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Fides members honour truth and integrity in reporting. The society recognises excellence and organises meetings.
Fides is managed by its board, consisting of a President, a Secretary and a Treasurer. The board is elected at the annual general meeting and serves till the next one. The President and the Treasurer have signature authority, each separately.
After election, the board can appoint a Chancellor to serve as the symbolic head of the society and chair meetings until the next election.
Fides members are present or former communicators and influencers dedicated to honest news and information. The annual general meeting meeting sets the annual membership fee.
Members are inducted in a two-stage process. A new member is proposed to the board by a current member, who vouches for the applicant’s integrity and professional credentials. The board decides whether to endorse or dismiss the application..
Endorsed applications are presented to the next members meeting for approval or rejection. The meeting’s agenda includes the name, age, nationality, address and professional experience of applicants, and the same information about the member who has endorsed each. The board can cancel deceitful memberships and subsequent memberships endorsed by them.
The meeting will not consider applications that are not on the agenda and have not been endorsed by the board. Endorsed applicants can attend the members meeting but without voting rights.
The register contains each member’s name, address, date of birth, nationality, professional experience and areas of specialisation.
It records who vouched for the member, and whom that member subsequently proposed for membership. In joining Fides each member grants permission for the storage and use of this information to the extent permitted by law.
A member resigns by sending a letter of resignation to the board. The board can regard a member as having resigned if the annual membership fee is unpaid by the following February.
A member can be expelled for dishonesty or for action contrary to the aims and purpose of Fides. The proposal to expel a member must come from at least three members. The expulsion is decided by the next members meeting.
Former members have no claim on the assets of Fides.
The board of Fides sends invitations to members by mail or email at least 7 days before the meeting. The invitation must include a full agenda.
The annual general meeting is held between January and May on a date set by the board. After hearing a review of the past year, the meeting votes on discharging the board from financial responsibility.
The annual general meeting elects board members and two auditors for the year ahead, and can accept or reject new members from the list presented in the agenda.
Board members and auditors must renounce other positions, appointments or engagements that could conflict with the best interests of Fides.
Those with loyalties that cannot reasonably be renounced must recuse themselves from related discussion and voting. Apparent but inconsequential conflicts of interest must be reported and recorded by the board.
Fides is a voluntary non-profit society registered in Finland Ry3526387-1. The society’s regulations in Finnish, held at the Patent and Registration Office in Helsinki, have authentic force.