Charter | cyld

The heart of a strong organization is a small group of dedicated men and women who make the organization work by their leadership, energy, and effort. This group usually serves as the founders, initiators and eventually the first batch of officers of the organization. If this group works effectively, the organization will be effective and strong, but only if they hold on to the vision for which they were gathered. As an ancient warning been told, a generation of people perish for lack of vision. Heeding the warning takes precedence towards the success of the undertaking.

The idea of a council on youth leadership development is not just for Northern Italy, but the initiators has to start somewhere, thus the limitation in geographical scope for Northern Italy. The formation of this council was borne out of the necessity to address the need to develop youth leaders because of the phenomenon of Filipino Migration in Europe for the past thirty years and more. As more and more Filipino parents petition their children into the territory and the rising number of Filipinos that are born within, a huge chunk of youth now comprise the total population of Filipinos in Europe. Ergo, the idea of a council encompasses the European continent.

The time has come for the call, the trumpet has sounded. There is a pressing need to upgrade and redevelop on how we Filipino migrants of Europe (especially the adults) relate with each other; more importantly on how we look at our youth today. The call is even stronger and louder to every Filipino who is an active member of a civic organization.

The times have changed. New technologies emerged especially in the exchange of information and the social media. We can ride on the crest of this technology and use it as a tool that we may serve efficiently and effectively. The need has arrived for a much effective and efficient manner on how we organize ourselves towards achieving a common goal.

The vision is to have leaders grown and developed from within. But not just any type of leader. Not the kind that is so prevalent in our society where popularity and wealth take the front seat. Rather, leaders that know and understand the true value of servitude; the giving off of oneself for the betterment of his fellow; the kind that does not need applause nor accolade; the type of service that is done even if no one is looking. The vision is to have servant leaders from the heart.

The Council is an advocacy, a movement, and a principle which when officially organized shall become a coordinating body.

As the coordinating body, the Council becomes the catalyst for the unification of individuals (especially parents) and members of Filipino organizations in charge of the youth sector with common beliefs and aspirations to nurture and develop the right kind of servant-leadership from among its youth.

The Council shall only focus on issues surrounding the development of youth leadership. It does not touch nor deal with the core business functions of the affiliated organizations.

The affiliation of Filipino organizations with the Council shall revolve around the following principles, aside from their assent with the vision and objectives of the Council:

First, the council will not function as an umbrella organization of the affiliated Filipino organizations. There is no hierarchy in structure. The Council shall not be above the affiliated Filipino organizations;

In a nut shell, every member individual or organization may proudly say, “we are affiliated with the council because we are one with their vision as far as our youths are concerned”.

Individuals who are not members of Filipino organizations may join the council and are not limited nor bound by geographical locations, as long as they are legal migrants of Italy.

The Council is not led by “personalities”. It moves because of its vision. It is not owned by its founders. The founders are only the initiators. Nobody owns the Council, the gathering of the members is the COUNCIL;

The Council is apolitical in nature. It does not adhere to political leanings or influences. Government officials may come and go, but the vision of the Council shall remain and perpetuate as long as the influx of youth migration in Europe does not stop;

Lastly, the Council breeds new types of leaders. It desires to take the stance: No to “traditional-leadership” Style. In and outside the Philippines, it is so common and prevalent that Filipino Organizations are led by popularity and wealth. Often these organizations pay homage to the whims and caprices of political figures. This tradition must be stopped. The Council presents the golden opportunity for a fresh beginning, if only Filipino organizations can join hand-in-hand together in addressing this predicament of shortage of youth leadership in Europe.

The council shall be focused to one goal, that is: the creation, nurture, and development of youth leaders in every community as envisioned with the following objectives:

To create awareness and advocacy for the need to address the issue of creating and developing leaders from among the youth sector of the Filipino Community which are based in Europe;

To encourage active Filipino Non-government Organizations (NGOs) and Community Associations (CAs) to cultivate and enhance servant-leadership training programs for their young members;

To seek and work towards collaborative efforts with other NGO’s and CAs to jointly address the emerging crisis on Youth Leadership among Filipino Migrants not just in Italy but in Europe as a whole;

To develop and institutionalize a team or teams of expert speakers and facilitators to be used by other NGOs and CAs especially those who lack the capability to conduct their own youth-leadership training programs;

To become a resource institution, and forum towards the passing of legislations that shall aptly address the needs of the migrant Filipino youth sector in Italy and Europe.

This Charter is concerned with the organization, direction, and programs of this council. It is designed to put up systems in place that with the help of the Almighty God, the members can start up a legacy to be passed on to the next generation. This shall also serve as a reminder and encourager for future council members and supporters to keep on pressing towards the vision.

This Charter shall be printed by the council to be distributed to its members for guidance as a rule of law, to maintain order, avoid confusion, and address human differences of opinion. It shall also become the window where members can monitor the behaviour of its office bearers; at the same time, a beacon of light and a convincing example for outsiders to measure the worth and significance of the objectives of the council.

