ACT Alliance Nominations and Elections Process for the Governing Board and the Membership and Nominations Committee (MNC)

The ACT Alliance will hold an Electronic General Assembly from November 29 to December 3, 2021, where a new Governing Board and a Membership and Nominations Committee (MNC) will be elected for the next governance cycle. The process developed by the MNC and approved by the Governing Board in December 2020 is outlined in detail below. It enables the ACT membership to participate at different levels throughout the process from nomination to election at the Electronic General Assembly. The Governing Board will appoint a voting officer, proposed by the General Secretary, who will help the Assembly conduct the voting sessions including the elections.

The Membership Engagement model approved at the 2018 General Assembly in Uppsala, Sweden introduced the requirement that to serve on the Governing Board or on a Committee, the candidate and the nominating ACT member must demonstrate active engagement in the life of the Alliance prior to being nominated to the Governing Board or to the MNC. 

ACT Governing Board

According to ACT Alliance Statutes and By-Laws, the Governing Board is composed of up to twenty (22) members distributed (as listed in the By-laws) between:

 Global bodies (permanent seats):

  • 1 World Council of Churches (WCC)
  • 1 Lutheran World Federation (LWF)

Regional Representation:

  • 3 from Africa
  • 3 from Asia
  • 3 from Western Europe
  • 1 from Eastern and Central Europe
  • 3 from Meso America, South America and the Caribbean
  • 2 from North America (USA and Canada)
  • 1 from the Pacific nations, Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand
  • 1 from the Middle East
  • 1 from Global members

Youth representation:

  • 2 seats assigned to Youth

(add map —- see this page:https://actalliance.org/act-assembly/assembly/governance/nominations/)

The MNC will strive for regional representation emphasising however that the ACT By-laws prioritise principles of engagement and capacity over regional representation.

 Only ACT member organisations in good standing (for example members that are not suspended) can nominate individuals for either the Governing Board or the MNC. Only nominations with proper endorsement from the relevant Forum will be considered.  Candidates for the two Youth seats require, in addition to Forum endorsement, also an endorsement from the Community of Practice on Youth.

The WCC and the LWF, each having a permanent seat in the Governing Board, are exempt of the requirement of endorsement in order to nominate their representatives.

For questions about this process please contact either: Mr Melton Luhanga, Chair of the Membership and Nominations Committee: Melton.Luhanga@cardmw.org or Ms Kerstin Kollander, Special Adviser to the General Secretary: Kerstin.Kollander@actalliance.org.

ACT Membership and Nominations Committee

According to ACT Alliance By-Laws, the Membership and Nominations Committee shall have up to five (5) members based on:

  • A balance between the ‘Global South and the Global North’
  • Nominees having an excellent understanding of membership criteria
  • Nominees having long term experience and deep knowledge of the ecumenical movement
  • Nominees having an excellent understanding of the ACT Alliance

The MNC will strive for regional representation emphasising however that the ACT By-laws prioritise principles of engagement and capacity over regional representation.

Only ACT member organisations in good standing (for example members that are not suspended) can nominate individuals for either the Governing Board or the MNC. Only nominations with proper endorsement from the relevant Forum will be considered.  Candidates for the two Youth seats require, in addition to Forum endorsement, also an endorsement from the Community of Practice on Youth.

For questions about this process please contact either: Mr Melton Luhanga, Chair of the Membership and Nominations Committee: Melton.Luhanga@cardmw.org or Ms Kerstin Kollander, Special Adviser to the General Secretary: Kerstin.Kollander@actalliance.org.

ACT Alliance Nominations and Elections Process Timeline