By clicking submit, you agree to the following Constitution of VAPR.
ARTICLE I. NAME OF ORGANIZATION
The name of this organization is Vietnamese Association for Pattern Recognition. This organization will utilize the acronyms VAPR in all publicity and correspondence.
ARTICLE II. PURPOSE STATEMENT
VAPR is a non-profit organization which aims to provide a forum for individual researchers in pattern recognition, machine learning, data mining, image and video processing, computer vision, natural language processing, speech recognition and big data.
ARTICLE III. ACTIVITIES
The organization shall fulfill the objectives in Article II by organizing seminars, workshops and conferences, by publishing journal and conference papers, and by dissemination of information related to the areas of research in Article II.
ARTICLE IV. MEMBERSHIP
Membership in this organization is open to all individuals who have interests in the activities of the organization in Article III. There shall be two categories of membership, namely Regular Membership, and Student Membership.
A - Regular Member: those with qualification as deemed adequate by the Board and who subscribe to the objectives of the Organization can apply for regular membership.
B - Student Member: persons who are full time registered students can apply for student membership.
ARTICLE V. TERMINATION OF MEMBERSHIP
A - A member who wishes to terminate his/her membership from the organization shall inform the Board of this intention in writing.
B - A member whose conduct, in the view of the Board, is damaging to the name of the organization shall have his/her membership terminated by a two-thirds majority of the Board. Such member, if aggrieved by the decision of the Board, may appeal to the General Meeting of members within one month of receipt of the notification from the Board. The decision of the General Meeting shall be final.
C – A member who becomes inactive and does not reply the notification for renewing its membership annually will be removed from the organizing after three notifications.
ARTICLE VI. DUES
Annual membership dues shall be decided by the General Meeting on recommendation from the Board from time to time.
ARTICLE VII. ADMINISTRATION BOARD
A - The administration of the organization shall be entrusted to a Board consisting of six members, including a President, two Vice Presidents, a Secretary, a Treasurer and a Board member, to be elected as alternate Annual General Meeting (AGM).
B - Full Members who are not Vietnamese citizens or Vietnamese Permanent Residents shall be eligible for election as members of the Board, but not as the following office-bearers: President, Vice President, Secretary and Treasurer.
C - Names for the above offices shall be proposed at the AGM and election will follow on a simple majority vote of the members. Except for the Treasurer who shall not be re-elected to the same or related post for a consecutive term of office, all other office bearers of the Board may be re-elected to the same or related post for a maximum of three consecutive terms. The term of office of the Board is two years.
D - Election will be either by show of hands or, subject to the agreement of the majority of the voting members present, by a secret ballot. In the even of a tie, the Chairman of the meeting shall have a casting vote.
E - A Board Meeting shall be held at least once every six months after giving seven days' notice to Board Members. The President may call a Board Meeting at any time by giving five days' notice. At least one of the Board Members must be present for its proceedings to be valid.
F - Any member of the Board absenting himself/herself from three meetings consecutively without satisfactory explanations shall be deemed to have withdrawn from the Board and a successor may be co-opted by the Board to serve until the next AGM. Any changes in the Board shall be notified to the Registrar of Societies within two weeks of the change.
G - The Board has power to authorize the expenditure of any sum per month from the Organization's funds for the Organization's purposes, provided always that the sum does not exceed the amount determined at the AGM of members.
ARTICLE VIII. RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE BOARD AND OFFICE BEARERS
A - The duty of the Board is to organize and supervise the day-to-day activities of the organization. The Board shall prepare all issues that are to be put before the General Meeting, handle all the Organization's affairs and implement the decisions of the General Meeting. The Board may not act contrary to the expressed wishes of the General Meeting of members without prior reference to it and always remains subordinate to the General Meetings of members.
B - The President shall chair the meetings of the Board and the General Meetings, convene the Board meetings and the General Meetings, sign for the Organization, and represent the organization when necessary, nationally and internationally. The President can
appoint a member of the Board to become the representative for VAPR in the IAPR governing board or any IAPR activity for specific representation tasks.
C - The Vice President shall perform the duties of the President when the latter is unable to do so.
D - The Secretary shall handle the Register of Members of the organization, receive and register new members, minute all Board meetings and the General Meetings, and handle all correspondences and records, except financial, of the Organization and shall be responsible for their correctness.
