[MCFA Int] Re: How the MCFA is governed by the Adimistrative Board

["Winfried Meining" <wim@DROPMEbarra.csb.ki.se>]

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Dear Meinhard and subscribers of the international mailing list,

Let me make some remarks on the outcoming of the meeting last 
friday regarding the statutes discussion.

The current statutes are in my view not very well adapted to the 
current state of the association. They disregard the value of local / 
national initiatives and propose a central board without recognizing 
the importance of a establishing a working network all over Europe, 
which would be essential for the functioning and the overall effect 
of the association. 

The currently available proposals for the statutes are in some ways
similar. Almost all of them suggest a board of national 
representatives, that is given special influence on the activities 
organised at european level. I am convinced of the need of a 
decentralised structure with strong impact of geographical subdivided 
groups at european level and the governing board.

Several participants of the current discussion though do not seem to 
see the need for an at least partly decentralised work and doubt 
about, if a stronger influence of national groups should be 
formulated and regulated in the statutes.
The indeed good idea of scientific subgroups has been explicitely 
brought up as counterpoint at several opportunites, when the wish for 
the constitution of a national board in the statutes was expressed.

In conclusion, we do not have a common vote for a substantial change 
of the statutes. Even proposals foreseeing a national board give it 
widely different rights and possibilities of influence.

This could mean that we now try to seek majorities. Unfortunately 
this implies - when looking at the current diversity of proposals and 
opinions - that several steps have to be undertaken :

- Firstly, a substantial discussion about the statutes on national 
and international level is necessary.

- We need to define an ordered way how the different opinions are 
unified and incorporated into the statutes.

- The new statutes proposal has to be crosschecked by the legal 
advisor of the association and

- we need a clear regulation, who is going to decide finally about 
the new proposal and to submit it to the legal authorities.

Sorry, we are most likely not at this point yet.

On the other hand, the current statutes do not foresee the same 
rights for former and current fellows, an evil, that we wanted to 
remove as soon as possible, at best before the first General 
Assembly. 

I.e. we are in a dilemma. I prefer to solve this dilemma by defining 
the statutes as general as possible, by leaving them in a state, 
that finds at least some acceptance by the majority of members and by 
concentrating on the formulation of internal procedures, which might 
impose a new revision of the statutes in a later state.

The new international task force on statutes - internal procedures - 
has explicetely been formed to concentrate on the named issues and 
will hopefully help in defining the internal decision ways.

I expressively invite you, Meinhard, to take part in this task force. 
Your collaboration would not only let you actively take part in 
developing the structure of the association, but also give a voice to 
fellows in the UK, that expressed the wish for a more fundamental 
change of the statutes.

A more special note on the meeting last friday in Brussels :

The fact, that the different proposals and the discussion on the 
statutes were largely ignored in the agenda is not acceptable. It 
would have been better, if the participants of the meeting would have 
been given more opportunity to modify the agenda beforehand. Luc's 
proposal should have been available at least several days before the 
actual meeting.

On the other hand in light of the described situation it is 
understandable, if the majority of participants accepted to submit 
the statutes only slightly modified to the belgian ministery of 
justice.

In so far I can accept this solution, but I do not accept, that 
national groups are not well recognized in the statutes and suggest 
therefore after revision and substantial discussion about the 
statutes to decide on a new proposal and on newly defined internal 
procedures on the coming General Assembly. 

With best regards,

Winfried


*****************************************************************
Dr. Winfried Meining                        Karolinska Institutet
Tel.: +46-(0)8-6083-336        Department of Biosciences at Novum
Fax : +46-(0)8-6089-290        Center for Structural Biochemistry
winfried.meining@DROPMEcsb.ki.se                       Haelsovaegen 7-9 
http://www.csb.ki.se/xray/wim/wim.html   S-14157 Huddinge, SWEDEN 
*****************************************************************


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