INTERNATIONAL SEA CADET ASSOCIATIONINTERNATIONAL SEA CADET ASSOCIATION (ISCA)
ARTICLES OF ASSOCIATION[AMENDED OCT 2016 and APPROVED]

1. DEFINITIONS
1.1

International Sea Cadet Association - ISCA

General.
The International Sea Cadet Association, in the following referred to as the ISCA, is a voluntary association ofindependent Sea Cadet Corps or corresponding organizations, committed to common concepts and goals, andwishing to share ideas and information, and, to the best of their ability, to engage in cadet exchanges and toprovide mutual support in order to promote the benefits of Sea Cadet training world-wide. The ISCA wasformally constituted on 29 October 1994 by the signing of these Articles by representatives of each of thefounding ISCA Member Organisations.
Membership Agreement.
By joining the ISCA each Member Organization agrees to the rules and procedures laid down in these Articles.
Conference.
The ISCA normally meets annually as decided from time to time at an ISCA conference, in the following
referred to as the 'Conference'.
Office.
The ISCA has no permanent headquarters, offices or secretariat, and the necessary administration is provided by
the National Organization whose senior representative is Chairman of the ISCA for the year. The duties
associated with the Secretariat can however be assigned to a given country for an indefinite period of time
provided there is a consensus.

1.2

Sea Cadet Corps or Organization.

General.
A Sea Cadet Corps or corresponding Organization is a voluntary, non-political and non-military youth
organization, with membership unrestricted by race, sex or philosophical or religious convictions, which offers
practical and theoretical training in nautical and maritime subjects within a context based on naval traditions.
Objectives.

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Although member organizations may define their own individual aims and objectives, they agree to adhere inspirit and in practice to the following:a. To encourage young people towards high personal standards, teamwork and a sense of responsibility
to the community through the medium of disciplined nautical training and development of leadership
qualities.
b. To develop in young people an appreciation of the importance of the sea to international commerce,
defence, and protection of the environment.

2. OBJECTIVES OF THE ISCA
2.1

The purposes of the ISCA are to:a.

Promote international and intercultural understanding, goodwill, and friendship among young
people who have an interest in nautical activities;b.

promote the exchange of Sea Cadets between member organizations on anofficial basis;c.

provide a forum for the exchange of information and ideas about member organizations andyouth exchanges;d.

encourage the formation of organizations based on the Sea Cadet concept world-wide, promote
their joining the ISCA, and resist membership by militant or politically motivated groups;e.

provide member organizations with non-monetary support for fundraising for youth
exchange-related activities; and,f.

provide a platform from which the image and ethos of the International Sea Cadet movement canbe promoted worldwide.

3. MEMBERSHIP OF THE ISCA
3.1

Limitations:a. Membership of the Association is limited to one organization per nation. To be eligible formembership, the applicant organization must be linked to maritime or naval activities in one way or
another, and be prepared to abide by the concepts of the ISCA as laid down in these Articles.
b. A cadet organization in a region, though not an independent country, may be admitted to ISCA in theevent the region in question remains autonomous in its governing.
c. Where an applicant fails to meet all stated requirements for full membership in ISCA they may, withthe approval of the collective membership, be granted “Associate Membership”. Parameters andrestrictions include: 1) An expectation they will participate fully in all ongoing ISCA business; 2)
They will not have voting power; and 3) The Associate Member must meet the parameters for fullISCA membership within two (2) years.
Failure to do so will result in the termination of their
Associate Membership.

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d. An ISCA member may be placed on Probation by a 2/3 vote of the members at an annual ISCA
conference, including Proxies. This may occur in their absence. A probationary membership will be fortwo (2) years. Failing to address the issue(s) and satisfactorily satisfying the ISCA membership within thedefined period will result in termination of membership.

3.2

Cost Sharing:a. Members of the ISCA share legitimate costs, if and only if, such costs arise from theoperation of ISCA.
b. The legitimate costs mean the proposed costs or a budget that have to be approved bymembers at the general conference.
c. The said cost sharing is to be treated on a case-by-case basis as decided upon at the generalconference.
d. However, member organizations may be invited to contribute towards specific ISCA
projects, if they are able to do so.

