SLDN
SIERRA LEONE DIASPORA NETWORK
MEMBERSHIP
APPLICATION FORM
Please check
that you comply with the eligibility criteria for full membership
of SLDN before completing this form. All applying for membership
should provide appropriate details of eligibility as outlined below
(page 3-6).
This form also serves as an initial consultation document. As
members, you will be able to influence the future direction of
SLDN.
Please print this page, complete and send with payment to:
SLDN Membership, 35 Chelsfield Gardens, London SE26 4DJ
Banking details are shown below.
_____________________________________________________________________
1. Membership Category
Organisation
(Full)
Individual (Full)
Associate (Organisation)
Associate (Individual)
2.
Contact Details
Full Name of
Organisation / Association / Individual / Business
_____________________________________________________________________
Full Postal Address
______________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
Tel _________________ Fax __________________
Email _______________
Website _______________
Section 3 – 4 for Organisations/ Associations/ Businesses
Only
3.
Contact person for correspondence
Name ________________________________________________________________
Position
(if
applicable)
____________________________________________________
Individual Email
_________________________________________________________
Tel _________________
4. Organisation / Association/ Business structure and
activities
What is the
current structure of your organisation/ association/
business? (i.e.
Board, Director, Co-ordinator, how many staff & volunteers
etc)
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
Are you a
registered charity/company?
Yes No Process of
applying
Please describe briefly the main activities / interest(s) of your
Organisation / Association in Sierra Leone
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
Please describe
briefly the main activities / interest(s) of your Organisation /
Association in the UK
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
6. Membership benefits
What do you hope
to gain from the membership of SLDN?
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
What can you
offer to SLDN?
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
I
/ We hereby apply for full membership of The Sierra Leone Diaspora
Network (SLDN). We/I make my first year's annual membership fee:
£ ______
I / We agree to be bound by the constitution of SLDN, and we/I
undertake to aspire to SLDN’s principles in all areas of
work.
Name
________________________________________
Signature
______________________________________
Date
_____________________________________
Position
(if applicable) ______________________
Annual
Membership fee categories:
Organisation
(Full) £20
Individual (Full) £10
Associate (Org) £50
Associate
(Individual) £ 5
7. Payment methods
Bank Payments
as follows:
Nationwide -
Treasurer’s Trust Account
Account
Name: Sierra Leone
Diaspora Network
Sort
code: 07-00-93
Bank Account: 33333334
Account
Number / Ref: 0225/703808565
Account
Holding Branch: 133 High Holborn
WC1V 6PN
Payments by
cheque should be sent with the completed form to our correspondence
address:
SLDN Membership, 35 Chelsfield Gardens, London SE26 4DJ
Or email:
info@sldn.org.uk
(See overleaf for sectors/areas of interest)
You area(s) of interest; Please tick all that apply:
Sector/Industry
AgricultureArts
and Culture
Building Industry
Architecture
Business/Import-Export (incl. Trade and general Investment
analysis)
Diaspora
Volunteering/Not-for-profit
Education
Empowering Women
Energy (incl. Water and Power)
Entertainment
Financial Services (Incl. Banking/Insurance/Remittances)
Health and Sanitation (Incl. The Medical field and Public
Health)
Human Resources/Skills Deployment/Career Advice/
Capacity-BuildingInfrastructure – incl.
Road-Building/Maintenance
Legal AffairsLocal Community Projects
Marine Resources (incl. Fishing and Leisure activities)
rketing/PRMedia-Awareness/
Monitoring/Communication/
Broadcast/Journalism
Mining
Procurement
Provincial/Freetown (if, yes, state which province:
E/W/N/S, or FT)
Real
Estate
Social Work
Telecommunications
Tourism (incl. Eco-tourism)
Hotel and Restaurant
Trade Regulations
Transportation
Youth Employment
Agreed terms:
♣
SLDN
is a member-based network in the UK & Ireland
-
We
will develop criteria for membership – payment, voting
rights
♣
Categorisation
of membership
- Associates/partners/
‘friends’
- Individuals
& organisation
Full
membership
Conditions/criteria:
If you would
like to apply for full membership of SLDN after reading the
following criteria, please complete the form and return it to SLDN
c/o AFFORD, First Floor, 31-33 Bondway, Vauxhall Cross, London, SW8
1SJ.
♣ In applying for
membership of SLDN, you must undertake to aspire to SLDN’s
Principles and work within its Code of Conduct (copies of these are
available upon request);
♣ SLDN must be
satisfied that the organisation reflects the spirit and intentions
of the membership and
would not bring it into disrepute;
♣
A
fee is payable to become a member of SLDN and annually thereafter
at a rate relating to whether you’re an organisation or an
individual, which will be determined from time to time by the
Steering Committee;
♣
An
application for membership may be approved or rejected by the
Committee. The Committee shall have the right for good and
sufficient reason to terminate the membership of any member
provided that the member
concerned shall have a right to be heard before a final decision is
made.
