aita-iata renewal proposals as discussed and (in principle) agreed by Renewal Workgroup, Council and EB Drafted by Dirk De Corte Version 30 June 2014

The Renewal Project Pre Monaco: (Berlin, Feb 2013): workshop on “Change” with EB Workshop GA, Monaco, August > call to action => Council decides to start Renewal Workgroup, lead by Dirk De Corte Ghent, November 2013 – R-Workgroup 1st meeting => agree on process => “connecting and understanding through theatre” as new baseline Rødekro, January 2014 – R-Workgroup 2nd meeting => draft proposal for amending the structure Monaco, March 2014 – R-Workgroup + EB => discuss/agree principles and steps forward, brainstorm around changes and implementation Venice, June R-Workgroup + Council => discuss/agree principles, fine-tuning Proposals => First Draft Document goes out

The Renewal Project - next Venice, June R-Workgroup + Council => discuss/agree principles, fine-tuning Proposals => First Draft Document goes out Discussions in Regions, NC, … Lingen, July 2014: R-Workgroup – first feedback => Second Draft Document Peligros (Spain) 2014: Council – second feedback => Third Draft Document … Renewal Memo submitted to GA, Ypres, July 2015

Swot analysis outcome by Monaco-workshop participants Strengths Networking Friendship Weaknesses Heavy structure Not a worldwide organisation Not inclusive Information flow is slow Opportunities Cultural diversity Volunteer involvement possible Threats Rising costs both inside and outside organisation In August 2013, during the aita-iata Congress in Monaco, about 40 people (from national centres, affiliates and associates) participated in a full-day workshop lead by Dirk de Corte, which gave the following output

Outcome Start-Stop doing exercise Monaco Aug ‘13 What we should STOP doing Exclusivity Fighting, talking Gen Ass every two years Being too European centred Thinking negatively “old fashioned” congress Split “legal items” from “strategy” and “present status of amateur theatre” concern What we should START doing Simplify structures Support international projects (How?) Communicate with members (about what?) Work bottom up, rather than top down (to achieve what?) Ask NC, Aff, Associates to have links to aita/iata on their websites (in order to achieve what?) Output Monaco Workshop Aug 2013 Conclusion: Change structure, make it simpler Cut elitist profile Make people feel engaged

Conclusion Monaco Work on NOW Simplify structure “Opening” the organisation Later: Discuss “raison d’être” later or under the new structure So: Proposals for a new structure have been worked out

Proposals for Renewal Which proposals for which renewal?

Changes proposed Proposals « agreed in full » 1.GA > GA + Conference/Forum 2.International Festivals as voting Members in GA 3.Associates Members as voting Members in GA 4.3 « Language secr » > « Secretary » 5.EB + Council > Council Proposals « agreed in principle » 6.Nbr of Councillors 7 or 9 Proposals « still open » 7.GA electing Council directly

#1 “Congress” split in “legal” GA + “Forum” open to all Aim: Simplify structure and create more openness Comments: The present “Congress” will be split into a formal General Assembly, members only Only “Legal matters” A “Forum”, open to ALL people engaged in amateur theatre (members as well as non-members of aita-iata) “Content driven” Organisation by Council Output Forum to be taken into account when drafting action plans and deciding on strategic directions aita-iata Name “Forum” still under discussion (“Convention”, “Conference”, “Forum”, but not Congress – avoid confusion with present situation)

#2 International Festivals become voting Members Aim: Allow those organisations realising aita-iata’s mission to connect people through amateur theatre to have a formal place in aita-iata’s decision-making bodies. “Networking” was labelled to be a key strength during the Monaco Workshop. Comments: Official aita-iata Festivals: automatic Membership Other International Festivals also voting Members Low “threshold” “International” aspect of festival should be clear Members (as all members) proposed by Council, accepted by GA Number of votes: to be decided – also opportunity to scrutinize voting present system (now 6 Full Members, 2 Affiliate Members)

#3 Associates become voting Members Aim: Create more openness. Deal with the notion of “exclusivity” of the organisation. Comments: At present, Associates, although paying a fee, no voting rights in the General Assembly. The proposal: voting rights Number of votes: to be decided – also opportunity to scrutinize voting present system (now 6 Full Members, 2 Affiliate Members) Remark: if Associates become important category, we may need “minority protection mechanisms” – so one category cannot vote out another

#4 From 3 Language Sec - > One Secretary Aim: Simplify organisational structure Comments: At the present moment, the EB has three elected secretaries dealing with aita-iata’s three official languages, French, English and Spanish. They are part of EB and Council, and form 4/7 of the EB (President, Vice President, Treasurer and EB Member for Children and Youth being the other members). Communication is a joint responsibility of the Council for which one person, “the Secretary”, oversees the delivery of this process. Information streams should be as short as possible

#5 From 3-tier to 2-tier structure Aim: Simplify organisational structure. Make communication easier. Comments: Now: GA – Council – EB Proposal: GA – Council Now: often “overlap” Responsibilities not very clear “added value” of having two executive bodies not clear

#6 From 15 to 7 (or 9) Councillors Aim: Simplify organisational structure. Make communication easier (because of reduction of Councillors). Comments: With the abolition of the EB, the Council becomes the only executive body. Under the renewed structure, it should be a flexible, efficient, body working in solidarity with only one aim: the joint interest of amateur theatre all around the world. In order to allow the Council to work effectively, it is proposed that the present number of 15 Councillors is reduced to 7 (or 9). All Councillors directly elected by GA

#7 GA elect Councillors not posts Aim: Simplify organisational structure. Create transparent structure. Allow for more openness in the organisation as well as making the organisation less exclusive. Comments: At present Council = EB + “Representatives” Proposal: All 7 (or 9) councillors elected by GA All Posts (President, Treasurer, Secretary) elected by Council Vice President could (need not be) elected Alternative: GA continues to elect President (the “6+1” variant / “8+1” variant) Consequence: no longer guaranteed regional representativity BUT: anyone can be a candidate for Council (associate, affiliate, …); one no longer needs to “belong” to a Region Regional representation will de facto happen as GA members (and indeed Regions) can still determine election process and candidacies

aita-iata present structure Full Members Full Members Affiliate Members Associates General Assembly Council Executive Board Regions -GA consists of NC and Aff. C -Large GA ( in theory >300) makes annual meeting -GA elects individual positions -Three Language sec member of EB -Although paying a fee, associates not represented -Regions de facto appoint Council members although not “accountable” in front of GA, which is ultimately responsible for the organization Member of GA (6 votes) Member of GA (2 votes) Member of Region Elect “Regional Representatives” EB Members member of Council GA elects Pres, Vice Pres, Treas, Sec E/S/Fr, Children & Youth Can attend GA, but no voting rights?

aita-iata proposed structure Full Members Full Members Associates General Assembly Council Regions Member of GA (6 votes) Member of GA (2 votes) Member of Region Member of GA (1 vote) “FORUM” All GA Members can participate in Conference All other people (groups, individuals, … ) who take in an interest in Amateur Theatre can participate Affiliate Members National Centres + Int. Festivals GA elects 7 (9) Councillors or 6 (8) Councillors plus Pres