Unified Proposal for IUF Representatives

2. IUF National Representatives

2.1 Functions of National Representatives

Below are the principal duties, qualifications and limitations that apply to an IUF National Representatives (NR).

1. Represent the interests of a country that has or is in the process of organizing a National Organization (NO). This includes both official and unofficial NOs, and other organizations such as unicycle clubs if an NO does not exist.
2. Shall be actively involved in promoting unicycling in their country, such as establishing unicycle clubs, disseminating IUF information, and recruiting participants for Unicons.
3. Shall be an IUF officer with voting rights as defined in 5. Voting Rights.
4. Shall be able to readily communicate in English, having an available translator if necessary.
5. Shall endeavor to supply information relevant to unicycling in their country, including an annual report before December 31.

2.2 IUF National Representatives

Appendix 1 presents 15 tables listing the countries in each of the IUF Regions, based on the latest ISO standards. The Candidate column is merely a suggestion. Be sure to look for your name in the tables, and to respond if you are interested in the position of National Representative. Nomination of candidates is welcome.

IMPORTANT: Though the tables in Appendix 1 are comprehensive, listing all the countries in the world, this is not a plan to immediately select National Representatives for every country. It only provides a framework for future expansion. As Chris Vevers and John Foss suggested, we will begin with those countries that already have or are in the process of establishing a National Organization, and keep adding countries gradually over many as unicycling becomes more popular, subject to review every 12 months.

For convenience, I have extracted from Appendix 1 those countries for which I believe there are potential candidates for National Representatives in the initial stage.

Suggested candidates for initial National Representatives

Country	Code	Candidate	Official Languages
China	CN	Chen Zhenghuan	Chinese
Hong Kong	HK	Steve Dressler	Chinese, English
Japan	JP	Jack Halpern	Japanese
Hong Kong	HK	Steve Dressler	Chinese, English
Quebec		Norman Beaumont	French
Germany	DE	Rita Platzcke-Widlak	German
Switzerland	CH	Julien Money	French, German etc.
Brazil	BR	Daniel Azulay?	Portuguese
Puerto Rico	PR	Alberto Ruiz	Spanish, English
Spain	ES	Munhoz Ramon	Spanish
Denmark	DK	Jean Ascher	Danish
Canada	CA	Kris Holm	English, French
United States	US	Andy Cotter	English
Israel	IL	Rami Yanai	Hebrew, Arabic
Philippines	PH	Angie Guinid	Pilipino, English
Netherlands	NL	Yuri Abrahams	Dutch
United Kingdom	GB	Sarah Miller	English
Australia	AU	Wayne van Wijk	English
New Zealand	NZ	Peter Bier	English, Maori

To view a full list of all countries in all the regions, click here:

3. IUF Regional Representatives

The sections below present proposals for defining IUF Regions and the functions of IUF Regional Representatives, as well as the need for a network of Regional Representatives.

3.1 Functions of Regional Representatives

The most important duties of an IUF Regional Representative, agreed upon by those participating in the discussions, are:

1. Shall actively promote unicycling in their region, as by helping establish unicycle organizations in new countries and publicity activities such as the dissemination of IUF information in the local languages. (See Appendix 3 for an example of such activities.)
2. Shall represent the interests of their regions within the Central Office of the IUF.
3. May act as a representative of the IUF.
4. Shall not have any authority over National Representatives; that is, all IUF representatives are of equal standing.
5. If a country has no organization that can elect a National Representative, shall endeavor to recommend National Representatives
6. Shall be a member of the IUF Executive Board, which means that he/she shall participate in discussions on the iuf-discuss mailing list, including voting.
7. Shall be able to readily communicate in English, having an available translator if necessary.
8. Shall supply the Central Office with information relevant to unicycling in the region, including an annual report before December 31.
9. Shall endeavor to help countries in their regions participate and organize national teams to Unicons.

To be resolved: Andy Cotter proposed that "The IUF Regional Representative only would work in areas or countries where there is no IUF Representative".

3.2 Definition of IUF Regions

For the purposes of IUF Regional Representatives, the world is divided into IUF Regions. Two proposals are being discussed, by Jack Halpern and Chris Vevers. The proposal below has been been edited to reflect various opinions, such as by John Foss, Tom Daniels, Alberto Ruiz and Ken Fuchs.

The implementation of the scheme is flexible: the number of regions can be reduced to as few as 10, and can be implemented in stages. The chart suggests candidates for 10 representatives. The plan is to work towards starting on a small scale by filling several seats at first based on the current realities.

