Our Rules & Regulations

DEFINITIONS

  • Board of Directors
  • Executive Committee
  • Board of Advisors
  • Head Representatives & their committee
  • Membership
  • Elections & Voting
  • Function of each position
  • Meetings
  • Order of Minutes of Meeting
  • The Five Pillars
  • Leave of absence
  • Finances
  • Method of approving Membership
  • Resolutions
  • Amendments

ARTICLE 1. BOARD OF DIRECTORS

The Board of Directors consists of members, namely President, Vice-President, Chief Operations Officer, Finance Officer and Secretary. The Board of Directors governs the association and all final approval is given by it for any decision related to policies and/or internal regulations of the association. Each member of the Board of Directors is elected in accordance with article 6, section 1 and 2 of these rules and regulations.

ARTICLE 2. EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

The Executive Committee consists of members, namely Support & Training Director, Fundraising Director, Marketing & PR Director and Research Director. The Executive Committee, along with the Board of Directors, participates and recommends in the overall planning and strategies of the association to assure that the objectives are attained. Each member of the Executive Committee is elected in accordance with article 6, section 1 & 2 of these rules and regulations.

ARTICLE 3. BOARD OF ADVISORS

The Board of Advisors consists of medical doctors, psychologists and nutritionists with expertise in the field of eating disorders. They have a minimum of 10 years experience. The Board of Advisors may give recommendations in the overall strategies of the association to assure that the objectives are attained. Each member of the Board of Advisors is carefully selected in accordance with article 6, section 3 of these rules and regulations.

ARTICLE 4. HEAD REPRESENTATIVES & THEIR COMMITTEE

The Head Representatives consists of members that act as leaders on behalf of the association in their respective country in the Middle East namely Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Bahrain, Oman, Syria, Iraq and Yemen. Also included in the list is Egypt and Turkey. The Head Representatives are responsible for establishing a committee, approved by the Executive Board, to assist them in their endeavors for the association to assure that the objectives are attained. Each Head Representative is elected in accordance with article 6, section 4 of these rules and regulations. The Committee namely, Support & Training Team, Research Coordinator & Activity Coordinator, will assist the Head Representative in attaining the objectives set for the association. The Head Representative of each country will recruit volunteers to establish the committee, approved by the Board.

ARTICLE 5. MEMBERSHIP

The Professional membership is reserved for medical doctors, psychologists and nutritionists wanting to become members of the association. As members, they would benefit: Special discounts on all the accredited trainings provided through the association. Receive newsletters. Participate in and attend any fundraising event or any other activities aimed to assure that the objectives of the association are attained. Be listed on the online support helpline directory, provided they have attended the necessary training. An annual membership fee of USD 100.00 is payable at: MEEDA’s main office Beirut – Lebanon Bank Audi (more information will be posted soon)

