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| Articles of Association (DRAFT) | | The Articles of Association of the Rights-Centric Education Network ("RCE Network") are published at https://www.rights-centric.education/articles |
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| The Articles of Association of the Rights-Centric Education Network, as consented to by the Founding Members, are as follows:
| | ==Backstory== |
| | If the RCE Network was a conventional organisation, it would have access to conventional templates of Articles of Association. |
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| ===Name===
| | But, the Founding Members who initiated the process of convening the Network did not wish to have a conventional organization. So there was an experimental process that involved, among other things |
| The name of the association shall be the “Rights-Centric Education Network” (hereinafter referred to as “RCE Network”).
| | * A large number of Founding Members (so that power shall not be centralised in the hands of a few) |
| | * Who established the Network by consenting to a [[Memorandum of Association]] over a long period (July 24 to November 19, 2024) |
| | * Who consented to the Articles of Association for a network that would not discriminate between Founding Members and those who joined later, |
| | * That strives to make decisions by consent |
| | * That strives to be as inclusive towards all members (individual and organizations) without competing with them |
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| ===Nature of Association=== | | ==Clarifying Remarks== |
| The RCE Network is a non-hierarchical, consent-based, community of practice of human rights defenders (individuals and organizations) striving to align education to the evolution of Human Rights.
| | 5.1 Benefits of Membership |
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| It was established by a Memorandum of Association signed by X1 Founding Members (X2 individuals and X3 organizations) over the period July 24 - October 20, 2024.
| | However, Members may NOT claim to speak for, represent, or be an agent of, the RCE Network. The present articles do NOT have provisions to appoint a Member as a representative or agent: ''As an example, if I (Sifaan Zavahir) make a statement that "as a Citizen of Sri Lanka I say ..." it does NOT imply that I represent the views of all citizens of Sri Lanka. Likewise if I assert something as "a Founding Member of the Rights-Centric Education Network", it does NOT imply that I represent the views of the entire network'' |
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| It is NOT a legally incorporated association, and has NO physical location or office.
| | 5.3. Applying for Membership |
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| ===Objective===
| | However, prospective members may be requested to provide evidence of their identity: ''For example, if someone claims to be a particular organization, how do we know it is not a spoof? An email from an official email address would work.'' |
| The objective of the RCE Network is to advance the protection and realisation of international human rights law (especially the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child) in all educational environments (prioritising institutions established for the provision of Education).
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| ===Activities===
| | 7. Finances |
| The initial activities of the RCE Network shall be
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| * A Declaration, the "Declaration on Child Rights in Education"<ref>We may have other declarations in the future, e.g. on environmental rights</ref>, calling for the fundamental rework of educational practice to respect, protect and fulfil the Rights of the Child
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| * A Program, the Rights-Centric Education Framework, for educational environments to report on their progress in respecting, protecting and fulfilling the Rights of the Child
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| * A Program, the Rights-Centric Education Policy Advocacy, for supporting advocacy to align local-, national- or regional-, or international-level policy to respect, protect and fulfil Human Rights to, in, and through Education.
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| ===Membership===
| | Members (Individuals and Organizations) of the RCE Network may solicit funds for their expenses:''For example, recording and producing a documentary, writing and publishing a book, costs of participating in conferences, etc.'' |
| The Membership of the RCE Network comprises the Founding Members who established the community of practice, and Members who joined after establishment.
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| There shall be no difference in benefits, obligations, opportunities for participation in programs, contribution to decision making, or any other matter between Founding Members and Members, save that Founding Members' contribution to establish the community shall be recognized in their title.
| | 8. Decision Making |
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| ====Benefits of Membership====
| | Decision making in the RCE Network aspires to be consent-based: ''This is not the same as consensus-based, where it requires consent from everyone; in consent-based it is sufficient if no one objects'' |
| All Members are entitled to indicate their membership by using statements such as "A Member<ref>or, "Founding Member"</ref> of the Rights-Centric Education Network", and using the Rights-Centric Education Logo.
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| However, Members may NOT claim to speak for, or represent, the RCE Network as there is no provision to appoint representatives.
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| Membership shall be required to participate in the Programs of the RCE Network<ref>The RCE Framework is the main Program we have been working on, but the work of Sifaan (Sri Lanka), Je'anna (South Africa), Alli (Luxembourg/Europe), and previously the IDEC resolution, would be part of the Advocacy program</ref>
| | No decision shall be binding on Members:''e.g. they do not have to participate in any Declaration or Program unless they wish to'' |
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| ====Obligations of Membership====
| | While participating in dialogue and voting shall be open to all Members, it is recommended to allow the Members who are affected by the decision to make the decision:''For example, it is preferred if a member who is not part of the RCE Framework abstain from voting on decisions regarding it (unless the decision would affect whether they would join the program or not, in which case they should vote)'' |
| There are no obligations or membership criteria placed on Members.
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| Members are invited to contribute, to the best of their capabilities, to the Objective of the RCE Network defined above.