Proposal A: Jack Halpern

The definition of IUF Regions is based on the following criteria:

1. Geographical proximity
2. A common working language for communication
3. The importance of unicycling in the region
4. Small enough in size for one representative to handle

The above criteria are based on my experience as the de facto representative for Asia. Language is especially important. Merely dividing the world into five regions based on geography, as is done by the Olympics, is impractical because of the very real language barrier and because the IUF has no budget for translation.

The chart below lists 15 IUF Regions based these criteria, which I selected after careful analysis (for details on the columns in the chart, see Description of RR Chart Columns). To open a window with a full list of countries in a region, click on the Region Name.

Definition of IUF Regions

Num.	Region Name	RR Candidate	Working Language	Countries
1	Arabic-speaking countries	open	Arabic	22
2	Chinese-Japanese Asia	Jack Halpern	Chinese, Japanese	8
3	French-Speaking America	Normand Beaumont	French	5
4	French-Speaking Europe	Julien Money	French	4
5	French Africa, Asia and Oceania	open	French	29
6	German-Speaking countries	Rita Platzcke-Widlak?	German	5
7	Portuguese-speaking countries	Daniel Azulay	Portuguese	6
8	Russian-speaking countries	Open	Russian	26
9	Spanish-speaking countries	Alberto Ruiz	Spanish	25
10	Nordic Countries	Jean Ascher	Danish	7
11	English-speaking Africa	Open	English	23
12	English-speaking America	open	English	26
13	English-speaking Asia	Steve Dressler	English	18
14	English-speaking Europe	Roger Davis	English	10
15	English-speaking Oceania	Peter Bier	English	24

Proposal B: Chris Vevers

Chris Vevers supports Jack Halpern's Proposal A above with the following reservations:

1. That the 15 Regional Representatives are not elected all at once.
2. That the number of Regional Representatives is increased by 5 each year for 3 years until the maximum is reached.
3. That 5 regions is a better and more manageable than 15.
4. That we follow John Foss' suggestion to start putting the system into practice on a limited scale.

I agree with all the above, except for reducing the number of regions to 5, because I believe, based on my experience in Asia, that it is too much of a burden for a single Regional Representative to to handle too many countries at once, and the language barrier. Ten regions would be a good compromise. If this is agreed on I will rebuild the charts to reflect this.

To be resolved: Andy Cotter's proposal does not define IUF Regions. However, it refers to IUF Representatives as representing geographical areas. This conflicts with the above criteria, which are based on language and other factors.

3.3 The need for Regional Representatives

Below are some reasons why it is necessary to maintain a network of Regional Representatives. The central idea is that Regional Representatives perform functions distinct from National Representatives, and are not merely a temporary positions until National Representatives are found.

1. Many countries have no national organizations, nor National Representatives. Regional Representatives can thus serve as temporary representatives until National Representatives are selected.
2. Even in regions that have several National Organizations, there are often not enough people that qualify as National Representatives.
3. Regional Representatives are active in large areas of the world, often united by language or culture. They must proceed with an open mind and not be swayed by the specific interests of any one country, as well as have an understanding of the culture of the region.
4. To be successful, a Regional Representatives should have a good knowledge of the working language(s), a requirement not necessary for National Representatives.

To be resolved: Andy Cotter's proposal states that Regional Representatives are only needed in areas where there are no National Representatives.

4. Selection and Removal of IUF Representatives

Some IUF officers and others believe that the current executive structure of the IUF is too small, and that it should be expanded by adding IUF Representatives (both National and Regional Representatives). Below are the criteria for selecting and removing IUF Representatives, based on Jack Halpern's and Andy Cotter's original proposals, and supported by opinions from Alberto Ruiz, Chris Vevers and John Foss.

4.1 Criteria for Selection

Below are the criteria for selecting IUF Representatives.

1. IUF Representatives shall be selected by the leaders of their various organizations, based on a "bottom up" approach. Both countries with National Organizations (NO) or those process of establishing NOs may also select an IUF Representative.
2. If a country or region does not or cannot select a representative, the IUF Executive Board can select a temporary representative in consultation with the the National Organization or other bodies, when applicable.
3. Only a single IUF Representative shall be allowed per country or per region.
4. A member of the IUF Executive Board may also serve an IUF Representative. Although this is allowed by the IUF bylaws (except for the president and secretary), it should be discouraged if another suitable candidate is available. The rationale for this is explained here.
5. The selection of an IUF Representative must be approved by a majority vote of the IUF Executive Board. An IUF Representative may be rejected if the unicycling population in his/her country is too small or the state of organization is too weak.
6. The term of an IUF Representative shall be two years. If an IUF Representative is not replaced by an election, when the term expires it must reapproved by the IUF Executive Board.

