- History of the UIA
- Current status and Constitution
- Aims and activities
- General Assembly, Executive Council and
Secretariat
- Working languages
- Staff
- Finance
- External relations
- Meetings and Events
- Publications
- President, Secretary-General, and Full Members
- Associate Members
- Corresponding Organizations
- Contact information
1. History of the UIA
Founded 1 June 1907, Brussels, as Central Office of International Associations,
by Henri La Fontaine
(Nobel Peace Prize 1913) and Paul Otlet, Secretary-General of the
then International Institute of Bibliography (see more about Paul Otlet), which subsequently
became the International Federation
for Documentation (FID), and with which UIA activities were closely
associated. Became a federation, under the present name, at the 1st World
Congress of International Organizations (Brussels, 1910).
Read more about UIA early history or see the chronological checklist of milestones.
The Statutes were modified in 1951 to give the
UIA the character of an institute with a world focus, having individuals
as full members. It is an independent, non-governmental, non-profit body
which is apolitical in character. Its programmes are totally oriented
toward the community of international associations whose actions they
are designed to facilitate, whether through special studies or through
new uses of information. The UIA is registered under the Belgian law of
25th October 1919 as an international association with scientific aims.
Read about possible statutory implications of international electronic environment.
- Facilitate the evolution of the activities of the world-wide network
of nonprofit organizations, especially nongovernmental or voluntary
associations;
- Promote understanding of how international bodies represent valid
interests in every field of human activity or belief, whether scientific,
religious, artistic, educational, trade or labour;
- Enable these initiatives to develop and counterbalance each other
creatively, in response to world problems, by collecting information
on these bodies and their interrelationships;
- Make such information available to them, and to others who may
benefit from this network;
- Experiment with more meaningful and action-oriented ways of presenting
such information as a catalyst for the emergence of more appropriate
organizations;
- Promote research on the legal,
administrative and other problems common to these international associations,
especially in their contacts with governmental bodies.
To these ends, maintain contact with a wide variety of bodies in all parts
of the world, as a foundation for better organizational networking
and programme harmonization in response to networks of increasingly
complex world problems. Details of information projects: http://www.uia.org/uiaprof/posie3.htm.
Special concern for the legal
status and security of international NGOs.
4. General Assembly, Executive
Council and administration
The General Assembly elects an Executive Council
of 15 to 21 members for 4-year term every two years. Full
Members are limited in number to 250 individuals and subject to election
by General Assembly. Associate Members are
admitted as observers at meetings. The programme, under the direction
of the Secretary-General is carried out by the Secretariat in Brussels.
Meetings are closed.
5. Working languages
The main working languages of the UIA are English and French, although
information is received in many languages. Most publications are produced
in English, with French versions where there is a demand. The Yearbook
of International Organizations is indexed in all languages used by
international organizations. The periodical Transnational
Associations contains articles in both English and French.
6. Staff
18 permanent; extra staff are frequently engaged on short-term project-oriented
contracts.
7. Finance
The UIA is more than 95 percent self-financed, through membership subscriptions,
research and consultancy contracts, sale of publications and services.
The balance is made up from donations and sponsorships from several governments
(notably Belgium, France and Switzerland) and a number of official and
private bodies. The annual budget is approximately US $ 800,000.
8. External relations
The UIA has consultative relations with UNESCO, UN/ECOSOC and ILO. It
has collaborated with FAO, the Council of Europe, UNITAR, and the
Commonwealth Science Council. It has acted as one of the research
institutes in the network of the UN University. A special ECOSOC resolution
establishes cooperation between the United Nations and the UIA for
the preparation of the Yearbook of
International Organizations. A French edition was produced with
the assistance of the Agence pour la coopération culturelle
et technique (ACCT) in 1980; a new version was produced on CD-ROM
in 1996. Contact is maintained with over 25,000 international non-governmental
organizations eligible for inclusion in the Yearbook
of International Organizations. Special links exist with UIA Corresponding
Organizations, with the Federation of International Associations
established in Belgium (FAIB), Union of International Nongovernmental
Organizations established in France (UOIF), Federation of Semi-Official
and Private International Institutions established in Geneva (FIIG)
and the Conferences of NGOs in consultative status with ECOSOC and
UNESCO. Work on the Encyclopedia
of World Problems and Human Potential was initially undertaken
in collaboration with Mankind 2000; the web versions of the associated
databases were updated with support of the European Commission in
a project through
the INFO2000 programme of the European Commission from 1997-2000.
