BYLAWS

By-Laws of the European Music Therapy Confederation Approved, May 9, 2020

BYLAWS: CONFEDERATION RULES AND REGULATIONS

The international non-profit association, the European Music Therapy Confederation, is officially regulated by the Statutes that are enacted in accordance with the Belgian law on 2 May 2004.

The bylaws define the confederation rules and regulations, and are subject to change only after a legal vote at the General Assembly.

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PART 1. MEMBERSHIP

1. Active Members

Active Members of the European Music Therapy Confederation (EMTC) are professional associations within European countries hereafter described as the ‘legal entities’.

1.1. Definition

A professional association is defined as:

a)  An official organisation representing music therapy professionals in any one country or an official organisation representing the development and practice of music therapy in any one country.

b)  This excludes schools, training or research institutes, clinical centres and community centres offering music therapy training.

1.2. Procedures for EMTC membership

a)  The Association fills out the official membership proposal form (available from the EMTC website).

b)  Association sends the completed form to the Country Representative by e-mail together with copies of all the association’s official registration documents. If the country is not yet a member of EMTC and no Country Representative has been named, the contact person is the Regional Coordinator.

c) The responsible Representative checks the documents with regard to national regulations concerning officially registered organizations. They also check the documents regarding the requirements for membership in Paragraph 1 of the by-laws of the EMTC (e.g. exclusion of training centers).

d)  The Country Representative forwards the material from the applicant along with his own findings to the Regional Coordinator, who acknowledges receipt of the documents. The Regional Coordinator checks whether the association meets requirements and informs the Country Representative whether the association is eligible for membership. The Regional Coordinator informs the Board about the eligibility of the applicant. The Board decides on the admission of the new member by simple majority.

e)  The VP/ Treasurer writes a letter of welcome for the association in Cc to the country representative, Core Board members and the Regional Coordinator, including payment details and the EMTC bank account number.

f)  The association transfers the membership fee to the EMTC bank account. Please note: Membership becomes active only when the payment is received.

g)  The President writes to the association to confirm they are an official, active member of the EMTC.

1.3. Representatives of the legal entity members

1.3.1.  The legal entity members choose their Country Representative (CR) for the EMTC according to a majority vote based on the number of members declared to the EMTC Treasurer. They also elect a substitute representative who acts on behalf of the CR only if the CR cannot attend the General Assembly

1.3.2.  The CR and the substitute representative are elected for a period of three years, and with the possibility for re-election.

1.3.3.  The legal entity accepts covering travel costs for the CR for each annual General Assembly, with accommodation covered by the host country.

1.3.4.  The Country Representative must be a qualified music therapist whose role is to maintain continuous contact between the EMTC and the national music therapy organizations. This includes the following tasks:

a)  To share pertinent national information with their EMTC regional groups and at the EMTC General Assemblies.

b)  To assure that all official EMTC news and any relevant information about music therapy in Europe is transmitted to the members at the national level.

c)  To assure that any EMTC papers, questionnaires etc. are distributed and returned.

d)  To assure that the deadlines for paying annual dues are met

e)  To work actively in developing and integrating professional standards at the national and European levels

1.3.5.  For each legal entity, the EMTC requires the signature of the Chairs of all the Associations of the country indicating that they have been part of the voting process regarding the CR and the substitute representative. This is documented in the Country Representative Election Form (available on the website).

1.3.6. The Country Representative Election Form is returned to the Board.

1.4. Membership fee

1.4.1.  Each member association (legal entity) deposits the membership fee to the EMTC for each professional member with voting rights of the association.

1.4.2.  The membership fee for each physical person can be determined annually by the General Assembly. In case of non-determination, the fee remains the same as the preceding year.

1.4.3.  Membership is paid annually. The deadline for payment is set annually by the board.

1.4.4.  If payment is not received by this date, the member association will be classified inactive. It will be removed from the website and links from the EMTC to the association will be removed until the membership fee is paid. (See EMTC-Statutes 6.1; 8.3)

1.4.5.  Late payment will result in an increase of 20% in the fees. Failure to pay the fee with penalty can result in result in the suspension or exclusion of the member organization. (See EMTC-Statutes 8.3)

1.4.6.  Member associations and number of members are registered at the EMTC website: https://emtc-eu.com/member- associations/ 


PART 2. BOARD 

2. The EMTC Board structure

The Board consists of a Core Board (President, Vice-President/ Secretary General and Vice-President/ Treasurer) and three Regional Coordinators.

