notice of a General Meeting together with an agenda shall be mailed by the Board to the membership at least 30 days in advance of the meeting.
c) The General Meeting shall be chaired by the President.
d) The General Meeting shall be quorate when half of the members in good standing are present.
e) All resolutions of the General Meeting shall be passed by an absolute majority of the members in good standing present or represented by proxy. Blank ballots shall be considered not cast. No member shall hold more than two proxy votes.
f) Any vote at General Meetings shall, if any member so request, be by secret ballot.
2) The Board shall report annually to the General Meeting on the activities of the Association, and shall present annual accounts for acceptance by the General Meeting.
Section 2
1) A motion to suspend these statutes and the standing orders for the conduct of the General Meeting must be put to a General Meeting by the President.
2) A motion to suspend standing orders shall be passed by a 2/3rds majority of the members present in good standing. Proxy votes shall not be cast.
3) The vote to suspend standing orders shall, if any member so request, be by secret ballot.
Section 3
An Extraordinary General Meeting may be summoned by the Board or by at least one-quarter of the members of the Association in good standing.
1) The Board shall arrange for such a meeting to take place within 30 days of the request being received.
2) Any vote at an Extraordinary General Meeting shall, if any member so request, be by secret ballot.
Article VIII AMENDMENTS
1) The Board shall circulate a request to the membership 90 days before the General Meeting for any proposed amendments to these statutes.
2) Any such amendments to these statutes as well as any further proposed amendments by the Board shall be circulated to the membership at least 30 days before the General Meeting.
3) Amendments to the statutes of the Association can only be made by a resolution passed by a majority of 2/3rds of the votes of full members in good standing present at the General Meeting or represented by proxy at an Extraordinary General Meeting.
Article IX FINANCIAL MEANS
The financial means of the Association consist of annual membership fees and other income.
1) Members shall pay yearly fees at a rate determined by the General Meeting.
2) The General Meeting approves the audit of the accounts and the budget of the Association.
3) All membership fees are due before 15 March each year.
Article X DISSOLUTION
1) The Association can be dissolved by a resolution of an Extraordinary General Meeting with a quorum of two-thirds of the members in good standing and by a majority of at least three-quarters of the members present or represented by proxy.
2) When a first meeting is not quorate, a second meeting after an interval of at least 30 days may be called. This meeting requires no quorum and may pass a resolution to dissolve the Association by simple majority of the members in good standing present or represented by proxy.
3) The assets after dissolution will go to organisations to be specified by the Board, the goals of which are compatible with the aims of the Association.