Hong Kong Union for Young Leaders

Constitution
Amended on 6th November 2010

Chapter 1 -- General Stipulations 1.1) Name and Logo 1.1.1) The English name of the Union is HONG KONG UNION FOR YOUNG LEADERS, and hereafter shall be referred to as HKUYL. 1.1.2) The Chinese name of the Union is . 1.1.3) The official Union logo is as follows and may only be used for official purposes.

1.2) Mailing Address 1.2.1) The official mailing address of the Union is General Post Office Box 10379 1.3) General Information 1.3.1) The Union is a solely student-based, non-government, non-profit organization. 1.3.2) The Union has been established since October 1992. 1.3.3) The Union is registered under the Societies Ordinance (REF.CP/LIC/SO/19/10188). 1.4) Aims 1.4.1) 1.4.2) 1.4.3) 1.4.4) 1.4.5) To inspire tomorrows leaders today. To serve as a platform for young leaders to discover their talents and develop their leadership potentials and strengths within them. To promote young leaders awareness towards global issues. To encourage young leaders to serve the community and make a difference. To let young leaders find their own definition of leadership.

1.5) Official Languages 1.5.1) The official languages utilized by the Union are English and Chinese. This includes all publications and documents by the Union. 1.6) Session 1.6.1) Each Session will last for one year. 1.6.2) The official commencement of each Session is on the Annual General Meeting held in mid-November each year. 1.6.3) The Committee Board of each Session shall decide upon a unique theme for the corresponding Session. Chapter 2 -- Membership 2.1) Application for Membership 2.1.1) Any registered secondary school in Hong Kong is eligible for membership. 2.1.2) Application should be on school basis. 2.1.3) Any applicant should submit to the Union an application letter with an endorsement from the school Principal. 2.1.4) The Union may invite secondary schools to apply for membership by letter. 2.1.5) The school shall become a member school of the Union upon approval from the Union.

2.1.6) 2.1.7)

The final decision regarding school membership shall rest with the Committee of that year. Successful applicants should submit an entrance membership fee, which is to be decided by the Committee each year.

2.2) Renewal of Membership 2.2.1) An invitation for membership renewal will be sent to all member schools at the beginning of each school year. 2.2.2) Membership is renewed by filling in a form and mailing it to the Union, together with a crossed cheque for the annual membership fee made payable to the Hong Kong Union for Young Leaders. 2.2.3) Membership fee can also be submitted at the Annual General Meeting. 2.3) Privileges and Obligations 2.3.1) Each member school of the Union has the privilege to: a) Nominate two F.5 students each year to represent his/her school for the election for the Executive Committee. (Hereafter shall be called the ExCo.) b) Nominate two F.5 students each year to represent his/her school for the election for the Sub-Committee. (Hereafter shall be called the Subcomm.) c) Election details may be found in Chapters 4 and 5. d) Nominate two F.4 students each year to represent his/her school as a student ambassador. (Hereafter shall be called the Campers.) 2.3.2) All member schools shall fulfill the following obligations: a) Abide by the Constitution and resolutions of the Union. b) Pay the annual membership fees. (i) The amount shall be decided by the ExCo each year. (ii) Payments should be made at the Annual General Meeting; or by post, with a crossed cheque payable to Hong Kong Union for Young Leaders. (iii) Membership may be suspended upon failure to pay the fee. 2.4) Resignation should be endorsed by the School Principal and then submitted to the Union with one months written notice. 2.5) The Executive Committee Board of the corresponding Session has the final decision regarding all matters concerning membership. Chapter 3 -- Structure 3.1) The Executive Committee (ExCo) Board 3.1.1) The supreme authority of the Union shall rest with the ExCo, which shall be the highest executive body. 3.1.2) The election procedure for the ExCo can be found in Chapter 4. 3.1.3) All office-bearers of the Union shall serve without remuneration. The term of office is one year. 3.1.4) The ExCo shall: (a) Enforce resolutions adopted at the Annual General Meeting and Extraordinary General Meetings; (b) Establish any Sub-committee when necessary and decide the number of members of it; (c) Formulate policies of the Union in accordance with its objectives; (d) Represent the members of the Union in matters affecting their interest;

