SPA AGM Guide 2020

A Guide to the AGM

Chair’s Welcome Dear SPA Members, It is with great pleasure that I can announce that we finally have a date set in stone to host our Association’s Annual General Meeting.

This has been a long year, and I’d like to take this opportunity to thank you all for your patience over the past six months as we adapted to a world that has changed a great deal since we were first elected to our posts.

While the flashiness of the awards ceremony and the draw of big name speakers may seem to overshadow the AGM at times, there is no doubt in my mind that the latter is the most important event in the SPA’s annual calendar.

Ultimately, the strength of our Association is at its greatest when our members join in and take charge of shaping our priorities.

On that note, I strongly encourage you to read how you can get directly involved in the SPA later on in this short booklet. Be it through writing a motion, standing for election, or even just attending, speaking and voting, you can make a serious difference for the next generation of student journalists.

If you have any questions about the AGM, feel free to drop me an email at chair@spajournalism.com.

Owain Evans Student Publication Association Chair 2019-20 2

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So what is the AGM? Each year, the Student Publication Association hosts an Annual General Meeting (or AGM for short) to discuss important matters, vote on policy for the year ahead, and elect new officers to lead the SPA through the following year.

This SPA’s 2020 AGM is set to take place on Saturday 3 October.

Normally, the AGM takes place at that year’s SPANC, and is held in-person in the hosting city. This year, the trustees have decided that it would not be safe to conduct in-person events due to the COVID-19 pandemic, so the AGM will instead take place online.

Due to the AGM being held online, different procedures are being put in place to ensure that it can take place in a smooth and orderly fashion. This includes the introduction of a secured online voting system to host election ballots and conduct votes on motions which cannot be passed unanimously. Further details on how to access this voting system will be made available to member publications ahead of the meeting.

At its core, though, the AGM will function in essentially the same manner as usual. Reports, motions and elections will all take place, and all members will be entitled to air views on all relevant business. The only difference is that we’ll be doing it remotely via the internet instead of cramped in a lecture theatre.

For more details on what will take place at the AGM, check out pages 4-5.

For information on how to get involved, check out pages 6-7.

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What happens at the AGM? In short - lots of important stuff!

But seriously, the SPA’s members do the following at our AGM: • Scrutinise the work of the SPA, by receiving reports and accounts; • Steer the direction of the SPA, by discussing and then approving or rejecting motions; and • Stand for election, and appoint officers and trustees to lead the SPA in subsequent years So what goes into each of these different tasks?

Scrutinise The AGM is an important opportunity for members to understand what the SPA has been doing over the past year and why. According to the SPA’s Constitution, the AGM must receive a copy of the trustees’ annual report and the financial accounts. The SPA’s Executive Officers also present individual oral reports to discuss what they did over the course of the year, and how this matches up to the goals that they set at the start of the year.

Members will be given copies of the written reports in advance of the meeting, and will have time allotted to ask questions of officers and trustees.

Steer Each year, the SPA’s AGM considers motions that change how the SPA operates and what our aims are. These motions can even change the SPA Constitution, Bye-laws and induct new honorary lifetime members.

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Motions are brought forward by SPA members, and are then put to the floor by the Chair. It’s then up to members to ask questions, or argue their point to convince other members to vote one way or another. To finish up the process, each SPA members publication is entitled to cast one vote, either in favour or against the proposal.

To find out more about how you can submit motions, check out page 6.

Stand Arguably the most important job of the AGM is to elect the next generation of SPA officers and trustees. After all, who else would run our Association?

Prospective candidates are invited to stand at the meeting, give short speeches and field questions. Then, voting takes place much like it does for motions, with each member publication given one vote.

Want to know more about the roles that will be up for grabs? Check them out below:

Chair

Training & Conference Opportunities & Events

Leads Executive Creates and Committee, and maintains chairs Trustee training materials meeings. Serves and manages as the public the mentoring face for the SPA. scheme.

Term: Expires May 1 2021

Term: Expires May 1 2021

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Comms

Sponsorship

Trustee

Leads on organising SPANC and other events throughout the year.

Facilitiates two-way communications with members, and mainains member list.

Secures event and other sponsorship, plus leads on additional fundraising.

Oversees the work of the SPA and ensures that it complies with charity law and the Constitution.

Term: Expires May 1 2021

Term: Expires May 1 2021

Term: Expires May 1 2021

Term: Up to four years

(4 posts)

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How do I get involved?

None of the important things that happen at our AGM can take place unless our members choose to get involved.

But how do I get involved, I hear you say. Well, check out the guidance below!

Propose Motions Hey you! Yeah, you! Got any opinions about how the SPA should be run, to help us better serve student journalists?

Each year, we take motions submitted by our members and put them to a vote to help determine the path that the SPA should take. You don’t need to have been super involved in the SPA in the past, you just need to be able to see a problem and have an idea for how the SPA can fix it.

There’s no specific way in which you have to format a motion, but we recommend a short explanation followed by clear actions that the SPA resolves to follow. However, if you’re submitting a motion to amend the Constitution or Bye-Laws, you must identify which text is being replaced, and provide the exact text that you want to be added.

To submit a motion, you must be an individual member, and you must get your motion seconded by an individual member. An individual member is: • Somebody who is a member of an SPA member publication, or who was in the past 12 months; or • Somebody who is a current student of journalism and has registered as an independent member with the SPA.

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Once you’ve done all that, you can submit your motion by emailing it, along with details of the proposer and seconder, to chair@spajournalism.com.

You must do this by Thursday 17 September. If you send it after this date, it cannot be debated at the AGM. Once submitted, the Chair will review your motion to ensure it is in order and compliant with constitutional and legal requirements. Although the Chair will attempt to liaise with proposers if issues arise, they reserve the right to rule motions out of order or to rule any vote indiciative until the trustees determine if it is in order or not.

Standing for election If you’re reading this, you’ve probably run for election at some point in the past. Even if it was just standing in a room in front of friends and colleagues from your student publication, you’ve proven that you’re able to stand up and show why you can be the right person for the job.

Elections to SPA roles are fairly relaxed affairs, and some candidates only decide that they’re interested in running during the meeting! You don’t have to do anything in advance, but we do recommend considering the following if you’re interested in standing: • Speak to current SPA officers to learn more about the roles, and make sure to check our our pre-election event (to be announced soon!)

• Prepare a short speech outlining your goals, and why you believe that you are the right person for the role (maximum 2 minutes for Chair, 1 minute for all others) Just participate!

Even by just showing up, speaking where you feel comfortable and casting a vote, you’re shaping the future of how we support student journalists!

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If you have any questions about the AGM, please email chair@spajournalism.com