The Ghana Youth Leadership Alliance requires active involvement from our members. This is the only way we can effectively contribute to our nation's development and not remain yet another talk shop. Thus, if you do not believe in our core values of networking, leadership and service then you need not join our alliance. To facilitate our networking programs and make it easier organization wise, we have created the following groups of membership. Please see the most appropriate category for you-both in terms of your volunteer and financial contribution potential-and register to join accordingly. All members should ideally be between the ages of 16-36. However, we reject no one on the basis of age, gender, creed, sexual, political or ethnic affiliation. Our different groups of membership are merely prescriptive and we will accommodate anyone interested in Ghana 's development even if they do not meet the criteria strictly. Our aim is not to promote exclusivity or elitism but to create fun and relevant networks of people who support our noble mission. Upon registering, a membership card will be issued to the member. For details of where your contributions go, see our projects page ( www.gsoluxion.com ) and our Q&A section.

Executive Members:

Executive Members must ideally be young Ghanaian professionals either working in Ghana or overseas. They can be involved in any professional field, so long as they have particular skill sets they wish to contribute or are interested in making annual financial commitments to projects run by the organization. We *recommend* annual membership contributions of US$ 200.00+ from Executive members and/or some degree of Ghana-focused volunteer work but will certainly not disqualify members for their inability to meet this.

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Honorary Members:

They have the qualities of Executive members and are fully dedicated to our mission but may fall outside the age-range or other network criteria like Ghanaian affiliation of any sort. They are also expected to contribute as Executive Members.

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Diamond Members:

This is a graduate student network of the leadership alliance. It is open to mature members of the Ghana Youth Leadership Alliance who are in transition between a tertiary education and the work force. These members may have special needs for professional contacts and networks or opportunities for careers in Ghana . We *recommend* annual membership contributions of US$ 100.00+ and/or some degree of Ghana-focused volunteer work from Diamond members but will certainly not disqualify members for their inability to meet this. For the purpose of networking, Diamond members must ideally be in a post-graduate education program or its equivalent.

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Gold Members:

This is the college student network of the leadership alliance. It is open to younger members of the Ghana Youth Leadership Alliance who are pursuing a tertiary education (tertiary needs not be university and can be vocational or other). These members are socially active and more energetic and have a need for more social-oriented network events and activities. We *recommend* annual membership contributions of US$ 50.00 and/or some degree of Ghana-focused volunteer work. For the purpose of networking, Gold members must ideally be enrolled in a post-high school program.

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Ruby Members:

Ruby members are all other members who do not neatly fit into any of our categories and yet have immense potential and resources both human and other, to contribute to our work and ultimately to the development of Ghana . They may pay any desired donation or give any service/volunteer activity they can.

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Membership Entitlements:

Constitution:

Article I - Identity

This organization shall be known as the Ghana Youth Leadership Alliance or GYLA. The logo is the "Adinkra" symbol known as "Nyinkyim" (shown above). It symbolizes Initiative, dynamism and versatility; key virtues we seek to engender in ourselves and in the youth of Ghana . The motto of the organization shall be "Building Ghana's Future, One Leader at a Time"-a succinct statement of our core mission.

Article II - Background and Mission Statement

Leadership goes a long way to define and inspire the development of a country. Ghana , like any other developing country, can look forward to a promising future, should our youth be assisted to put their leadership and entrepreneurial skills to work. Currently, very few opportunities allow our youth to actuate ideals of service and leadership. This can be attributed to the lack of resources available to the youthful segment of Ghana 's population. We believe that an increase in avenues that will aid the youth to network and apply their leadership and service skills would go a long way to enhance the development of the country.

