Proposition I

Present Article 3: The official languages of the Society are English, French and German.
Revised Article 3: The working language of the Society is English.

Proposed change to Article 3: This proposed change reflects a practical reality of already having English as the dominant language used in Society’s meetings, publications, and correspondence. Maintaining three official languages creates an administrative and financial burden that the Society cannot afford (because it requires translation, multilingual documentation, etc.). The proposed change does not affect SIEF Working Groups or meetings in any way; it is still perfectly possible for SIEF Working Groups and/or meetings to be organized in languages other than English.

Proposition II

Present Article 6: Any person qualified by his/her scholarly work in the field of European ethnology and/or folklore may become an individual member of the Society. Application for membership shall be sent to the current secretariat. The names of new members shall be published on the SIEF's website.
Revised Article 6: Any person qualified by their scholarly work in the field of ethnology, folklore and related disciplines can apply for membership in the Society. Ongoing membership and participation in the society activities is contingent upon appropriate professional behavior and paying dues and fees. Application for membership is made via the SIEF website. The names of new members shall be available via the SIEF Members Directory, unless consent is withdrawn.

Proposed change to Article 6: This revision proposes several meaningful changes, each with its own reasoning. Changing “his/her” to “their” is a use of gender-neutral pronouns, reflecting contemporary inclusive writing standards in academic English. Changing “European ethnology and/or folklore” to “ethnology, folklore and related disciplines” broadens the scope, removes geographic restrictions implied in the notion of “Europe”, and opens the possibility for welcoming scholars from related disciplines as members. The sentence on “appropriate professional behavior and paying dues” makes explicit the implicit expectation that membership can be revoked for misconduct or non-payment. Changing details about the application procedure and publishing of the members’ names reflects the administrative transformations that have already happened.

Proposition III

Present Article 7: The organisational bodies of the Society shall include: (a) the General Assembly, (b) the Executive Board, (c) scholarly Working Groups. The office-holders of the Society shall be the President, an Executive Vice-President, a Vice-President (i.e. the Presidency), and 6-9 Board members at large who constitute together the Executive Board. All office-holders of the Society shall be elected by the General Assembly.
Revised Article 7: The organisational bodies of the Society shall include: (a) the General Assembly, (b) the Executive Board, (c) scholarly Working Groups. The office-holders of the Society shall be the President, an Executive Vice-President, a Vice-President (i.e. the Presidency), and 6-9 Board members at large who constitute together the Executive Board. All office-holders of the Society shall be elected by the General Assembly. Repeated wrongdoing will lead to exclusion.

Proposed change to Article 7: The proposed change makes explicit the implicit expectation that Society’s office roles can be revoked for repeated unprofessional behavior.

Proposition IV

Present Article 9: The General Assembly shall meet in connection with each congress of the Society. All members present may vote. The duties of the General Assembly shall be: (1) to elect for the period until the next General Assembly the President, the Vice-Presidents, and the members of the Executive Board, (2) to approve the accounts of the financial position of the Society (3) to give advice on time, place and topic of the next congress, (4) to amend the bylaws, (5) to decide any other matter laid before it by the president and/or the Executive Board. The Executive Board may also refer any of the duties above to an online vote of all SIEF members between its congresses. In such cases, the decisions made by members in an online vote shall have the same standing as the decisions of the General Assembly at the Society's congress.
Revised Article 9: The General Assembly shall meet in connection with each congress of the Society. All members may vote during the General Assembly. The duties of the General Assembly shall be: (1) to approve the accounts of the financial position of the Society (2) to suggest time, place and topic of the next congress, (3) to amend the bylaws, (4) to decide any other matter laid before it by the president and/or the Executive Board. The Executive Board may also refer any of the duties above to an online vote of all SIEF members between its congresses. In such cases, the decisions made by members in an online vote shall have the same standing as the decisions of the General Assembly at the SIEF congress.

Proposed change to Article 9: The present Article 9 gives the General Assembly the power to elect the President, Vice-Presidents, and Executive Board members. This duty has been extended to all SIEF members in the revised version. This means the elections for the President, Vice-Presidents, and Executive Board members will be handled through the online voting mechanism in-between Congresses, giving thus all members a vote rather than only those physically present at the congress. This is intended to allow more democratic participation.

