Governance
Bylaws of the Association for Multinational Geospatial Practitioners.
1.1 Name. The organization is the Association for Multinational Geospatial Practitioners ("AFMGP," or "the Association").
1.2 Purpose. The Association is a private professional network for geospatial practitioners who hold citizenship or settled residence in more than one country. Its purpose is to connect such practitioners and to gather and preserve their first-hand experience of working across borders, so that members can make better-informed decisions about where and how to practice.
1.3 Nature. The Association is a members' mutual-support network. It is not an advisory body. It does not provide legal, immigration, or tax advice, and nothing exchanged within it constitutes such advice.
1.4 Language. The business of the Association is conducted in English. Meetings, records, communications, and these Bylaws are in English. This reflects a working common language only and implies nothing about the nationality, residence, or first language of any member.
2.1 Form. The Association is an unincorporated membership association, governed by these Bylaws.
2.2 Not for profit. The Association is not organized for profit. It holds no funds and conducts no financial activity. It maintains no office and exists as a distributed network of its members.
2.3 Costs and contributions in kind. The Association holds no funds and maintains no treasury. Its limited operating needs — such as its internet domain and web hosting — are met through voluntary contributions in kind by members or supporters, who bear such costs directly and personally. No money is collected, held, or disbursed by the Association, and no member is entitled to reimbursement. Should the Association ever need to hold or handle funds, the Board shall first adopt financial procedures and any approvals these Bylaws require.
3.1 Eligibility. Membership is open to geospatial practitioners — including GIS analysts, cartographers, surveyors, remote-sensing and geomatics specialists, and others in the field — who can document citizenship or settled residence in more than one country.
3.2 Admission. Applicants are reviewed by the Membership Committee, which confirms eligibility and verifies identity before admission. Documentation submitted for this purpose is reviewed in confidence and retained only as long as needed to confirm eligibility.
3.3 Affiliates. A limited affiliate category is open to professionals in international services who support the membership. Affiliates are subject to vetting and to the same standards of conduct as members, do not vote, and do not advise in the Association's name.
3.4 Dues. Membership carries no fee. In place of dues, members are expected to contribute to the network through participation. Any future introduction of dues requires approval of the Board and ratification by the voting members under Article XII.
3.5 Voting members. A "voting member" is a member in good standing entitled to vote in the Association's elections. References in these Bylaws to a count of voting members mean those in good standing at the relevant time.
3.6 Good standing. A member is in good standing who meets the eligibility requirement and is not under suspension.
3.7 Resignation and removal. A member may resign at any time. A member who ceases to meet the eligibility requirement, who fails to participate over an extended period, or who breaches the standards of conduct may be suspended or removed by the Board, after notice to the member and an opportunity to respond.
4.1 Annual meeting. The Association holds an annual meeting of members for the election of directors and the conduct of other business, at a time set by the Board.
4.2 Notice. Notice of any meeting of members, and of any election, is given to each voting member not fewer than thirty (30) days in advance, by email to the address on record or by other electronic means. Notice states the date, means of participation, and business to be conducted.
4.3 Manner. Meetings of members may be held virtually, in person, or in any combination, by any means that allows those participating to communicate with one another.
4.4 Voting. Each voting member has one vote. Members may vote in person or by electronic ballot. Except where these Bylaws require otherwise, a matter put to the members is decided by a majority of votes cast.
4.5 Quorum of members. The voting members participating in a duly noticed meeting or election constitute a quorum for the business of that meeting.
5.1 Authority. The Association is governed by a Board of Directors, which directs its affairs and is accountable to the membership.
5.2 Size. The Board consists of three (3) directors. One additional director is added for every fifty (50) voting members of the Association, determined as of each annual election.
5.3 Election and term. Directors are elected by the voting members. Elections are held annually. Every voting member is entitled to one vote. A director serves until the next annual election or until a successor is chosen, and may be re-elected.
5.4 Even-numbered boards. At any meeting at which the number of voting-eligible directors present is even, the junior-most director present is eligible to participate fully in discussion, to make and second motions, and to take part in all deliberations, but does not vote. For this purpose, the "junior-most" director is the director present with the shortest continuous service on the Board; if two or more are equal, the junior-most is determined by lot.
5.5 Quorum. Until the Board grows beyond five (5) directors, a quorum is three (3) directors. Once the Board exceeds five directors, a quorum is fifty percent of the directors then in office plus one.
5.6 Decisions. Except where these Bylaws provide otherwise, the Board acts by majority vote of the voting-eligible directors present at a meeting at which a quorum is present.
5.7 Meetings and manner. The Board meets as often as its work requires, on notice to all directors of not fewer than thirty (30) days, which notice a director may waive. Board meetings may be held virtually, in person, or in any combination.
5.8 Action by consent. The Board may act without a meeting where all directors then in office consent to the action in writing or by electronic means.