3.3[RESERVED – Intentionally left blank]

3.4

New Members:

Following application to the Chairman, additional members may be granted membership by the Conference, buta two-thirds majority vote of Conference attendees is required for acceptance.
3.5

Language:

The official language of the ISCA is English, which shall be used in all correspondence and at the Conference.
3.6

Independence of Members and Conduct of Exchanges:

a. Within the framework of the ISCA, member organizations may conduct bi-lateral or multi-lateral business,without reference to the ISCA, but should make all members aware of such activity.
b. The exchange of Cadets between ISCA Member Organisations is encouraged, provided that all suchexchanges must generally be undertaken under the auspices of the ISCA only and must be undertaken inaccordance with the principles as set out in the ISCA Guide to Exchanges (as may be amended from time totime). Any such ISCA exchange may be represented as such in all internal and external communications.
c. Exchanges between ISCA Member Organisations, or any unit or subset thereof, that are not approved ISCA
exchanges, and whether or not involving one or more organisations that are not ISCA Member
Organisations, are discouraged, and any such exchanges may in no circumstances be represented asapproved ISCA exchanges, whether expressly or impliedly.
d. Where an exchange is arranged that is not an approved ISCA exchange, the governing body of each ISCA
Member Organisation involved must in any event be informed in advance of the exchange, and each ISCA
Member Organisation will ensure that all units or subsets of that organisation are aware of and adhere to theprinciples of this Article.
3.7

Termination of Membership:a. Voluntary:

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Members of the ISCA may terminate their membership at any time at three months notice to the Chairman.
b. Exclusion:
The ISCA may exclude a member organization for reasons related to actions committed by or, opinions
expressed by the concerned organization, that do not conform with the concepts of the ISCA as laid down inthese Articles. Decisions to exclude shall be made by a two-thirds majority of Conference attendees andonly after the concerned organization has been given a reasonable opportunity to explain and/or correctsuch nonconformity.

4. ISCA CONFERENCE
4.1

General:Normally, the ISCA will hold a Conference of member organizations annually or, as decided by majority votefrom year to year by the Conference.
4.2

Host Organization:

The host Organization for two Conferences hence is elected by majority vote of attending members at eachConference. The date for the next Conference is also agreed at each Conference, by majority vote if necessary (theChairman has an additional casting vote if required).
4.3

Attendance:a.

Member organizations have the right to be represented at the Conference, but failure to attend does
not preclude membership.

b.
At the formal parts of the Conference, the number of representatives in each delegation is limited tothree.
b.

Small organizations closely affiliated to a major Sea Cadet Corps in another country may berepresented by the parent Corps.

4.4

Votes:a.

Each member organization has one vote only.

b.

A member in good standing may nominate another member in good standing to represent them on specificissues.
A member country cannot represent more than one other country. The agreement must be mutual and inwriting.
The proposed proxy assignment must be received by the ISCA Chair in writing or by email seven (7) days
prior to the Annual Conference. The proxy assignment is only valid for specific resolutions distributed inadvance of the Annual Conference and accepted by the Chair for inclusion in the conference agenda.

4.5

The Chairman:

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The Chairman of the ISCA for the period following the Conference will be elected at theConference, and is preferably representing the host Organization for the following year.

b.

The main responsibility of the Chairman is to prepare and chair the formal part of the Conference
taking place at the end of his/her term of office.

c.

In addition, the Chairman may be assigned certain tasks and responsibilities by the Conference.
Such assignments shall be carefully described in the Minutes of the Conference. The Chairman
shall carry out the assignments during his period of office and will be accountable to the othermembers of the ISCA.

d.

All costs related to the activities of the Chairman must be carried by the Chairman's own
organization unless otherwise unanimously agreed by the Conference participants. Organizations
not attending the Conference are not bound by such agreement unless they indicate concurrence inwriting or permit another member to vote on their behalf.

e.

The Chairman may represent the ISCA only in matters and with opinions that conform to thecontents of these Articles.

4.6

Communication:

Each ISCA member is to keep the Chairman informed of the senior representative of its organization who in
turn, will be the main point of contact for ISCA related business.

