International Association with a Philanthropic Aim:

I. DENOMINATION, REGISTERED OFFICE AND AIM


ARTICLE.1    DENOMINATION

An International Association with a philanthropic aim has been created under the name of "Fédération Internationale CARAVANE 2000 International Federation" or in abbreviate form "Caravan 2000 International".
The Association is governed by the Belgian Law dated 25th October 1919, as modified by the Law dated 6th December 1954.


ARTICLE.2    REGISTERED OFFICE

The Association has its registered office at B-1000 Brussels, rue du Pène 2. This can be transferred to any other location in Belgium by a decision of the Board of Directors (Administrative Council) which has to be published, within a month notice, in the annexes of the "Moniteur Belge".
The Association will have a co-ordination office in Oberursel (Germany). In the future, other co-ordination offices might be opened in one of the partner countries of Caravan 2000.


ARTICLE.3    AIMS

The Association shall be non-denominational and non-political and shall operate as a non-profit making organisation. The goal of the Association is to set up a permanent co-operation between its members whose main function is the promotion in their area of activity, of social inclusion and insertion of disadvantaged people - social, physical and mental disabilities - in order to provide them with a better quality of life that would allow them to responsibly lead a self-determined life with dignity and to work for the normalisation of the lives of various groups of people being endangered by social devaluation due to misunderstandings prejudice, lack of general knowledge, or recognition of respects for the Human rights of each individual human being  as defined by the charters of the United Nations.

The members of the Caravan 2000 will work to allow each individual human being in each member country to exercise the same basic rights as other citizens of the same country and of the same age. The members of Caravan 2000 will help individuals with social, educational, mental, or physical disadvantages to live a life characterised by the same quality as the lives of other citizens in the same country.

These objectives will be realised through:

The establishment of partnerships between European and other international, public and private entities that agree with the aims of the association as described in article 3;
The development of new forms of social inclusion into all levels and parts of society in order to preclude the possibility of exposing individuals to devaluation and eventual exclusion
The promotion of legal and socio-political safeguards, the aims of which are to improve the life conditions of various groups of persons who are endangered by devaluation in each member country
The promotion of a true European and International awareness towards its responsible bodies but also of their target public;
The extension of the concept of the defence of human rights, to the rights of the disabled and/or disadvantaged people;


II. MEMBERS


ARTICLE.4    QUALITY

The Association is formed by physic persons, representing legal persons,  who are constituted according to the laws and customs of their countries of origin and who, as members of national committees of the national structures and having joined Caravan 2000, agree with the principles.
Two representatives of each national committee will have the right to vote.
There are two categories of members: full members who have the full right to vote and honorary members.


ARTICLE.5    ADMISSION AND LOSS OF MEMBERSHIP

The admission of new members is subject to the following conditions:

1º) Concerning the full members:
The candidatures must be submitted to the Board of Directors accompanied by the statutes of the applicant organism.  The statutes must indicate at least the denomination of the main organism, the seat of its registered office and the names and capacities of its representative(s).  In addition, the applicant is required to explicitly declare the approval of the aims and goals of the Association and the adherence to the decisions taken by the statutory organs.
The Board of Directors of the Association shall, within a period of ninety days, come to a decision on the application submitted. In the event of a rejection of the application, the applicant may, within a period of ninety days, oppose to this decision and appeal to the General Assembly which, on the occasion of its next meeting, shall come to a final decision which will not allow any further appeals.
The full members are endowed with voting rights in all meetings. In addition to their adherence to the objectives of the Association they have to respect the stipulations hereunder and any internal rules of procedure, as well as the decisions taken by the organs of the Association.

2º) Concerning the honorary members:
They are elected by the Board of Directors for their morality or professional relevance.  They contribute to the Association with their expertise and can also act externally as representatives of the organisation.  They have a consultative voice within the organs of the Association.

The loss of membership or exclusion is subject to the following conditions:

Membership will end with the death of a member or voluntary withdrawal pronounced by the Board.
Membership also ends by a decision of the Board, pronounced by two thirds of the members, in the event that a member does not fulfil his/her duties, behaves in a way inconsistent with the statutes, the principles of information and the goals of the organisation.
Following his/her formal exclusion, the member has ninety days to appeal to the General Assembly that has to take the decision with the majority of the members present or represented on occasion of the next meeting.
The decision will not admit any further appeals.

The member whose membership ends (by death or any other cause) has no right to apply for the social fund.


ARTICLE.6    MEMBERSHIP FEES

The members (according to their category) pay an annual membership fee fixed by the General Assembly, pursuant to a proposal made by the Board.