The missions of the Ghana Youth Leadership Alliance is to provide Ghanaian youth with a platform to manifest their creative potential and network with each other to create the multiplier effect needed for any meaningful youth-led development agenda. We will achieve this by networking (building and maintaining a link between young Ghanaians and people of Ghanaian origin or affiliation resident in both Ghana and overseas using the internet as a primary platform), by leadership (an active membership organization of volunteers and donors), and by service (creating, supporting and volunteering for nonprofit projects with a clear human development or poverty alleviating benefit)

Article III - Legal Status

The organization shall have the following legal status

1. Be registered in Ghana as a non-profit/ NGO with focus on education and human development
2. Be registered in the US as a non-profit with 501(c) (3) status in the distant future to enable us source direct funding from foundations and large donors for our activities.

Article IV - Purpose

1. To encourage young Ghanaians and people of Ghanaian origin or affiliation, both home and abroad, to work collaboratively towards the development of Ghana in all aspects of its existence.
2. To create a social and professional network of like-minded young men and women who are committed to sharing their talents or resources to help others who need it most.

Article V - Objectives

1. To create social capital by building a network of Ghanaian students and young professionals abroad and their peers in Ghana . This goal with be facilitated by the creation of an online community.
2. To provide a sharable platform of knowledge and ideas that will address developmental issues and everyday problems in Ghana.
3. To help the Ghanaian youth to create and sustain personal entrepreneurial Alliances by providing the needed structural and consultancy support.
4. To highlight, uphold and reward excellence in leadership or personal achievement among young Ghanaians.
5. To reach out to youth in second and third cycle institutions in Ghana via mentorship programs, motivational speaker series, leadership seminars and entrepreneurship workshops among others All with the view to building capacity among Ghanaian youth.

Article VI - Activities

1. The organization shall have a publicly accessible community website that will be a platform for communication and interaction between its members, friends, sponsors and affiliates. www.ghanaunite.com
2. It shall also have a projects and initiatives department www.gsoluxions.com which will be divided into the following departments:
   1. Education and Career development:
   2. Social Entrepreneurship and people empowerment:
   3. Philanthropic and social Initiatives
   4. Volunteer work
3. The Ghana Youth Leadership Alliance shall have a publications department responsible for a bi-annual newsletter, an annual report and financial statement and several features on its website.
4. As part of the Awards and Recognition Program, sponsorships will be sought for deserving graduates of second cycle and tertiary institutions in Ghana and excelling professionals will be featured on our Wall of Honor. All of these awards will be documented on the website of the organization.

Article VII - Board of Patrons

This will consist of five eminent persons who will contribute in significant and diverse ways to the goals of the organization.

Article VIII - Executive Board

The current board officers will determine the requirements and the application process for succeeding executive board officers. These requirements and application details and deadlines will be published openly among the membership. The board shall consist of the following 10 positions:

1. President
2. Vice President 1 (Organization and Strategy)
3. Vice President 2 (Projects and Initiatives)
4. Director of finance
5. Director of Public Relations
6. Board Secretary
7. Operations Manager
8. Projects Director
9. Projects Director
10. Director of technology and communications
11. Director of publications
12. Director of fundraising and "business development"
13. Ghana Country Director

Additional positions may be added at the discretion of the board.

Article IX - Roles of the Executive Board Officers

The board officers shall have the following broadly outlined responsibilities:

Section 1 - President :

The president shall have managerial oversight of all activities of the organization. He/she shall also chair meetings and provide visionary guidance and leadership for the organization. He/she shall have the deciding vote should deadlock arise at meetings

Section 2 - Vice President 1 (Organization and Strategy) :

Shall provide support to the president as requested. He/she shall chair meetings in the absence of the president. He/she shall also be responsible for organizing the board (interviewing new volunteer applicants and co-coordinating selection, planning meetings and events). He/She shall also be responsible general organization, coordination and organization strategy.

Section 3 - Vice President 2 (Projects and Alliances) :

Shall provide support to the president as requested. Shall be responsible for overseeing and liaising with the Projects managers on all the four broad operations of the organization as listed in section 8

Section 4 - Director of finance :

He/she will be responsible for all finance-related matters of the organization. Additionally, he shall be responsible for fund raising strategy and work closely with VP 1 on this.

