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European Methodist Youth Council, "EMYC”
(Youth Work and Children's Work)
Constitution 1995

Version 1999

1. Preamble

1/1

The EMYC has its origin in the coming together in 1970 of the Youth Committee of the Council of the United Methodist Central Conferences of Europe and representatives of the Methodist Youth Departments of Great Britain and Ireland to form the Methodist Joint Commission for European Youth Work. On 1st January 1975, this name was changed to the "European Methodist Youth Council". Subsequently, the work of the Council was widened by the inclusion of a Children's Commission.

1/2

The EMYC brings together those responsible for youth and children's work and representatives of the young people of the Methodist Conferences in Europe. It has a relationship with and reports to the European Methodist Council.

1/3

Members share their faith, common Methodist traditions, European cultures and a commitment to work among children and young people.

1/4

They recognize that they belong to the world wide church and that God ministers to and challenges them through society, culture, language and the experience of people of every nation.

1/5

They expect to discover Christ afresh in and through each other's experience and learn from one another within the fellowship of the Council and its activities.

2. The aims and purposes of the European Methodist Youth Council

The EMYC serves as an instrument of the areas concerned in order to
  1. create and strengthen links between those who work with children and young people in European Methodist Churches
  2. consult on matters of common interest
  3. initiate action to bring young people together
  4. represent the youth and children's work of European Methodism

3. Membership

The members of EMYC are:
  1. representatives of the youth and children's work in the Central Conferences of the United Methodist Church in Europe
  2. representatives of the Department of Youth and Children's Work of the Methodist Church in Ireland
  3. representatives of the Division of Education and Youth of the British Methodist Conference
  4. representatives of other autonomous Methodist Conferences in Europe
  5. such co-options or invitations to attend as full or observer members as deemed necessary by the Council

4. Representation

The following areas and Conferences are represented in EMYC. The maximum number of voting representatives from each is as follows:
  1. Great Britain 10
  2. Germany 10
  3. Central and Southern Europe 17 (2 F, 3 CH, 2 A, 2 YU & MAC, 2 PL, 2 CZ & SK, 2 H & UKR, 2 BUL)
  4. Ireland 5
  5. Northern Europe 14 (2 N, 2 S, 2 DK, 2 SF, 2 EST; 1 LIT; 1 LAT; 2 RUS)
  6. Other Conferences (2 Portugal, 2 Italy)
The national quotas are given as guidelines.

Each area shall send at least one Youth Representative and, if possible, there shall be one Youth Representative from each country.

5. Officers

The Council shall apoint
  1. an independent President, without voting rights
  2. a Vice-president, appointed for three years
  3. a Secretary
  4. a Treasurer
The election of the president shall be by ballot, after nomination by the Executive, by a two thirds majority. The election of the others officers shall be by ballot, after nomination by the EMYC participants ob by the executive, by a absolute majority. Appendix 6 of the constitution gives informations about the procedure for elections of EMYC. Officers can act on behalf of the Council between meetings, but such action must be reported for ratification by the next Council meeting.

6. Executive

The Executive shall consist of
  1. the President, the Vice-president, the Secretary and the Treasurer
  2. the Chairpersons of the five Commissions
  3. one representative elected by each area that does not have a Chairperson of Commission
  4. two Youth Representatives elected by and from all the Youth Representatives present, for a period of one year. For the sake of continuity, these representatives shall normally be chosen from those who have attended the Council in a previous year
Members of the Executive stay in office until new members are appointed.

7. The Council

7/1 Meetings of the Council

7/1/1

The Council meets from the evening of the Saturday preceding the 40th week of every year until the following Friday at midday, in each area in turn. In the event of there being no full Council meeting in any year, a meeting of the Executive shall take place. The quorum of the Council shall be 60% of the maximum number of voting representatives.

7/1/2

The host area is responsible for
  1. arranging the venue and programme
  2. covering the cost of accommodation for the President and the members of the Council
  3. arranging for translation facilities and adequate secretarial support for the duration of the Council meeting

7/2 Languages

The definitive text of the Constitution is in English. Other official documents of the Council and its Commission shall, as far as possible, be in English and German. The secondary text of each document shall be clearly marked as "translation/ Übersetzung".

7/3 Commissions

7/3/1

The Council works mainly through its Commissions, both individually and co-operatively, which, subject to the approval of the whole Council, organize seminars, conferences, work camps and mission teams. Within the Commissions participants share their expertise and insights on specific areas of work.

7/3/2

Each area should be represented in each Commission.

7/3/3

The Commissions are:
  1. Children's Work
  2. Evangelization
  3. Church and Society
  4. Youth Exchanges
  5. Council, Conferences and Training

7/3/4

Each Commission has a Chairperson (appointed by the Council) and a Secretary (appointed by the Commission). In the absence of the Chairperson, the Secretary shall take responsibility until a new Chairperson is elected.

