Expansion
GENERAL TERMS
According to the ICM Decision Book, expansion is the process of establishing presence of National and Local Groups and furthering their development in the respective European States and law faculties. Our internal regulations (Article 5 of the Statutes) define the geographical boundaries of Europe:
Portugal in the west,
Iceland, Sweden, Norway and Finland in the north,
Ural Mountains, Ural River and Caspian Sea in the east,
Caucasus Mountains, Black Sea as well as Bosphorus and Dardanelles in the south.
The countries on the border between Europe and Asia - Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Russia and Turkey - are considered to belong to Europe. Therefore, taking into account the current state of the network (44 countries), Kazakhstan remains the only undeveloped area.
In addition, in accordance with Article 1 of the Standing Orders, our Association is faculty-based. Local Groups may be created only in law faculties of private and public universities. For ELSA's purposes term "law faculty" means an educational institution offering courses that enable the students enrolled thereto to enter a kind of legal profession. A key element is the substancial amount of law-related classes that enable the achievement of ELSA objectives. Therefore, the demarcation may differ depending on the country and the education system.
We also have a limit of expansion activities. According to the ICM Decision Book (Article 3.1 Chapter 4, Part 2 BEE), expansion of ELSA shall continue until National and Local Groups are present at all law faculties in European States. We therefore still have some work to do in this regard.
"TO DO" LIST
There is no one good way to expand, as many actions depend on external factors. However, you shall remember the basic rules:
Make sure you have a group of students - initiators committed to achieving the goal. You can bring great plans and strategies but without the support of the students who study at the faculty and know the internal rules of proceeding as well as the needs of the community, your efforts will be futile.
Take care of the recognition of the faculty authorities. The Local Group must have a legal basis so keep in touch with the designated faculty officials to ensure that the new organisation is officially recognised.
Work on at least an annual action plan. Good intentions are not everything, it is necessary to ensure an appropriate level of activity of the Local Group. Only by acting will you be able to encourage people to join and stay longer.
Work on external support. At first, the financial needs are not large, but recognition in the professional environment can only help you grow.
Make sure the governance structure is stable. The initiators will go away someday, and the Local Group shall survive. Therefore, work from the beginning with the proper training and transfer of knowledge to the next generations of Officers.
For more details, please read the Expansion Manual on the Officers Portal.