Creation

Since the theatrical art is a universal expression of mankind and possesses the influence and power to link large groups of the world’s people in the service of peace, and considering the role theatre can play in the education of younger generations, an autonomous international organization has been formed which bears the name of the International Association of Theatre for Children and Young People.
The Association shall be known by the acronym ASSITEJ International (Association Internationale du Théâtre pour l'Enfance et la Jeunesse)

Article 1 - Mission

1. This Association proposes to unite theatres, organizations and individuals throughout the world dedicated to theatre for children and young people.
   
2. This Association is dedicated to artistic, humanitarian, and educational efforts and no decision, action or statement of the Association shall be based on nationality, political conviction, cultural identity, ethnicity, or religion.
   

Article 2 - Aims

This Association is created to facilitate the development of theatre for children and young people on the highest artistic level.
Recognizing that children and young people make up a large part of the world’s population and that children and young people are the future of the world, the aims of the Association are:

• To work for the rights of children and young people to artistic experiences especially designed and created for them.
• To work for the recognition and acknowledgement of theatre for children and young people.
• To work for improvement of the conditions of theatre for children and young people all over the world.
• To improve the common knowledge of theatre for children and young people worldwide, thus drawing the attention of international and national authorities to the importance of taking children and young people and the work created for them seriously.
• To give people working with theatre for children and young people possibilities of getting acquainted with the work of colleagues from other countries and cultures, thus enabling them to enrich theatre for children and young people in their own country.
• To help to form in all countries, ASSITEJ centres which function in accordance with the mission, constitution and policies of the Association. These national centres shall unite all theatres, organizations and people interested in theatre for children and young people.

Article 3 - Means

The means of achieving these aims will be:

1. Organization and promotion of national, regional, and international congresses, conferences, festivals, study tours, exhibitions and other activities, and participation in such projects.
2. Promotion of contact and interchange of experience between all countries.
3. Encouragement of translation and exchange of plays, texts, and other literature pertaining to theatre for children and young people.
4. Collection of material and documentation on theatre for children and young people.
5. Promotion of theatre for children and young people through the press, film, radio, television, recording, the internet, and other means.
6. Co-operation with other international organizations with related interests.
7. To introduce and support proposals made by the centres in order to advance the work of theatre for children and young people to appropriate national and   international authorities and agencies.

Article 4 - Members

Members of the Association are national centres, representative of theatre for children and young people in their own countries.
No theatre, organization or individual can be refused admittance to any national centre of ASSITEJ on the basis of political conviction, cultural identity, ethnicity, or religion.
The following categories of membership for national centres are acceptable to the International Association:

1. Professional companies of adult actors performing for children and young people or professional theatre artists working in theatre for children and young people. ‘Professional” is defined as companies or individuals who devote the major portion of their work to theatre for children and young people.
2. Adult non-professional companies, community theatre companies, college and university theatre companies performing for children and young people, as well as college and university programs for the study of theatre for children and young people.
3. Institutions, organizations or individuals actively engaged in the work of theatre for children and young people.
4. Supporting organizations, institutions, associations or persons interested in theatre for children and young people. To qualify for full membership in the Association, a national centre must have at least 3 members as defined in category 1 or 5 members with at least 2 members as defined in categories 1 and 3 as defined in category 2. Other centres with less than 2 members in category 1 or less than 5 members, with at least 2 members in categories 1 and 3 members in category 2 or only members as defined in categories 3 or 4 are corresponding members.

Article 5 - Rights and Obligations

1. Full members have the right to make proposals at constitutional meetings, to be elected to the Executive Committee, and to vote according to the rules detailed in Article 9.
2. Corresponding members have the right to make proposals at constitutional meetings and to vote according to the rules detailed in Article 9. Corresponding members do not have the right to be elected to the Executive Committee at constitutional meetings.
3. All members have the obligation to work to achieve the aims defined by the Association, to maintain its statutes, to act upon the decisions taken by the Association, to pay their membership fees, to keep the Secretary General informed of the activities in their centres, to appoint a correspondent, to give their National Centre a permanent address, and to communicate to its national members the information sent from the General Secretariat.
4. All national centres must use the acronym “ASSITEJ” as part of the name of the centre.

Article 6 - Application, Resignation, Suspension, Expulsion

1. Written applications for membership shall be addressed to the Secretary General. In the case of a denial by the Executive Committee, the applicant may appeal to the next General Assembly.
2. Any member centre which wishes to resign from the Association should inform the Secretary General in writing. The resignation will take effect from 1st January in the following year.
   
3. The Executive Committee may decide, by a majority of two-thirds, on the rejection, suspension or expulsion of any member whose work conflicts with the fundamental aims of this association, or who has failed several times in one of the obligations mentioned in Article 5. Any centre which has been rejected, suspended or expelled loses the right to use the acronym “ASSITEJ”.
   
4. Any rejected, suspended or expelled member may appeal to the General Assembly.
   

Article 7 - Finances

1. This Association is financed from the membership fees, as well as subsidies or grants accepted by the Executive Committee.
   
