Bylaws for International Safe Community Certifying Centre, adopted 2015-01-20 (changed in Nan 2015 and in Novi Sad 2017).
Background
The Safe Communities concept was originally launched as an official WHO term in their VI: the General Program in the end of the 1980’s. The co-operation between The WHO and The Safe Community Movement started in 1986 but began its formal existence at the First World Conference on Accident and Injury Prevention held in Stockholm, Sweden in September 1989. In the Manifesto for Safe Communities, the resolution of the conference, state that "All human beings have an equal right to health and safety." “This is a fundamental aspect of the World Health Organisation's (WHO) Health for All strategy and for the WHO Global Programme on Accident Prevention and Injury Control.”
This premise has led to community action around the world - actions leading to develop “Safe Communities”. Safe communities are communities determined to work as models for other communities. In order to support communities to become Safe Communities and to work for quality improvement “International Safe Community Support Centres” around the World were created. These centres were subsequently connected to the “Safe Community Movement” and to The WHO Collaborating Centre on Community Safety Promotion at Karolinska Institute Dept. Public Health Sciences in its function as a leading body of the movement.
A “Safe Community” can be a: Municipality; a County; a City or a
District of a City working with safety promotion, Injury-, Violence- and
Suicide- prevention and prevention of the consequences (human injuries)
related to Natural Disaster, covering all age groups, gender and areas
and is a part of an international network of accredited programmes.
While the movement was growing the communities started a quality management system programme leading to a peer review system where the leading communities (now about 350) were labelled “Safe Communities” (later “International Safe Communities”). In the beginning the task of The WHO Collaborating Centre on Community Safety Promotion at Karolinska Institute Dept. Public Health Sciences was to support the whole global Network; but when Regional Networks and more International Safe Community Support Centres were established the network functions remained with those while The WHO Collaborating Centre on Community Safety Promotion was encouraged to focus on the quality aspects of the International Safe Communities. A process for quality control has been developed including training of International Certifiers in a one-year program leading to an international accreditation- now 48 are accredited.
At the event of finalizing 2014 years training course in Lidköping, Sweden it was included the absolute need to establish the Certifying function as an Non-Governmental Organization (NGO)- seeking formal linkage to the WHO. The NGO should be registered officially in Sweden. A steering body was established (called Board). The NGO should be formally independent of the existing International Safe Communities, the International Safe Community Support Centres and the Regional Safe Community Networks in order not to be compromised in the validations. The following bylaws are restricted to that NGO.
§ 1 Name of the NGO:
International Safe Community Certifying Centre
§ 2 Members in the NGO
Members are Accredited International Safe Communities certifiers at the very moment they fulfilled the criteria for accreditation, and those who have been elected to the special education program for International Safe Community certifiers.
§ 3 Mission for the NGO:
- The NGO is the international organisation for quality development of International Safe Communities.
- The main purpose is to develop systems for continuous quality improvement of Safe Community programs leading to “designation” of applying communities as “International Safe Communities”
- The NGO train and renew a group of qualified accredited certifiers
- The NGO organize the applications from the communities and provide them with qualified certifiers at their “site visits”.
- The mission is also to develop system for quality management of Safe Community Support Centre in order to increase the quality in their support to the communities
- Organise bi-annual International Safe Communities Conferenses with emphasis on quality aspects of Safe Communities
Thereof follows the following functions of the NGO:
- Formulate indicators that must be fulfilled by the applying communies and Safe Community Support Centres at the initiation of the process and then every fifth year
- Build up and organise training for certifiers
- To accredit International certifiers
- Formulate ethical rules and code of conduct for International certifiers and the certifying process
- Conduct methodological development and transfer of technology suggestions
- Inform about good examples in certified International Safe Communities
- Develop forms of evaluations and calibration of International Accredited Certifiers qualifications
- Establish appropriate fees for applications and certification processes
- Maintaining and developing the website for International Safe Community Certifying Centre including the list of communities and Safe Community Support Centres that has fulfilled the criteria and thus has been “designated” as “International Safe Communities” respective International Safe Community Support Centre.
§ 4 The Board for International Safe Community Certifying Centre
The Board consists of
- Chairperson and one or two co-chairpersons
- Maximum total 11 members inclusive the chair and co-chairs
- Maximum 11 deputy members
- Permanently adjunct: General Manager of the NGO
§ 5 Terms
The board members serve for a term of two years, but can be re-elected every two years for up to four terms (a maximum of eight years). All mayor items must be discussed at the bi-annual meetings with all members after preparation by the Board.
The Board members are suggested by an “Election Committee” of two members elected at every bi-annual meeting.
§ 6 Meetings
All members are called to a bi-annual meeting, preferably at the event of the bi-annual International Safe Community meeting.
The Board will have regular in-person meetings approximately every 6-month: a face-to-face meeting at least once every year and a second ‘virtual’ meeting. The Working Committee should confer every 3-month. The General Manager is responsible for all agendas, preparations and minutes from the meetings
A Working Committee, consisting of the Chair and the Co-chair(s) and the General Manager makes decisions on all matters including proposals of new communities.
Members meeting
On the agenda at such meetings will be
Election of chair and secretary for the meeting and two members to check the minutes
The board statements of accounts and activities
Report from the auditors
Adopt the report and accounts
Budget for next financial year
Elections
Fees for certification and re-certification
§ 7 Economy
The financial year is the calendar year
§ 8 Decisions at the meetings
Every member has one vote at the meeting. Members not present can be represented by one other member through a written allowance. Nobody can represent more than two absent members.
§ 9 Exclusion of members
Members not fulfilling the quality criteria for accreditation can be excluded.
§ 10 Changing of Bylaws
The bylaws can only be changed in the bi-annual members meeting. Written proposal of changes of the bylaws must be sent to the board latest two month before a member meeting. The proposal together with a comment from the board will be sent to every member latest two weeks before the meeting. To change the bylaws need at least 2/3 majority among the members.
§ 11 Honorary member
The members can on a bi-annual meeting on proposal of the board appoint a member who have been of significant importance for accident and injury prevention to honorary member
§ 12 Disbanding
International Safe Community Certifying Centre can be disbanded after decision if 75 % or more of the members vote for it on two successive meetings. The last meeting decide how economic resources and intellectual property shall be used in the future.