NAME

The name of the Organization shall be the Eastern Mediterranean Association of Medical Editors (EMAME).

NATURE OF THE ASSOCIATION

The Association shall be a non-governmental, non-partisan and non-profit organization whose mission is to support and promote medical journalism in the countries of the WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region by fostering networking, education, discussion, and exchange of information and knowledge. The Association should be an authoritative resource on current and emerging issues in the communication of scientific information.

OBJECTIVES

1. Promote cooperation and communication between editors of medical journals in the region and throughout the world.
2. Promote health care through the dissemination of high quality scientific medicine.
3. Improve editorial standards and promote professionalism in medical editing through education, self-criticism and self-governance.
4. Promote research in peer review and medical editing.
5. Co-operate with any national or international body, which pursues objectives similar to or compatible with the Association e.g the World Association of Medical Editors and the Forum for African Medical Editors. Contribute to the worldwide medical society.
6. Promote the provision of free access or special access to medical journals in developing countries, such as the HINARI initiative.
7. Promote international indexing.
8. Form an advisory board for WHO indexing, for which the quality not the quantity is important.
9. Promote continuing education for editors of medical journals with regular conferences and courses on an annual or 2-yearly basis.

RELATIONSHIPS WITH OTHER ASSOCIATIONS AND INSTITUTES

This Association will be closely affiliated to the World Health Organization, Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean and also will have close cooperation with the World Association of Medical Editors and the Forum for African Medical Editors and other international biomedical journal associations.

MEMBERSHIP

Section 1

Membership. Editors and previous editors of peer reviewed medical journals in the Region are eligible for membership. Editor is defined as: Editor-In-Chief, Deputy, Associate, Assistant, Supplement and Managing Editors. Members may vote, hold office, and serve on committees. The leadership of the Association shall preferably be selected from Editors or previous Editors only. 

Section 2

Associate membership. Others with responsibility for editing (e.g. technical or copy editors) or working on a peer-reviewed medical journal, or working in any branch of scientific communication in the Region, individuals representing scientific publications or publishing bodies in the Region, and scientists, researchers, academics and faculty members in the Region are eligible for associate membership.  Editorial board members will normally be eligible for associate membership unless they can show that they have full editorial duties.  Associate members shall have all rights and privileges of other members except that they may not vote or hold office.

Section 3

Honorary membership. Editors from outside the Region may be honorary members. Honorary membership may also be offered to internationally distinguished leaders in the field of scientific publication, and those who have made a major contribution to the Region. Honorary members should be nominated by 2 members with justification and approved by the Executive Council. Duration may range from 2 years to Emeritus and shall be clearly specified.  

Section 4

Admission to membership. Membership or Associate membership requires 1) completion of legible application form and 2) short CV. All applications shall be approved by the Executive Council. Appeals against negative decisions may be made to the Executive Council where two-thirds majority of the Council’s membership is required to overrule the decision.  

Section 5

Renewal of membership. Membership shall be for an open period. All members should ensure their membership details are kept up to date. Only members shall be eligible to vote, hold office and serve on committees. 

Section 6

Termination of membership. Members wishing to resign from any category of membership should do so in writing to the Secretary General. Termination of membership for cause requires two-thirds vote of the Executive Council. 

GENERAL ASSEMBLY 

This shall comprise the entire membership of the Association. The General Assembly will try to meet at least every 2 years. Voting shall be conducted electronically by the Administrative Secretary and counting of votes confirmed by the Secretary-General.  

EXECUTIVE COUNCIL 

The leadership of the Association shall be vested in the Executive Council, which shall consist of 1) President, 2) President Elect, 3) Past President, 4) Secretary-General/Treasurer, 5) 3 Vice-Presidents and 6) 4 Vice-Presidents at large. The Executive Council shall preferably be geographically diverse. 

Section 1

President. The President shall preside at all meetings of the Association and the Executive Council, including meetings conducted by electronic means. S/he shall appoint committee members and shall have such powers and perform such duties customary for an organization’s chief executive officer. The term of the President’s office shall be 2 years, non-renewable.

Past President. Upon completion of a term as President, the officer shall automatically become Past President for a period of 2 years.

President Elect. The President Elect shall be elected every 2 years, and serve for a period of 2 years at which time s/he shall become the President. S/he shall preside at meetings of the Executive Council or General Assembly in case of absence or disability of the President.

Vice-Presidents. The Vice-President shall be elected every 2 years, and is a non-renewable position.