2.1. Role of the President:

The President is responsible for:

a)  coordinating the EMTC as a group (e.g. overall perspective of the 
EMTC,

b)  chairing General Assemblies,

c)  communicating with members and with the Core Board members on a
regular basis.

d)  being actively involved in, and responsible for decision-making on
behalf of the EMTC.

e)  representing the EMTC officially.

2.2. Role of the Vice-President/General secretary.

The Vice-President/General Secretary is responsible for:

a) maintaining communication with all EMTC members, including passing 
on relevant information about the work of the EMTC, when required.

b) remaining fully informed of all correspondence, and filtering information 
before passing this on to the relevant members of the EMTC.

c) liaising regularly with the Board members

d) retaining an overall perspective of the work of the EMTC.

2.3. Role of the Vice-President/Treasurer.

The Vice-President/Treasurer is responsible for:

a)  receiving the accounts from the accountant and presenting them to the EMTC General Assemblies.

b)  contacting all member Country Representatives requesting membership dues one month before these are due.

c)  checking that member associations have forwarded the fee, and that this money is in the account.

2.4. Role of the Regional Coordinators.

The Regional Coordinators are responsible for:

a)  membership matters in their regions.

b)  collating and communicating information in relation to membership.

c)  recruiting new member countries.

d)  establishing and maintaining a close contact with the member countries in the regions.

e)  organizing and carrying out regular meetings with the member countries of the regions.

f)  collecting information from the member countries of the regions, filtering this information and determining if it is to be handled at the national or international level.

g)  establishing and maintaining a close contact with the Core Board in all its decisions.

h)  attendance at regularly scheduled Board meetings

i)  reporting activities within the regions at Board meetings

j)  representation of the interests of the regions at Board meetings

k)  consultation with the Core Board regarding decisions that will affect the regions.

l)  preparation and coordination of regional meetings at the General Assembly.

m)  supporting countries in the regions in implementing decisions made by the Board and/or the General Assembly.

2.5. Candidates and elections for the Board

2.5.1.  The candidate for a position on the Board must be a qualified music therapist with a minimum of 5 years of professional experience.

2.5.2.  Core Board candidates should have at least 3 years of experience in the EMTC as a CR. It is recommended that the candidate have a doctorate, experience within a broader context of the profession, and leadership experience.

2.5.3.  Candidates for Regional Coordinator should have at least two years of experience as a CR. It is recommended that they have organization experience, communication skills, experience in international collaboration.

2.6. Nomination and election procedures: 

Step 1: Nomination

a) Candidates for the Core Board should apply in groups of 3 using the application form provided after the call for applications has been announced. The person to fill position for each office should designated in the application. The deadline for the application is 4 months before the election takes place.

b) Regional Coordinators can be nominated by the CR’s of the region. The nominations/applications should be submitted using the application form provided. The deadline for the nominations/applications is 4 months before the election takes place.

Step 2: Election

a)  The candidates for the core board must be elected by the absolute majority of votes of the General Assembly

b)  The candidates for the regional coordinators must be elected by the absolute majority of votes of the CR’s of that region.

2.7. Frequency of election

The election takes place every three years in the same year of a European EMTC conference.

2.8. Regulations

The regulations for suspension, revocation or resignation of officers are found in Article 20 of the EMTC-Statutes

PART 3. GENERAL ASSEMBLY 

3. Particulars of the General Assembly 

3.1. Chairman of the meetings

3.1.1. President, or in his/her absence one of the Vice- Presidents, chairs the meetings of the General Assembly.

3.2. Voting procedures

3.2.1. The rule, according to which each legal entity possesses a single vote at the General Assembly, no matter the number of members, is not subject to exceptions.

3.2.2. Abstentions

3.2.2.1. In all cases concerned by the bylaws as by these confederation rules, abstentions will be considered as expressed votes and therefore cannot put in question the different quorums concerned by the acts previously mentioned.

3.2.2.2. Even though abstentions are not counted in the context of voting with relative majority, they must be considered when a qualified majority (2/3 or 3/4) or an absolute majority is required.

PART 4. GENERAL RULES

4.1. Working Language

The working language of the association is English.