The Charter of the International Towns Federation

Chapter Ⅰ General introduction

Article 1: The name of this entity is International Towns Federation (ITF).

Article 2:   This    association   is   an    international   non-for-profit   organization voluntarily   formed   by  the  relevant   organizations   and   individuals   who   are committed  to  the  study  of urban-rural  associated  issues  and  to  promoting  the development of urbanization across the world.

Article 3: The purpose of ITF is to promote the sustainable development of towns across the world, to support for policies that combine economic efficiency with more  balanced  social  conditions,  and  to  build  a  platform  for  cooperation  and exchange and for sharing resources between towns around the world.

Article 4: ITF abides by the designated national and international laws, regulations and policies and abides by the social morality.

Chapter II Business Scope

Article 5: The scope of business of the ITF:

（1）Hold international conferences to study the problems faced by towns around the world and provide solutions.

（2）Establish a global cooperation platform for towns to share resources and complement each other's advantages.

（3）Establish a large database of global towns, realize information sharing, and provide information and intelligent services for global towns.

（4）Establish the global towns happiness index evaluation system, release the global top 100 happy towns every year.

（5）Seek for establishing sister-towns partnership for towns around the world and establish close cooperation.

（6）Provide  train  and  executive  education  for  town  builders,  managers  and designers.

（7）Establish the global towns investment funds and industry alliance to provide financial support and industrial support for the development of the towns.

（8）Exchange and promote the experience of global towns management and service, and improve the quality of life and happiness index of global towns.

（9）Summarize  the  experience  and  problems  of the  development  of towns around  the   world,  calling  on  and  urging   governments  to   formulate  policies conducive to the development of towns.

（10）Carry out other related activities.

Chapter III Membership

Article 7: The types of members of ITF: organization members and individual members.

Article 8 Candidate Members applying to join the ITF must meet the following conditions:

(1) Advocating and abiding by the charter of the ITF;

(2)  Holding  the  willingness  to  join  the  ITF  and  actively  participating  in  the activities of the federation;

Ab rticle 9: Members joining the ITF shall follow the following procedures:

(1) Submitting an application for membership;

(2) The organization or individual authorized by the ITF conducts qualification examination;

(3) Being discussed and approved by the majority of the ITF members;

(4) A certificate authorized by Chaiman of the ITF is issued to the  member.

Article 10: the members have the following rights:

(1) To vote and to be elected in the ITF;

(2) To participate in the activities of the ITF;

(3) To obtain the priority of the services of the ITF;

(4) To criticize, recommend and supervise the work of the ITF;

Article 11: The members have the following obligations:

(1)To compliance with the Articles of ITF and to implement the resolutions of the ITF;

(2) To maintain and protect the legitimate rights and interests of the ITF;

(3) To complete the tasks distributed by the ITF;

(4) To pay the membership fee in accordance with the provisions of the ITF;

(5) To report and to provide relevant suggestions.

Article  12:  The  member  who  withdraws  from  the  ITF  shall  notify  the  ITF  in written  format  and return  the  membership  certificate.  If failing to perform the obligations  for  one  year,  the  member  will  be  deemed  to  have  automatically withdrawn.

Article  13:  If a  member has  seriously  violated the Articles of the Charter, the members of the ITF shall vote to disqualify the party’s membership.

Chapter IV Organization and Responsible entities

Article 14: The Council of member representatives is the highest authority of the ITF. The functions of the council include:

(1) Formulating and amending the articles of the Charter;

(2) Election and removal of Chairman and leaders of ITF;

(3) Reviewing the work and financial report of the ITF;

(4) Formulating and modifying the standard of membership fees;

(5) Deciding to terminate the ITF;

(6) Deciding on other major issues.

Article 15: The Council of member representatives must be attended by more than 2/3 of all the members, and its resolutions must be approved by more than half of the members present at the meeting.

Article 16: The Council of member representatives shall be held every year. If it is necessary to advance or postpone the change due to special circumstances, it shall be approved by the Chairman of the ITF.