5.9 Vacancies. A vacancy on the Board may be filled by a majority of the remaining directors, and a director so chosen serves until the next annual election.
5.10 Removal of a director. A director may be removed for cause by a vote of the other directors, or by the voting members, after notice to the director and an opportunity to respond. "Cause" includes breach of these Bylaws, breach of the duties of a director, or conduct materially harmful to the Association.
5.11 Standard of conduct. Each director acts in good faith and in a manner the director reasonably believes to be in the best interests of the Association.
6.1 Officers. The officers of the Association are the Chair, the Secretary, and the Treasurer. An officer must be a director.
6.2 Chair. The Chair presides at meetings of the Board and speaks for the Association in the ordinary course. During each Board term, the office of Chair rotates among the directors every four (4) months, in an order the Board determines.
6.3 Secretary. The Secretary is elected by the Board from among the directors. The Secretary keeps the records and minutes of the Association, gives required notices, and maintains the register of members.
6.4 Treasurer. The Treasurer is elected by the Board from among the directors and serves as a keeper of the Association's records. As the Association holds no funds, the Treasurer has no financial duties at present. Should the Association ever hold funds, the Treasurer keeps account of them and reports to the Board, which adopts financial procedures at that time.
6.5 Term and replacement. The Secretary and Treasurer serve for the Board term or until a successor is chosen. Any officer may be replaced by a vote of the Board.
7.1 Standing committees. The Board carries out its work through standing committees and member groups, each chaired by a member and reporting to the Board.
7.2 Membership Committee. The Membership Committee reviews applications, confirms eligibility, verifies identity, and oversees the vetting of members and affiliates.
7.3 Regional Focus Groups. Regional Focus Groups are member-led groups organized around particular countries or regions, maintaining discussion and surfacing what is specific to each jurisdiction.
7.4 Additional bodies. The Board may establish or dissolve other committees or groups as the work of the Association requires.
8.1 Good faith. Members engage in good faith and respect the discretion of others regarding sensitive matters of citizenship and residence.
8.2 Experience, not advice. Members are clear when they are sharing personal experience rather than authoritative guidance. Experience shared within the Association is offered member-to-member and carries no warranty.
8.3 The advice boundary. No member, acting in the Association's name, provides legal, immigration, or tax advice. A member who is professionally qualified and chooses to advise does so in their own independent capacity and on their own responsibility.
9.1 Disclosure. A director, officer, or committee chair who has a personal interest in a matter before the Association discloses that interest before the matter is discussed.
9.2 Recusal. The interested person does not vote on the matter and does not count toward the quorum for that vote, though the Board may ask the person to provide information before withdrawing from the deliberation.
9.3 Record. The disclosure and the action taken are recorded in the minutes.
10.1 Sensitivity. The Association treats information about a member's citizenship, residence, identity, and personal circumstances as sensitive, and handles it with discretion.
10.2 Member control. Each member decides what to disclose and to whom. Information a member has not chosen to make visible is not shared within or outside the Association except as needed to operate it or as the member directs.
10.3 Eligibility documentation. Documentation submitted to establish eligibility is reviewed in confidence, used only to confirm eligibility, and retained only as long as needed for that purpose.
10.4 The directory. A member appears in the member directory only by that member's own choice, and controls which details are shown.
10.5 No sale of information. The Association does not sell member information and does not share it with outside parties for their own purposes.
10.6 Sharing on written permission. Where a member gives written permission, the Association may share that member's profile information with, and confirm the member's membership and standing to, the persons or organizations the member specifies. The Association acts only within the scope of the permission given, and a member may withdraw the permission at any time as to future disclosures.
10.7 No self-certification. No officer may certify or confirm their own membership or standing on behalf of the Association. Any such certification concerning an officer requires the countersignature of another officer.
11.1 Records. The Association keeps these Bylaws, the minutes of Board and member meetings, the records of committees, the records of elections, and the register of members.
11.2 Member access. A member in good standing may, on reasonable request, access:
Access is provided in a manner that protects the privacy of individual members under Article X. Personal information in the register of members, and any record identifying a member's individual circumstances, is not disclosed except as that member has chosen to make visible or as Article X otherwise permits.
11.3 Member experience. Information and experience shared among members is provided member-to-member without warranty, and no member is entitled to rely on it as professional advice. This reflects the nature of the Association stated in Article I.
12.1 These Bylaws may be amended by the Board of Directors. Material amendments affecting membership rights, the purpose of the Association, dues, or this Article are put to the voting members for ratification at or before the next annual election, and take effect on ratification.
13.1 The Association may be dissolved by a vote of the Board and ratification by the voting members. As the Association holds no assets, on dissolution its records and any documented member knowledge are disposed of at the direction of the Board, with due regard for the confidentiality owed to members under Article X.
These Bylaws were adopted by the Board of Directors of the Association for Multinational Geospatial Practitioners on March 15, 2021 and took effect immediately upon passage. Certified as adopted by WBM, Secretary.
