Minutes of the ordinary General Assembly of AEMI held at the Jagiellonian University, Polonia Institut, Krakow, Saturday September 28, 1996, 10 a.m. - 1 p.m. and Sunday September 29, 1996, 10 p.m. - 11 p.m.

Members present - 15 attendants from 12 member-institutions:
• Henning Bender, Danish Emigration Archives, Aalborg, Denmark
• Gordon Read, Archives Department, Merseyside Maritime Museum, Liverpool, England
• Olavi Koivukangas, Institute of Migration, Turku, Finland
• Jürgen Rudloff/Karin Schulz, German Emigration Museum, Bremerhaven, Germany
• Elizabeth Sroka, Historic Emigration Office, Hamburg, Germany
• Wolfgang Grams, Research Center Lower Saxons in the USA, Oldenburg, Germany
• Francois Hendrickx, Centre de Documentations sur les Migrations Humaines,
• Luxembourg John Gilmour, The Ulster-American Folk Park, Omagh, Northern Ireland
• Faith Ann Sevilä, The Norwegian-American Collections, Oslo, Norway
• Adam Walaszek/Wladyslaw Miodunka, Polonia Institute, Krakow, Poland
• Ulf Beijbom, The Swedish Emigrant Institute, Växjö, Sweden
• Irena Godina/Marjan Drnovek, Institute for Emigration Studies, Ljubljana, Slovenia

The General Assembly was opened September 28, 10.00 a.m. by Adam Walaszek from the Polonia Institute, who welcomed the participants and told about the Institute.

Established in 1972 the Institute has grown to be the main Polish research and teaching center for issues related to international migrations of Poles, ethnic and social problems of migration, Polish literature abroad and teaching Polish as a foreign language.

............

Adam Walaszek, Krakow, was elected presiding officer of the meeting. Karin Schulz, Bremerhaven, was elected secretary of the meeting.

---

1. Proposal for a new constitution for AEMI

All the articles were discussed and the following amendments passed unanimously:

Article 1.1: the words "in the past and in the present" were added to "European migration" Article 2.1 and 2.2 : the words "research, documentation and presentation" were changed to "documentation, research and presentation".

With these amendments included the constitution as a whole was passed by the General Assembly.

2. General Assembly of AEMI according to the new constitution, Article 3.5.

a. elect a presiding officer (and a secretary) of the meeting of the General Assembly

Adam Walaszek and Karin Schulz were elected.
b. adopt and, as necessary, amend the statutes.
Already done.
c. approve the budget submitted by the executive Board for the following year.
Henning Bender proposed that the rest of money, when the ordinary expenses of the Secretary's Office for postage and copies were paid, should be used to finance a new AEMI-brochure. Most possible the expenses would turn out higher than the remaining 1996-capital and in this case the 1997-fees could be used to cover the remaining costs. Approved.
d. receive and adopt a report on AEMI's activities for the preceding year
Gordon Read gave a report on the latest AEMI-meeting and mentioned the decisions of a fee and a permanent secretary's office established in Aalborg, Denmark. Adopted.
e. receive and adopt the financial statements and accounts for the preceding year.
Henning Bender distributed the account of January 1 - September 25, 1996. As 15 member institutions had paid, the revenue was 1.500 ECU. Expenses had been 283,60 ECU for copies and postage. Rest for 1996 is 1.216,40 ECU. (1.316,40 ECU if Oldenburg, Germany, as promised will pay the fee). Adopted.
f. adopt such resolutions as it considers appropriate concerning matters relating to AEMI's objectives.
Henning Bender urged the members to update information about their institutions for the internet homepage and for the brochure. During the year the General Secretary most often had to find the updating informations himself. If the organisation of AEMI shall function, the information has to be given by the members themselves.

AEMI is open to all whose field of interest concerns European migration history in the past and in the present. This gives AEMI a profile as an European network of institutions specialising in "historical" aspects - in the past as well as in the present - as opposed to "contemporary" aspects of migration. This makes AEMI different from all other migration-organisations in Europe. All members are strongly encouraged to find new members, institutions as well as individuals, especially in Eastern Europe, and notify the general secretary. Adopted, the participants thanked Henning Bender for his commitment.

