Statutes

NAME
PURPOSE AND PROGRAMME
OFFICE
CONDITIONS FOR MEMBERSHIP
TREASURY
THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
THE EXECUTIVE BOARD
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY
CONDITIONS FOR NATIONAL GROUPS

The Association is founded in the firm belief that the art of animation can be enriched and greatly developed through close international co-operation and the free exchange of ideas, experience and information between all who are concerned with animation.

The art of animation is the creation of moving images through the manipulation of all varieties of techniques apart from live action methods.

This independent art, whatever its manner of expression ā€“ in theatres, on television, in education or childrenā€™s film etc. ā€“ should make an extensive and important contribution to the worldā€™s cultural heritage, while playing its part in the search for new ways of artistic expression. It should help to promote progress towards peace and mutual understanding between all people.
In the spirit of the above preamble, the members of ASIFA have drafted and adopted the following statutes.

NAME

Article 1
Under the name Association Internationale du Film dā€™Animation (ASIFA) is founded an association of unlimited duration which is to be governed by French law of July 1st, 1901.

PURPOSE AND PROGRAMME

Article 2
1. In the spirit of a world wide cultural movement for progress in the development, dissemination and knowledge of animation, the purpose of the association is:
a) to establish worldwide communications between all who are professionally concerned with animation (directors, producers, administrators, script-writers, technicians, artists, designers, animators, composers, critics and historians, etc.),
b) to help promote satisfactory solutions to their creative, aesthetic, economic, technical and other problems through the exchange and circulation of information.

  1. To this end, ASIFA will:
    a) organize meetings, conferences, assemblies and other events;
    b) publish bulletins, studies, reports, documents, reviews and other publications;
    c) grant its patronage to festivals and other undertakings which are in harmony with its purpose and premises;
    d) promote the international exchange of film makers;
    e) strive to remove obstacles in the way of free circulation of animation in order to carry out any of its objectives;
    f) establish Commissions to carry out any of its specific objectives;
    g) implement all other activities of the decisions of the General Assembly and the Board of Directors.

OFFICE

Article 3
1. Its registered office is established in Annecy, France.
2. Temporary or permanent secretariats may be established in locations chosen by the Board of Directors with the consent of the local national government, and will function under the control of ASIFA.
3. In the event of war, the Presidency and Office of the Association and the administration of its assets will be transferred to a non-belligerent country, that of a member of the Board or, failing this, of a member of the Association.

CONDITIONS FOR MEMBERSHIP

Article 4
The Association is composed of individual members who meet the requirements set down in Article 5, accept the Statutes and undertake to pay the dues set by the Board of Directors.

Article 5
The Board may accept as individual members: artists, writers, directors, studio personnel, musicians, technicians, producers, distributors, journalists, critics, theorists, scholars, teachers, advanced students in animation, and all those who have made a substantial contribution to Animation.

The Association is international and composed of individual members.

Article 6
The following will no longer be members of the Association (though the Association may not be terminated by their resignation):
a) members who have notified the President by letter of their resignation.
b) members who fail to pay their membership.
c) members who have been dropped from the membership by the Board of Directors.
This exclusion may be temporary or permanent. It can be motivated only by violation of the Statutes or public morals. Any national group or member may appeal before the following General Assembly, or, in the final instance, before an arbiter appointed by UNESCO.

TREASURY

Article 7
The funds of the Association consist of:
a) annual dues of which the payment by January 31st is obligatory.
b) subsidies granted by official organisations, local, regional, national or international.
c) proceeds derived from various activities and from the sale of publications.

The Board of Directors may accept contributions in kind for the quota of dues if these contributions meet the needs of the Association. The budget is decided annually by the Board of Directors.

Article 8
Daily accounts are to be kept of money received and paid, and, if need be, of contributions in kind. Each branch of the Association is to keep separate accounts which will constitute a special section in the general accounts of the Association.

THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Article 9
The Board of Directors of the Association consists of the delegates of all ASIFA Groups and ASIFA Offices (ASIFA Groups with less than 10 members).
These delegates to the international ASIFA Board of Directors are elected by the members of local ASIFA Groups or ASIFA Offices.
Each ASIFA Group and each ASIFA Office can have one delegate, and a temporary representative of this delegate.
Only the delegates of ASIFA Groups have the right to vote.
Only those who have been members of the Association for 2 years may be eligible.

The Board of Directors is composed for a period of three years.
It is to meet at least once a year and is to be called six weeks in advance by the President, or by the request of 5 of its members.

Vacancies can be filled by the local ASIFA Groups and ASIFA Offices:
In case a member of the international ASIFA Board lays back his/her position during the three years period, the local ASIFA Group or ASIFA Office may replace him/her by another delegate.

