Training Module 8
- 1. Issue No. 1 (Consolidated and presented by TEAM LTOD 2015-16) January 2016 . Training for ICMs upon their election as ICM/ICME Y’s MEN INTERNATIONAL TRAINING MODULE NO: VIII 1
- 2. International Council and International Council Meeting procedures Dear ICME, Congratulations to you for being elected to the apex body of Y’s Men International. It is our desire that you get to know very clearly about your responsibilities and role as an International Council Member, prior to attending your first council meeting. We know you are busy with your routine / official/ personal affairs. It should not in anyway prevent you from doing justice to your election for this most important position in our Movement. You are expected to be fully prepared for your role in the council meeting. Each ICM fulfils a dual role: as an elected representative of the Area and also representing International to that Area. Preparedness is the key to effective participation at the meetings of the International Council. Our attempt through this training is making you prepared for your role and assignments It is the ICM’s responsibility to become fully conversant with these matters prior to the meeting and to solicit beforehand the views of membership on the many issues to be considered. Needless to say, preparedness is an ongoing responsibility of every ICM. Go ahead, fulfill it for the benefit and glory of our Movement. Before we venture into the details, we request you to download a copy of our International Constitution from our website www.ysmen.org and go through ARTICLE IV LEGISLATIVE OFFICERS in detail. Kindly do this first, before going any further. If you have finished the above, let us now see again the structure of the International Council and responsibilities of International Council members as per our constitution. What is International Council? International Constitution (Article IV-Section 1) states that “The legislative power of this Association shall be vested in an International Council.” The Council exercises its legislative power • at regular meetings (at least once a year) – ICM • at other meetings that may be called • through transacting business via mail, e-mail or electronic means. Structure of International Council (Article IV Section 2) • There shall be fifteen (15) members elected to the International Council. • Each Area shall be represented on the Council minimum by one (1) member. • Two seats shall be occupied by Young Members not from the same Area, elected by the Areas on a rotational basis as referred to in Guideline 414. • The remaining seats shall be allocated to the Areas based on the proportion of paid membership of the Area to the total paid membership of the Association, but no Area shall be entitled to more than three (3) seats, excluding any seat held by a Young Member. • All members elected to the International Council from 2013 onwards shall serve only one (1) two (2) year term of office, except those elected as Young Members who, after serving one (1) two (2) year term as such may, after attaining the age of forty (40) years and providing a minimum period of five (5) years has elapsed, serve an additional one (1) term of two (2) years. 2
- 3. Functions of the International Council: (Guidelines 401, 408, 412) • Establish and approve Operating, Brotherhood Fund and other International Budgets. • Determine International Convention sites and assist in drawing up programmes. • Initiate new projects and provide maintenance and promotion for on-going projects. • Set goals in terms of immediate objectives as well as long range objectives, being the planning group of the Association. • Maintain Constitution under review. • Review policies relating to membership, management of funds, issuing and recalling of Club Charters and officer and employee responsibilities. • Establish guidelines, provide budget and assign responsibilities for creating necessary International publications. • From names submitted by the Regions and by the Nominating Committee, nominate candidates for election to offices of International President-Elect and International Treasurer-Elect. • Area and Regional Constitutions or Guidelines and any revisions of them must be submitted to the International Council for approval. • Neither a candidate for election to any international office, nor any club, group or affiliate is permitted to campaign for office on behalf of the candidate by sending letters, literature or other influential messages to enhance any candidate’s chances of election. If a violation is reported, the Nominating Committee after reviewing and verifying the report has the right to disqualify the candidate. Qualifications of International Council Members Council members make up the one group which must act to benefit the entire organization. Therefore, all ICMs must remember that the benefit of the International organization as a whole must be foremost in their thoughts whenever acting in their capacity as an ICM. The following qualifications are desired: The ability and willingness to communicate, both orally and by mail. Communication is one of the greatest responsibilities in our movement. An ICM must have shown these abilities before election and must continue to answer all communications within a reasonable period of time. Experience in Y’sdom – preferably with a background of proven leadership ability at Club, District and Regional