Secretary-General/Treasurer. The Secretary-General/Treasurer shall keep, or cause to be kept, minutes of the meetings of the Executive Council and the members and shall be responsible for transcribing and distributing such minutes to the appropriate recipients within 30 days of each meeting. S/he shall in general be responsible for all funds and securities of the Association, including collection and receipt of monies due and payable to the Association and dispersion of appropriate payments. S/he shall be responsible for organizing and promoting membership, and present recommendations of new membership applicants to the Executive Council for final approval. S/he shall, in general, perform such other duties assigned by the President or Executive Council. His or her term of office shall be for 2 years, and renewable for any number of terms.

Vice-Presidents at-large. The term of office for Vice-Presidents at-large shall be 2 years, non-renewable. Initially, the terms shall be staggered so that no more than one position becomes vacant each year. The Vice-Presidents at-large shall have all the privileges of the Executive Council, including deciding on agenda items, but without voting power, except for changes to the constitution when they shall have full voting power and two-thirds of the Executive Council including the Vice-Presidents at-large must agree. 

Section 2

Election of Executive Council. The Executive Council shall be elected from the General Assembly. The Executive Council will supervise future elections and ensure that the election is carried out democratically. A special committee with specific guidelines outlined by the Executive Council should be appointed. 

Section 3

Vacancies. If a vacancy occurs on the Executive Council, it shall be filled by appointment by the President with advice from the Executive Council. Such appointment shall continue until the next regular election when the office shall be filled by the procedures described elsewhere herein. If the office of President becomes vacant, the President Elect shall assume the responsibilities of the President until the next regular meeting of the General Assembly. 

Section 4

Dismissal. Any Executive Council member may be removed from the Council by a two-thirds vote of the full Executive Council. 

Section 5

Meeting of the Executive Council. The Executive Council shall conduct its work by e-mail and meet by telephone conference or in person at the regional conference when occasion arises.  

Section 6

Administrative Secretary. The Executive Council shall appoint an Administrative Secretary who will work with the President, Secretary-General/Treasurer and all members of the Executive Council and will handle membership applications.

COMMUNICATION WITH MEMBERS 

Section 1

A listserv for the Association will be hosted by the WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean, the moderation of which shall be handled by a WHO member of EMAME. The means of communication between the Executive Council and the General Assembly and among the General Assembly shall be by electronic mail and the EMAME listserv. Each member shall be responsible for maintaining an up-to-date e-mail address with the Secretary. 

Section 2

Meetings of the General Assembly shall take place if possible once every 2 years, at the time of the Regional Conference on Medical Journals in the Eastern Mediterranean Region. Notice of such meetings shall be sent to members at least 90 days in advance of said meetings. 

COMMITTEES 

The President with the advice of the Executive Council can appoint committees and sub-committees for the development of EMAME. S/he may also appoint ad hoc committees to undertake specific tasks on behalf of the Association for a certain period of time as required, and to appoint members to such committees. Chairs of the committees shall be appointed every 2 years. The Chairs of said committees shall report to the Executive Council at least annually and all reports released publicly shall first be sent to the Executive Council for review and approval. The appointment of such committees shall be accompanied by a written statement of (a) purpose, (b) member and chair, and (c) anticipated life of the committee or task force. 

QUORUM 

Section 1

General Assembly. Any number of members in attendance will form a quorum, with the assurance that all members are notified 90 days in advance of the meeting via the EMAME listserv.  

Section 2

Executive Council. Half of the members, excluding Vice-Presidents at large, must take part. Decisions of the Executive Council shall be by majority, except for changes to the constitution, dismissal or dissolution where a two-thirds majority is required.  

AMENDMENTS 

Section 1

Proposal. Amendments to this constitution may be proposed by (a) majority vote of the Executive Council or (b) a petition signed by at least 10% of the regular members. Such proposed amendments shall identify the relevant article and section and state the precise words to be amended. Such amendments shall be submitted in writing to the President. 

Section 2

Vote. Upon receipt of an amendment proposal as outlined in Section 1 of this article, the Secretary-General/Treasurer shall within 60 days cause the proposed amendment to be sent to members for vote. A majority of those voting shall be required for adoption of the amendment. 

Section 3

Notification. The Secretary-General/Treasurer shall notify the membership of the results of a vote conducted in accordance with Section 2 of this article. 

RATIFICATION OF CONSTITUTION  

This constitution shall require for its ratification an affirmative vote from two-thirds of the total membership of the General Assembly. The Constitution shall become effective upon such ratification.