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INTRODUCTION
Malësia e Madhe Association New York was established as a result of the merger of two associations (Humanitarian Fund "Malësia" and the "Ded Gjo' Luli" Association), which were very active and worked continuously for the national matter from 1994 to 2015. In order to strengthen our national movement to help out the part of the Albanian people who live in Montenegro, and more specifically the population of the Highlands, we decided to merge these two associations and the other part of the highland community and to establish Malësia e Madhe Association New York. We, as indivisible members of our country, acknowledge our right and obligation to assist our homeland through various means of activities. Furthermore, we have the right and obligation to speak louder and will not stop doing so, with the domestic authorities, as well as with the international community, to make sure that our people at home enjoy all rights and freedoms they deserve. In addition to its activities in the homeland, our Association will exercise its activity even within the Diaspora, via cultural and recreational events and other activities of interest, which will be organized and regulated by the Association’s Board of Directors. I. GENERAL PROVISIONS Article 1 Malësia e Madhe Association New York is a nonpartisan, non-governmental and non-for-profit association founded by the merger of the two associations (Humanitarian Fund "Malësia" and the "Ded Gjo' Luli" Association), as well as the other part of the community of highlanders in New York; Article 2 Malësia e Madhe Association New York is an association of national character; Article 3 The Association has its own seal and logo, which has been accepted by its Board; Article 4 The Board of the association has decided the headquarters and the address of the Association; Article 5 The Association will act and operate in conformity with the laws and Constitution of the United States; Article 6 The association has close cooperation and coordinates its activities with associations, organization and various Albanian-American associations throughout the US; Article 7 The official languages of the association are: Albanian and English. If the association receives requests in any other language it will require that the request or application be translated into one of these two languages; Article 8 The association considers proprietary the agreement for cooperation between associations originating from our ethnic territories under the Republic of Montenegro, as a mutual cooperation on matters affecting the common national interests, signed by former Humanitarian Fund "Malesia" and former "Dede Gjo’ Luli" Association on November 2, 2014 in Detroit. II. GOALS AND OBJECTIVES Article 9 The association aims to help the homeland and to cultivate national identity in the Diaspora Article 10 - Association at home: a) Is committed to protecting and assuring the freedom and human rights and to protect the status of the Albanian people currently living in the Republic of Montenegro, and more specifically in the Highlands; b) Will mutually collaborate with the appropriate Albanian authorities, which aim to improve the wellbeing of the Albanian people living in Montenegro and support our tradition and culture; c) Is committed to raising the level of education and our cultural awareness; d) To carry out humanitarian activities in various forms in order to assist the population of the Highland; e) Performs other activities that the Association Board will plan and deem reasonable. - The Association in the Diaspora: a) Communicates with other associations, institutions, personalities of the American administration, religious centers and various associations; b) Observes and celebrates anniversaries, events and special dates which are significant to our national history; c) Organizes protests and rallies, signs petitions for the improvement of rights that are denied to our citizens by the Government of Montenegro. It will also advocate for the rights of the Albanian people throughout the region; d) Will promote and endorse various works of interest, by organizing exhibitions, sports activities, picnic outings, etc. e) will develop various forms of campaign fundraisings, necessary for the implementation of the program of the association. III. MEMBERS AND MEMBERSHIP Article 11 Any member of the community can become a Member of the Association’s Board, for as long as he expresses the desire to join as a membership of the Association and regularly pays the membership dues; Article 12 The Board of Directors will determine the membership fee; Article 13 Board members have the right to elect and be elected and to participate in the decision-making of the association; Article 14 Persons convicted in the United States for various crimes or individuals that are pending prosecution, are not eligible to join the association; Article 15 Members of other associations may also be elected in the Board of Directors of the association, for as long as they do not act against the interests of the association; Article 16 The process of acceptance in the Board of Directors is done by hand-delivery or mailing of the application form, which is issued by this body and is not in conflicting to Article 14 of the Statute. Article 17 Board members, who do not pay annual membership dues, will be deleted from the list of Board. This process will be done at the end of each calendar year; Article 18 Donor (a community members that contributes) shall mean any natural or legal individual who helps the association financially or in any other form; Article 19 The Board of Directors has an obligation to be transparent about its work and must hold an annual public meeting with donors to inform them about their work for the year and provide them with an agenda for the following year. Article 20 The membership ends with the voluntary withdrawal from the association. Board of Directors may decide to oust one or more members, if these members taint the image of the association. IV. MANAGEMENT OF THE ASSOCIATION Article 21 The Board of Directors is the highest decision-making authority; Article 22 The Board of Directors is formed on the basis of voluntary principles and remains open to any member of the highlander community; Article 23 The Board of Directors makes all the necessary decisions for the