The European Federation
The
beginning of the European Federation
Kiwanis
International was more than forty years old before
it was accepted to extend the organisation to other
countries. Many discussions took part before it was
accepted and some were heavier than others. The men
had fought endless battles over this issue. The main
disagreement was on the cost that this would most
certainly bring the organisation. The ballot at the
Convention in Toronto shows that disagreement was
deep, but the conclusion was that 2394 said “aye”
and 1762 said “nay”.
Following is a summary of the guidelines for
International extension adopted by the Board at that
July-August meeting 1961:
- Clubs shall be permitted to
exist only in nations that permit freedom of
assembly, expression and action.
- Each Club shall adopt and
adhere to the Objects of Kiwanis International and
shall pay on the same basis as all clubs of
Kiwanis International such dues and fees as shall
currently be required.
- The assistance, guidance and
promotion of such clubs at all times shall be
under the direction, supervision and control of
the Board of Trustees of Kiwanis International.
- Every aspect of control shall
be vested in the Board of Trustees of Kiwanis
International.
On May 15 1962, the Kiwanis Club
of Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico, received its
charter from Immediate Past KI
President J.O. Tully Jr., as the first Kiwanis club
organised outside the United States and Canada.
Past International President Tully who seems to be
one of the strongest supporter of expanding the
organisation reports to the International Board in
October 1962. “Statement re Federation Plan” and
“Reports on Organization Structure and Policies.”
Especially pertinent to the discussion is the
following statement from Past President Tully:
“I think we must recognise the fact that, in order
to make it possible for Kiwanis to exist in other
countries, that having set up this course of action,
the only sound decision we can make upon that choice
is to financially support that action to the limited
and relatively small extent that would be necessary
to embark it upon a federated plan or affiliated
plan of organisation.”
He went on to state that any other approach would
result in inadequate support for clubs organised.
Such clubs would have limited opportunity for
success. President Tully was fully aware that the
influence from the Mother Organisation should be as
limited as possible. Each country and Continent
should design their club to their own needs and
customs within the limits of the KI Constitution.
In the meantime extension continued. The Kiwanis
club of Nassau, the Bahamas was organised on
December 13, 1962, becoming the first club in the
Caribbean and the second outside of Canada and the
United States. Growth in Europe was not far behind
with the Vienna club, Austria, being organised
February 25, 1963, sponsored by the Kiwanis Club of
Cleveland, Ohio. Next came Basel, Switzerland, April
1, 1963; Brussels, Belgium, April 9, and Zürich,
Switzerland, September 17. Anticipating this growth
in Europe KI President Tucker proposed a European
Tour sponsored by Kiwanis International. It would
take place at the time of the chartering of the
first European club.
The first federation plan
By the time of the International
Convention in Los Angeles in 1964, ten extension
countries had active Kiwanis clubs: Mexico,
Switzerland, the Bahamas, Austria, Belgium, Germany,
Norway, Iceland, Japan and Jamaica. By the October
meeting of the Board, there were twenty-five
extension clubs organised and the Board voted to
adopt the Federation Plan as set forth in the
policies governing the organisation and
administration of Kiwanis clubs outside of Canada
and the United States. Thus the Federation Plan came
to be mandatory. To implement this action, the name
and emblem were to be registered in Europe and a
corporation established in Switzerland to further
protect the interests of Kiwanis International.
After much discussion and several suggestions as to
how Kiwanis International could help all the clubs,
it was agreed to form a European Committee to work
with the Board on an informal basis until a more
permanent organisation seemed feasible. Professor
Dr. Werner Bartschi of Bern, Switzerland, chaired
the committee. Prominent among those involved was
Dr. Gottfried Reimann of Basel, often referred to as
the father of Kiwanis in Europe.
This committee was the forerunner of the European
Commission and the Council of Founders and led to
the formation of Kiwanis International-Europe in
1968, with an office in Zurich, Switzerland. Past
Kiwanis International vice-president Kenneth P.