levels. The ability to communicate acceptably in English. Knowledge of the YMCA and its inter- national programmes. Ability to be a conceptual thinker, capable of forming philosophy, policy and organizati- onal concepts. Creative ability – able to initiate ideas, not merely to respond. Cultural literacy – an international under- standing and concern. Strong principles, but a willingness to compr- omise for the good of the whole. Concern for Y’sdom’s strength and growth, worldwide. A willingness and ability to serve – to give the time and effort necessary to be a good ICM. A willingness and ability to cooperate – to work closely with others. World minded and ability to think and act in the global interest of Y’s Men International Ability to avoid thinking or acting in the narrow interests of a club, District, Region or Area at the detriment of the movement. To be aware of Robert’s Rule of Parliamentary procedures, as per which we conduct our council meeting. International Council Meetings The International Council shall meet at least one (1) time per year. Ten (10) members of the International Council shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of all business. The International Council may also transact business by mail about matters presented to it by or with the approval of the International President even if such matters are not on the pre-circulated agenda. ICM ’06 agreed unanimously that Roberts Rules of Parliamentary Procedure be formally adopted by YMI as the operating procedures for International Council Meetings. Prior to the ICM, one full day is allotted for training of ICMs, to make them more knowledgeable of meeting procedures and make their participation effective. We make sure that at least one session will be on Roberts Rules of Parliamentary Procedure to make you aware how it is followed in our Council meeting. 3
- 4. The International Council meeting is usually held immediately prior to the International Convention in even numbered years. In the years when there is no International Convention, ICM will be arranged to coincide with an Area Convention during July or August, soon after new ICMs begin their terms of office. ICMs are supplied with a Workbook of the meeting in advance to get them fully prepared for the meeting. If you are an APE or will become AP, you will be expected to submit a report for this Workbook this year or in the coming year. If this applies to you, you will receive an email calling for reports at least two months prior to the meeting. Similarly, ICMs are supplied with Minutes of the ICM, within a limited time after completion of the meeting. The International President shall preside at all meetings of the International Council but shall not have a vote, except in the event of a tie vote when he/she shall cast the tie breaking vote. The International President-Elect, Immediate Past International President, International Treasurer and International Secretary General shall attend all meetings of the International Council, without vote. In the event of the incapacity of the International President to preside, the International President-Elect shall assume such functions. The International Director for Y’s Menettes and the International Youth Representative are invitees to the International Council meeting, but they do not have voting rights. The World Alliance of YMCAs is entitled to nominate one official representative to the International Council. Such a representative shall serve on the International Council without vote for a period not exceeding four years. Robert’s Rule of Parliamentary procedures We come from different countries, cultures and parliamentary practices. As already explained, we are following Robert’s Rule of Parliamentary procedures for conduct of our council meetings. Some of you might be familiar with the procedures and some of you might not be. Usually, we allot a portion of our ICM training time for discussions on Robert’s Rules and related procedures Rules of Procedure for International Council Meetings as per International Council Operations Manual A. The Agenda 1. The provisional agenda and time schedule for the meeting shall be prepared by the International President and circulated by the International Secretary General to ICMs at least thirty (30) days prior to the meeting. This gives ICMs sufficient opportunity to submit additional items they wish to have included on the agenda. 2. Proposals for the agenda are to be sent to the International President, International President Elect and International Headquarters. In addition, the International Treasurer should be sent copies of all items relating to fiscal matters. Such requests should meet the report submission deadline. 3. The final agenda and time schedule for the meeting shall be proposed by the International President and adopted by the Council at the beginning of the meeting. 4. The agenda should contain an obligatory part, an optional part and a free part. a. In the obligatory part the following items are included: Approval of appointments to International Council Installation of ICMs Appointment of Steering Committee Adoption of the agenda Approval of the minutes of last International Council meeting and mail ballots of past year International Secretary General’s report Approval of the financial statement Presentation and approval of the operating budget, provisional budget for the following year and Brotherhood Fund Expenditures budget. All reports are to be given in written form in advance so that the time may be used only for questions/ discussions. The budgets presented for the coming term must include all possible items, even those about which reports and proposals are made later. Items not included in the 4