2. The fiscal period of this Association runs from one General Assembly to the next.
   
3. Membership fees, which are determined by the General Assembly, are due on 1st January of each year and must be sent to the Treasurer. Centres more than six months in arrears lose the right to vote in the General Assembly.
   

Article 8 - Structure

The governing body of this Association consists of:

1. The General Assembly
2. The Executive Committee
3. The Bureau (consisting of the Officers: President, three Vice-Presidents, Secretary General, Treasurer)

Article 9 - Functions of the General Assembly

1. The General Assembly consists of delegations of all National Centres.
   
2. A delegation from a centre with full membership has 3 votes. A delegation from a centre with corresponding membership has 1 vote.
   
3. Voting by proxy is permitted, and must be given in writing. A national delegation can hold proxy for only one other National Centre.
   
4. The General Assembly shall meet at least once every third calendar year, and will be called at least six months in advance by the Secretary General upon instruction of the President. Normally, it will decide the location where the next General Assembly shall meet, but if it should be unable to make a decision on this matter, or if a change of location should prove necessary, this decision may be left to the Executive Committee.
   
5. An extraordinary meeting of the General Assembly will be called by the Secretary General three months in advance on the written and justified request of two-thirds of the members or at the discretion of the Bureau of the Executive Committee in the case of an emergency.
   
6. The General Assembly has final control over the Constitution, and decides on any changes or additions necessary. Any member wishing to amend the Constitution must give notice in writing to the Secretary General at least three months before the date of the meeting of the General Assembly. Any decision taken upon a proposal to amend the Constitution shall require a twothirds majority.
   
7. The General Assembly establishes the broad outlines of the Association's policy.
   
8. The General Assembly receives for approval the report of the activities and the financial report, which are submitted by the Executive Committee.
   
9. The President of this Association is by right President of the General Assembly. In the event of his or her absence, he or she will be replaced by a Vice-President, selected by vote of the Executive Committee, or, in the absence of all Vice-Presidents, by a member of the Executive Committee elected for this purpose by the General Assembly.
   
10. All decisions, unless otherwise stated, are taken by simple majority vote. In the case of a tie, the President will cast the deciding vote. If two Centres apply to host the next Congress, the winner shall be the Centre that receives the most votes. If more than two Centres apply for hosting, and neither receives a majority, a second vote shall be taken between the two leading candidates, and the winner shall be the Centre that receives the most votes.
    
11. The General Assembly determines the membership fees and other charges to be levied on the members of the Association.
    
12. A meeting of the General Assembly can only be held if the delegates of half of the National Centres express in writing to the Secretary General their determination to be present and to participate, either in person or by proxy. This decision must be sent to the Secretary General 3 months in advance of the meeting. The General Assembly can only make decisions if half of the members participate themselves or by proxy.
    
13. The General Assembly shall elect the Secretary General and the Treasurer in this order: The Secretary General is elected first and presides over the election of the Treasurer, representatives of additional countries to the Executive Committee and of the President. Candidatures for the offices of the Secretary General and Treasurer should be sent in writing to the Secretary General, three months before the date of the General Assembly in order to circulate nominations to the members of ASSITEJ.
    If no centre has presented candidates for these offices, the Executive Committee at its last meeting before the General Assembly shall recommend a candidate for each of the offices and inform all centres of this recommendation.
    
14. The General Assembly shall elect the members of the Executive committee as
    representatives of their particular countries. A country may have only one representative on the Executive Committee. Each centre, on its own behalf, should send to the Secretary General, in writing, the name of its candidate three months before the date of the meeting of the General Assembly in order to circulate nominations to the members of ASSITEJ.
    
15. From amongst the members of the Executive Committee, the General Assembly shall elect the President and Vice-Presidents, who shall be nominated in a meeting of the new Executive Committee. They shall be elected in a personal capacity.
    The officers and members of the Executive Committee shall be chosen to represent as fairly as possible the interests of the organization and the diversity of all the national centres, taking into account such factors as geography, aesthetics, ethnic origin, gender, and cultural identity.
    
16. The General Assembly, on the recommendation of the Executive Committee, can give the titles of President of Honour and Member of Honour for exceptional service to the Association. The Members of Honour have a consultative voice, but no right to vote, and they cannot represent their country.
    
17. On the recommendation of the Executive Committee, the General Assembly shall appoint a national center to conduct the audit of the accounts.
    
18. The agenda, with its enclosures and candidates for the Secretary General, the Treasurer and the Executive Committeee, should be sent from the General Secretariat to all centres no later than two months in advance of the General Assembly.
    
19. Only the questions, which are set down on the agenda, may be voted upon in the General Assembly.
    

Article 10 - Functions of the Executive Committee

1. The Executive Committee is composed of a maximum of 17 members having the right to vote, including the President and three Vice-Presidents, the Secretary General and the Treasurer.
   
2. In the event of the death or resignation of a member of the Executive Committee, the Executive Committee shall authorize the National Centre which nominated the member to appoint a deputy for the remaining period of the term of office. The exceptions are: in the case of the President, where the replacement shall be from amongst the Vice-Presidents; and in the case of one of the Vice Presidents, where the Executive Committee is authorized either to leave the office vacant or, if it judges it necessary, to elect a replacement from amongst its own members.
   