ARTICLE 6. ELECTIONS & VOTING

Section 1– At a regular meeting one month prior to the annual ordinary meeting held in January of each year for the declaration to the Ministry Of Interior. During the meeting held before the General Assembly Meeting for the elections (once each two years) the presiding officer shall ask for nominations by members of the association for President, Vice-President, Chief Finance Officer, Chief Operations Officer, Secretary and other directors. The nominations may be presented by a ‘nominating committee’ or by members from the floor, by either or by both, association may determine. The nominations duly made shall be placed in a ballot in alphabetical order under each office and shall be voted for at the annual meeting. The candidates for President, Vice-President, Chief Finance Officer, Chief Operations Officer, Secretary with a majority of the votes shall be declared elected to their respective offices 1 year before commencing. The elected candidate for president in such balloting shall be the president-nominee and shall assume office as president 1 month immediately following that year. If the president-nominee and the nominees for all the other positions of the association, currently hold a position, they will continue in their respected offices until the following year, whereby they shall assume their new roles. The Executive Committee, Board of Advisors, Head Representatives and their committee, Professional members of the association, as well as the Board of Directors themselves are all eligible to vote for the selected nominating candidates having presented themselves for the positions constituting the Board of Directors. Elections are held every 2 years, for the exception of the following first 3 years (from 2013-2016) in order to establish the foundations of the association. Once the 3 years have past and elections carried out a year prior (2015), this sentence within the rules and regulations will be amended and the elections will be carried out as stated every 2 years starting 2016. Members can be re-elected to continue remaining in Office for 2 consecutive terms only, if they wish to accept. At which time, someone new would be elected to preside in the position. Candidates presenting themselves for the positions constituting the Executive Committee: Support & Training Director, Fundraising Director, Marketing & PR Director and Research Director, will be elected only by the Board of Directors once the Board of Directors have been elected. The candidates who received a majority of the votes shall be declared elected as the directors of the Executive Committee. Once a member of the Board of Director has completed their term in position, will automatically act as past-elected member, who can, if choosing, be a Board of Advisor member, and will retain their previous title with the word: ‘Past-‘ for example: ‘Past-President’ etc. Section 2 – If any official member would wish to terminate their role, they would have to do so by writing to the Board. The necessary action will then be taken to fill the position with another candidate, for the exception of the President, whose position would be taken by the Vice-President. The Vice-President’s position would then need to be filled by a qualified candidate. Section 3 – Board of Advisors is chosen by the Board of Directors according to their expertise in the field of medicine, psychology and nutrition. The Board of Advisors consists of experts with exemplary standards of care and would assure that the objectives of the association are attained. They must have a minimum of 10 years experience to be eligible to act as an advisor for the association. Section 4 – Nominating candidates for the position of Head Representatives are approved by the Board of Directors to ensure the candidates fulfill criteria. The Board of Directors, Executive Committee as well as the Head Representative committee can all participate in the voting of the Head Representative.

ARTICLE 7. FUNCTION OF EACH POSITION

Section 1 – President: To lead the association as the chairman of the Board, to provide broad policy guidance in order to achieve the association’s objectives. Section 2 – Vice-President: It shall be the duty of the vice-president to preside at meetings of the association and the board in the absence of the president and to perform other duties as ordinarily pertain to the office of vice-president. Section 3 – Chief Finance Officer: It shall be the function of the Chief Finance Officer to be in charge of the day-to-day accounting operations of the association. Preparation of accurate and timely monthly financial statements. Follows defined policies for assuring financial controls are in place and being implemented. Section 4 – Chief Operations Officer: Participates and recommends in the formulation of policies and makes decisions within existing policies as they have been approved by the Board of Directors. Plans, organizes, directs and coordinates the team, programs and activities of the association to assure that the objectives are attained, plans fulfilled and member needs met. Section 5 – Secretary: Will prepare and maintain any official documents of the association. It shall be the duty of the secretary to keep membership records; record attendance at meetings; send out notices of board and committee meetings; record, preserve and email the minutes of such meetings; report annually the memberships including new and old as well as resignations, provide monthly attendance report. Section 6 – Support & Training Director: Will be in charge of developing a plan to provide support to people with eating disorders. Will also ensure to deliver accredited trainings to all the members of the association as well as potential members in line with the objectives of the association. Sections 7 – Fundraising Director: To increase the income of the association by a variety of means, including preparation of grant applications, approaching charitable trusts and companies for support and engaging individuals in fundraising activities. To communicate sponsorship and fund-raising opportunities of the association to an identified and agreed range of suppliers. Section 8 – Marketing & PR Director: Develops and manages the marketing strategy for the association’s programs and services. Is in charge of all the association’s communication and public relations activities. Section 9 – Research Director: Will be in charge of proposing, planning and conducting research projects in line with the objectives of the association. Section 10 – Head Representative: Represents the association in their respective country. Will plan, organize, direct and coordinate their team to assure that the objectives of the association are attained.

