The Bylaws of the World Congress of Poets

The Bylaws of the World Congress of Poets

PREAMBLE

We, the poets of various nations of the world, have decided to mobilize and organize ourselves into a World Congress of Poets to substitute peace instead of war in the minds of people, by educating mankind with love of peace and of fellowmen, by means of their encounters and interchange of culture and reciprocal comprehension.

The objective of the World Congress of Poets and its official motto is “The Promotion of World Brotherhood and Peace through Poetry”.

ARTICLE I: MEMBERSHIP OF THE CONGRESS

1. The World Congress of Poets (the “Congress”) is open to all poets, editors, literary critics irrespective of nationality, race, religion or ideology.

2. To attend an Annual Conference, any person can apply to the Secretary General of the Executive Board to become an Annual Member. The Secretary General will review his or her application and decide on the approval. Once approved, the Annual Member shall pay the Annual Membership fees so that he or she can attend the Annual Conference. An Annual Member is not entitled to vote during the Annual Conference on matters submitted to the Congress.

3. To become a Life Member, a person has to apply to the Secretary General of the Executive Board. The Executive Board will review his or her application and decide through a majority vote. Once approved, the Life Member shall pay the Life Membership fees for his or her Life Membership to become effective.

4. A Life Member can attend all Annual Conferences and is entitled to vote during the Annual Conferences on matters submitted to the Congress.

5. Life Members and Annual Members can participate in all the events during the Annual Conference, including the Poetry Contest and the publication of works in the Anthology.

6. Only a Life Member can stand for election to become a member of the Executive Board.

7. Only Life Members are eligible for awards or prizes awarded or recommended by the Congress, unless otherwise decided by the Executive Board.

8. The Executive Board can decide at any time through a majority decision to remove a Life Member from the Congress. The Life Member who has been removed will forfeit his

or her Life Membership fees and will not be allowed to attend any event of the Congress, unless otherwise decided by the Executive Board.

9. Matters of the Congress can only be submitted to the Congress for vote during an Annual Conference. Only Life Members who are physically present are entitled to vote.

10. Either the Executive Board or a majority of the Life Members present during an Annual Conference can submit matters to the Congress for vote.

ARTICLE II: THE EXECUTIVE BOARD OF THE CONGRESS

1. All the powers of the Congress shall vest in the Executive Board.

2. The Executive Board comprises 13 members as follows:

- a President

- a Secretary General

- Three Vice-Presidents

- Six Executive Board members (two of which can be nominated deputy Secretary General)

- a Public Relations Officer

- a Treasurer

3. Any member of the Executive Board may be removed from the Executive Board by a majority decision of the Executive Board.

4. During the tenure of the Executive Board, when a position from the Executive Board becomes vacant, the replacement will be selected by a majority decision of the Executive Board.

ARTICLE III: TERMS OF OFFICE

1. The Executive Board is elected by the Life Members of the Congress.

2. The Executive Board shall hold office for a minimum period of three years subject to re-election.

3. Any member of the Executive Board can be removed by a majority vote of the Life Members of the Congress during an Annual Conference.

4. A President will be elected by the 13 members of the Executive Board and the elected President will appoint the 3 Vice-Presidents, the Secretary General, the 2 deputy Secretary General, the Public Relations Officer and the Treasurer.

5. The President shall preside over the Executive Board.

6. The President is solely authorized to sign with any third party any agreement that binds the Congress. Any such agreement has to be decided by a majority decision of the Executive Board.

7. The Secretary General shall carry out the day-to-day administration support to the Executive Board.

8. All the Accounts of the Congress shall be maintained by the Treasurer and the funds received by the Congress by way of subscriptions, donations, or of the like kind shall be deposited into bank accounts of the Congress. The Treasurer shall be responsible for the maintenance of true and proper accounts.

9. The bank accounts of the Congress are operated under the signature of the Treasurer or in the absence of the said Treasurer, by the Secretary General.

10. Unless decided otherwise by the Executive Board, the Executive Board shall meet at least once a year. Meetings can be either conducted physically or virtually via electronic communications means. Executive Board members who cannot attend may ask another Executive Board member to vote on his or her behalf via a power of attorney.

11. Every year, the President shall present to the Executive Board a summary work report for approval.

12. Every year, the Treasurer shall prepare a summary financial report to be reviewed independently by a member of the Executive Board and then submitted to the Executive Board for approval.