g. give such direction and oversight to the Executive Board as it thinks necessary concerning the operations of AEMI.
Postponed to the meeting Sunday September 29, 1996.
h. determine the time and place of the next General Assembly
As decided in Liverpool 1995 the next General Assembly and conference will take place at the Ulster-American Folk Park, Omagh, Northern Ireland at the last weekend of September 1997. The topic of the conference might be "European Emigration to The United States". Proposal for Luxembourg as the host for the 1998 General Assembly and conference. Passed.
i. adopt and amend as necessary its own rules of procedure.
Was not discussed
j. set the annual subscription rates for ordinary and individual members.
Henning Bender proposed 100 ECU for ordinary members and 20 ECU for individual members. Passed.
k. admit new members.
There were none.
l. appoint an auditor.
Ulf Beijbom, Sweden, was appointed auditor.
m. elect the members of the board (Article 4,3)
As members of the executive board were elected for the next three years (1996/1997 - 1998/1999): Henning Bender, Denmark, as General Secretary and Knut Djupedal, Norway, as Chairman. As member of the executive board for the next year (1996/1997) was appointed Adam Walaszek, Poland, as the representative of the host institution of 1996.

---

3. Sunday 29 September,1996, Krakow. Article 3,5,g:
The functions of the General Assembly are to give such direction and oversight to the Executive Board as necessary for the operations of AEMI.

It is of crucial importance for AEMI to be the network-organisation for all European migration institutions and individuals, working with migration history - in the past as well as in contemporary history. A brochure, a homepage and quarterly information can be made and paid for by the members-fee - but only, if the members give sufficient information-input to the General Secretary. This will be of big importance, also for the urgent cooperation with the ongoing building up of an North American Network of Emigration Institutions. A meeting has already taken place in Washington D.C. and the next is planned at the Balch Institute, Philadelphia, December 9, 1996. John Gilmour, N.Ireland, will under any circumstances attend the meeting. If not possible for a member of the board of AEMI to attend - due to lack of time or money - John Gilmour will represent AEMI with the task to promote the cooperation between the European and the American organisation.

Aside from a logo for AEMI - which should be proposed in the near future - a book concerning Europeran migration should be published. Each European country should make a contribution about their special migration patterns i.e. to the US. Such a publication is often asked for, in Europe as well as in the US. When getting in contact with the right authors in all European countries, you may also get in touch with important future members of AEMI.

It was also proposed to edit the conference lectures or to work on a joint publication concerning the topic "xenophobia" and its historical dimension. A quarterly leaflet/newsletter was proposed too - but this depends on the activities of the members. The General Secretary will distribute almost everything sent by the members, but has so far received nothing at all.

Different joint projects were presented and discussed, as the cooperation between Bremerhaven and Luxemburg for an exhibition (opening November 1996). Information about such joint projects and other activities should be sent to the General Secretary for a future news-letter.

Karin Schulz Secretary of the meeting

................................

Henning Bender General Secretary

Aalborg-Bremerhaven October 10, 1996

• 1. Institutions and organizations in Europe whose field of interest concern European migration in the past and in the present have joined together to establish The Association of European Migration Institutions, also known by the abbreviation AEMI.
• 2. AEMI seeks to provide its members with an international forum through which they may advance the knowledge of European migration, including, but not limited to the initiation and pursuit of common research projects, the arrangement of meetings, international symposia and multinational events and the dissemination of knowledge supplied by members acting individually or in concern through all appropriate media.

• 1. Membership in AEMI is open to any European institution or organization whose charter includes the documentation, research and presentation of European migration.
• 2. Individual membership in AEMI is open to those working with documentation, research and presentation of European migration. Individual members cannot vote nor be elected at the General Assembly and will pay a reduced annual subscription rate.
• 3. Applications or suggestions for membership may be sent to the Secretariat.
• 4. Membership ceases when the member resigns in writing or when the member, having been notified by regular post of the annual subscription payable, fails to pay the subscription within six months of the due date.

