Article 1 • Name

HOPE – Hospital Organisation of Pedagogues in Europe is an international non-profit association with scientific and pedagogical aims.

This association is regulated by the provisions of Title III of the Belgian law of 27th June 1921 imposed on non-profit associations, international non-profit associations and foundations.

Article 2 • Head Office

The Head Office of the association is located at:
Bondgenotenlaan 134, Bus 4, 3000 Leuven, Belgium.

The Head Office may be transferred to any other place in Belgium following a decision of the General Assembly published in the “Annexes au Moniteur belge”/”Belgisch Staatsblad” (= Belgian official journal).

Article 3 • Objectives

The association is a non-profit association and has the following objectives:

• a) to promote the right to education for children with medical conditions according to their individual needs in a suitable environment. To ensure this education for the sick child at home;

• b) to work towards the implementation of the European Charter for ‘The Rights and Educational Needs of Sick Children and Adolescents’ (Barcelona, May 2000)

• c) to promote the development of teaching in hospitals, and in general  the education of children with medical conditions, and to encourage liaison with other professions working in this field of education or related fields;

• d) to represent and communicate the professional interests of teachers in hospitals and other teachers working with students with medical conditions;

• e) to determine and enhance the professional qualifications of teachers working in this field.

• f) to promote and encourage research in all aspects of hospital teaching and education  of students with medical conditions and to publicise examples of good practice.

• g) to disseminate information and knowledge through newsletters, meetings and study days of the association and its members.The activities the association proposes to put into action to attain its aims are:
• • • Organising conferences, seminars, study days and other events;
    • Publishing newsletters and maintaining a website;
    • Establishing and maintaining contact with local, national, European officials;
    • Coordinating or participating in EU projects;
    • Supporting a network of workshops;
    • Developing materials for professionals in the area of education for students with medical conditions.

Article 4 • Membership

• 4.1. Categories of membership in HOPE will include: individual members, institutional members and honorary members.

• 4.2. Individual members are qualified professionals in education or related fields, who have or have had experience of working with children who have a medical condition. They have 1 vote per person.

• 4.3. Institutional members are hospital schools or related professional or charitable organisations. They have 1 vote per institution.

• 4.4. Prospective new individual members or institutional members apply in writing to their respective Committee member or to the Board.

• 4.5. Honorary members are individuals proposed by the Board or a Committee Member and confirmed by the GA for their remarkable contributions to the association.  Unless an honorary member also maintains an individual membership, he/she has solely a non-voting advisory role.

• 4.6. The Board and the respective committee member are authorized to decide on the admissibility of prospective new individual and institutional members.
  The Board is authorized to decide on the exclusion of members.
  The formalities and conditions of membership may be detailed in the Internal Regulations.

• 4.7. Voting members pay a membership fee as stipulated in the Internal Regulations.

• 4.8. Any member may resign by giving written notice to his/her Committee member or to the Board directly.
  Membership shall be deemed to have lapsed if subscription is not received by the date stipulated in the Internal Regulations or if the member has not been contactable for more than a year.

Article 5 • Statutory Structure

The Association is structured as follows:

• • – The General Assembly
  • – The Executive Board
  • – The Committee (of Country Representatives)
  • – The Auditors

Article 6 • General  Assembly

• 6.1. The General Assembly is the highest authority of the association. It is composed of all individual and institutional members. Honorary members may assist in an advisory capacity.

• 6.2. The General Assembly:
• • • elects and dismisses the President, and the other members of the Board;
    • notes the reports ‘Activities of the Board’ for the period since the previous General Assembly and votes on their adoption;
    • appoints auditors for the association’s accounts;
      the Board may appoint interim auditors;
    • approves the financial report by the treasurer and the planned budgets,
      after release by the auditors;
    • decides on any modification of the statutes
    • decides on any modification of the Internal Regulations;
    • decides on the dissolution of the Association;
    • decides on changes to the annual subscription fees of more than 10 %;
    • elects honorary members.

• 6.3. The General Assembly shall hold an ordinary meeting at least every year. This may take place also by electronic means.
  It may also meet in extraordinary session by decision of the Board or at the request of one-fifth of the voting members.The General Assembly shall be considered valid without a representation quorum.
  A voting member may represent no more than 5 individual or institutional members by proxy.The President shall send notice of the meeting together with the agenda to Committee Members to be forwarded to the members. It will also be published on the association’s website at least 28 days before the date of the meeting of the General Assembly.

• 6.4. The General Assembly is presided over by the President or another Board Member assigned by him/her.