- 5. proposed budget cannot be added later.(This is to avoid the postponing of budgets to the end of the meeting, which forces the International Treasurer and Finance Committee Chairperson to make hasty alterations and also forces the Council to decide on a budget under time pressure, without the opportunity to examine closely all details before making decisions.) b. The optional part contains all approved agenda items not included in the above list. c. In the free part the Council should have the chance to discuss non-agenda items. Under the rules of procedure these items should be submitted to the Steering Committee who will fit them into the agenda, provided they agree that they are appropriate for the Council to discuss at this time. B. The Steering Committee The International President shall appoint a Steering Committee of not less than three voting members who shall: 1. Assist the Presiding Officer with the interpretation of the Rules of Order. Their rulings in matters of parliamentary procedure shall be final. 2. Review the process of work in relation to the agenda and time schedule and make recommendations as to priorities. 3. Review all new items of business not included in the agenda. Any such item shall be referred to the Steering Committee before it can be discussed by the Council. C. Motions 1. Every motion or amendment to a motion must be submitted in writing (unless the presiding Officer allows otherwise), and proposed and seconded, respectively by voting members. In the case of Motions on matters relating to the International Constitution, the proposer and seconder have to be from two different Areas. The International Council may adopt time limitations for the proposer, seconder and subsequent speakers. 2. All speeches are to be addressed to the Presiding Officer. The speaker should stand up and speak legibly and clearly. 3. Amendments to motions may be accepted by the Presiding Officer who may also rule that any specific amendment must be approved for discussion by the Steering Committee before it is debated by the Council. A number of amendments may be debated together but only one amendment may be voted upon at any onetime. The order in which amendments shall be voted upon shall be at the discretion of the Presiding Officer. 4. A motion that the question now be put to the vote (to stop discussion) may be proposed at any time by a voting member, but the Presiding Officer has discretion whether to accept or refuse such a motion. There can be no debate on such a motion and, if it is accepted by the Presiding Officer, a vote upon it must be taken forthwith. It requires a two-thirds (2/3) vote to stop debate. If the vote to stop debate passes, the vote on the main motion is then taken immediately and requires only a majority. 5. The motion that the question be considered at a later time (to postpone) may be proposed at any time by a voting member. Such a motion, if accepted by the Presiding Officer, takes precedence over all others. 6. Any voting member may at any time submit a point of order, information or procedure to the Presiding Officer. 7. Typically most votes shall be by a show of hands. Some un-contentious votes (such as the approval of the agenda, etc.) may be taken by consensus. 8. Voting for any amendment of the Articles of the International constitution shall be conducted as a secret ballot. 9. In cases needed, presentation and voting on Motions can be done via mail, e-mail or electronic means. Strict timelines and quorum will be followed in such votings also. 10. The decisions of the Steering Committee concerning the interpretation of these Rules of Procedure are final. 5
- 6. You will get additional information on how Robert’s Rule of Parliamentary procedures are followed in general, in a meeting, from the 4 links given below. These are a few standard videos on meetings governed through Robert’s Rule of Parliamentary procedures. Everything that you see in there, exactly as explained in them, may not apply to our meetings. However, it will give an overall idea on the topic. 1. http://youtu.be/Tqs RcphzdA (15:01 minutes) - Simple and clear oral presentation with some written info - very good overall Roberts Rules explanation 2. http://youtu.be/JICWOQCthHc (2:13 minutes) - Very simple oral and written main motion info, with role play (need to click "skip ad" at the beginning; note that this link will take you into the next video in this series if you don't stop it) 3. http://youtu.be/hm0hsTniLlE (1:30 mi nutes) - brief role play on motion with objection and vote 4. http://youtu.be/eYwKX_P8YkU (7:13 minutes) - simple oral presentation on motion, amendment, and amending the amendment (view from 1:42 - 6:50 to avoid promos) You can search You Tube and find more presentations and information on Robert’s Rule of Parliamentary procedures. You are welcome to do so. D. Mid Year Meeting (Guideline 407) The International Council may give approval to a Mid-Year Meeting to be held each January or February for the purpose of review and planning of the work of the Association. The members of the Mid-Year Meeting shall comprise