Proposition V

Present Article 10: The Executive Board consists of the President, the Executive Vice-president and the Vice-president, who together constitute the Presidency, and 6-9 General Board members, all of them elected by the General Assembly. Members of the Executive Board may serve no more than two terms in either section, i.e. the Presidency or as General Board members. However, the Executive Vice-President, charged with secretarial affairs, can serve for more than two terms in the same position. One term is considered to be the period from one congress to the next. The Executive Board should represent different regions of Europe as well as different schools and traditions of ethnology and folklore, as well as their related disciplines. At least one of the members should be on the Board or presidency of one of SIEF’s Working Groups. The Executive Board is the main organisational body of the Society. In between the congresses, the Board is responsible for the whole – administrative and scholarly - activity of the Society. The Executive Board shall prepare the meetings of the General Assembly and report about its activities to the Assembly.
Revised Article 10: The Executive Board consists of the President, the Executive Vice-president and the Vice-president, who together constitute the Presidency, and 6-9 General Board members, all of them elected during the official SIEF elections by the SIEF membership. Members of the Executive Board may serve no more than two terms in either section, i.e. the Presidency or as General Board members. However, the Executive Vice-President, charged with secretarial affairs, can serve for more than two terms in the same position. One term is considered to be the period from one election to the next. The Executive Board should represent diversity in terms of geographic regions of Europe, career stages, gender, schools and traditions of ethnology, folklore and their related disciplines, as well as in other senses. At least one of the members should be on the Board or presidency of one of SIEF’s Working Groups. The Executive Board is the main organisational body of the Society. In between the congresses, the Board is responsible for the whole – administrative and scholarly - activity of the Society. The Executive Board shall prepare the meetings of the General Assembly and report about its activities to the Assembly.

Proposed change to Article 10: There are two proposed changes. The first presents the counterpart to the change in Article 9. By replacing “General Assembly” with “SIEF membership” as the electorate, the revision formally confirms that all members have the right to vote in board elections. The phrase “official SIEF elections” also implies a more formalized electoral process. This is consistent with the online voting mechanism referenced in Article 9 and broadens democratic participation. The second proposed change takes into account the diversity of SIEF membership. The current Article 10 calls for representation of “different regions of Europe” and “different schools and traditions of ethnology and folklore, as well as their related disciplines.” The revision replaces this with a richer diversity framework, explicitly adding career stages and gender and leaving the door open to further diversity considerations (e.g. ethnicity, disability, institutional type) without prescribing them rigidly.

Proposition VI

Present Article 11: Elections at the General Assembly will be held by show of hands. Nominations for the President and the Vice-Presidents, and Executive Board Members of the Society, proposed and seconded by members of the Society and with the consent of the person nominated, should be received in written form by the Presidency at least 48 hours before the General Assembly convenes.
Revised Article 11: Elections for the Presidency and the Executive Board will be held online. Current SIEF members have the right to vote. Nominations for the President, the Vice-Presidents, and Executive Board Members of the Society must be received in writing by the Presidency at least one month before the voting begins. Every nomination must be submitted with the consent of the nominated person. The Executive Board will appoint the Nominating Committee, whose task is to select the ballot from the received nominations. The ballot shall consist of the list selected by the Nominating Committee. The Nominating Committee shall consist of five previous members of the Executive Boards.

Proposed change to Article 11: The revised Article 11 proposes to shift the elections from an in-person show of hands to a structured, online system. Voting would be open to all current members and conducted digitally, while nominations must be submitted earlier, allowing time for review. The revised article 11 proposes the introduction of a Nominating Committee, composed of former board members, because the SIEF Executive Board members cannot choose the ballot including themselves as candidates.

Proposition VII

Present Article 14: The President represents the Society and shall be responsible - together with the Vice-Presidents – for the scholarly profile and activity of the Society. He or she is also responsible for convening meetings of the Executive Board and the General Assembly.
Revised Article 14: The President represents the Society and shall be responsible - together with the Vice-Presidents – for the scholarly profile and activity of the Society. The President is also responsible for convening meetings of the Executive Board and the General Assembly.

Proposed change to Article 14: The revised Article 14 replaces “he or she” with “the President”, removing gender-specific language and making the text more inclusive, neutral, and consistent, avoiding ambiguity in formal documents.

Proposition VIII

Present Article 16: If a Board member has reason to step down from office during his/her term, the Board may appoint a new interim member in his or her stead who then may stand for election at the next membership meeting.
Revised Article 16: If a Board member has reason to step down from office during their term, the Board may appoint a new interim member in their stead who then may stand for election at the next membership meeting.

Proposed change to Article 16: This proposed change replaces “his/her” with the singular “their,” which is now widely accepted in formal English as a gender-neutral pronoun, avoiding binary gender assumptions, making the Bylaws more inclusive, and improving readability by using smoother, less repetitive wording.

Proposition IX

Present Article 20: These Bylaws are effective as of March 28, 2017.
Revised Article 20: These Bylaws are effective as of July 01, 2026.

Proposed change to Article 20: to update the Bylaws.