ARTICLE IV: ANNUAL CONFERENCES

1. Unless otherwise decided by the Executive Board, an itinerant Annual Conference of the World Congress of Poets shall be convened once every year.

2. During the Annual Conference, unless otherwise decided by the Executive Board, a number of awards will be given to outstanding Life Members, and on an exceptional basis to personalities outside of the Congress but who have made substantial contributions in line with the objective of the Congress.

3. Any party interested in organizing the Annual Conference shall submit its application to the Secretary General with a copy made to the President. The Executive Board shall consider such applications and grant the necessary permission to conduct the Annual Conference. No party can convene such an Annual Conference unless explicitly permitted.

4. Any interested party shall demonstrate, inter alia, that it can ensure the organization of a safe and high quality international Annual Conference.

5. Unless otherwise decided by the Executive Board, the interested party shall ensure the organization during the Annual Conference of a Poetry Contest open to all members of the Congress and the publication of an Anthology comprising works from the winners of the contest and members of the Congress. The Anthology will also publish the list of awards given by the Congress during the Annual Conference.

ARTICLE V: FUNCTIONING OF THE WORLD CONGRESS OF POETS

1. The Secretary General maintains minutes of the meetings of the Executive Board and signs the decisions from the Executive Board.

2. The Secretary General shall publish an annual bulletin summarizing the work and the major events of the Congress over the past year.

3. The Bylaws of the World Congress of Poets shall be deposited with the Secretariat. It shall be duty of the Secretary General to see to its application.

4. The official languages of the Congress are English, Chinese, Spanish and French. For simplicity, the daily work of the Executive Board shall be conducted in English and its decisions shall be drawn up in English.

5. The Executive Board shall have the power to amend the present Bylaws by a majority decision.

DECISION

As of 1st August 2020, the present Bylaws supersede the previous Charter adopted in Madrid, Spain, in July, 1982, by the Sixth World Congress of Poets.

The Bylaws of the World Academy of Arts and Culture

PREAMBLE

1. The World Academy of Arts and Culture (the “Academy”) shall be an institution with the purpose to promote the development, research, and education in the field of poetry.

2. The Academy is an affiliated institution of the World Congress of Poets (the “Congress”).

ARTICLE I: THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE ACADEMY

1. The Academy shall be established with a Board of Trustees of not more than eight members. The Academy will elect its Board of Trustees among its members.

2. The Academy shall have a President and a vice-President to be elected by the Board of Trustees. The office of the President shall be used as the headquarters of the Academy for his term of office.

3. The Academy shall have a Secretary General and a Deputy Secretary General to be appointed by its President with the agreement of the Board of Trustees. The office of the Secretary General shall be used as the secretariat of the Academy for his term of office.

4. The Academy shall have a Treasurer and an Auditor to be appointed by its President with the agreement of the Board.

5. The Academy shall establish a foundation, with its funds to be raised by the Board. Regulations governing the foundation and its administration shall be formulated separately.

6. The Academy shall be registered by law as an incorporated non-profit institution.

ARTICLE II: RELATIONSHIPS WITH THE WORLD CONGRESS OF POETS

1. The Academy supports through its various activities the workings of the Congress. The Academy provides in particular financial support to the activities of the Congress.

2. In order to maintain close working relationships with the Congress, members of the Board of Trustees of the Academy can also be elected among the Executive Board members of the Congress.

ARTICLE III: AWARDS FROM THE ACADEMY

1. The Academy may award deserving poets and women and men of letters with literary distinctions, honors and citations, including laureateships and honorary degrees.

2. In conjunction with the Annual Conference of the Congress, the Academy will award a number of literary awards to candidates recommended by the Congress.

3. The candidates for these awards, including laureateships and honorary degrees as well as prizes in cash, shall be recommended to the President of the Academy by the Secretary General of the Congress on behalf of its Executive Board.

4. The candidates shall be requested to present at least two copies of their published books, together with biographical data for review by the Executive Board of the Congress.

5. The President of the Academy will approve the candidates and the corresponding awards as recommended by the Congress.

6. The successful candidates shall be officially announced by the President of the World Congress of Poets. The announcement shall be made during the Annual Conference of the World Congress of Poets and an award ceremony shall be held.

7. The diplomas of the awards shall carry the signatures of the President of the World Academy of Arts and Culture, and of the President, first vice-President and Secretary General of the World Congress of Poets.

DECISION

As of 1st August 2020, the present Bylaws supersede any other previous versions.