(e) Terminate the office of any Committee member due to violation of the Constitution; (f) Review the Constitution, and, if necessary, formulate amendments. 3.1.5) The responsibilities of each post in the Executive Committee Board: (a) The Chairperson shall: (i) Represent the Union; (ii) Preside at all General Committee Meetings of the Union; (iii) Prepare agenda for all General Committee Meetings and all Extraordinary Meetings; (iv) Supervise the work of the ExCo and Sub-committee; (v) Call General Committee Meetings; (vi) Supervise the Unions account; (vii) Present an annual report at the Annual General Meeting. (b) The two Vice-chairpersons shall: (i) Assist the Chairperson in undertaking the affairs of the Union; (ii) Act for the Chairperson in case he/she is absent, on leave or has vacated his/her post. (c) The Internal Secretary shall: (i) Keep record of all internal correspondence on behalf of the Union; (ii) Take minutes of all General Committee Meetings and all Extraordinary Meetings; (iii) Prepare information and documents when necessary; (iv) Assume the powers and obligations of the External Secretaries in their absence. (d) The two External Secretaries shall: (i) Handle all external correspondence; (ii) Assume the powers and obligations of the Internal Secretary in his/her absence. (e) The Treasurer shall: (i) Handle and record all incomes and expenditures of the Union; (ii) Prepare a budget and present an annual financial report for the Union; (iii) Attend to all financial matters, receipts and payments arising from all meetings and functions of the Union; (iv) Manage the Unions account. (f) (i) The two Promotion Managers shall: Promote the image of the Union by: (1) Managing all publications; (2) Managing all souvenirs.

(g) The three Publicity Officers shall: (i) Promote the image of the Union; (ii) Be responsible for contacting honorary advisors, sponsors, news agents, organizations, companies, and other external bodies; (iii) Be responsible for contacting member schools and alumni.

3.2) The Sub-committee (Subcomm) Board shall: 3.2.1) Be established by the ExCo; 3.2.2) Be divided into the publicity department and the promotion department; 3.2.3) Assist the ExCo in the Unions implementation of projects without remuneration.

3.3) Student Advisors 3.3.1) Three members of each of the ExCo of the previous two years shall be the Student Advisors of the Union. 3.3.2) Student Advisors have full speaking rights, but no voting rights in all Executive Committee meetings. 3.3.3) Student Advisors may supervise the running of the Union. 3.3.4) Student Advisors are not liable to any debts. 3.4) Honorary Advisors 3.4.1) The Chairperson and two Vice-chairpersons shall invite the Principals of their representative schools to act as Honorary Advisors. 3.4.2) The ExCo shall invite individuals who could provide valuable advice on the Union as Honorary Advisors. 3.4.3) The Honorary Advisors shall hold office for one session and may renew membership upon invitation by the ExCo of the corresponding Session. 3.4.4) The political stance of the Honorary Advisors does not represent the stance of the Union.

Chapter 4 -- Executive Committee Board 4.1) Selection 4.1.1) The incumbent ExCo shall be responsible for the selection of the ExCo for the next academic year, which consists of F.5 students from member schools. 4.1.2) Each member school shall be invited to nominate two F.5 students for the ExCo selection each year. These two quotas are open to non-campers exclusively. 4.1.3) Ex-campers currently attending member schools are not included in this quota and are all legitimate to apply. 4.1.4) Shortlisted nominees shall be invited to attend an interview conducted by the incumbent ExCo, who shall also determine each successful nominees post. Selection shall be based on each nominees academic and extra-curricular performance at school, and his/her ability to undertake the post assigned. 4.1.5) Successful nominees shall be individually informed, and their Principals permission shall be solicited to before the inauguration at the AGM. 4.1.6) If any selected student shall wish to withdraw his/her nomination, the incumbent ExCo shall find a suitable candidate to fill the vacancy at its own discretion. 4.1.7) The incumbent ExCo shall preserve a certain degree of diversity of schools among the ExCo Board. 4.2) Resignation 4.2.1) Resignation submitted to the Union should be endorsed by the School Principal.

4.2.2) 4.2.3) 4.2.4)

Resignation letters must be submitted to the ExCo with at least one months notice. Re-selection shall be held at the discretion of the ExCo after the approval of resignation by the ExCo. The newly selected person shall have one month to take over the job.

4.3) The ExCo may issue a warning to or expel an ExCo member who is found to be guilty of any one of the following: 4.3.1) Infringement of the constitution or resolutions of the Union. 4.3.2) Committing corruptive and illegal acts by using the name of the Union and thereby impairing its fair reputation. Chapter 5 -- Sub-Committee Board 5.1) Selection 5.1.1) The ExCo shall be responsible for the selection of the Subcomm for the corresponding academic year, which consists of F.5 students from member schools. 5.1.2) Each member school shall be invited to nominate two F.5 students for the Subcomm selection each year. These two quotas are open to non-campers exclusively. 5.1.3) Ex-campers are not included in this quota and are all legitimate to apply. 5.1.4) Each nominee shall be invited to attend an interview conducted by the ExCo Board, who shall also determine each successful nominees post. Selection shall be based on each nominees academic and extra-curricular performance at school, and his/her ability to undertake the post assigned. 5.1.5) Successful nominees shall be individually informed, and their Principals permission shall be solicited to before the inauguration at the AGM. 5.1.6) If any selected student shall wish to withdraw his/her nomination, the incumbent ExCo shall find a suitable candidate to fill the vacancy at its own discretion. 5.2) Resignation 5.2.1) Resignation submitted to the Union should be endorsed by the School Principal. 5.2.2) Resignation letters must be submitted to the ExCo with at least one months notice. 5.2.3) Re-selection shall be held at the discretion of the ExCo after the approval of resignation by the ExCo. 5.2.4) The newly selected person shall have one month to take over the job. 5.3) The ExCo may issue a warning to or expel a Sub-committee member who is found to be guilty of any one of the following: 5.3.1) Infringement of the constitution or resolutions of the Union. 5.3.2) Committing corruptive acts by using the name of the Union and thereby impairing its fair reputation. Chapter 6 -- Meetings 6.1) Executive Committee Meetings 6.1.1) Executive Committee Meetings shall be called by the Chairperson or upon the request of at least one-third of the ExCo. 6.1.2) Each ExCo member, except the Chairperson, shall have one vote of equal value. Decisions are to be based on a simple majority vote. The Chairperson shall cast the deciding vote in the absence of simple majority. 6.1.3) At least two-thirds of the ExCo members are required to form the quorum.