To be resolved: Andy Cotter proposed allowing special interest groups to have representatives, in addition to the National Representative, so that there may be multiple representatives for one country. Since some people expressed strong opposition to this, it is omitted from the selection criteria.

4.2 Criteria for Removal

Below are the criteria for removing IUF Representatives.

1. The IUF Executive Board could remove an IUF Representative position by a two-thirds majority vote if it can be demonstrated that the representative has neglected his/her duties or has been inactive for an extended period.
2. The National Organizations can remove their IUF Representatives, and have him/her replaced at any time.
3. An IUF Representative, as any other officer, shall not be removed by acclamation, but by an explicit vote by the Executive Board.

5. Voting Rights

This section describes the voting rights of IUF Representatives, and explains why they should have voting rights and/or hold official positions in the IUF.

5.1 Voting rights of IUF Representatives

1. National Representatives shall have he right to vote on all IUF proposals, except for the election and removal of officers and the amendment of the IUF bylaws.
2. At least two-thirds of the Executive Board shall participate in votes for a proposal on which the National Representatives are qualified to vote.
3. IUF Regional Representatives shall have the same voting rights as the members of the Executive Board.
4. Any IUF officer or IUF Representative shall have only a single vote, even if he/she is serving in a multiple capacity.

To be resolved: Andy Cotter's limits the voting rights of Regional Representatives.

5.2 Why IUF Representatives should have a vote

The current IUF Executive board, consisting of directors and other officers, are concerned with the administrative functions of the IUF, such as nomination and election of officers, budget issues, publishing a newsletter, maintaining a website, helping Unicon hosts hold Unicons, the Rules Committee, and the like. The officers are not directly involved, as part of their duties as IUF officers, in promoting unicycling in their regions or countries.

The IUF Representatives should be officers of the IUF and have voting rights as described in above for the following reasons:

1. They are intimately familiar with the needs of their countries/regions.
2. Many countries have no national organizations, nor national representatives, and thus no direct representation in the IUF Central Office. Regional Representatives are in the ideal position to represent their interests.
3. Regional Representatives should play a major role in hosting Unicons in their region, one of the central activities of the IUF. The authority that comes with an official position in the IUF is extremely helpful in many countries. (It was essential in my activities organizing Unicon X and the World Games Unicycle Convention.)
4. The Central Office often may not have direct and sufficient knowledge of regional affairs to make major decisions and decide on international policy without direct input from the IUF Representatives. (This is perhaps analogous to the Executive Branch of the U.S. government versus the Congress.)
5. The ultimate goal of the Central Office is to help promote unicycling in the world, which consists of the countries and regions. Therefore, direct participation by the regions through an official representative is essential.

For an example of how the lack of voting rights and direct representation harmed unicycling in Japan, see Appendix 2: How the JUA System Work.

Click on the links below to view the four appendixes:

• Appendix 1: IUF National Representatives
  
• Appendix 2: How the JUA System Works
  
• Appendix 3:Example of Regional Representative
  
• Appendix 4: 1992 Documents
  

About the Editor

JACK HALPERN

President, The CJK Dictionary Institute, Inc.
Editor-in-Chief, Kanji Dictionary Publishing Society
Research Fellow, Showa Women’s University

Born in Germany in 1946, Jack Halpern lived in six countries and knows twelve languages. Fascinated by kanji while living in an Israeli kibbutz, he came to Japan in 1973, where he compiled the New Japanese-English Character Dictionary for sixteen years. He is a professional lexicographer/writer and lectures widely on Japanese culture, is winner of first prize in the International Speech Contest in Japanese, and is founder of the International Unicycling Federation.

Jack Halpern is currently the editor-in-chief of the Kanji Dictionary Publishing Society (KDPS), a non-profit organization that specializes in compiling kanji dictionaries, and the head of the The CJK Dictionary Institute (CJKI), which specializes in CJK lexicography and the development of a comprehensive CJK database (DESK). He has also compiled the world’s first Unicode dictionary of CJK characters.