Charter 2.3 – Full Members
Full Members of the Association shall be local spheres of government (local and regional governments and authorities), as defined in the particular country, and international, regional, national and sub-national associations of such municipal governments and authorities, which support the Association’s mission, mandate and principles as stated in the Charter. In case of doubt the Executive Committee determines the eligibility for full membership of a type of government or authority in a country.
By-Laws
§ 2.3.a – Full Members shall have unlimited membership rights granted by the Charter. They shall participate fully in the governance of the Association. These rights shall be suspended if the Full Member is more than one year in arrears with its membership dues.
§ 2.3.b – The following are generally eligible for admission as Full Members: local governments, local authorities and municipalities, as defined in the particular country; national associations of local governments; other associations of local governments; institutes owned by local governments.
§ 2.3.c – The following are eligible per special decision by the Executive Committee: Prefectures in Japan; Region of Brussels in Belgium
Charter 2.4 – Associate Members
Individual locally elected and appointed officials, as well as state, national, and international governments, government agencies, and governmental officials, private corporations and non-governmental organizations may become Associate Members upon application.
By-Laws
§ 2.4.a – The purpose of granting Associate Membership is to provide individuals and organizations interested in ICLEI’s work with a way of supporting ICLEI’s work and getting access to information.
§ 2.4.b – Fees for Associate Membership shall be fixed so that revenues exceed related costs. Associate Members may be granted preferential rates for participation in events and training courses, and preferential prices for ICLEI publications and other materials.
§ 2.4.c – Associate Members shall not take part in ICLEI’s organizational governance and thus have no right to vote in the Council Meeting nor to endorse candidates for the Executive Committee elections.
§ 2.4.d – Associate Members shall be given access to information in relation to ICLEI’s Movement and Agency functions (campaigns, programs and services) but not to information related to organizational governance and internal management.
Charter 2.5 – Obtaining Membership
Membership may be requested by submitting an application, through which process the Charter is explicitly accepted, and paying an annual dues fee. The Executive Committee reviews applications and accepts or rejects the application according to criteria specified in the By-Laws. Membership becomes effective with acceptance in writing by the Association and receipt of the first annual dues fee.
By-Laws
§ 2.5.a – ICLEI offices shall provide membership application forms. The Secretary General shall name agents (usually ICLEI offices) that are authorized to receive and process membership applications.
§ 2.5.b – An applicant shall be eligible for membership if the criteria for either Full or Associate Membership according to Articles 2.4 and 2.5 of the Charter are fulfilled.
§ 2.5.c – The Secretary General or designate shall review membership applications and determine if the applicant meets the membership criteria doubtlessly. If this is the case the applicant may receive a preliminary admission subject to confirmation by the Executive Committee. If this is not the case the decision by the Executive Committee must be awaited.
§ 2.5.d – The Executive Committee delegates the admission and confirmation of members to the Management Committee.
Procedures
When an application is received by Regional offices it is sent to the RO Membership responsible and processed.
The specific protocol differs from office to office, but all applications are verified, the Member is contacted for confirmation, the information is entered into the database locally and an invoice is issued to the Member.
Membership becomes official upon payment of the invoice to the Regional office and information is forwarded to Global Membership (membership@iclei.org).
Global Membership enters the information on the application into the ICLEI global database, onto the website and sends out the Member Welcome package to the new Member – consisting of a certificate and a booklet with information for new Members with their login information to the Members-Only section of the global website.