General Assembly 24 meetings before1973, then Paris 1974, Geneva
1976, Brussels 1980, 1984, 1988, 1990, 1992, 1994, 1996, 1998,2001.
World Forum of Transnational Associations Brussels 1980. Congress
of International Congress Organizers and Technicians 4 meetings
before 1969; Barcelona 1970; Kyoto 1975. Symposiums:- Turin (Italy)
1969, Milan 1972, Paris 1974, Geneva 1976, Brussels 1984.
More than 300 publications and publication series since 1910. Main publications
available on CD-ROM.
- Journal: Transnational
Associations / Associations
Transnationales (6 per year) with articles in English or French
- Calendar of Future International Meetings: International
Congress Calendar (quarterly)
- Organization information: Yearbook
of International Organizations (annual): 4 volumes Also French
edition: Annuaire des organisations internationales (4th
edition, 1980, with 5th edition, 1996, on CD-ROM);
- Bibliographic information Vol 4 of Yearbook
of International Organizations (annual)
- Statistics, visualization and patterns Vol 5 of Yearbook
of International Organizations (annual)
- World problem information: Encyclopedia
of World Problems and Human Potential (4th edition, vol 1,
1994).
- Organization strategies and solutions Encyclopedia
of World Problems and Human Potential (4th edition, vol 3,
1995).
- Human development and values Encyclopedia
of World Problems and Human Potential (4th edition, vol 2,
1994).
- Biographical information:
- Specialized directories
- Special series
- Documents; research
studies and reports
From 1982, many UIA reference works have been published in cooperation
with K G Saur Verlag (München).
See a narrative
account of the UIA -- Saur relations.
11. President, Secretary-General, and
Full Members
President: Anne-Marie Boutin, c/o APCI, 7 rue Crillon, F-75004
Paris, France. T. (33 1) 49 92 20 25. Fax 49 96 20 29. E-mail : apcifr@club-internet.fr.
Secretary-General: André Onkelinx, rue Washington 40, B-1050 Bruxelles, Belgium. Tel.
(32 2) 640 18 08. Telex 65080 INAC B. Fax (32 2) 643.61.99. E-mail:
secgen@uia.be.
Representatives to intergovernmental organizations:
- UN (New York) Andrew
Rice, 6517 80th Street, Cabin John MD 20818, USA. Tel. (301) 229
3503.
- UN (Geneva) Cyril Ritchie, CIC Case 20, CH-1211 Geneva 20, Switzerland. Tel. (41
22) 733 67 17.
Full Members: Individuals, whose total
number may not exceed 250, are elected by the UIA General Assembly which
they constitute. Members are elected on the basis of their interest and
activity in international organizations, usually demonstrated by an active
role in such a body over an extended period of time. They include diplomats,
international civil servants, association executives, professors of international
relations and directors of foundations. Members do not pay annual dues,
but as trustees it is expected that they will further the interests of
the UIA in their particular sphere of activity. Members are currently
located in the following countries:
- Africa: Algeria, Benin, Madagascar, Mauritania, Morocco, Senegal,
Togo.
- America: Brazil, Canada, Chile, Peru, USA, Venezuela.
- Asia/Pacific: Australia, India, Japan, Sri Lanka, Thailand.
- Europe: Belgium, Bulgaria, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland,
Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Sweden, Switzerland,
Turkey, UK, USSR.
Corporate bodies or individuals interested in the aims and activities
of the UIA and wishing to associate themselves with its work by payment
of an annual membership fee. Members include a wide range of organizations,
foundations, government agencies and commercial enterprises and are entitled
to preferential use of UIA services. Membership is subject to approval
by the UIA Executive Council.
13. Corresponding Organizations
The UIA is controlled by its individual members, although its work is
almost entirely with the complete range of international organizations
through publications and correspondence. For those international organizations
who wish to be more closely associated with this work, without any commitment
of "membership", a category of "Corresponding Organizations" is provided
by the UIA Statutes. Such organizations are offered preferential access
to UIA information facilities including free subscription to Transnational
Associations. Their obligations are limited to payment of an annual fee,
inclusion of UIA on any periodical mailing list, and transmission to UIA
of a copy of their Statutes and their list of national member sections.
Applications are subject to approval by the UIA Executive Council.
14. Contact information
Union of International Associations (UIA)
Rue Washington 40
B-1050 Brussels, BELGIUM
T. (32 2) 640.18.08 / Fax (32 2) 643.61.99
E-mail: uia@uia.be Website: http://www.uia.org/
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