This Charter including the Introduction and the attachments constitute the whole Charter of the Council on Youth Leadership Development in Northern Italy, ratified and approved by the founders of the Council in its First and Foundational meeting held on June 21, 2013 at Turin, Italy.

- The Founders

ARTICLE II. The Council

A. The name of the council shall be called: THE COUNCIL ON YOUTH LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT in NORTHERN ITALY (from hereafter shall be termed the “Council”).

B. The council is the gathering of all the members called to assemble through a rightful call to decide on matters pertaining to the objectives of the council.

A member is not the council, nor a gathering of certain members; not even the gathering of committee officers constitutes the council.
There must be a rightful call for the meeting of members to constitute the council.
When the council is not in session, the members are either part of a committee or are busy advocating or executing the objectives and activities of the council.
The council is one body. The decision of the majority becomes the decision of all members. To maintain unity and harmony, every member is advised to refrain from stating contrary opinions in public against the resolutions of the Council.

ARTICLE III. The Rightful Call

A. The rightful call is being established to prevent any member or group of members from dividing the council and sowing discord by calling an unlawful meeting which is against the provisions of this charter.

B. A scheduled meeting of the Council based on the Charter constitute a rightful call.

C. A rightful call also happens when the scheduled date of the meeting needs to be adjusted earlier or later because of unforeseen events or because of circumstances through acts of nature.

The call shall be made by the Chairperson of the Committee on Rules with the Concurrence of the Oversight Committee.
The rightful call may not be used to postpone a scheduled meeting. It can only be used to reset the date or change the venue or both.
When a rightful call has to be committed, the Oversight Committee must make sure that all members of the Council were properly informed.

ARTICLE IV. The Council Meeting

A. The council must be assembled every year on the 2nd or 3rd weekend of November, or as resolved upon by the previous Council Meeting.

B. The Council Meeting shall be presided by the newly elected President and shall only discuss matters according to importance by following the order of business thru parliamentary procedures.

C. The election of officers of the Council Meeting shall be presided by the Chairperson of the Committee on Rules; then proceeds to set the next meeting date and venue.

D. NEXT MEETING: On every meeting, before even taking up the order of business, the council shall decide on the date and place of the next council meeting. No council meeting shall be adjourned without setting the date and place of the next council meeting.

The Chairperson of the Committee on Rules shall preside on this matter;
Prior to each meeting, suggested dates and venues coming from members must be submitted to the Committee on Rules for consideration;
The Committee on Rules shall prepare a regulation or procedure to implement the setting up of meeting dates and venues, the regulation shall be presented to the council for approval;
The Meetings of the Council shall be numbered in succession. Thus, on the date of the ratification of this Charter by the founding members of the council present in the same meeting, the same shall be called THE FIRST COUNCIL ON YOUTH LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT in NORTHERN ITALY. Succeeding meetings shall be numbered accordingly.
The council may call a mid-year meeting in one of the weekends of June, July, or August every year.

E. When the Council Meeting adjourns the officers of the meeting cease to exist, what remains are the resolutions approved by the Council to promote its vision.

F. When the Council is not in session, its mandates and approved resolutions are propagated and executed by the respective Committees of the Council.

ARTICLE V. The Order of Business

A. The newly elected President shall conduct the council meeting following the order of business:

Proof that all members were notified to be presented by the Membership Committee; and announcing the actual number of attendees to establish the quorum, which is 50% of total attendees plus one;
Financial Report by the immediate past Treasurer;
Report of the Oversight Committee;
Reports of the Individual Committees;
Unfinished Business;
New Business;
Other matters;
Ratification of all Approved Resolutions
Adjournment

ARTICLE VI. Reports of the Committees:

A. All Committee reports shall be submitted to the Head of the Oversight Committee prior to the scheduled Council Meeting, signed by the respective Committee Chair.

B. On the day of the meeting the Chair of the Oversight Committee shall hand-over the consolidated reports of all the committees to the newly elected President of the meeting.

Minority Report: In case there is a dissenting opinion from a minority member/s of the Committee, which cannot be resolved on the committee level, the same shall be submitted to the Chair of the Oversight Committee prior to the scheduled Council Meeting.
In case of two (2) conflicting reports, the Chair of the Oversight Committee shall make a motion to resolve the conflict by taking the subject on the floor. The President of the Council Meeting shall then preside to discuss the merits of the reports and bring the council to move towards a resolution.
The resolution of the Council shall then close the issue, where the two conflicting reports shall be merged into one. After the resolution, any member is prohibited to state opinions in public contrary and against the decision of the Council.

C. All Committee Chairpersons are obligated to submit Committee Resolution Reports and other activities of their respective committees from the period of the last Council Meeting to the present. Non-submission of a report must be supported by a valid reason for it is tantamount to dereliction of duty and maybe a ground for the removal in office of its Chairperson to be replaced by another member of the Council.

D. All resolutions on the Committee level shall not become executory unless presented, deliberated, and approved by the Council.

Table of Contents

ANNEX A - MANIFESTO

ANNEX B - INDIVIDUAL MEMBER

ANNEX C - REPRESENTATIVE MEMBER