Greenaway, who had been handling extension matters
in the KI General Office for a time, was asked by
the KI Secretary to handle the assignment in Zurich
as European Administrator and Secretary of the
European Federation. Jean Ladriere was elected the
first president of the Federation, serving during
the year of 1969.
It was obvious from the
beginning that the Europeans believed that a strong
relationship between Kiwanians in Europe was
necessary. It is also interesting to know that from
the beginning Kiwanis International believed that
the Europeans would be the best group to lead the
way in this new structure of Kiwanis International.
A world secretariat
Although there was a general
agreement that a World Federation should be
established to bind all clubs together and to
facilitate discussion of mutual problems and
administration no specific action was taken until
1968 when James M. Moler became KI President. He
called a meeting of a special committee at the
Marriott Hotel near O’Hare
International Airport in Chicago to consider
structure. The date and place of the meeting call up
bittersweet memories for those in attendance. During
the session the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther
King Jr. was announced. Even so, the work of the
meeting had real significance. It resulted in the
drafting of a charter for the World Secretariat,
which was approved by the Board at its May 1968
meeting. This Board meeting also saw approval of the
Kiwanis International-Europe Constitution and bylaws.
The purposes of the World Secretariat which held its
first meeting.
June 9-11, 1969, were to:
- Safeguard the six permanent
objects of Kiwanis
- Act as the advisory body
co-ordinating the functions of Kiwanis
International as these are related to all of its
affiliated bodies.
- Promote unity of purpose and
common understanding of the fundamental principles
of Kiwanis throughout the world.
- Suggest activities of mutual
interest to all affiliates.
- Preserve the unique character
of Kiwanis in community service.
- Explore and evaluate problems
and concerns referred to it by Kiwanis
International or other representatives of its
affiliated bodies.
- Refrain from action that shall
violate the autonomy of any of the affiliated
bodies.
The Clubs outside N-America did
not have equal status to the clubs in N-America. In
order to gain this status the clubs in Europe had to
unite and stay united through whatever disagreements
there were.
Annual spring meetings of the World Secretariat
continued through 1977 when the need for such
sessions seemed unnecessary because of the change of
the status of clubs, especially those of a Kiwanis
International-Europe. It was apparent that there
were advantages in the Federation Plan for Europe
with its many countries all fairly close to each
other. Disadvantages also existed, as pointed out by
the clubs themselves. The Europeans wanted equal
status with all other Kiwanis clubs. That would
allow all clubs to take full advantage of the years
of experience inherent in the organisation. It also
would provide for uniform leadership education
procedures and equal service by Kiwanis
International to all clubs.
Equal status
Still the Europeans were not
inclined to give up some aspects of their Federation.
During the 1970s these questions and others resulted
in a continuing study of how best to solve the
dilemma. Eventually on October 1 1978, all clubs
were made part of Kiwanis International on an equal
basis. Clubs in Europe continued to pay additional
dues to underwrite the cost of the remaining aspects
of the Federation Plan - namely, the selection of
officers who would give special attention to
districts and clubs within the Federation, supervise
and promote growth and hold an annual convention.
There were leaders in Kiwanis International-Europe
who believed that the Federation Structure should be
abandoned. The rank-and-file Kiwanians however, did
not agree with the opinions of their leaders. The
Kiwanis International Board, meanwhile, was
attempting to follow a path believed to be the best
for the total organisation. This was evident in the
fact that the Federation System was not picked as
the structure for other areas of the organisation.
In fact, very little reference to federations was
inserted into the Kiwanis International Constitution
and Bylaws. Only matters needing clarifications were
inserted, such as whether a past president of
Kiwanis International-Europe, even if he had never
served as a district governor, would be eligible to
be named as a specific representative to the Kiwanis
International Board from Kiwanis
International-Europe.
