Hello everyone!
After some time digging and redacting, the founding team of the IJP would like to share a quick update on what we’ve been working on and what are the next steps. We would like to be as transparent as possible, so don’t hesitate to reach out via the contact form on our website if you have any questions.
This article is only the first of several articles we’re going to release over the next few days and weeks, so keep your eyes open. While this is an overview of the status quo and the next steps, all the details you might be waiting for are soon to follow!
Current State
The first goal of the founding team was to create a structure (legal and geographical) for communities who need one all around the world. We do not want to force our program on anyone or supplant local associations, so if one exists (as it is the case with Judge Foundry for example) then we will discuss possibilities for collaboration with each association.
The second goal was to expand and choose the first leadership team. This first team will be temporary and one of its goals will be to launch the first elections (more on that below).
Statutes of the IJP
In order to register the association legally, we needed to define initial statutes. We will share the full text of these statutes very soon but in the meantime, here are some of the most important aspects that we covered and how we approached them.
First we defined the purpose, goals and values of the association (which we already shared here). Next, we defined the various roles contained within the association – from members to community representatives to those taking care of administrative tasks – along with the selection process for these roles. Finally, we defined the responsibilities and expectations for each role.
The most important part was creating statutes that are both robust enough to get the association started, as well as flexible enough to be easily adapted to future challenges. These statutes are not forever set in stone but rather serve as a foundation upon which the International Judge Program will build, adapt and evolve.
Structure of the Association
First Group: The Members
Members will be grouped according to regions that depend on geography, language and number of Judges.
Please note that the regions have not been defined yet. Doing so will be one of the essential tasks of the following roles.
Second Group: Region Representatives
Following regions, our second group aims to give an elected voice to each region (in addition to members’ individual voices).
If you already have (or plan to have) one or more Judge organizations within your region, you might wonder about the relationship between the Region Representative (RR) of the International Judge Program and the leadership of your regional Judge organization. We do not aim to replace an existing association and its leaders. We have consulted Spanish lawyers about options to automatically add those leaders as RR, but sadly there is no way to do so within the law, as the voting process of the local leadership cannot be separate from our association. If there is an existing association, both roles will co-exist (and might be the same person!).
As the name suggests, the RR are representatives. Elected RR will work together to define the regions, then will help judges inside their own region by organizing communication, providing advice and pushing feedback and issues to the governing body: the Program Leads.
Third Group: Program Leads
The program leads are the equivalent of a “board of directors” of an association. They will define the medium and long term goals of the IJP.
Program Leads are elected by the Regional Representatives.
To illustrate their responsibilities :
- There are 4 program leads, elected for 2 years each, with 2 of them rotating every year.
- They define the main goals of the association during their terms.
- They coordinate, support and empower volunteers to work toward the association’s goals.
- They are responsible for the finances of the association.
Fourth Group: Advisors
Depending on the need, advisors can be instituted to help on certain topics.
One great example is Judge Managers for Professional TOs. We believe that managers with this impact on the community should have a voice (and a look) at some discussions. In this example, Levels are a topic of discussion that Judge Managers should be invited to.
Advisors may or may not be a member of the association, and may not even be certified Judges.
Next Steps
Now that the structure is defined by a clear and legal document, the first mission of the Founding team is complete.
We will publish these documents (our statutes) for everyone to read in the coming days with additional comments and explanations, like details about the voting process. Also, we commit to provide similar updates at least every 2 months.
In terms of level definitions, exam creation, translations and all the Judge projects that you might expect, the project teams will start working on these topics as soon as the association goes live legally so stay tuned!
In the meantime, please join us next time as we discuss elections, votes, and how we will manage the next year!
The IJP Founding Team
Article written by Khanh Le Thien & Dan Schuster