the International President, International President-Elect, Immediate Past International President, Secretary General and, subject to justification of costs and availability of finance, International Treasurer and Area Presidents-Elect unless the International President sees a need for the Area Presidents to attend in their place. No legislative decisions can be made by the Meeting, unless special authorization on specific matters has been given by the International Council. E. How Can You Make Your Own Preparations to Step into the Position of ICM: • Print and read our International Constitution, with special attention to Article IV. Bring it with you to the International Council meeting. • Print out your Area and Regional Constitutions to see how they are similar to the International Constitution. As an ICM, you are expected to be knowledgeable about the legal do’s and don’t’s of the various levels of our movement. You can expect others to seek your advice so be ready. • Have one or more conversations, preferably face-to-face or in an online chat format, with the current ICM(s) from your Area. Ask questions about what they did to get prepared to assume the position, what surprised them when they attended their first council meeting, what they wished they had done more to prepare, etc. Also ask them about their duties within the Area and how you can be prepared to assist them or take over from them. You should not go into this position unaware of what has happened before from your Area’s perspective. You must always put the good of the overall movement as your top priority, but this may still result in different challenges depending on where you are from, the diversity in your Area, and historic issues. Be sure that you are not blind-sided by such challenges. • Most of you have likely been RDs and therefore have attended RDE Training. This is a comprehensive training on many aspects about Y’s Men/Y Service. Get out your materials and review them as they can help you remember things like the structure of our movement, the need for due dates and timelines, etc. If you have not been an RD, talk to your current RD and ask to see their materials. Ask them questions so you understand what you 6
- 7. are reading. As an ICM, you will be looked to by leaders “below” you (RDs, DGs, CPs, etc) so ensure you understand their duties. • Watch for emails coming from anyone at IHQ as well as from any of the IEOs or our ISG. These will start almost as soon as you have been elected. Always read these messages, download and/or print anything attached or linked on the website (note that you will now have access to workbook documents and minutes from past International Council meetings and MYMs through a provided link – if you don’t keep that message with this link you will not be able to access them). A wise approach is to set up a file on your computer and immediately download such linked documents to that file for future reference. • Many of the messages coming from IHQ may simply be copying you on information but not asking you to do something. Be sure to check if the message is to you (or you and many others) or to others and you are just being copied for awareness. If you are in the “To:” list then you need to act upon the message and respond in a timely way to meet the request. If you are on the“Cc:” list then you should read the message but you do not need to reply. • Once the Workbook and other documents for International Council are sent out to all participants, you should download them. You should read them all before you go to the site of the IC meeting. It is a good idea to make a few jot notes as you read, noting any items you need clarification on, follow up questions, motions that you think are worthwhile, etc. It is not acceptable to get to International Council and try to speed read reports as they come up in the agenda. Rather you need to understand what is going on in other Areas of our movement, what the challenges are for our various programs and committees/task forces, etc. In this way you can ask well-thought-out questions, offer pre-considered suggestions, etc. • Motions are the steps taken by ICMs to solve issues, make changes and develop forward strategies. However unless they are put on the table they cannot be considered. Many motions are suggested in the reports of committee/task force chairs who do not have a seat at the council table. So they count on ICMs to read their reports thoughtfully and then to move their motions if they agree with them. Any ICM can make or second a motion. If you want assurances that you are doing it the right way, speak to a member of the Steering Committee. • You will get the most out of this international experience if you work hard to get to know all the others on the council. Try to eat meals with different people every day rather than just those from your Area or similar culture. Be willing to challenge your language skills by communicating with others who have limited or little English skills. Learn about their families, professions, club activities, challenges within their Areas, etc. You will enjoy and learn about the differences and still find many similarities to share. • You will have an assigned seat at the council table, generally intermixed with members form other Areas. During sessions, you are expected to remain in your seat and focused on the various speakers. You must direct your