A Board member who cannot attend a meeting may give his opinion to the Board in writing or through his representatives.
A Board member who cannot attend a meeting may give his/her proxy in writing or through telecommunication to another Board member.
Half the members of the Board, present or represented, is required for the validity of the decisions.

THE EXECUTIVE BOARD

Article 10
The Board of Directors has to elect an ā€œASIFA Executive Boardā€, consisting of the President, a Secretary General, a Treasurer, and any additional functionaries for defined working fields, according to the actual needs of the association.
Four members of the Executive Board can be elected as Vice-Presidents.
Any multiple functions (like e.g. vice-president and treasurer, etc.) are allowed.
Only those who have been members of the Association for 2 years may be eligible.

The candidates for the ASIFA Executive Board can be nominated by the Board or Directors or can propose themselves for a certain position. It is not obligatory, that they are members of the ASIFA Board of Directors.
The members of the ASIFA Executive Board are elected in secret vote by absolute majority, or the relevant majority in the second round.

The members of the ASIFA Executive Board are to serve until the next General Assembly, but in the case that a member of the Executive Board does not fulfil his/her duties, the Board of Directors may decide to replace him/her.

The President represents the Association in all legal matters and reads the Presidentā€™s Report at the General Assembly.
The Vice Presidents assist the President who may delegate some parts of his powers to them. In the absence of the President, the Board of Directors appoints a Vice President to whom the powers of the President are delegated.
The Secretary General controls the general administration and expenditure of the Association.
The Treasurer administers the finances of the Association and presents the Treasurerā€™s Report to the General Assembly.
The Additional Functionaries have to work on clearly defined working fields, according to the actual needs of the association.

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY

Article 11
The General Assembly must be called six weeks in advance. It is composed of all members of the Association and constitutes the Associationā€™s highest authority. It meets every three years.

An extraordinary General Assembly may be called by the President at the request of the Board of Directors or at the request of at least one half of the membership.
A quorum of 20% of the ASIFA members ā€“ present or represented ā€“ is required.

# Members can vote: by being present
# by giving a proxy to a member attending the Assembly
# by telecommunication (mail included), according to the process decided each time by the Board.
At the Extraordinary General Assembly deliberations are strictly limited to subjects listed on the agenda and previously announced in the convocation.
An Ordinary General Assembly may be converted into an Extraordinary General Assembly.

Article 12
The General Assembly accepts the Presidentā€™s and Treasurerā€™s Reports, and the Reports of the Additional Functionaries of the ASIFA Executive Board.
The General Assembly also determines the course to be followed in the Associationā€™s programme of activities.
Its resolutions are voted by an absolute majority of the members present or represented.

Votes by proxy are authorised.
Individual members attending the General Assembly may represent other members and vote on their behalf.
Only paid-up members may exercise their right to vote directly or by proxy.
Proxies and mandates will be varified by a Commission appointed for this purpose at every General Assembly.

Article 13
The Secretary General must inform the proper authorities within three months of all changes in the Administration of the Association and of statute modifications including the decision to terminate the Association. He must submit the statutes for approval by UNESCO.
Such changes and modifications are to be recorded, classified, and initialled in a special register. The Presidentā€™s Report and Treasurerā€™s Report are to be sent to the proper authorities after the approval of the General Assembly.

Article 14
Changes in the statutes or the decision to terminate the Association cannot be made unless they have been voted by the Extraordinary General Assembly at a meeting called for this purpose. In the event of the Associationā€™s termination, the Extraordinary General Assembly appoints one or more commissioners charged with the settlement of the assets of the Association.
According to the law it must make over its net assets to an international non-profit making organisation.

CONDITIONS FOR NATIONAL GROUPS

ASIFA is an Association of individuals. However, it is possible to form local ASIFA chapters under the following conditions:

  1. The group should be a non-profit association, with the same objectives as ASIFA, which are described in ASIFA Rules and Regulations.
  2. The Board of the group should be composed of international members, duly accepted by the ASIFA Board and who pay their dues.
  3. The group should be composed of 10 members minumum, international ones.
  4. The groups should give the opportunity of membership to all national applicants who fulfill ASIFAā€™s conditions of membership.
  5. Only after agreement by the ASIFA Board, a local group may work as a local ASIFA Body and benefit of reduced fees for ASIFA.
  6. For better communication, each group is requested to make a report summarizing its yearly activities.
  7. The secretariat of each group will keep the ASIFA Secretariat General informed of all changes of addresses of its members and agree to send the annual fees of its members before March 31, each year.