operation, organization, administration and the budget of the association; Article 24 The Chairman of the Board calls the meeting of the association. The Chairman notifies the association members via email. One-third (1/3) of the Board, also can convene the Board meeting; Article 25 The decisions are effective only when decided in the Assembly of the Board of the association; Article 26 Decisions are made only if the meeting is attended by more than one-half (1/2) of the Board. Voting is always made public; Article 27 Decisions are made by the majority vote of the total number of members of the Board and each vote count is equal; Article 28 The Board of Directors selects the chairmanship of the association, which comprises of the chairman, deputy chairman, secretary and the treasurer; Article 29 In order to take the post of president, the highlander community member, should have at least two years of experience as a member of the Board of Directors for this association; Article 30 Chairmanship of the Board is the executive body of the association; Article 31 The Chairman of the Board is elected for two years, but has the right to re-election for an additional term. The election is done by secret ballot; Article 32 The Chairman prepares the daily agenda and proposes it, directs and coordinates the meeting and signs the general acts, which have been proposed by the Board of Directors; Article 33 Each Board member can make suggestions about the meeting agenda; Article 34 The Chairman, during his term, has the right to use a certain amount of the funds, without seeking permission from the Board. Nevertheless, the Board shall determine the amount of the allowance; Article 35 For various reasons, if during the meeting of the association the working atmosphere is disrupted or if there are violations of the provisions of the decision-making procedure, the chairman reserves the right to postpone the decision until the following meeting; Article 36 With two thirds (2/3) of an absolute majority, the Board of Directors may remove the chairman or any other member of the board, if they have committed a serious violation of Article 50 of the Statute; Article 37 The Deputy Chairman works closely with the Chairman to determine the meeting agenda. If the Chairman is absent, the meeting is planned and guided by the Deputy Chairman of the association; Article 38 The secretary takes minutes of the meetings, is responsible for the safekeeping of association’s archives and performs association’s administrative tasks; Article 39 The Treasurer handles and manages the finances and is responsible to report to the Board of Directors in each meeting the current budget of the association; Article 40 The Board of Directors elects permanent supporting committees which will assist to keep in touch with various structures both in the US an in the homeland; Article 41 The committee (two or more people) will have its own chairman, appointed by the Board of Directors, while the corresponding chairman of committee appoints the other members of the committee. The Association shall have: a) The Committee for contacts with associations, organization and other associations and religious centers; b) The Committee for education and culture; c) The Committee for humanitarian issues and d) The Committee for staying in contacts with the institutions responsible for legal and political situation of the Albanians in Montenegro. Article 42 Depending on the requirements to be presented, the relevant committee will be in contact and will coordinate the process of working with the coming demand side; Article 43 The committee mediates between the petitioner and the Board. The Board shall reach a decision on any application under Article 27 of the Statute; Article 44 The mandate of the committee corresponds to the mandate of the Chairman of the association; Article 45 If the application submitted by the Commission presents some vagueness, lack of documentation or difficulty in understanding, the Board shall request additional information from the relevant committee for the applicable application; Article 46 Requests that are not in line with the association’s principles will not be reviewed; Article 47 Despite the outcome of the decision of the Board, with respect to the relevant application, the Board of Directors of the association is obliged to notify the applicant in writing of the decision; Article 48 All the committees operate under the directions of the Board and they have to report to the Board for their work. The Board shall decide on any specific cases filed; Article 49 Requests are considered and examined only when submitted in writing and addressed to the address of the association; Article 50 In order to be official, any document, in addition to the logo of the association must have the signature of at least one of the principals, who holds the position of chairman, deputy chairman, secretary or treasury. Article 51 The misuse of funds, seal and logo of the association will constitute as a serious violation of this statute. In addition, the individual violating this statue will be subject to criminal charges before the local court; Article 52 The Association has its own website, where all the written statements and decisions will be published. This will be a public website for all its members and other stakeholders; Article 53 Board may set the priorities regarding a specific activity, if it deems it necessary or appropriate; Article 54 The Association shall not engage in contributions to infrastructure and public services in the homeland, since they are responsibility of the local or central government. The Board may exempt from this section if it finds that the request is vital for the Highlands; Article 55 In case of need, the association will expand its activity in the other ethnic Albanian lands. V. TRANSITIONAL AND FINAL PROVISIONS Article 56 For various reasons, the Assembly with two-thirds (2/3) of an absolute majority, may dissolve the Association; Article 57 The Board of Directors, with two thirds (2/3) majority, may modify or supplement this statute with other articles; Article 58 The Statute will enter into power upon approval by the Board of Directors of the association; On March 11, 2015, on its formation assembly of Malësia e Madhe Association New York, the Board of Directors approved the statute of the Association. BOARD OF DIRECTORS - MALESIA E MADHE ASSOCIATION - NEW YORK |