request to speak or ask questions to the Presiding Officer (usually the IP or IPE) so do not call out or speak across the table to someone. Be careful to keep your focus on the issue and its benefit for our worldwide movement rather than on the person speaking or how it affects your Area or Region. Properly focused discussions generally can result in a consensus of an acceptable way forward for the movement. • There are usually other people at the International Council meeting besides the voting members, IEOs and ISG. Typically an IHQ staff person is there to run the computer and the projected material and take minutes and motions. Like the Y’s Menette and International Youth Reps, he/she too does not have a vote. There is usually an advisors’ table that might include people like: the L(T)OD, the Chair of the International Constitution Review Committee, the Chair of the TOF-GPF Committee, the Chair of the Brotherhood Fund Committee, the Chair of the Endowment Fund, etc. These people may be asked to comment on specific topics related to their expertise, but do not normally have the right to speak. They are fine resource people and conversations during breaks on issues in their skill areas can be most helpful to ICMs. 7
- 8. Often there will be observers to the council meeting. These might include BF delegates, local members and leaders, PIPs, etc. Again, it is great to chat with them during breaks and hear their views and opinions on topics they have an interest in. • If you will become the AP for your Area in your second year, you will participate in the MYM. You will be expected to submit reports and prepare for the discussions at this meeting. By then you will have one International Council meeting under your belt and will know some of the other people who will be there so it will not seem as new for you. If you have questions leading up to the MYM about process and expectations and you don’t feel you are finding the answers, simply ask one of the IEOs, ISG or other APs for input. • If you come from an Area where there are multiple ICMs, you may not become AP during your term. That doesn’t mean you can’t make excellent leadership contributions at both the Area and International levels. Discuss with the past and current APs about how ICMs are used for leadership roles in your Areas. At the international level, there are a number of committees and task forces that have people appointed to them each year by the incoming IP. All ICMs are expected to be on at least one of these committees/task forces. In order to complete the assigned work, all members must be willing to contribute productively. Our movement counts on this! • Typically ICMs will bring their Y’s Men/Y Service business cards to share with fellow ICMs and others they meet during council and the following conventions. For some cultures this is a very important sharing of information. Please be sure to have your name and other relevant information in English, as well as your own native language. A picture of you, while not mandatory, does help to remember which name goes with which person. • Also, although not mandatory, ICMs typically bring a little something to give to other ICMs and IEOs. It might be a flag pin or fridge magnet from your country, a small sweet special to your country, or something unique to you. These should not be expensive but more a way to offer a little something special to your fellow ICM colleagues. It is also quite fine not to bring anything so do not feel pressured to do so. Over the course of the days of meetings, ICMs will distribute these little things at each person’s assigned table spot – a little surprise to start the day. • Many spouses come during the council meeting time. Often they informally group together to do sightseeing, shopping, etc. This always depends on the location and the mixture of the spouses (we are seeing a bigger representation of male spouses join the more typical female spouses, as the number of female ICMs increases). You must pay for your spouses’ accommodation and meals, with the exception of the first dinner held the night before the training day. This meal is hosted by IHQ. It is a very special night when everyone meets each other for the first time, so do plan to be there in time for that first dinner. • With respect to the dress code for our meetings, typically it is casual on the training day, and casual/business attire during the meetings. Many will wear suits, but others will be quite casual, often wearing Y’s Men apparel. Be considerate of the culture in which the meeting is located as you choose what clothing to bring (ie some cultures frown on bare shoulders). Some will change clothes for the dinners that follow meetings but not all do this. Women especially need to be conscious that most meeting rooms are air conditioned and therefore you will need warmer clothing than the outside climate might indicate. • Finally, it is impossible to know all the questions new ICMs may have, so please don’t be afraid to ask your IEOs, ISG and even IHQ staff for answers. You may highlight something we need to add to this training document for future ICMs. ……………………………………………….. Welcome to the beginning of this new and very special role in your Y’sdom service! Kindly come fully prepared to attend the upcoming International Council Meeting and be a great positive asset in its discussions and decisions that affect future of our Movement. 8