Specific to
organisations:
Full membership
is open to all voluntary organisations whether large national
bodies or small community groups and development agencies working
at a local level. To be eligible for full membership of SLDN , your
organisation must fulfil the following criteria:
♣
Your
organisation must be a self-governing body of people who have
joined together voluntarily to take action for the benefit of the
community, and established otherwise than for financial gain. Your
organisation does not have to be a registered charity, but if it is
not, the aims, objectives and methods of working of your
organisation must be written down in a publicly available
document;
♣
You
should have a stated policy in existence on equal opportunities, or
have a commitment to improved practice in this regard.
Benefits:
specific to organisations/individuals:
♣
Full
access to the Sierra Leone Investment Information Portal
(SLIIP);
♣
Networking with
other Sierra Leone Diaspora organisation and collaboration on
future projects in Sierra Leone;
♣
Regular updates
on investment opportunities in Sierra
Leone;
♣
Employment/Career
opportunities;
♣
Volunteering
opportunities in Sierra Leone;
♣
Access to
information directly relating to various sectors in Sierra
Leone.
♣
Networking,
Training and Events
Annual
General Meeting (AGM)
SLDN intends to
host an AGM at the earliest opportunity; this first AGM will give
members an opportunity to vote for an Executive Committee, which
will replace the present Steering Committee. The AGM will also give
members a chance to discuss SLDN's activities and future programme
of events. Full members are entitled to vote on issues put before
the AGM and can also put forward candidates for and vote in
Executive Committee elections.
Sub-committees
and thematic action Groups
Groups
of members can form sub-committees to discuss specific areas of
work and topics such as advocacy, publicity and outreach, accessing
funding and capacity building etc.
Learning
and Training
SLDN’s
future training will consist of a package of related workshops
focusing on areas such as:
- International
programme work
- Accessing
funds
- Organisational
development
- Advocacy and
communication
Policy
Issues
Regular
information on UK and EU policy issues relating to Sierra Leone and
on other issues of common concern.
Facts
about Sierra Leoneans in the UK
Remittances
account for the greatest amount of financial support to Sierra
Leone;
However, aid to Sierra Leone has often been dictated without any
formal input from Sierra Leoneans;
Sierra Leoneans are invited to have a say in their own and world
affairs;
Sierra Leoneans are amongst the most highly-educated ethnic groups
in the UK;
As members of the Diaspora, we have access to systems and
information that can influence the perception of Sierra Leone and
Sierra Leoneans.
Associate
Membership
Condition/Criteria:
If you would
like to apply for Associate Membership of SLDN after reading the
following criteria, please complete the form and return it to SLDN
c/o AFFORD, First Floor, 31-33 Bondway, Vauxhall Cross, London, SW8
1SJ.
Associate Membership shall include
persons, organisations whose interests are concerned with Sierra
Leone or the United Kingdom and who reside in either country (a
one-off registration fee will be payable as determined from time to
time by The Committee) Associated Membership can be in two
categories:
Corporate Members - this shall
include companies and enterprises whose interests are concerned
with Sierra Leone or the United Kingdom and who reside in either
country (a one-off registration fee will be payable as determined
from time to time by The Committee)
Honorary
Members - those
individuals who have rendered outstanding service to the Forum or
have made valuable contributions to the expansion of trade,
cultural or economic relations between Sierra Leone and the United
Kingdom (no subscription fee payable)
♣ In applying for
membership of SLDN, an organisation or individual must undertake to
aspire to SLDN's
Principles.
♣
SLDN
must be satisfied that the organisation reflects the spirit and
intentions of the membership and would not bring it into
disrepute.
♣ In order to be
an associate member of SLDN, an organisation or individual should
be involved in the support of Sierra Leonean organisations in the
Diaspora and/or in Sierra Leone through funding, research,
information provision, training or other services.
♣ Associate
members will include organisations such as registered charities,
research organisations, relevant departments of universities and
educational institutions, trusts, foundations, co-operatives,
friendly societies and companies limited by guarantee.
♣ Other services
to which full members are entitled are only available to associate
members with the approval of the Executive Committee.
♣ A fee is payable
on joining SLDN and annually thereafter at a rate relating to the
size of the organisation,
which will be determined from time to time by the Executive
Committee.
♣ The membership
of any organisation or individual which fails to pay its annual
subscription within three
months of the beginning of the financial year will lapse.
♣ Any associate
member organisation, which is considered to bring SLDN into
disrepute, will have its membership reviewed by the Executive
Committee, which is empowered to revoke membership on the basis of
a simple majority of votes cast in person or by proxy at an
Executive.
Regional
Group Affiliation
SLDN seeks to
encourage people from all regions in Sierra Leone to work together
on issues through member groups. The roles of groups include
raising awareness, influencing policy and improving practice for
their region of origin. Each regional group will be co-ordinated by
one person. Details of the group's contact, terms of reference,
previous meetings and reports activities will be available through
the co-ordinator. Terms of reference will be defined by the group
and agreed by the SLDN Executive Committee.