6.2) General Committee Meetings 6.2.1) General Committee Meetings shall be called by the Chairperson or upon the request of at least one-third of the whole Committee. 6.2.2) Each Committee member, except the Chairperson, shall have one vote of equal value. Decisions are to be based on a simple majority vote. The Chairperson shall cast the deciding vote in the absence of simple majority. 6.2.3) At least two-thirds of the Committee members are required to form the quorum.

6.3) Annual General Meeting 6.3.1) The Annual General Meeting shall be convened annually. Member schools shall be notified by letters seven days prior to the meeting and the quorum shall be constituted by the presence of two-thirds of the member school representatives. 6.3.2) If the quorum cannot be formed at the first meeting, the meeting shall be adjourned and a second meeting should be called within fourteen days. Member schools shall again be notified by letters seven days prior to the meeting, at which the presence of any number of member schools present shall constitute the quorum. 6.3.3) A simple majority of votes is required for passing any motion. The Chairperson shall have the casting vote in the absence of a simple majority.

6.4) Extraordinary General Meetings 6.4.1) The Extraordinary General Meetings (hereafter referred as EGM) shall be called by the Chairperson, with the approval of the ExCo or upon the request of over half of the ExCo members and Sub-committee members or any five member schools of the Union, the Chairperson must convey an EGM within three weeks after the requests. 6.4.2) 6.4.3) 6.4.4) Member schools shall be notified by letters fourteen days prior to the meeting and the quorum shall be constituted by the presence of two-thirds of the member schools. If the quorum cannot be formed at the first meeting, the meeting shall be cancelled. A simple majority of votes is required for passing any motion. The Chairperson shall have the casting vote in the absence of a simple majority.

6.5) Rules in all Meetings 6.5.1) The Chairperson of the Union shall preside over all meetings. 6.5.2) In the absence of the Chairperson, one of the vice-chairpersons shall be the chairperson of the meetings; 6.5.3) In the absence of the Chairperson and the two Vice-chairpersons, the AGM, EGM, ExCo meetings and GM shall be adjourned and a second meeting shall be called within fourteen days.

Chapter 7 -- Funds 7.1) Funds are obtained from membership fees, sponsorships and other fundraising campaigns. 7.2) Funds are to be used for the activities that are stipulated for the Union only. 7.3) Any debts or liabilities shall be the responsibility of the Union during which the debts or liabilities are incurred.

7.4) Membership fees already paid to the Union shall not be refundable to any member school which voluntarily withdraws or is expelled from the Union. 7.5) Surplus shall be incurred to the following year. 7.6) In case of dissolution, any surplus funds shall be donated to charity.

Chapter 8 -- Dissolution 8.1) The proposal for the dissolution of the Union can be raised by a written request of at least 6 member schools. 8.2) Upon request of dissolution, an AGM or EGM must be convened, during which decisions must be made by voting. 8.3) Two-thirds of all votes are required to pass the proposal for dissolution. 8.4) The dissolution shall be notified to all school authorities of the member schools.

Chapter 9 -- Amendments to the Constitution 9.1) The ExCo is authorized to amend the Constitution of the Union. 9.2) Suggested amendments can be sent to the Union by letter from member schools. 9.3) The quorum of the Constitution Meeting shall be formed by the presence of at least 30 representatives of the alumni. 9.4) The amended Constitution would be passed with the agreeing votes from at least two-thirds of the quorum. 9.4.1) The incumbent ExCo shall not be allowed to vote for an amendment in the Constitution. 9.4.2) An incumbent Subcomm member who is also an ex-camper may vote for an amendment in the constitution only as an ex-camper. 9.5) The amended version of the Constitution must be sent to all accessible alumni and member schools by within seven days after the Constitution Meeting.