Historic Meeting -- Council of National Presidents Formed

Printer-friendly versionPrinter-friendly version

On the evening of August 7, 1998 at the Helsinki IUA conference, the second meeting of representatives from all of the National Associations of lUA met. The first meeting was held at the last IUA conference in Nashville, 1996.

It has been felt for sometime by many IUA members that the leadership aspect on the international level of IUA was a bit hazy and ill-defmed, which made the National Associations appear to be fragmented entities with no visible ties to one another on an international scale. While the Board of Directors of Urantia Brotherhood Association (UBA) are the same as the Board of Trustees of Urantia Foundation, making them the technical “head” of IUA, it is impractical and unrealistic for them to handle the detailed responsibilities of leadership and coordination duties for the IUA. The Trustees set policy and prefer to delegate the “outworkings” of their policies to the IUA membership.

Provision was made in the IUA Charter and Bylaws document for the Chair of the Coordinating Committee to be the overseer and coordinator of projects and activities which concerned all National Associations.

The Board of Directors, in response to requests from the membership to define the leadership of IUA more clearly and to delegate leadership responsibilities to the membership, have created an internal governing body within the IUA which is called the “International Urantia Association Council of National Presidents.” (IUACNP) (or CNP for short.) The following is the Trustees new resolution:

“Be it resolved that the Trustees of Urantia Foundation acting in their capacity as the governing board of the International Urantia Association do hereby create an internal governing body within the IUA to be called the International Urantia Association Council of National Presidents and Vice Presidents. The members of this council shall consist of the President and Vice President (or their duly designated representatives) from each IUA National Association of record, and shall be responsible for coordinating the international business and activities of the IUA. This council will operate under the direction of the Trustees and their actions will be governed by a set of by-laws that are herewith approved.”

Purpose

The purpose of the IUACNP is to serve, integrate, and coordinate the functions of IUA constituencies worldwide. In matters of business or coordination activities, which affect associations worldwide, the IUACNP will function as the administrative governing unit of the International Urantia Association.

Membership, Chairperson, and Recorder

The voting membership of the IUACNP shall consist of duly elected Presidents and VicePresidents of each National Association of record, as well as the elected Chairperson and Recorder who may or may not be a President or Vice-President of a National Association, but must be a member in good standing of the IUA.

At the beginning of the biannual business meeting of the IUACNP, the voting members shall elect a Chairperson and Recorder whose terms of service shall begin with that meeting and continue until the elections at the beginning of the next biannual meeting.

Organizational Structure

The IUACNP shall consist of voting members of equal standing with no special authority excepting a Chairperson and Recorder. The voting members may exercise the powers of the IUA and enact or perfonn all such lawful acts as are allowed by law, the IUA Charter and Bylaws, the IUACNP Rules, and the charters and bylaws of constituent associations. The actions of the IUACNP shall be consistent with the needs and requirements of its National Associatio, with the objectives of the IUA, and with the teachings of The Urantia Book.

Responsibilities of Chairperson and Recorder

The Chairperson functions as the chief executive officer of the IlJACNP, supervises and oversees the business affairs of the IUACNP, and oversees projects and programs of international scale. He or she presides over all meetings of the IUACNP, acts as spokesperson for the Council of National Presidents, and represents the IDA. This person shall work closely with the IlJA Administrator and Trustees of Urantia Foundation and shall consult with Presidents and Vice-Presidents ofNational Associations on matters of mutual interest. The Chairperson has no official influence in matters of the individual National Associations.

The Recorder administers IUACNP correspondence and meeting minutes, maintains the voting membership register, and performs other various administrative duties as assigned by the Chairperson. or membership of the IUACNP.

At the IUA meeting in Helsinki the drafted bylaws for the CNP were discussed and formally adopted. Elections for Chairperson and Recorder were then held. Seppo Kanerva of Finland was elected as Chairperson and Kathleen Swadling of Australia, as Recorder.

Foundation Info

Printer-friendly versionPrinter-friendly version

Urantia Foundation, 533 W. Diversey Parkway, Chicago, IL 60614, USA
Tel: +1-773-525-3319; Fax: +1-773-525-7739
© Urantia Foundation. All rights reserved