Section 5 - Director of Public Relations :

Shall be the public face of the organization and shall work closely with other members to put the message of our good work into the public domain. He/she shall have additional responsibilities as media affairs coordinator and contact person.

Section 6 - Secretary :

He/she will work with the presidents to run the executive board. He/she shall also be responsible for all official correspondence of the organization and shall moderate the e-mail list, board meetings/discussions etc. He/she shall also keep records and minutes and take care of any official documentation and business relating to the organization.

Section 7 - Projects Managers :

Shall head all four broad project areas outlined in section 8 and shall report directly to the VP for projects. He/ she is responsible for recruiting volunteers for the various projects, developing strategy, monitoring and evaluating projects and assigning tasks to the Associate project director where appropriate.

Section 8 - Ghana Country Director

Shall represent the interests of the organization in Ghana and assist with developing and overseeing all programs and projects in Ghana .

Section 9 - Director of technology and communications :

Shall administer the website of the organization and provide technological support such as voice conferencing, e-mail lists etc

Section 10 - Director of publications :

He/she will manage all the publications of the organization as outlined in section 3 of article V. He/She shall solicit input/updates/reports from other board members to allow him/her to perform the role.

Section 11- Director of fundraising and "business development"

Shall be responsible for fundraising from non-donor sources. He/ she shall also develop programs and ventures to help the organization raise funds for its nonprofit activites.

Section 12- Projects Manager

Shall be responsible for overseeing the smooth operation of all departments of the organization and for helping with technical issues in implementation and strategy.

Article X - Elections to the Executive Board

The Board will hold elections as and when a position becomes vacant. The Board will invite applicants to apply by submitting a half-to-one page position statement and a resume.

Article XI - Dismissal of Officers

Section 1

Officers are liable to dismissal in the following circumstances:

1. General misconduct
2. Misappropriation of funds
3. Dereliction of duties

Section 2

Officers shall be dismissed only after the executive board or an ad-hoc committee chosen for that purpose has assessed evidence and counter-evidence fully.

Section 3

Dismissal of an officer requires a two-thirds quorum of the executive board.

Article XII - Membership

Section 1

1. Eligibility and types of membership
   The Ghana Youth Leadership Alliance is open to all Ghanaian youth both home and abroad. Non-Ghanaians who have the interest of Ghana at heart may also join. Its membership will be divided into the groups (see GYLA website for details)

 

Section 2

Entitlements and benefits

 

Members are:

1. Entitled to be part of our website and all activities thereon
2. Allowed to make constructive contribution to the running of the organization in terms of activities that might help to attain the cause of the organization.
3. Eligible to participate in all programs and activities of the organization.
4. Eligible to apply for any administrative position in the organization.
5. All reports and publications of the organization. See GYLA website for details.

Section 3

Responsibilities:

 

Members shall:

1. Abide by the constitution of the organization
2. Fully participate in the activities of the organization as described by the membership status
3. Uphold the founding principles of the organization and strive to promote it in various ways.

Article XIII - Meetings

Section 1

The executive board will determine the days and times of the meetings.

Section 2

The president is capable of calling for emergency meetings outside the normal time scheduled for meetings.

Section 3

Other members of the executive board can call for emergency meetings after consulting with the president or vice presidents.

Article XIV - Applications and Eligibility

Eligible board members may apply through the Operations Manager/Board Secretary.

Article XV - Amendments

Section 1

The Executive Board reserves the right to change the constitution without prior notice and to inform members of such.

Section 2

Members of the organization can propose amendments to this constitution. Such proposed amendments will be considered and voted upon by the executive board.

Article XVI - By-Laws

By-laws can be adopted only after two-thirds of the members agree to its adoption. The by-laws to be adopted should be proposed at least one week before voting at a regular or an executive board meeting.

 

* Adopted by unanimous vote of the Executive Board on 06.06.06