III. CENTRAL STRUCTURES OF THE ASSOCIATION


ARTICLE.7    STATUTORY BODIES

The statutory bodies of the Association are:

The General Assembly
The Board of Directors (Administrative Board)
The President of the Association
The Vice-presidents of the Association
The Treasurer of the Association
The General Secretary of the Association


IV THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY


ARTICLE.8    THE ORDINARY GENERAL ASSEMBLY

The General Assembly has at its disposal full powers for the achievement of the Association's purpose.  It is composed by all the full members (honorary members can participate but they will only have a consultative voice).
By convocation of the President, the General Assembly has to meet at least once a year in the month of June or at any other time provided for by current legal stipulations, to which the Association has to comply, at the registered office or at the place indicated in the convocation.  The invitation shall occur by electronic mail or fax, at least forty-five days prior to the meeting, with the acknowledgement of receipt within two days following its receipt.  The invitation must include the agenda.

The General Assembly shall:

elect the President of the Association
elect and revoke the members of the Board of Directors (Administrative Board) of the Association and other bodies of the Association;
discuss and decide on both the budget and the financial estimates as well as on the reports of the Board of Directors (Administrative Board);
approve the general lines of the annual action plan submitted by the Board of Directors (Administrative Board);
decide on any issue which is not under the authority of the Extraordinary General Assembly;
receive the financial report and approve the accounts;
decide on membership fees and other contributions proposed by the Board of Directors (Administrative Board);

The General Assembly is deemed to be valid when at least one third of its members with voting rights from at least one fourth of the member countries attend the meeting.
The case given the quorum is not obtained, the General Assembly is again convened and deemed to be valid irrespective of the number of those attending the meeting or being represented.
Decisions are taken with the majority of the members present or represented.
Only the full members could be represented at the General Assembly, by another full member with a special proxy.  Each full member will be entitled to two proxies only.

In extraordinary cases which are duly justified by the urgency and the social interest, the decisions of the Ordinary General Assembly may be taken by the members' written consent (letter, fax or e-mail) by means of a form addressed to each member and accompanied by an explaining note on the motivation and the modalities of the decision to be taken. This form will contain the following remarks: the Christian names and the family name of the member, his/her domicile, the agenda, the sense of the vote or the abstention relative to each point included in the agenda and the term of the mandate's validity. The form will be signed. The first General Assembly held after the written decision will ratify the same.

It can only be decided on those issues that are part of the agenda.

The resolutions of the General Assembly are registered in a signed registry by the President and an administrator nominated by the Assembly.  Those resolutions are kept by the General secretary and will be available to the members.



ARTICLE.9    THE EXTRAORDINARY GENERAL ASSEMBLY

The President can convoke the members for an Extraordinary General Assembly, when he/she feels such a meeting to be necessary or when at least one third of the members from at least one forth of the member countries request such a meeting in writing, or when the Board of Directors (Administrative Board) requires to do so.

The convocation via e-mail or fax will be given at least three months before the assembly will take place with the acknowledgement of receipt within two days following the receipt. The convocation will contain the agenda and, the case given, the propositions of statutory modifications.

The Extraordinary General Assembly is deemed to have been validly convened when at least two thirds of its members with voting rights from at least one third of the member countries attend the meeting.  The case given the quorum is not obtained, the Assembly is again convened and deemed to be valid irrespective of the number of those attending the meeting. 

In extraordinary cases which are duly justified by the urgency and the social interest, the decisions of the Extraordinary General Assembly may be taken by the members' written consent (letter, fax or e-mail) by means of a form addressed to each member and accompanied by an explaining note on the motivation and the modalities of the decision to be taken. This form will contain the following remarks: the Christian names and the family name of the member, his/her domicile, the agenda, the sense of the vote or the abstention relative to each point included in the agenda and the term of the mandate's validity. The form will be signed. The first General Assembly held after the written decision will ratify the same.


In any way, the Extraordinary General Assembly members should meet if the following points need to be discussed:
Proposal for the modification of the statutes
Proposal for the dissolution of the Association
Without prejudice to the Article 5 of the Law dated 25th October 1919, any proposal having as a goal the modification of the statutes or the dissolution of the Association shall come from the Board of Directors (Administrative Board) or at least three quarters of the full members from at least half of the member countries.
Decisions in favour of such proposals are deemed to be valid if approved by at least two thirds of those present in such Extraordinary General Assembly.

The modifications of the statutes will only be effective after the approval by a royal Bylaw and will be published according to Article 3 of the Law of 25th October 1919.

The General Assembly will set up the rules for the dissolution and liquidation of the Association.



V. BOARD OF DIRECTORS (ADMINISTRATIVE BOARD)


ARTICLE.10    BOARD OF DIRECTORS (ADMINISTRATIVE BOARD)

The Board of Directors (Administrative Board) shall include at least five and no more than nine members elected by the General Assembly.  The members of the Board of Directors (Administrative Board) are elected for a period of three years and may be re-elected twice.
In its first meeting, the Board of Directors (Administrative Board) shall elect two Vice-presidents and a Treasurer.  Once those elections are done, the Board will elect the General Secretary.
In the case of a holiday in the period of a mandate, a temporary administrator shall be appointed by the General Assembly.  He/she will finish the mandate of the administrator he/she is replacing.

