MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA NUTRITION ASSOCIATION
(M E N A N A)

By-Laws

Article I
Nature and Purposes

1- The Middle East and North Africa Nutrition Association (MENANA) hereinafter called “the Association”, is established as a regional association of professional nutrition societies in countries of the Middle East and North Africa.  It is a voluntary, non-profit organization whose membership shall consist of national nutrition societies and nutrition centers in countries of the Middle East and North Africa.  The Association enjoys affiliation status with the International Union of Nutritional Sciences.

2- The overall objective of the Association is to promote the advancement of nutrition sciences and the interest of professional nutritionists in the Middle East and North Africa in a way, which does not detract the autonomy of any of the member societies.

3-Specific objectives of the Association are:

- To encourage and promote closer contact and interaction between nutritional societies and nutritional centers within the Middle East and North Africa.

- To encourage and support the holding of conferences and workshops that will allow nutritionists to exchange experiences with their peers and with colleagues from within the Middle east and North Africa, and from other continents.

- To encourage and support training programmers and educational courses that will improve the quality of nutritional research, teaching and service delivery, in the Middle East and North Africa.

- Such other activities as are commensurate with promoting nutrition among scientists in the Middle East and North Africa and explaining the role of  nutritionists to society in general

- To re-conceptualize the role of the nutrition profession in the Middle East and North Africa in a changing global economy.

- To encourage communication and collaboration among nutrition scientists in the region.

- To encourage and promote dissemination of information in nutritional sciences through modern information and communication technology (ICT).

Article II
Membership

1- Membership of the Association shall be open to all non-profit national nutrition societies of countries in the Middle East and North Africa which have a constitution acceptable to the Association Council. One or more society(ies) from each country may join the Association.

2- Application for membership: A society wishing to join the Association should forward to the Secretary General an application containing:

a)      The statutes, by-laws or constitution of the society.

b)      A summary of the activities of the society over the previous three years.

c)      Evidence to show that the society is a national nutrition society.

3- The secretary will present the completed applications to be considered as soon as possible by the Association’s Council.  Applications are   accepted when at least 50% of the council members are in favor   (indicated by mail).

4- Founding Member Societies [countries] will be those which were present at the Founding Meeting or which had indicated, in writing, their support for establishment of the Association even though they may have been unable to be represented at the meeting.

5- Societies wishing to apply for membership of the Association after   adoption of the By-Laws may do so at any time. The president of the society shall write to the President of the Association, indicating the wish for membership of the majority of members of that society/center and enclosing the requirements as stipulated in clause 2, Article II here above.

6- Member societies can withdraw from the Association by giving three months notice in writing to the President.

7- Membership of a society may be terminated by a two-thirds majority vote of all members in postal ballot.            

8- Annual membership fees are established at 100 dollars U.S. per year for each country.

Article III
Administration

The Council
                 A Council shall govern the Association. The Council shall conduct all the affairs of the Association on behalf of member societies. The Council shall consist of the President, Vice-President, a Secretary and a Treasurer and at least three ordinary members and the immediate past president. The Council may co-opt persons to serve as advisors, with no voting rights on the Council.

The term of office
                 The term of office for all members of the council shall be 4 years - from the end of one General Assembly meeting to the end of the succeeding one. Executive members of the Council are eligible to seek re-election, but may not serve on the executive for more than two consecutive terms.

Voting
                 Resolutions of the Council shall be carried by a two-thirds majority of those present at the Council except when indicated.

Functions of the Council
The Council shall decide on all matters concerning the Association. In particular it shall:

a) Decide on the acceptance of the membership of new societies.

b) Every four years, elects a President at the General Assembly.  The President-elect, who shall hold office for four years, shall not be from the same country as the immediate past president. The President shall be the chairperson of all meetings of the Council.

c) Decide on modifications to the By-Laws and on dissolution of the Association

d) Decide on the venue of the next Council meeting;

e) Appoint standing committees to carry out specific functions, and receive reports of those committees.

f) Decide upon the recipients of the Association’s prizes, medals and other awards.

Article IV
Duties of the Executives

The President
                 The President shall be responsible for calling and chairing all meetings of the Council and General Assembly, and shall serve as the official spokesperson of the Association. The President shall represent the Association on any other organization to which the Association may become affiliated.

The Vice-President
                 The Vice-President shall assist the President and substitute for the President at the request of the latter or if the latter is unable to discharge duties.

The Secretary

a) The Secretary shall distribute to every member of the Council at least two months notice of the date, time and place of the meeting and documents required for the functioning of the Council meetings.

b) The Secretary shall be responsible for maintaining non-financial records of the Association correspondence and contact with member societies and those organizations to which the Association becomes affiliated.

c) The Secretary shall be responsible for preparing a directory of member societies.

d) The Secretary shall be responsible for such other duties as required by Council through the President.

e) The Secretary shall record and keep minutes of all meetings of the Council and the General Assembly.

The Treasurer

a) The treasurer shall prepare and distribute budgets.

b) Collect dues, grants or donations made to the Association.

c) Make such payments as required by Council in the furtherance of the objectives of the Association.

d) Submit audited accounts to Council annually and to the delegates of the member societies at the General Assembly.

e) Keep records of accounts showing details of all receipts, payments, assets and liabilities and shall prepare and circulate annual accounts within three months of the end of each financial year to all member societies.

f) Collaborate with the Auditor appointed by the General Assembly to audit the annual accounts of the Association prior to circulation of the audit report to member societies.

Article V
Elections

1-Any member of a member society is eligible for election to the Council.

