1. ORGANIZATION

Recent rapid development growth in Asia has led to an increased need for cooperation across borders in order to improve upon each country’s development and construction sectors. Though each country possesses different social, cultural, environmental, and technological backgrounds, they all share common roots with each other, rather than with countries from the Western hemisphere. The Asian Concrete Federation, thus, was established to provide an environment where members of the infrastructure development field all across Asia could come together to develop guidelines, recommendations and methods, and discuss and share information about research and technology of design, materials, construction, maintenance, sustainable development and other relevant areas of concrete materials and structures in accordance to the needs, practices and aspirations in these countries.

2. TITLE AND DEFINITION

The Asian Concrete Federation, abbreviated as ACF, hereinafter shall be referred to as the Federation. The term Member Country/Region refers to a sovereign country/region, a recognized economy or a regional concrete-related organization.

3. LOGO

The official logo of the Federation shall be as shown at the top of this constitution.

4. OBJECTIVES

The objective of the Federation is to promote the understanding of sustainable concrete materials and structures and services to the society within countries in Asia and neighboring regions. The Federation aims to achieve this by implementing the following:

• development and promotion of guidelines, recommendations and methods related to concrete materials, structural designs, constructions, maintenance, sustainable development and other relevant areas;
• initiation and support of international collaborative activities dedicated to the development of research and technology relating to various aspects of concrete and concrete structures;
• dissemination of useful information on concrete and concrete structures through publications, conferences, symposia, workshops, forum and/or seminars;
• communication of activities and other news with the members of the Federation.

5. SCOPE OF ACTIVITIES

Activities of the Federation shall encompass all aspects of concrete-related engineering while considering the technological, social, economic, environmental, aesthetic and cultural aspects of Member Countries/Regions and neighboring regions. They include concrete materials, design, construction, monitoring and inspection, testing, preservation, rehabilitations, and demolition of concrete structures, production of concrete materials and elements, and exchange and transfer of concrete technologies.

6. SECRETARIAT AND HEAD OFFICE

The Secretariat and Head Office of the Federation will be located within any of the countries holding Federation membership. This location may be changed by a two-thirds majority vote in any General Assembly of the Federation (see Clause 9.1).

6.1 SECRETARIAT AND HEAD OFFICE

The Secretariat shall be managed by a Secretary General. She/he shall act as the contact person for all members and will act as liaison between Federation members and the President.

7. MEMBERSHIP

7.1 Membership Category

There shall be three basic categories of membership:
a) Representative Members (RM)
Representative Members are individuals nominated by one of the following institutions:

• institutions and/or other bodies in charge of concrete materials or structures; and
• established professional engineering institutions at national/regional level which have interest in any aspects of concrete materials and structure covered in Clause 5.

Each of these nominees shall be approved by the Executive Council (see Clause 8.2).
An institution nominating an individual as a Representative Member shall pay the required subscription.
b) Individual Members (IM)
Individual Members are professionals, academics, or students interested and engaged within any aspects of structural concrete as covered in Clause 5.
Each Individual Member shall pay the required subscription.
c) Organization Members (OM)
Organization Members are institutions and/or organizations engaged in any of the activities covered in Clause 5.
“Institutions” shall be defined as standard institutions or established professional engineering institutions.
“Organizations,” in this context, shall be defined as public or private sector companies, consultants, industries, research institutes, academic institutes, etc. incorporated within each country/region by relevant laws or acts. Their applications for membership shall be reported to the Executive Council.
Organization Members shall pay the required subscription. One person nominated by the legal authority of the institution or organization in question will represent each Organization Member within the Federation.

7.2 Membership Subscription

Membership subscription for each type of member shall be determined by the byelaws.

7.3 Tenure of Membership

Membership tenure shall be for a minimum of one year and will be renewable. Membership shall begin on January 1st of each year.
For Representative Members, the nominating institution may either seek membership renewal for the current nominee or may nominate a new individual for membership.
The tenure of Representative Members, Individual Members and Organization Members shall be renewed upon payment of the required subscription.

8. ADMINISTRATION

8.1 General Assembly (GA)

The General Assembly of the Federation shall consist of all Representative, Individual and Organization Members as stipulated in Clause 7.1. A Chairperson shall be elected by the members attending the General Assembly. The number of voting rights given to each member shall be defined by byelaws.

8.2 Executive Council (EC)

The official business of the Federation shall be administered by the Executive Council which comprises of the following officers:
President
Vice President (Policy)
Vice President (Planning and public affairs)
Vice President (Technical)
Vice President (Publication)
Treasurer
Chairperson of Advisory Committee
Chairperson of Technical Board
Chairperson of Education Board
Journal Editor-in-Chief
Immediate Past President
One representative of each Representative Member
Maximum of 10 other members
The Executive Council shall carry out executive decisions through meetings and correspondences and
shall report its activities and progress to the General Assembly.

8.3 Advisory Committee

The Advisory Committee consists of all ACF past presidents. Chairperson of the Committee shall be nominated by the President and approved by the Executive Council.

8.4 Education Board

The Education Board consists of:
Chairperson of the Board
Vice President (Technical)
Chairpersons of all committees under the Board
Chairperson of the Technical Board
Chairperson of the Board shall be nominated by the President and approved by the Executive Council.

8.5 Technical Board

The Technical Board consists of:
Chairperson of the Board
Vice President (Technical)
Chairpersons of all committees under the Board
Journal Editor-in-Chief
Chairperson of the Educational Board
Chairperson of the Board shall be nominated by the President and approved by the Executive Council.

8.6 Technical Committee (TC)

The formation of a new Technical Committee shall be proposed by an ACF individual member and be approved by the Technical Board and the Executive Council.
Creation, operation and dissolution of a Technical Committee shall follow the corresponding guidelines.