The Board of Directors (Administrative Board) shall be convened at least twice a year and whenever the President or the majority of its members feels a meeting to be necessary.  Any such meeting shall be chaired by the President or in his/her absence by one of the Vice-presidents.  Meetings shall be deemed to be valid when at least half of its members are present, the President or one of the Vice-presidents obligatory has to be present.  An administrator can be represented by another administrator who can only hold one proxy.

The resolutions of the Board of Directors (Administrative Board) shall be taken by the majority of the administrators present or represented.  In the event of parity, the vote of the President shall be decisive.
The resolutions are registered in a signed register by the President, kept by the General secretary and available to all members.
The administrators can be revoked by the General Assembly ruling by the majority of the two thirds of the full members present or represented.

The Board of Directors (Administrative Board) shall have the duty:

to decide on the initiatives to be taken with respect to the goals hereunder and on the grounds of the instructions of the General Assembly in agreement with the President;
enforce the decisions taken by the General Assembly;
to prepare the balance sheets to be presented for the approval to the General Assembly in agreement with the President;
to decide on the admission, withdrawal and expulsion of the members of Caravan 2000 International in agreement with the president;
to make suggestions for the amount of the annual membership fees and the procedures of payment;
delegate the daily management to the President, or to an administrator, or to an employee, decide on the internal regulation and the use of the financial resources.  He/she can also delegate his/her responsibilities, special and specific powers to one or several persons, subject to inform the General Assembly;
define the necessary and functional actions for the management of the organisation;
to co-operate with experts.

With the exception of special proxies, all actions which relate to the Association must be signed by two administrators one of them being the President, who will not need to justify the power given for that purpose to the rest of the members.
The legal actions either as appellant or as defendant are followed by the Board of Directors (Administrative Board) represented by its President or an administrator delegated by the president.


ARTICLE.11    THE PRESIDENT OF THE ASSOCIATION

The President of the Association stays in office for a period of three years and may be re-elected twice by the General Assembly.
The President has the duty:

to legally represent the Association and to sign only together with a second person;
to convene and chair the Board of Directors (Administrative Board) and the General Assembly;
to manage the Association by executing all acts and by carrying out the contracts agreed upon by the Board of Directors (Administrative Board);
to exercise all powers conferred to him/her by the general Assembly or the Board of Directors (Administrative Board) for the pursuit of the goals hereunder;
to appeal to the General Assembly.

For carrying out these duties, he/she may have access to fellow-workers, institutions, and organisms not belonging to the Association.


ARTICLE.12    THE VICE-PRESIDENT

The Vice-president assists the President in all his/her duties and represents him/her in the event of his/her absence or impediment.


ARTICLE.13    THE TREASURER

The Treasurer elected by the Board of Directors (Administrative Board), shall be responsible for the book-keeping and the accounts of the Association.  He/she shall establish a financial report for each financial year, which is to be approved by the General Assembly.  He/she shall receive the report of external auditors.


ARTICLE.14    THE GENERAL SECRETARY

The General secretary has the duty:

to carry out under his responsibility all the administrative and co-ordination tasks necessary for the smooth running of the Association and under the instruction and tutorship of the Board of Directors (Administrative Board).  He/she reports to the latter on any business done or planned;
co-ordinate all work of the staff or the eventual Head of Mission for the action plan for each calendar year;
to prepare any application to be submitted to the European or International agencies;
to organise and carry out all meetings with reference to the individual action plans;
to present an actual report to the President and execute all duties conferred to him by the latter.


VI. BUDGETS AND ACCOUNTS


ARTICLE.15    ASSETS OF THE ASSOCIATION

The assets of the Association are indivisible and consist of:

all moveable and real property of the Association;
the membership fees;
the contributions, donations and legacies from private organisations companies and individuals;
funds steaming from the European Union to be used within the scope of specific projects under the objectives hereunder;
income and sponsoring coming from commercial sources for the development or support of its statutory activities.


ARTICLE.16    FINANCIAL YEAR

The financial year shall begin 1st January and end 31st December each year.
The Board of Directors (Administrative Board) has to submit for approval by the General Assembly the accounts of the previous year and the budget of the following year.

The General Assembly can decide on the constitution of a reserve fund, fix the amounts and ways of payment of the membership fees to that fund to be paid by each member.


VII. DISSOLUTION OF THE ASSOCIATION (ALREADY MENTIONED ABOVE)


ARTICLE.17    DISSOLUTION

The dissolution of the Association shall be subject to deliberation within the scope of an Extraordinary General Assembly meeting.  A vote in favour of a dissolution shall require at least three quarters of the members entitled to vote.
In the event of a dissolution, the Extraordinary General Assembly which has brought about such decision shall designate one or more persons to proceed with the liquidation and settle any compensation claims.
Unless otherwise provided, all assets remaining after the liquidation will, in accordance with the objectives hereunder, be transferred to charitable organisations defined by the Extraordinary General Assembly.


VII. GENERAL PROVISIONS


ARTICLE.18

All aspects not covered hereunder and mainly the publications to be added to the Annexes of the "Moniteur Belge", shall be subject to the Law dated 25th October 1919.