• 1. The supreme governing body of AEMI is the General Assembly.
• 2. An ordinary General Assembly of AEMI shall be held at least once each calendar year. Each General Assembly is organized by a host institution chosen from among the members present at the previous General Assembly.
• 3. Members wishing to place items on the agenda of the General Assembly must send such items to the Secretariat at least three months prior to the commencement of the General Assembly.
• 4. Each member institution has one vote at a General Assembly.
• 5. The functions of the General Assembly are to:
• a. elect a presiding officer for the meeting of the General Assembly;
• b. adopt and, as necessary, amend The Statutes;
• c. approve the budget submitted by the executive Board for the following year.
• d. receive and adopt a report on AEMI's activities for the preceding year;
• e. receive and adopt the financial statements and accounts for the preceding year;
• f. adopt such resolutions as it considers appropriate concerning matters relating to AEMI's objective;
• g. give such direction and oversight to the Executive Board as it thinks necessary concerning the operations of AEMI;
• h. determine the time and place of the next General Assembly;
• i. adopt and amend as necessary its own rules of procedure;
• j. set the annual subscription rates for ordinary and individual members;
• k. admit new members;
• l. appoint an auditor;
• m. elect the members of the Executive Board.
• 6. Decisions of the General Assembly are final and not subject to appeal.
• 7. The chairman shall convene an Extraordinary session of the General Assembly either:
• a. at the request of one third of the members in good standing, or;
• b. at the request of a majority of the membership of the Executive Board.
• 8. An extraordinary General Assembly shall take place within two months of the date of receipt of such a request by the chairman.
• 9. All matters at the General Assembly except amending the constitution and dissolving the AEMI are decided by a simple majority vote of the voting delegates in attendance, each member institution having one vote. In case of a tie, the vote of the presiding officer shall have a casting vote. Amendments to the constitution and questions of dissolution require a two-thirds majority of representatives in attendance for passage.
• 10. The quorum of the General Assembly shall be constituted by designated voting members present.

• 1. The Executive Board of AEMI shall consist of three members. A chairman and a secretary/treasurer chosen for three years and a representative of the host institution which last organised the ordinary General Assembly for one year.
• 2. The functions of the Executive Board are to:
• a. take such action as is necessary to give effect to the decisions and resolutions of the General Assembly;
• b. ensure that the approved program of AEMI is carried out efficiently and effectively and in accordance with the approved budget;
• c. make such decisions and take such action between sessions of the General Assembly as may be deemed necessary in the interests of AEMI, including in relation to matters prescribed in these Statutes;
• d. present the General Assembly with a budget proposition, an annual report of the preceding year and a financial report for the preceding year;
• e. recommend rates of subscription;
• f. consider any other business brought before it the chairman, a board member, or the General Assembly;
• g. recommend matters to the attention and consideration of the General Assembly.
• 3. The members of the Executive Board are elected by the General Assembly from candidates proposed by member institutions. At the time of their proposal, candidates must have an on-going relationship with a member institution of AEMI, either as permanent staff member, elected board member, or some similar relationship. The electoral period is three years, dating from the General Assembly at which the board was elected to the third following General Assembly. The representative of the host institution which last organized the General Assembly is elected for one year.
• 4. The Executive Board shall meet at least once a year, but also at the request of the chairman. A quorum shall be constituted when all three are present, except as noted in The Statutes, Article 5, 5. Matters under consideration shall be decided by simple majority vote of those present, each member having one vote.
• 5. A meeting of the Executive Board may take place by simultaneous electronic communication.
• 6. The Executive Board shall make and keep a written record of all meetings, deliberations and decisions. At each meeting of the board, the record of the previous meeting must be reviewed. When meetings are held in accordance with The Statutes, Art. 5, 5, the record of the meeting shall within one week be sent to all members of the board for approval.

• 1. The Chairman of AEMI shall convene and preside over meetings of the General Assembly and the Executive Board. In the intervals between sessions of the Executive Board, the chairman shall take such decisions and actions as seems to the chairman to be appropriate and necessary in the interests of AEMI. Any decision or action taken by the chairman in these circumstances shall be submitted to the next meeting of the Executive Board for ratification.
• 2. The Secretary of AEMI shall be responsible for:
• a. the provision of services to members;
• b. providing secretarial services for the Executive Board and the General assembly;
• c. in cooperation with the Chairman and Treasurer, preparing annual reports for the Executive Board and the General Assembly;
• d. in cooperation with the chairman, publishing an annual newsletter;
• e. with the approval of the Executive Board and in accordance with the approved budget and program of AEMI, either on behalf or AEMI alone or in cooperation with other international, national, public or private organizations or institutions, publish such other publications relevant to the work of AEMI;
• f. updating and making AEMI's publications available to members and to other persons, organizations or institutions by sale or otherwise.
• 3. The Treasurer shall be responsible for the development and presentation to the Executive Board and the General Assembly of an annual budget of AEMI for the succeeding year. The Treasurer shall regularly review the income and expenditure of AEMI and, as necessary, propose to the Executive Board such measures as are necessary to protect AEMI's financial position. The Treasurer shall arrange for AEMI's annual accounts to be submitted to the Executive Board for consideration and adoption. The treasurer shall ensure that the audited accounts for the year immediately preceding the General Assembly together with any comments thereon by the Executive Board, are presented to the Assembly for consideration and adoption.