Historically, the whole period of nearly three
decades reflects a continuing discussion of how best
to proceed with international extension. There were
those who still thought the decision taken in 1961
was a mistake. And as some Kiwanians of this
persuasion became members of the Kiwanis
International Board, their goal was to minimise the
impact that the growth outside North America had on
the total organisation, both financially and
otherwise. Others, strong for rapid implementation
of what they believed was a good mandate, were
equally undecided as to how best to establish and
control new clubs world-wide. It was during this
period that the most gratifying announcement that
could be made, was in stating the number of new
countries and geographic areas which had been
approved for extension and which had at least one
club in existence. Unfortunately, in many instances,
additional growth was not forthcoming, and the
original club was the sole representative of Kiwanis
in that area for a long period. In fact some of
these clubs even disappeared and with it the Kiwanis
representation in those particular countries.
It took the European clubs ten years to gain equal
status to the clubs in United States and Canada. Who
knows how many more years it would have taken had we
not had Kiwanis International-Europe. Equal status
brought many good things, for instance, more service
to the clubs from Kiwanis International, training
for club officers, training of District Governors
with their colleagues from every District in the
world at special training session in Chicago and
later Indianapolis when headquarters moved there,
translation in different languages, et cetera, et
cetera, et cetera.
Wherever we look, we see evidence of changes made
possible only because of Kiwanis
International-Europe.
Equal status also meant that we had to pay dues to
Kiwanis International. Until 1978 we paid dues only
to Kiwanis International-Europe. In 1974 it was
accepted that the dues to KIE should be CHF 42.-
forty-two Swiss Francs. When we began paying
International dues it was taken from these CHF 42.-
and the difference went to KIE. The dues were not
increased.
Although European clubs and districts now got the
same training and the same administrative work the
equality was still not complete. The International
Board of trustees was still made up of N-Americans
and Canadians. It was often very obvious from the
Boards decisions that it was so. Both the KI Board
of Trustees and the KIE Board of Trustees realised
that this would not work in the long run.
Guaranteed seat to Europe on KI
board
Various areas of the Kiwanis world
were asking when it would be possible for them to
participate in the decision-making process of the
Organisation by having a member on the KI Board.
Europe had five districts and its clubs and
membership were increasing steadily. The answer,
after a long debate, was delegate action at the
Atlanta convention in 1975, followed by action also
at the San Diego convention in 1976, which
established a specified representation plan. The
plan provided that Kiwanis International-Europe,
Eastern Canada and the Caribbean, and Western Canada
each have representation on the KI Board.
This was another step forward. One KI Board member
was now elected in Europe at the KIE-convention. A
victory, not only for Europe but for the whole
Organisation.
But such a plan only put the problem to rest
temporarily. Other geographic areas soon saw that
they had little chance of winning a seat on the KI
Board. Their candidates would have to compete in the
open election process with twenty-eight districts in
the United States also eager to back their
“favourite sons.” These districts outside the U.S.
and Canada also realised that specified
representation from Europe and Canada reduced the
number of openings to be filled through the election
process. Sentiment also was growing that the areas
outside Canada, the U.S. and Europe, never having
been represented on the KI Board, should be.
A conference in Hong Kong 1970 with KI
President-Elect T.R. Johnson and representatives
from five South Pacific Kiwanis nations attending,
discussed the future for Kiwanis in that part of the
world. This conference is the forerunner of the
Asia-Pacific Conference started in 1971 and yearly
ever since.
In 1981 it became obvious that the KI Board was not
ready to present to the delegate body the
complicated set of amendments that would make major
changes in how the Kiwanis International Board was
structured and how members would be selected. The
whole matter remained a hot issue and no official
action seemed imminent until a decision was reached
to test the interest of the delegate body in
changing KI Board structure by submitting an
administrative resolution at the 1986 annual
convention in Houston, Texas. The resolution was
prepared by an Ad Hoc Committee chaired by Immediate
Past International President Raymond Lansford.
The delegates overwhelmingly mandated the KI Board
to bring about the needed Constitutional adjustments
to assure adequate representation on the KI Board
from various areas of the Kiwanis world organisation
in the short term and to set long-range goals as
well. In the meantime, to satisfy the great desire
of members in the Asia-Pacific area to have a
representation on the KI Board, this was granted by
delegate action in 1982.