2-The Secretary shall call for initial nominations from member societies, up to a maximum of three nominations from any one country. This call shall take place at least 6 months before a General Assembly, and the closing date for nominations shall be 3 months from the date of dispatch of the call for nominations.

3-At the same time, a Nominations Committee shall be appointed by the Council, consisting of three non-Council members of member societies under the chairmanship of the President or of another member of the Council who is not standing for election in the case where the President has been nominated for re-election.

4-The Nominations Committee is required to present from the initial nominations list, the names of at least one and not more than three candidates for each of the executive positions, and in the case of the position of President, the names of two candidates only shall be presented.

5-The names of candidates who were not brought forward by the Nominations Committee for executive positions shall normally be brought forward as nominations for non-executive Council positions. Further nominations may be accepted if this is deemed advisable by the Council.

6-All candidates must have given their consent and have agreed to serve in office if elected. Candidates may not be nominated for more than one executive position.

7-The names of nominated candidates shall be given to the Secretary by the chairperson of the Nominations Committee at least 10 weeks before the date of the General Assembly and dispatched to member societies without delay.

8-Election of candidates for members of Council shall normally take place at a General Assembly meeting. The Assembly shall first elect an Electoral Officer, who shall not be a candidate, and whose duty will be to supervise the election procedure. Each member of the General Assembly is entitled to vote for one candidate for each executive position and for six candidates for ordinary members of Council. Voting will take place by written secret ballot, with election first for executive and, when results of this are known, for non-executive members of council. The Electoral Officer is in each case responsible for the counting of votes cast, and shall declare the candidate(s) with the greatest number of votes as having been duly elected.

Article VI
General Assembly

1-A General Assembly shall be the governing body of the Association, and membership shall consist of delegates from each member society and the Council of the Association.  Member societies are responsible for the appointment or election of delegates and for the attendance of such delegates at the General Assembly. The General Assembly shall be responsible for the election of a Council, which shall be responsible for the day to day running of the Association.

2-A General Assembly shall normally convene every four years at a venue decided by the Council. Notice of such a meeting shall be given to all member societies at least 6 months in advance.

3-One delegate and a deputy shall be nominated to attend the General Assembly by the member society(ies) in each country.  The delegate eligible to vote shall be duly accredited.

4-A quorum shall be 50% of the delegates of member societies, though for the purposes of election of Council or other business, postal votes from bona fide delegates received before the start of the General Assembly may be counted as signifying "attendance" at that meeting.

5-Observers may attend a General Assembly meeting at the invitation of the President, but shall have no voting rights.

6-The Council is required to present, at each General Assembly meeting, reports on the activities of the Association, to announce any changes in membership accepted by the Council, to present audited accounts, and to answer such queries as may arise from delegates.

7-Members of the General Assembly shall discuss proposed changes to By-laws of the Association. Changes in the latter require the assent of at least 2/3 of all the members present, while other decisions shall require a simple majority. Except for election of Council members, voting shall be by show of hands.

8-The President shall have the casting vote in cases of a tie, except in case of elections to the Council, where the Electoral Officer has the casting vote.

Article VII
Finance

1- The Association shall be financed by:

a) The dues paid by its members at the rates established by the General Assembly.

b) Donations and gifts from members that are accepted by the Council.

c) Other funds that it may receive such as interests accrued on its investments and/or endowments.

d) Gifts and donations from other sources shall require prior clearance from the Council.

2- The dues established by the General Assembly shall be payable in January of each year.

3- Members who fail to pay dues for two consecutive years shall have their rights and privileges suspended until payment is effected.

4- The Treasurer shall be responsible for the receipt of monies and its payment into a bank account of the Association. The Treasurer shall be responsible for payments or other expenditure made on behalf of the Association, subject to the provisions of the requirements of Council, and may make such payments or expenditure according to and under the direction of the decisions of Council.

5- Each society shall be responsible for the annual payment of its membership dues.

6- The Treasurer shall notify each member society of the payment due for the subsequent year and the dues must be paid within a specified time or the member is declared in arrears. Any member in arrears beyond two years shall have no voting rights.

7- The treasurer shall advise the executive officers on all financial matter.

8- The Treasurer shall prepare a proposed annual budget and present it to the Council.

9- The Association shall be committed financially by the joint signature of two members of the Council and designated by it.

Article VIII
Amendments

 1- Proposals for amending the By-Laws of the Association may be made either by the Council or by at least two-thirds of member countries, provided that in the latter case the Council receives the proposal within 6 months following the last regular session of the General Assembly, and must be submitted in writing to the Secretary at least six months before the date of the next General Assembly meeting.

2- The proposal shall be submitted to the General Assembly, whose decision shall be taken by a two thirds majority of the members present and voting.

Article IX
Dissolution of the Association

 1- A proposal to dissolve the Association must be submitted in writing to the Secretary at least one year prior to the General Assembly meeting. A resolution to dissolve the Association requires the agreement of two thirds of all members of the Association.

2- If in any case the General Assembly votes in favour of dissolution of the Association, the Council will be responsible for the disposal of any assets of the Association as it sees fit, taking due note of the objectives of the Association and the member societies in benefit.

Article X
Entry into force

1. A proposal to dissolve the Association can be made by one third of member countries and must be submitted in writing to the Secretary at least one year prior to the General Assembly meeting. A resolution to dissolve the Association requires the agreement of two thirds of all members of the Association.

2. If in any case the General Assembly votes in favour of dissolution of the Association, the Council will be responsible for the disposal of any assets of the Association as it sees fit, taking due notes of the objectives of the Association and the member societies in benefit.

Article X
Entry into force