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| This includes, but is not limited to,
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| * Participation in programs of the RCE Network relevant to the Member;
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| * Collaborating with other members within the community of practice;
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| * Explicitly referencing Human Rights law in their work;
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| * Supporting the administrative work of the RCE Network
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| There shall be NO process of rating, ranking, comparing, or evaluating the participation of members.
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| There shall be NO fees levied from Members under any circumstances.
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| However, Members are welcome to contribute towards the expenses of the RCE Network.
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| ====Applying for Membership====
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| Any Individual (including children) or Organization striving to align education to the evolution of human rights may join the RCE Network as a Member by completing the application form here.<ref>PENDING - basically a simple form collecting the information we would like to publish; we should have in that a privacy clause that we cannot guarantee confidentiality of information and so they should only provide information they are willing to be published</ref>
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| There shall be NO membership criteria that applicants are required to fulfil to obtain membership. However, prospective members may be requested to provide evidence of their identity <ref>for example, email sent from an official email address.</ref>
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| ====Withdrawing from Membership====
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| Any Founding Member or Member may withdraw from the RCE Network by emailing network@rights-centric.education
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| They shall be removed from the listing of Members on the website, and from any Members-only communication platforms.
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| ===Communication===
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| The Communication platforms of the RCE Network shall be
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| * An official website for public-facing information, https://www.rights-centric.education
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| * A wiki website for documentation purposes, https://wiki.rights-centric.education
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| * A Members-only official discord server, "Rights-Centric Education"<ref>Should it be open to non-members, as it is at present?</ref>
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| * A Members-only email announcement list
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| * Social media channels (YouTube, LinkedIn, X) and a public email announcement list for outreach
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| ===Decision Making===
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| Decision making in the RCE Network shall be consent-based, striving to be as inclusive as possible of views expressed by the Members who wish to participate in the decision, with opportunities for all Members to contribute towards dialogue.
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| Decision making will take place in the RCE Discord Server, with at least one invitation to the Members-only email announcement list soliciting inputs.
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| There shall be NO formal decision making process (e.g. decisions based on majority vote).
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| While all members have equal opportunities to express their opinion, the extent to which the opinion of a particular Member is taken into account by others will presumably depend on the credibility of that Member.
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| For any decision, any member may request a Poll (NOT a vote) to gauge opinion as a measure to support the expression of different viewpoints.
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| For amendments to the Articles of Association, there shall be a minimum period of 2 weeks' of dialogue before a decision can be taken.
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| As all Members benefit when the RCE Network is stronger (more Members, more active participation) the "checks-and-balance" mechanism will be that non-inclusive decisions will lead to Members withdrawing their membership and the disintegration of the Network.
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| ===Dissolution===
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| The RCE Network shall cease to exist if all members withdraw their Membership
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| ===Footnotes===
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The Articles of Association of the Rights-Centric Education Network ("RCE Network") are published at https://www.rights-centric.education/articles
Backstory
If the RCE Network was a conventional organisation, it would have access to conventional templates of Articles of Association.
But, the Founding Members who initiated the process of convening the Network did not wish to have a conventional organization. So there was an experimental process that involved, among other things
- A large number of Founding Members (so that power shall not be centralised in the hands of a few)
- Who established the Network by consenting to a Memorandum of Association over a long period (July 24 to November 19, 2024)
- Who consented to the Articles of Association for a network that would not discriminate between Founding Members and those who joined later,
- That strives to make decisions by consent
- That strives to be as inclusive towards all members (individual and organizations) without competing with them
5.1 Benefits of Membership
However, Members may NOT claim to speak for, represent, or be an agent of, the RCE Network. The present articles do NOT have provisions to appoint a Member as a representative or agent: As an example, if I (Sifaan Zavahir) make a statement that "as a Citizen of Sri Lanka I say ..." it does NOT imply that I represent the views of all citizens of Sri Lanka. Likewise if I assert something as "a Founding Member of the Rights-Centric Education Network", it does NOT imply that I represent the views of the entire network
5.3. Applying for Membership
However, prospective members may be requested to provide evidence of their identity: For example, if someone claims to be a particular organization, how do we know it is not a spoof? An email from an official email address would work.
7. Finances
Members (Individuals and Organizations) of the RCE Network may solicit funds for their expenses:For example, recording and producing a documentary, writing and publishing a book, costs of participating in conferences, etc.
8. Decision Making
Decision making in the RCE Network aspires to be consent-based: This is not the same as consensus-based, where it requires consent from everyone; in consent-based it is sufficient if no one objects
No decision shall be binding on Members:e.g. they do not have to participate in any Declaration or Program unless they wish to
While participating in dialogue and voting shall be open to all Members, it is recommended to allow the Members who are affected by the decision to make the decision:For example, it is preferred if a member who is not part of the RCE Framework abstain from voting on decisions regarding it (unless the decision would affect whether they would join the program or not, in which case they should vote)
