Criteria for EDRi-membership
!!! Criteria for admission of EDRi members
Background: European Digital Rights – EDRi –is a membership organisation. More and more organisations are taking an interest in digital rights and apply to become members of EDRi. This document sets out the basis on which new applicants will be considered. More information on the application procedure can be obtained by mailing the EDRi board.
New members are admitted by a simple majority of the votes as set out in Article 5 of the statutes of EDRI. All members are free to independently assess whether aspiring members fulfill the criteria set out below.
#__Organisational structure.__
According to Article 3 of the statutes, members shall be legally constituted under the laws of their country or countries of origin.
# __Mission and focus.__
EDRi is a digital rights organisation: its objectives are to promote, protect and uphold fundamental human rights and freedoms in the digital environment, in particular freedom of expression, privacy and personal data protection, and access to knowledge. Members are expected to focus on one or more issues related to digital rights. This focus should ideally be set out in the member organisation’s constitution. It may follow from the organisation’s strategic focus, but this focus should be long-term, rather than incidental.
# __Means of action.__
EDRi achieves its objective by the means set out in Article 2 of its statutes: (i) monitoring and reporting, raising awareness of and providing education about threats to civil rights in the field of information and communication technology, (ii) conducting policy research and offering the result to the public and to national and international bodies; (iii) serving as a platform for cooperation and common activities and to combine the influence, experience, knowledge, and research of the Members; (iv) engaging in advocacy at a national and international level such as by making representations to bodies such as the European Union, the Council of Europe, the OECD and the United Nations; and (v) organising and participating in conferences and other public events. Members must employ similar means of action in order to further their objectives, which may include initiating court actions against measures which threaten digital rights.
# __Activities in Europe.__
EDRI is a European digital rights organisation which values international cooperation. Its members are organizations established in countries of the European continent, meaning the members of the Council of Europe, or focusing at least part of their activities on this continent and its institutions.
*# __Not for profit and non-governmental.__
EDRi’s mission is not for profit, and its members are consequently expected to have the same not for profit mission. EDRi often focuses on govermnental developments. In order to avoid any conflict of interest, members should consequently not report directly or indirectly to a national or international body or be part of, or aspire to be part of, such a national or international body (including political parties). Members may partly be funded by governmental institutions or by private companies, but they should be able to show an adequate level of independence from corporate or governmental interests.
All members are required to adhere to the obligations as set out in the statutes, including the payment of membership fees. The statutes can be found at http://www.edri.org/about.