7/4 Chairpersons of Commissions

7/4/1

The Chairperson of each Commission is responsible for the Commission's meetings, for oversight of the work of the Commission throughout the year (seminars, work camps, literature, etc.) and for the presentation of formal resolutions on behalf of the Commission to the Executive before the Plenary.

7/4/2

Between Council meetings the Chairperson must
  1. remind members of the Commissions regularly of action agreed at the previous meeting of the Commission.
  2. prepare an agenda and preparatory papers for forthcoming meetings of the Commission and send copies to the members of the Commission and the national youth or children's departments for circulation to new Commission members in good time for the next meeting.

7/4/3

The Chairperson should ensure that the Secretary of the Council receives copies of programmes, preparatory papers and other information about events arranged by the Commission and endorsed by the Council.

7/4/4

The Chairperson is recommended by the Commission to the Executive for nomination and appointed by the Council for a period of four years.

7/5 The President

The President shall
  1. be elected by the Council for a period of four years, preferably from each of the areas in turn
  2. chair meetings of the Council and the Executive
  3. represent the Council in public and at official events
  4. in the event of a split vote, have a casting vote

7/6 The Secretary

7/6/1

The Secretary is responsible for
  1. preparations for the Council meetings. In consultation with the host church, s/he arranges the programme. Preparatory papers are sent out 2-3 months before the meeting and include a draft agenda, travel instructions a programme and informations about elections of Vice-President, Secretary an Treasurer composed of:
  2. preparation of the minutes of Council and Executive meetings as soon as possible after each meeting. These shall be circulated to members of the Executive and to the national youth and children's de- partments.
  3. correspondence and secretarial work between the meetings of the Council.
  4. formal invitations to Council meetings.
  5. keep a detail list about all EMYC-Projects

7/6/2

The Secretary is appointed by the Council for a period of four years.

7/7 The Treasurer

7/7/1

The Treasurer is responsible for
  1. preparing the audited accounts for the preceding year and the budget for the forthcoming year for presentation to the Executive and to the Council
  2. depositing any balance appropriately
  3. making payments on the Council’s behalf, in return for proper receipts
  4. advising the Council and its members on the financial aspects of its decisions

7/7/2

The Treasurer is appointed by the Council for a period of four years.

7/8 Youth Representatives

The Youth Representatives have an important role in the work of the Council in ensuring that the perceptions and aspirations of young people are clearly represented and that the Council continues to face and meet the challenges and needs of young people.

7/8/1

Youth Representatives should not be more than 26 years of age.

7/8/2

In order to ensure continuity and to enable the Youth Representatives to take as full a part as possible in the affairs of the Council, it is desirable that they are able to attend for more than one year.

7/8/3

National youth departments are expected to ensure that all Representatives and other young people attending the Council are properly prepared and enabled to understand the Council's mode of working and some of the issues under consideration.

7/9 The Executive

The responsibilities of the Executive are
  1. to consider the draft agenda and programme for the Council
  2. initial approval of the audited accounts and draft budget for presentation to the Council
  3. nomination of the Chairpersons of Commissions at commissions suggestion
  4. nomination of two auditors for the Council's approval
  5. official contacts with other organizations
  6. to give consideration to the implications of any formal resolutions to be brought by Commissions to the Council
  7. to take appropriate action on behalf of the Council
  8. to provide an induction pack for new members of EMYC and organize an induction session early in the timetable of each years meeting
  9. to consider any suggested amendments to the Constitution

7/10 The Plenary

7/10/1

The Council in its Plenary session shall
  1. consider themes raised by members and, where required, refer them to the appropriate Commission(s).
  2. approve the minutes of the Commissions
  3. discuss and vote on any common action of EMYC
  4. elect the officers and Chairpersons of Commissions
  5. adopt the audited accounts for the preceding year and the budget for the forthcoming year

7/10/2

All major decissions of the Council and of its Executive shall be subject to ratification by the respective church bodies.

8. Finances

8/1 Budget

8/1/1

The accounting year runs from 15. 9. to 14. 9. of the following year.

8/1/2

The audited accounts of the past year and a budget for the coming year will be presented at each meeting of the Council.

8/1/3 Contributions

8/1/3/1
The Council receives its finances through contributions from the areas of the Central Conferences mentioned in section 4.

8/1/3/2
By the 31st March each year, those responsible in each area are asked to tell the Treasurer what they can contribute for the following budgetary year. The Treasurer will then ask for higher contributions if necessary. The following quotas are suggested as a guideline:

N-Europe l0%
Germany 20%
C & S-Europe l0%
GB 50%
Ireland 10%

8/1/3/3
These contributions shall cover both the Current Account (see 8/1/4) and the Special Fund (see 8/4).