3. The Executive Committee has the power to co-opt persons as members of the Executive Committee. The Executive Committee also has the right to appoint Counsellors for the period of its mandate. The Counsellors may attend, without voting rights, meetings of the Executive Committee during their time in office.
   
4. Any member who cannot attend a meeting of the Executive Committee can be replaced only by a permanent deputy nominated by his or her Centre for the duration of his or her term of office. The Secretary General must be notified of the deputy’s name as soon as possible after the General Assembly.
   
5. A meeting of the Executive Committee may be held only if at least half of the members express to the Secretary General their determination to be present and participate, either in person or represented by a deputy from their own National Centre. The presence of half of the members shall constitute a quorum.
   
6. The Executive Committee will meet at least once each calendar year; the Committee will decide by majority vote if it is necessary to hold additional meetings, and will choose the places and dates of such meetings. The Committee must be notified three months in advance. Meetings will be called by the Secretary General at the request of the President.
   
7. The Executive Committee may decide upon urgent matters by correspondence if it proves impossible to hold a special meeting. In this case the Secretary General, by agreement with the President, shall send to each member of the Executive Committee a questionnaire, to which each member will reply in writing. Decisions will be made by a two-thirds majority vote. The decisions will come before the Executive Committee at their next meeting for ratification. The replies will be placed in the records of the Association where they will be available for examination by members of the General Assembly.
   
8. Each member of the Executive Committee possesses one vote, which he or she may use in person unless delegated to his or her permanent deputy.
   
9. The President of the Association is also President of the meeting of the Executive Committee. In the event of the President´s absence, he or she will be replaced by a Vice-President, selected by vote of the Executive Committee, or if all the Vice-Presidents are absent, by a Chairperson elected for this purpose by the Executive Committee.
   
10. All motions are carried by a simple majority vote, except decisions taken by correspondence or regarding Article 6, item 3.
    
11. The Chairperson of the meeting has the right to vote as a member of the Committee. If a majority decision cannot be established by this means, the Chairperson may cast a second, deciding vote.
    
12. The Executive Committee will submit a plan of activities to the General Assembly. It manages the affairs of the Association between the meetings of the General Assembly and carries out the decisions of the General Assembly. The Executive Committee will remain in office for the period between one General Assembly and the next, which will be three years or thereabouts, at which time its members shall be eligible for re-election.
    
13. The Executive Committee will accept or reject new applications for membership made to the Secretary General. A rejection may be appealed by the applicant at the next General Assembly.
    
14. The budget is administered by the Executive Committee according to a program or working plan established by the General Assembly.
    
15. The Executive Committee entrusts to the Treasurer the administration of funds, the preparation of the budget, and the accounts. The accounts of the Association must be audited by the auditor before the presentation to the General Assembly (Article 9, item 17).
    
16. The Executive Committee may take the initiative in matters not anticipated by the General Assembly, provided that these matters are in keeping with the mission and aims of this Association, and provided that the Executive Committee takes the first opportunity to report on these matters to the General Assembly.
    

Article 11 - Functions of the Officers and the Bureau

The Officers of this Association – together forming the Bureau - are as follows:

• The President
• Three Vice-Presidents
• The Secretary General
• The Treasurer.

1. The Officers are charged with carrying out the Association’s program and submitting reports to the Executive Committee.
2. In case of any urgent matters not foreseen by the Executive Committee, the Bureau is given power to act at its discretion and will take the first opportunity to report on these matters to the Executive Committee.

Article 12 - Languages

1. Working languages at the General Assembly will be the language of the host country, English, and at least one other language as determined by the Executive Committee according to the needs of the meeting. On the occasion of international events, the working languages will be the language of the host country and English, with the option of one more language according to need. When the host country is English-speaking, it must provide at least two other languages for the General Assembly. For other international events, at least one other language must be provided if so determined by the Executive Committee according to the needs of the event. The working language of the Association for written communication will be English.
   
2. International Events are defined as:
   
   • Executive Committee meetings
   • Seminars and forums as part of an ASSITEJ International Festival and ASSITEJ International Projects
   • Activities which take place officially in the name of ASSITEJ International apart from the General Assembly

Article 13 - Duration

1. This Association is created for an unlimited period.
   
2. This Association shall cease to function when, for any reason, three fourths of the members (National Centres), on the basis of their number of votes, shall express in writing to the Secretary General the desire to dissolve the Association. In this event, the Executive Committee shall be authorized to declare the Association dissolved, and any funds remaining in the Association's treasury will be given to international organizations pursuing similar aims.

Article 14 - Adoption of Statutes

This Constitution and amendments or changes shall come into force at the moment of its approval by a Constituent General Assembly of delegations from all interested countries called for this purpose. From that moment the Executive Committee may accept as members the National Centres who send their applications to the Secretary General.

Latest amendments adopted by the General Assembly in Montreal, September 2005
Definitions etc.:

  The ASSITEJ Constitution