4.7

Agendas and Minutes of the Conference:

The agenda for a Conference must be in the possession of member organizations at least three weeks prior tothe Conference and must include at least the following items:a.

Nomination of member representatives to approve the Minutes of the Conference.

b.

Matters arising from the previous Conference.

c.

Review of the previous exchange programme.

d.

Planning of the following year's exchange programme.

e.

Topics to be presented and discussed as decided at the previous Conference.

f.

Election of the host for the next but one ISCA Conference.

g.

Election of the next Chairman.

h.

Maritime safety and accident review.

4.8

Mid Year Conference Update:

The international secretary will issue, as a minimum, one six-month update for the purpose of advising
members about the status of any “action” items arising from previous conferences. The update should also beused to advise members about progress on the planning of the upcoming conference.

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4.9

ISCA Award of Excellence and Members’ Award for Inspirational Leadership:

ISCA Members may, from time to time, choose to nominate a company, organization or individual for thesubject awards. Complete details regarding the award are attached.
Note: The terms as provided by the USA will be added as a separate annex.

4.10International Cadet Forums

Where practical, host nations are requested to consider the concept of including a Cadet Forum as part of the ISCA
Conference.

4.11

Exchange of Gifts

The exchange of gifts between Delegations at the conference is not encouraged. However, if it is felt appropriate any
such mementos should be small in size and monetary value”.

5. CHANGES
Changes to these Articles of Association may be made only by two-thirds majority vote byattendee members at a Conference. Full proposals for such changes are to be presented tomembers at least eight weeks before the Conference.

6. LIST OF MEMBERS
Royal Sea Cadet Corps Belgium
Bermuda Sea Cadet Corps
The Navy League of Canada – Royal Canadian Sea Cadets
Deutsche Marine Jugend (Sea Cadet Corps of Germany)
Japan Sea Cadet Federation
Zeekadetkorps Nederland (Sea Cadet Corps of the Netherlands)
South African Sea Cadet Corps
Sjovarnskarernas Riksforbund (Swedish Sea Cadet Corps Association)
Sea Cadet Corps of the United Kingdom
United States Naval Sea Cadet Corps
Australian Navy CadetsHong Kong Sea Cadet Corps

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Sea Cadet Corps of India
Sea Explorers of Korea
Sea Cadet Association of New ZealandZimbabwe Sea Cadet Corps
Young Mariners League of Russia
Lithuania Sea Cadets
National Cadet Corps Singapore (Sea)
Corpo de Cadetes do Mar de Portugal

7. RECORD OF CHANGESCHANGENUMBERDATE OFINSERTION

12345678910111213
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15161718[19[20[21October 1995
October 1998
October 1998
October 1998
August 2003
August 2003
August 2003
August 2003
August 2003
August 2003
September 2006
September 2006
September 2007
October 2010
October 2010
October 2010
October 2011
October 2013
October 2016October 2016
October 2016

AMENDED SECTION
List of Members
List of Members
Section 2.1
Section 3.2
List of Members
Section 4.11
Section 4.10
Section 4.8
Section 4.9
Section 2.1 (b)Section 1.1 para 2
Section 3.1
Section 4.4 para b
Section 4.4 (b)Section 3.1 (c)Section 3.1 (d)List of Members
As Approved
Section 1.1
Section 3.6
List of Members

AUTHORITY
1995 CONFERENCE
1998 CONFERENCE
1998 CONFERENCE
1998 CONFERENCE
2003 CONFERENCE
2003 CONFERENCE
2003 CONFERENCE
2003 CONFERENCE
2003 CONFERENCE
2003 CONFERENCE
2006 CONFERENCE
2006 CONFERENCE
2007 CONFERENCE
2010 CONFERENCE
2010 CONFERENCE
2010 CONFERENCE
2011 CONFERENCE
2013 CONFERENCE
2016 CONFERENCE]
2016 CONFERENCE]
2016 CONFERENCE]

Note:
The ISCA Articles of Association underwent a major review in 2004 and were subsequently reviewed and acceptedat the 2004 ISCA conference in Canada.
Three additional Articles were approved at the 2010 ISCA conference in the United States.
There were several minor modifications made at the 2013 ISCA conference in Bermuda

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