C - The Treasurer shall collect the dues, manage the finance of the organization, keep detailed records, and make payments that are approved by the Board or the General Meeting. He/she shall keep an account of all monetary transactions and shall be responsible for their correctness. He/she is authorized to expend monies for petty expenses on behalf of the organization, provided always that the sum spent does not exceed the monthly amount determined by the Board. He/she will not keep more than the same monthly amount in the form of cash and money exceeding the monthly amount shall be deposited in a bank to be named by the Board. Cheques, etc for withdrawals from the bank must be signed by the President or Vice-President in addition to the Treasurer.
D - The other members on the Board shall assist in the general administration of the Organization and perform duties assigned by the Board from time to time.
ARTICLE IX. AUDITORS
Two auditors who are not members of the Board shall be elected for a period of two years at the General Meeting. The auditors shall examine the accounts of the Board and report to the General Meeting. The auditors shall not be re-elected for a consecutive term.
They will be required to audit each year's accounts and present a report upon them to the Annual General Meeting. They may be required by the President to audit the organization's accounts for any period within their tenure of office at any date and make a report to the Board.
ARTICLE X. GENERAL MEETING
A - The supreme authority of the organization is vested in the General Meeting of members presided over by the President. At least 25% of the total voting membership, or 30 voting members, whichever is the lesser, present at a General Meeting shall form a quorum. Proxies shall not be constituted as part of the quorum.
B - An AGM will be held once every year by August.
C - At other times, an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) may be called at any time by the order of the Board and must be called by the President on the request in writing of not less than 25% of the total voting membership or 30 voting members, whichever is the lesser. The notice in writing shall be given to the Secretary setting forth the business that is to be transacted. The EGM shall be convened within two months from receiving this request to convene the EGM.
D - If the Board does not within two months after the date of the receipt of the written request proceed to convene an EGM, the members who requested for the EGM shall convene the EGM by giving ten days' notice to voting members setting forth the business to be transacted and simultaneously posting the agenda on the Organization's notice board.
E - At least two weeks' notice shall be given of an AGM and at least ten days' notice of an EGM. Notice of meeting stating the date, time and place of meeting shall be sent by the Secretary to all voting members. The particulars of the agenda shall be posted on the organization's notice board four days in advance of the meeting.
F - Unless otherwise stated in this Constitution, voting by proxy is allowed at all General Meetings.
G - The following points will be considered at the AGM:
- The previous financial year's accounts and annual report of the Board.
- Where applicable, the election of office-bearers and Honorary Auditors for the following term.
H - Any member who wishes to place an item on the agenda of a General Meeting may do so provided he gives notice to the Secretary on week before the meeting is due to be held.
I - In the event that there is no quorum at the commencement of a General Meeting, the General Meeting shall be adjourned after half an hour and should the number then present be insufficient to form a quorum, those present shall be considered a quorum, but they shall have no power to alter, delete or make additions to the existing Constitution.
ARTICLE XI. AMENDMENTS TO CONSTITUTION
No alteration or additions/deletions to this Constitution shall be made except at a General Meeting and with the consent of two-thirds of the voting members either in person or by proxy, and they shall not come into force without the prior sanction of the Registrar of organization.
ARTICLE XII. DISPUTES
In the event of any dispute arising among members, they shall attempt to resolve the matter at an Extraordinary General Meeting in accordance with this Constitution. Should the members fail to resolve the matter, they may bring
the matter to a court of law for settlement.
ARTICLE XIII. DISSOLUTION OF THE ORGANIZATION
A - The organization shall not be dissolved, except with the consent of not less than three-fifths of the voting members, expressed, either in person or by proxy, at a General Meeting convened for the purpose. The final General Meeting will decide how to handle the remaining funds after fully discharging all debts and liabilities of the organization.
B - In the event of the organization being dissolved as provided above, all debts and liabilities legally incurred on behalf of the Organization shall be fully discharged, and the remaining funds will be disposed of in such manner as the General Meeting of members may determine or donated to an approved charity or charities in Vietnam.
C - A Certificate of Dissolution shall be given within seven days of the dissolution to the Registrar of organization.