• 1. The financial resources of AEMI shall be

• a. the subscriptions payable by the ordinary and individual members;
• b. the income derived from AEMI activities, including the sales of publications and conferences;
• c. grants, donations, subventions, contributions and legacies received from any source and approved by the Executive Board;
• d. payments made for services rendered by AEMI, or received under contracts (which shall be approved by the Executive Board) for the realization of specific projects and programs;
• 2. The Executive Board shall be authorized to receive, obtain, borrow, hold and use, on behalf or AEMI, funds necessary for the realization of the statutory objectives of AEMI.
• 3. The Treasurer shall have the power to receive grants, donations, subventions, contributions and legacies on behalf of AEMI, the acceptance of which has been approved by the Executive Board.
• 4. Expenditure of AEMI funds may be made only in accordance with the annual budget prepared by the Treasurer and approved by the Executive Board. Expenditures greater than ECU 100 (ECU One Hundred) must be countersigned by the Chairman before disbursement.
• 5. At each ordinary session the General Assembly shall appoint a qualified person or organization as Auditor of AEMI at such rate of emolument as the Assembly considers appropriate.
• 6. In any state where a member in good standing of AEMI exists, bank or post officeaccounts may be opened by AEMI's Treasurer with the approval of the Executive Board and in accordance with the laws of that state and in accordance with AEMI's Statutes, Art. 7, 2, 3 and 4, for the deposit and expenditure of funds which arethe property of AEMI. In cases where such funds are not transferable, all expenditures shall be disbursed only with the approval of the Executive Board. The Treasurer shall give an annual account to the Executive Board and the General Assembly of the amount of these funds and of their use.
• 7. A Member of AEMI shall not, without first obtaining the written approval of the Executive Board, enter into any contract or any other legally binding agreement involving expenditure by AEMI, other than contracts and agreements that relate to its own activities and which can be paid for from its own funds.
• 8. Costs associated with the arrangement of General Assemblies are the responsibility of the host institution. Costs of other financially demanding arrangements involving the participation of the AEMI as a whole are divided equally among the association's members.

• 1. Annual reports, financial statements, budgets and meetings of AEMI shall be in the English language.

• 1. Nominations to elective office must be sent to the secretariat at least three months prior to the meeting of the General Assembly at which elections will be held, except as noted in The Statutes, Article 9,5. Only nominations accom-panied by brief biographical statements setting out the candidates' qualifications, and including a declaration of willingness to serve signed by the candidate, will be considered.
• 2. The Secretariat shall within one month of receipt of the nominations and on the basis of these nominations, lay before the membership a list of candidates for elective office in AEMI
• 3. Nominations to elective office in AEMI may be made on the floor of the General Assembly, under the following conditions:
• a. that one third of the voting delegates present vote to put a candidate in nomination;
• b. that such a candidate is present at the General Assembly and personally indicates willingness to serve if elected.
• 4. Elections in the General Assembly shall be conducted by the presiding officer.
• 5. Election is by simple majority of the voting delegates. In the event of two candi-dates receiving an equal number of votes, the winner shall be determined by lot.

• 1. Proposed amendments to these statutes must be sent to the secretariat at least three months prior to an ordinary session of the General Assembly, and to the membership at least two months prior to such an Assembly. Amendments require a two-thirds majority vote among the voting delegates present at a General Assembly for passage.
• 2. A proposal for the dissolution of AEMI must be sent out the membership at least three months in advance of a General Assembly. Dissolution requires a three-quarter majority vote of the member institutions present at a general meeting for passage, and this majority must include at least fifty per cent of the total membership of the AEMI.
• 3. In case of dissolution, the property of AEMI shall be converted to liquid assets and after all bills are paid, the remainder shall be divided equally among the Members in Good Standing at the time of dissolution.

The statutes above replace: Agreement of an Association of Scandinavian Migration Institutions of 1989, Aalborg, Denmark. Statutes of The Association of European Migration Institutions of 1991, Bremerhaven, Germany. Ammendments to the Statutes of 1995, Liverpool, England.

Secretary of the meeting: Karin Schulz, Bremerhaven, Germany

General Secretary: Henning Bender, Aalborg, Denmark.

Aalborg-Bremerhaven, October 10, 1996.