• 6.5. Resolutions are taken by a simple majority vote of the voting members present or represented.
  In case of equality the president has the casting vote.
  Decisions concerning the amendment of the statutes and the dissolution of the association must be approved by a two-third majority of the voting members present or represented.

• 6.6. Votes are by a show of hands. Voting in a General Assembly may be replaced by safe online voting procedures as foreseen in the Internal Regulations.

• 6.7. The agenda of the ordinary session of the General Assembly must include:
• • • the record of the previous General Assembly;
    • the report ‘Activities of the Board’;
    • the reports of the treasurer and of the auditors; the budget;
    • election /confirmation / dismissal of the Board members;
    • other Business.

Article 7 • Executive Board

• 7.1. The Board is the executive body of the association. It consists of a minimum of 3 individual members and a maximum of 10, including a President, a Vice President, a Secretary, a Treasurer.
  The Board meets at least once every year.

• 7.2. The members of the Board are elected by the General Assembly for a renewable term of 2 years. Details are stipulated in the Internal Regulations.

• 7.3. The Board:
• • • takes measures to attain the association’s aims and objectives, reflected also in the HOPE Charter;
    • has all powers of management and administration according to the decisions of the General Assembly;
    • convenes General Assemblies;
    • convenes Committee meetings;
    • ensures that the Statutes and Internal Regulations are applied;
    • drafts rules of procedure;
    • administers the assets of the association;
    • has all the residual powers.

• 7.5. The meeting of the Board may validly proceed if a minimum of two-thirds of its members is present or represented.  A member of the Board may only have one proxy. The resolutions of the Board are taken as a simple majority.  In case of equality the President has the casting vote.

• 7.6. The decisions taken at Board meetings are documented.

• 7.7. The association shall be validly bound by the signature of the President, Vice President or by another member of the Board. The Internal Regulations may stipulate details to this rule.

• 7.8. Members of the Board may resign by giving written notice to the Board.
  Every member of the Board can be dismissed with a simple majority of the General Assembly.

Article 8 • Committee

• 8.1. Members of each country will elect one of them as their representative. Those representatives form the Committee.

• 8.2. The Committee Members collect the membership fees in their own country and forward them to the treasurer of the association. They will also act as liaison between the Board and the members in their country.

• 8.3. The Board may appoint an interim Committee Member. Details are laid down in the Internal Regulations. A national representative may validly represent another country if he/she has a proxy (not more than one proxy per representative).

• 8.4. Procedures for convening committee meetings are laid down in the Internal Regulations.

Article 9 • Auditors

• 9.1. The auditors are appointed by the General Assembly. They audit the association’s financial records every year.

Article 10 • Finances

• 10.1. The financial year shall begin on January 1^st and end on December 31^st of each year. The treasurer is responsible for the financial records of the association.The auditors appointed by the General Assembly shall audit the association’s accounts every year.

• 10.2. The treasurer will pay administrative and other expenses needed for the functioning of the association within the limits defined by the Board and specified in the internal regulations.
  All expenses have to be in accordance with the aims of the association. Debts may not be incurred. Members have no individual responsibility.

• 10.3. The Board members and the Committee members act voluntarily. There can be compensation only for their legitimate costs for participating at meetings.

• 10.4. The treasurer shall have a deputy. In case of non-availability of the treasurer, the daily treasury management will be ensured by the deputy.

• 10.5. The treasurer will present yearly reports approved by the auditors to the Board and to the General Assembly.
  He or she will present the financial reports and budget plans as required by law to the relevant public authorities.

• 10.6. The Board must request the approval of the General Assembly for the Treasurer’s report of the previous financial year and for the budget for the following year.

Article 11 • Dissolution of the Association

• 11.1. The dissolution of the association must be decided by the General Assembly with a majority of two thirds.

• 11.2. Once the decision to dissolve has been made, a liquidator will be appointed by the General Assembly.

• 11.3. In the case of the association being dissolved, the assets should be allotted to one or more non-profit organisations pursuing goals similar to those of the association. The assets cannot be returned to the founders or members, nor be used to their profit.
  The decision is taken by the General Assembly.

Article 12 • Internal Regulations

• 12.1. Internal regulations will be drafted by the Board and ratified by the General Assembly.

Article 13 • Title III

What is not foreseen in these statutes, will be regulated in accordance with Title III of the Belgian law of 27 June 1921 on non-profit associations, international non-profit associations and foundations.

Amended and approved by the HOPE General Assembly on October 12, 2012 in Amsterdam.
Amended and approved by the HOPE General Assembly on May 15, 2016 in Vienna.
Published on the “Annexxes du Moniteur belge – Entreprises – Actes”
Protocol number 14071048. HOPE INGO belgian registration number: 0452.103.142