Five regions
A special International Committee
on Constitution and Bylaws chaired by Robert
McCurley, a past governor of the Alabama District,
was appointed to draft the necessary amendments to
carry out the principles expressed in the
Administrative Resolutions. The delegate body
approved the amendments in 1987.
Based upon membership figures at that time, five
electoral regions were set up:
Region I
All districts that include one or more of the
fifty states of the United States.
Region II
Eastern Canada and the Caribbean District and the
Western Canada District.
Region III
Europe, including all European Districts.
Region IV
Asia-Pacific Area, which includes the Districts of
Australia, Japan, New Zealand-South Pacific,
Philippine Luzon, Philippine South and the
Republic of China.
Region V
All other areas of the world.
The Constitution set forth how the
members of the Kiwanis International Board would be
elected : either by being given a guaranteed seat
from a region or being elected directly by the
delegate body at an annual convention. The
amendments also provided that when the membership in
Region V reached 2.5% of the membership of Kiwanis
International and when that figure was maintained
for two consecutive years, then Region V would
qualify for a guaranteed seat on the Board.
Another important provision called for an increase
in guaranteed seats outside of the United States
when membership in the United States decreased below
80% and an increase of one additional seat when the
percentage was below 75%. A new study of the KI
Board structure was mandated if the membership
figure in the United States dropped below 70% of the
total organisations membership.
To amend the Constitution and Bylaws and add the
Federation structure to it was the next step forward.
At the International Convention in Seattle 1988 the
Delegate body granted amendment to the Constitution
and Bylaws as follows:
FEDERATIONS
Section 1. For the purpose of promoting the
best interests of Kiwanis, the International Board
of Trustees has the authority to create, supervise
and control federations of districts and shall
establish the boundaries of federations. The
International Board of Trustees shall have the
power to establish and change the boundaries of
federations in such manner as it may deem best.
Prior to any proposed change becoming effective,
not less than ninety (90) days notice shall be
given to the affected federations, district or
club may submit a written statement of support or
protest and/or may request that a hearing be held
before the Board of Trustees during its meeting at
the next Annual Convention. If a hearing is
requested, the Board shall schedule such hearing
and give notice thereof to the affected
federations, districts and clubs. Before any
change becomes effective, the Board shall consider
all matters presented at the hearing, if held and
all written statements of support or protest.
Section 2. Each federation shall hold an
Annual Convention in accordance with the bylaws of
the federation, unless in any year the
International Board of Trustees shall determine
that there exists a condition of emergency and
because of such an emergency the holding of such
convention would not be practical, in which case
the International Board of Trustees by further
resolution shall have the power to establish and
fix provisions and procedures for transacting, by
any means deemed best by such International Board
of Trustees and or all business that would
normally be transacted by and at such convention.
Section 3. Each federation, through its
convention, shall adopt the federation bylaws. Any
modification of or amendment to said federation
bylaws shall become effective only upon approval
thereof by the International Board of Trustees,
shall replace any constitution or bylaws in effect
prior thereto.
Section 4. Each district and each club
within the territorial limits of a Kiwanis
federation shall be a member of said federation
and such district or club must comply with the
Constitution and Bylaws of Kiwanis International
and the federation bylaws and any amendments as
adopted or amended.
Section 5. Federation may incorporate in
the same manner and upon the same conditions
provided for clubs.
This is the text in the
Constitution of Kiwanis International. It is really
open to every area that wants to create a Federation.
Every Federation can have its own bylaws as long as
they do not come in conflict with the Constitution
and Bylaws of Kiwanis International. To assure that,
Federation bylaws must be approved by the Board of
Trustees of Kiwanis International. Such is our
situation in the structure of Kiwanis International
today.
The new federation structure:
Kiwanis International Europe - Regional Office
When the general structure of
Federations had been agreed upon by KI with
additions and amendments made to the Constitution
and Bylaws of Kiwanis International the KIEF was
forced to change its Bylaws. Coinciding with the
changes which had to be made to the European Bylaws
was the opening of the KI Regional Office in Zurich.
