Article I – Name

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§1. The name of the organization is: The Global Open Genetic Engineering Competition 

 

§2. The official acronym for the organization is Gogec

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Article II – Objectives

 

The objective for Gogec is as follows:

1. Provide a framework to allow university students from around the world to showcase their work related to synthetic biology to an international group of synthetic biology experts

2. Educate participating university students on safe and responsible practices related to biological research, including but not limited to: Synthetic biology, systems biology and genetic engineering.   

3. Showcase the potential of open synthetic biology to a wide audience around the world

 

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Article III - Board and leadership structure

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§1. Gogec will be led by a board consisting of a minimum of 5 people, who are elected during the general election according to the procedure described in article IV. 

   

§2. The board members of Gogec will be responsible for forming a strategy for Gogec in accordance with Article II.

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§3. The members of the board shall elect a chairperson and a treasurer. The board members can choose to elect candidates for these positions amongst themselves.

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§4. The chairperson shall be the chief executive officer of the organization, and shall preside at all board meetings. The chairperson has no votes on any matter at the board meetings - however, if the board decides to elect a board member as the chairperson, the board member in question will still keep their voting rights

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§5. Decisions are, by default, made by the Board are determined by simple majority votes amongst the board members.

§5.1 Decisions pertaining to employing or terminating employment of personnel within Gogec will need an 2/3rd majority vote to pass    

 

§6. The treasurer shall collect all dues and assessment promptly. They shall keep adequate financial records, and shall permit their inspection by any other officer of the organization by request. They shall present a complete written report at the general assembly at the beginning of each calendar year, detailing the accounting of the previous year. If external auditors are being used to audit the accounting of the organisation, the treasurer shall be the main point of contact between the board and the auditors. 

 

§7. The Board shall keep record of all Board meetings. They shall preserve all papers relating to the affairs of the organisation and deliver the same promptly to their elected successors.  

 

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Article IV – General Assembly 

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§1. A General Assembly for the Gogec organisation shall take place at least once a year, and a General Assembly must take place within the first 4 months of the new calendar year. A General Assembly is the only permissible way for the Gogec organisation to perform the following actions: 

(1) To (re)elect members of the Board of Gogec. 

(2) To change the Gogec constitution.

(3) To exclude members from the Gogec board by vote of no confidence, which requires a         2:3 majority vote.

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§1.1 An extraordinary General Assembly can be called by majority vote of the Gogec board at a three weeks notice. During an extraordinary General Assembly, all actions of a regular General Assembly is permitted

 

§2. The General Assembly must be announced three weeks in advance on all public platforms where Gogec has communicated to the public for the past year. This includes a notice about the forthcoming board election on the Gogec website.

§2.1 The public announcements must contain adequate information for anyone to join the General Assembly online  

 

§3. Voting rights for the General Assembly is given to any individual who has attended a minimum of two regular Gogec meetings in the period of time between two General Assemblies 

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§4. Candidates for the Board of Gogec shall nominate themselves at the general assembly 

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§5. A transitional period of one month will be in effect after the General Assembly. During this time, the retiring Board members are obligated to  support the newly elected Board to facilitate a smooth transition.

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§6. Any vacancies in the Board which should occur before the end of the election term shall be filled by a  substitute member. If no substitute members were elected or are otherwise unavailable, any vacant office in  the Board will be filled by means of a by-election at an extraordinary General Election

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§7. The Treasurer shall present the annual budget of Gogec at any regular General Assemblies

 

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Article V - Amendments to the Constitution 

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Any member of the Gogec organisation can propose an amendment to the constitution at any time. Any proposed changes to the constitution shall be discussed at a General Assembly

 

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Article VI – Language 

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Gogec s a global competition, and although the organisation strives to be inclusive of people around the world, the official language of Gogec is English.