8.7 Journal Editorial Board

The Journal Editorial Board consists of:
Journal Editor-in-Chief
Vice President (Publication)
Journal Editor-in-Chief shall be nominated by the President and approved by the Executive Council.
Members of the Journal Editorial Board shall be appointed by the Journal Editor-in-Chief.

8.8 Term of Office

(1) The term of elected president shall be 2 years from the new calendar year following the General Assembly.
(2) The term of office for all non-elected officers shall be 2 years and shall be renewable. Once approved, their appoint periods begins from the new calendar year following the General Assembly.

8.9 Local Chapters

Members from a particular country/region that has no standard institution or professional engineering institution may send a Representative Member to the Federation by forming a Local Chapter affiliated with the Federation. Each member country/region of this type shall only hold one Local Chapter.
Members of the Local Chapter shall elect a Delegate to act as liaison between the Local Chapter and the Federation. The official business of each Local Chapter shall be governed by a constitution framed by the Local Chapter. Establishment of a Local Chapter shall require the approval of the Executive Council.

8.10 Vacancy

The President shall appoint a replacement for any Executive Council post should it fall vacant before the expiration of the President's tenure. The new appointee shall remain in office for the remaining period of the tenure for the appointed post.
If the post of President falls vacant, the eldest Vice President will take over the role of President during the remaining tern.

9. MEETINGS

Much of the Federation's work shall be carried out via correspondence among members through electronic mail. Meetings of the various committees, Council and Boards of the Federation shall be held periodically to ensure clear understanding, to make crucial policy decisions, and promote fellowships amongst Federation members.
Scheduling of such meetings is described by the following:

9.1 General Assembly

The General Assembly of the Federation shall meet approximately once a year at a location within a Representative Members’ country/region of convenience in order to discuss the activities and progress within the Executive Council, Education Board, Technical Board, and Journal Editorial Board. At a General Assembly, the President shall present an activity report and the Treasurer shall present a financial report. The General Assembly shall discuss all activities including financial matters and take policy decisions on all aspects of work of the Federation.
President may convene a General Assembly meeting when necessary.
The venue and date of a General Assembly shall be circulated at least six weeks prior to the meeting. A meeting agenda shall also be circulated at least six weeks in advance.

9.2 Executive Council

The President may convene an Executive Council meeting when necessary with a minimum of one meeting per year. The agenda, venue and date of the meeting shall be circulated at least six weeks prior to the meeting.

9.3 Education Board and Technical Board

The Chairpersons of the Education Board and Technical Board may convene meetings as deemed necessary with a minimum of one meeting per year.

9.4 Committees

The Chairpersons of a committee may convene meetings as deemed necessary with a minimum of one meeting per year.

9.5 Call for Meetings

The notice for a General Assembly and an Executive Council Meeting shall be distributed by the Secretary General. Notices for meetings held by the Education Board, Technical Board, and committees shall be sent by the respective Chairperson.

9.6 Quorum and Preferred Date of Meetings

The quorum for a General Assembly shall be 50% of all the voting rights including proxy, and Executive Council Meeting shall be 50% of the Executive Council membership.
For economic reasons and for achieving the quorum, the date and venue of the meetings of said bodies shall be made as convenient as possible for members of the groups in question. These meetings may coincide with other events such as conferences, symposia, colloquia, seminars, forums and workshops organized by the Federation and/or other organizations.

9.7 Voting

Decisions on all matters, including the election of officers of all bodies of the Federation, shall be made by consensus. In the event where consensus cannot be reached on any matter, the decision shall be taken by majority voting unless otherwise stipulated within this constitution.

10. ELECTION PROCESS

The election of Executive Council members as representative of each Representative Member will be conducted via postal ballots and/or electronic mail three months before the terms of the current office bearers expire. Executive Council members shall be a maximum of 20 members from a list of candidates nominated by Representative Members. The elected members shall serve as members of the Executive Council.
The eleven ex-officio members of the Executive Council are the President, four Vice-Presidents, the Executive Vice President, the Treasurer, the Immediate Past President, and the Chairpersons of the Education Board and Technical Board, and the Journal Editor-in-Chief. The election process of President, Vice-Presidents, Treasurer, elected Executive Council members as representative of each Representative Member shall be stipulated by the byelaws.

11. COMMUNICATION

Communications and publications shall be conducted in English. Correspondences shall be made via electronic means as much as possible.

12. FINANCE AND ACCOUNTS

The activities of the Federation shall be financed by funds raised through the following:

• Registration fees of conferences, seminars, workshops, colloquia, forums and similar events organized by the Federation;
• Sponsorships for events organized by the Federation;
• Publication sales;
• Research grants and donations received from research and professional institutions, societies, industry and such benefactors; and
• Membership subscriptions.

The expenditure items shall be determined by the byelaws.
The Treasurer shall keep an audited account of income and expenditures as well as present a financial report at the General Assembly.

13. RULES AND BYELAWS

The Executive Council shall establish rules and byelaws that correspond with the objectives and scopes of the Federation in order to facilitate its functions.

14. AMENDMENTS

Amendments to this constitution require a two-thirds majority vote of the General Assembly quorum of the Federation. All proposals for amendment shall be included in the agenda and circulated at least six weeks prior to the meeting.

15. DISSOLUTION

The declaration of termination and dissolution of the Federation requires a two-thirds majority vote of the General Assembly quorum. All memberships shall lapse and Executive Council, Education Board, Technical Board, committees, and Journal Editorial Board be dissolved as a consequence of the dissolution of the Federation. Credit balance may be disposed by the decision of a two-thirds majority of the General Assembly of quorum. The proposed dissolution shall be included in the agenda and circulated at least two months prior to the General Assembly meeting.