As mentioned before, the KIE office had prior to
these changes, been handling most of the necessary
service work for European Kiwanis Clubs, but with
the changes this service was to be taken over by the
Regional Office. With both changes taking place
simultaneously a vacuum of sorts was created within
KIEF since the European organization was not
prepared for the changed conditions.
In the following years considerable tension was
created between the two offices, primarily because
the European Board had difficulties in adjusting to
the changes and did not realize that they were made
in order to relieve it from the duties of following
all the daily routine jobs of the KIEF office and to
create opportunities to strengthen the cooperation
of Districts within the region.
Kiwanis International was also unprepared for the
great influence on the KIEF operation caused by the
changes. In the turmoil following the adoption of
the new order both parties therefore failed to
realize that it was one thing to carry out the
changes and another to realize the effects of the
changes on the Kiwanis operation in Europe.
At the outset of the 1988-1989 administrative year
the European Board was not aware of the role of the
European movement. Nobody had thought of preparing
for the definition of new goals under the new order.
European Kiwanis Clubs did not know whether they
should turn to the KIEF office or to the KI regional
office for service.
Arguments over trivial matters continued for too
long. Instead of joining forces in building up and
reorganizing the European movement the two sides
were busy discussing details of no consequence.
Confusion reigned, the manager of the KIEF office
quit his job and individual members of the KIEF
Board took on duties in the operation of the KIEF
office which amateurs in Kiwanis should never be
required to attend to.
The new version of the European Bylaws proved to be
a millstone for the operation of the European
movement. The Board deliberated on issues at its
meetings and made decisions only to have them
rejected by the European Council at its meeting the
following day. The Board could not do anything
without the consent of the European Council and
these two groups were continuously at odds with each
other. In reality it is safe to state that the KIEF
Bylaws adopted in 1990 were written in such a manner
that an effective operation of KIEF was impossible.
Finally things came to a showdown at the European
Convention in Nice in 1993.
At the initiative of a few former Kiwanis leaders in
Europe it was decided at the Nice Convention to
appoint a committee to prepare a proposal for a
reorganization of the European movement and for
ideas about the future goals of KIEF. The proposal
was presented at the planned European Convention in
Innsbruck, Austria, in June 1994.
Goals
- To manage the build up of the
Kiwanis movement in Europe in cooperation with
Kiwanis International. The main emphasis is to be
on areas outside Districts and on countries where
a few or no clubs are working.
- To unite the European Kiwanis
movement for more influence on the future
organisation of the world movement. To discuss at
European Conventions all matters concerning the
World movement before they are dealt with at
International Conventions.
- To unite the European Kiwanis
movement for international service projects. To
organise European Kiwanis Worldwide Service
Project, IDD, in cooperation with the European
Kiwanis Districts.
- To support cooperation within
Europe by introduction of Kiwanis work of
individual Districts at European Conventions.
- To call attention to customs
and the daily life of individual nations within
Europe. At least two nations each year - in order
to increase the knowledge of the members of the
daily life of other people and thus increase the
understanding of the importance of international
Kiwanis work.
- To introduce to Europeans the
work of Kiwanians in other parts of the world.
- To increase interclub relations
within Europe. To urge the Districts to organise
inter-family visits with families in other
countries in Europe and elsewhere in order to
understand better the customs and the ways of
living of other nations.
- To publish a
magazine/newsletter with news of Kiwanis work in
Europe, International work, service work, club
building in countries in Europe where few or no
clubs are working, introducing Districts,
Federation and International Conventions, with
news of important proposals presented at
International Conventions and what happened to
them.
- To work on the building of
Kiwajunior in Europe in cooperation with
individual Districts and KI.
The goals
were approved by the House of Delegates and a
special committee was elected to study the KIEF
Bylaws. At the European Convention in Reykjavik,
Iceland 1995 new Federation Bylaws were presented
and approved by the House of Delegates. The KIEF
operation is still based on these bylaws.
