GIJN Schedules 2024 Board Election

We call for nominations to the Board of Directors of GIJN. This year, we are electing three regional representatives (North America, Latin America/Caribbean, and Middle East/North Africa) and four at-large directors for the 15-person board.

To be eligible to run, candidates must be affiliated with a GIJN member organization and their candidacy must be endorsed by that organization.

Candidates should send a photo, short bio, and a statement about why they want to join the GIJN Board to secretariat@gijn.org. These will be posted on the GIJN website. Candidates should also submit a letter of endorsement that confirms their eligibility. All nominations must be submitted by October 14, 2024 at 23:59 CET.

Once those nominations are in, details of the candidates will be circulated and posted on the website. A ballot will be emailed to the designated representative of each member organization. Voting will take place between October 28 and November 11, 2024.

The Board

To ensure diversity, the GIJN board reserves seats for representatives from six geographic regions. Another eight seats are for at-large members. A 15th board position is reserved for a representative of the host organization for the next global conference.

Regional board members are divided into the following regions and two election groups:

• Group 1: North America, Latin America/Caribbean, Middle East/North Africa.
• Group 2: Europe, Asia/Pacific, Sub-Saharan Africa.

This year we will vote on the three regional members from Group 1 and four at-large board-members. Board members serve for a two-year term.

Duties of the Board

GIJN is a US-registered nonprofit corporation, and the board serves as its governing body. Board members play an active leadership role, carrying out the fiduciary (financial) duties of oversight, and providing strategic direction, administrative oversight, and general support to the organization. Duties include (but are not limited to) attending board and board committee meetings, setting key GIJN policies, approving new membership applications, approving the annual budget, evaluating and overseeing the executive director, and providing fundraising support.

Board members, as representatives of the membership, will also be asked to provide advisory input into — but do not carry out — conference organizing, training, and other program activities. Conference and program activities are overseen and carried out by the staff.

Board Election Rules

Current GIJN Board

Board Election Rules (Bylaws)

If only one candidate, or no candidates, run for the board in that region, no election will be held for that region. If only one is running, he or she will be elected. If two or more candidates get equal votes, the election committee will decide by flipping a coin. All member representatives are entitled to vote for election of the four at-large members. Each member organization can vote for a maximum of four board members.

If an individual has already been elected as a regional representative, he or she shall be removed from the list of elected at-large representatives. Similarly, if an individual’s election would mean one region exceeds the allowable amount of four at-large representatives, he or she shall be removed from the list of at-large representatives.

The four candidates with the most votes are elected, unless it will conflict with the two rules mentioned above. If there is a tie in the voting, the decision will be made by the election officer flipping a coin.

The board member for the organization hosting the next global conference does not count in the calculation on maximum five members in the board from one region.

If there are more candidates than seats, we will hold an election using electronic voting. Voting will open at 12:01 am CET, Monday, October 28, and end at 11:59 pm, Monday, November 11, 2024, CET.

Anton Harber, a current board member not running in this election, will serve as the election officer, overseeing the voting process, with the assistance of the GIJN staff. Results will be certified by the GIJN executive director, overseen by a GIJN committee of board members not up for election this year.

The results of the electronic voting will be announced following completion, tabulation, and certification of the vote. The new board members will replace the previous members at the next board meeting in December 2024.