ARTICLE 8. MEETINGS

Meetings will be held either face to face whenever possible or via online conference (e.g. Skype). Section 1 – Annual Meeting. An annual meeting of this association shall be held on the 3rd week of January in each year. Election of officers and directors will be carried out every 2 years, a year before the elected candidates commence. Section 2 – The Board of Directors will be meeting bi-monthly and so is the Executive Committee of this association. The meetings shall be held from 6 to 7pm every Thursday or on any other agreed day and time suitable to all members. Both, Board of Directors and the Executive Committee will be meeting on one of the bi-monthly meetings on a day and time that would be established. Attendance must be evidenced by being present for at least sixty (60) percent of the time devoted to the regular meeting. Section 3 – Regular meetings of the Board of Directors shall be held on a set day of each month. Special meetings of the board shall be called by the president, whenever deemed necessary. Section 4 – Professional members may attend a regular board meeting, as a speaker, once a month, but it is not an obligation. They must however attend a fundraising event, activity or an annual event (when/if possible) as mentioned in article 5. Section 5 – Friend members do not attend meetings and are not listed. They will receive newsletters, be informed of the different activities and events taking place, which they can attend if they wish, as mentioned in article 5.

ARTICLE 9. ORDER OF MINUTES OF MEETING

Meeting called to order. Correspondence, announcements, and information. Reports if any. Any pending issues. Any new issues. Address or other (such as a speaker from the Board of Advisors as stated in article 8, section 4 of these rules and regulations). Adjournment.

ARTICLE 10. THE FIVE PILLARS

MEEDA will apply and adhere to the five pillars, being a practical framework for the work of this association, namely 1) Raising awareness, 2) Prevention, 3) Research, 4) Support, 5) Working together. This association will be active in each of the five pillars mentioned.

ARTICLE 11. LEAVE OF ABSENCE

Upon written application to the board, setting forth good and sufficient cause, leave of absence may be granted excusing a Board member or Executive Committee member from attending the meetings of the association for a specified length of time. (Note: Such leave of absence does operate to prevent a forfeiture of membership; it does not operate to give the association credit for the member’s attendance. Unless the member attends a conference or other meetings related to eating disorders, the excused member must be recorded as absent).

ARTICLE 12. FINANCES

Section 1 – Prior to the beginning of each fiscal year, the board shall prepare a budget of estimated income and expenditures for the year, which shall stand as the limit of expenditures for these purposes, unless otherwise ordered by action of the board. The budget shall be broken into two separate parts: one in respect to the association operations and one in respect of the charitable/service operations. Section 2 – The Chief Finance Officer shall deposit all association funds in the association’s bank account, named by the board. The association funds shall be divided into two separate parts: association operations and service projects. Section 3 – All bills shall be approved by the President and the Chief Finance Officer and co-signed by the both. Section 4 – A thorough review of all financial transactions by a qualified person shall be made once each year. Section 5 – The fund shall, at its own cost, ensure proper insurance coverage for the following: 1) Cash in transit for the value up to $25,000. 2) Money insurance including Fidelity insurance. Section 6 – The fiscal year of this association shall extend from January to December of each year.

ARTICLE 13. METHOD OF APPROVING NEW MEMBERSHIP

Section 1 – The name of a prospective member, proposed by a Professional member of the association, shall be submitted to the board in writing, through the association Vice President. Section 2 – The Vice-President shall ensure that the proposal meets all the classification and membership requirements of the standard constitution of MEEDA. Section 3 – The Board of Directors shall approve or disapprove the proposal within 7 days of its submission and shall notify the proposer, through the association secretary, of its decision. Section 4 – If the decision of the Board is favorable; the prospective member shall be informed of the purposes of MEEDA and of the privileges and responsibilities of membership, following which the prospective member shall be requested to sign the membership proposal form and to permit his or her name and proposed classification to be published in the association. Section 5 – If no written objection to the proposal, stating reasons, is received by the Board from any member of the association within seven days following publication of information about the prospective member, that person, upon payment of the admission fee, as prescribed in these rules and regulations in article 9, shall be considered to be elected to membership.

ARTICLE 14. RESOLUTIONS

The association shall not consider any resolution or motion to commit the association on any matter until the Board has considered it. Such resolutions or motions, if offered at a meeting, shall be referred to the Board without discussion.