Article 17:  The  Secretary  General  of the  ITF  is responsible  for the day-to-day affairs of the ITF.

Article 18: The function of the Chairman includes:

(1) Implementing the resolutions of the member representative assembly;

(2) Election and removal of the Chairman, vice Chairman and Secretary General;

(3) Preparing to convene Council meeting;

(4) Reporting the work and financial status to the Council;

(5) Deciding the enroll and de-listing of members;

(6) Deciding the establishment, alteration and cancellation of the  office, branch, representative office of the ITF;

(7) Deciding the appointment of the Deputy Secretary-General and the responsible persons for each sub-organization;

(8) Deciding the establishment and candidates of honorary positions;

(9) Leading the work of the various institutions of the ITF;

(10) Formulating internal management system;

(11) Decide on other major issues.

Article 19: The members of the ITF shall meet once a year. In special cases, it can be convened by means of communication.

Article 20: The ITF shall have one Chairman (Honorary Chairman), several Vice Presidents and one Secretary-general. The Chairman, Vice Chairman and Secretary General of the ITF must meet the following requirements:

(1) Having great influences in the field of the development of the towns;

(2) The Secretary-General is full-time;

(3) Being healthy and able to maintain work.

Article 21: The chairman, vice president and secretary-general of the ITF shall serve for a term of five years and the terms of re-election shall not exceed two terms. If it is necessary to extend the term of office due to special circumstances, it must be approved by 2/3 or more of all the members.

Article 22: The  Secretary-General  of the  ITF  is the legal representative  of the organization.

Article 23: The Chairman shall execute the following responsibilities:

(1) Convening and presiding over the council meeting;

(2) Examining the implementation of the resolutions of the General Assembly;

(3) To nominate the deputy secretary-general of the ITF and the responsible person in charge of each institution.

Article 24:  The   Secretary-General   of  the   ITF   shall   execute   the   following responsibilities:

(1)  presiding  over  the   office  to   carry  out  the   daily  work   and  organize  the implementation of the annual work plan;

(2) Coordinating the work of various branches, representative offices and entities;

(3) Decision-making on the appointment and dismissal of full-time staff of the institutions within the ITF;

(4) Convening and presiding over the office of the Secretary-General to determine important matters;

(5) Managing other daily affairs.

Chapter V Asset Management and Usage Principles

Article 25: Sources of funding for the ITF:

(1) membership fees;

(2) donation;

(3) funding;

(iv) Income from activities and services carried out within the approved business scope;

(5) interests;

(6) Other legal income.

Article 26: The ITF collects membership  in accordance with relevant international regulations.

Article 27:  The  funds  of  the  ITF  shall  be  used  for  the  business  scope  and development of the business as stipulated in the Articles of the Charter, and shall not be distributed among the members.

Article 28: The ITF shall establish a strict financial management system to ensure that accounting materials are legal, authentic, accurate and complete.

Article 29:   The   ITF   shall   be   staffed   with   accountants   with   professional qualifications,  and  the   accountant  shall  not   concurrently  serve  as  a  cashier. Accounting   personnel   must   conduct   accounting   and   implement   accounting supervision. When the accountant transfers the job or leaves the company, he or she must clear the handover procedures with the successor.

Article 30:  The  asset  management  of  the  ITF  must  implement  the  financial management  system  stipulated  by  the  laws  and  accept  the  supervision  of  the General Assembly and the financial audit department.

Article 31: The wages, insurance and welfare benefits of the full-time staff of the ITF shall be implemented in accordance with the relevant provisions of laws.

Chapter VI Procedures for Amending the Charter

Article 32: The amendments to the Articles of the charter shall be submitted to the Council for approval after being reviewed by Executive Members of Council.

Article 33: The articles of the Charter amended by the ITF shall be effective within 15 days after the approved by the Council.

Chapter  VII  Procedures  of  Termination   and  Property   Treatment  after Termination

Article 34: If the ITF completes its purpose or disbands itself or needs to cancel due  to  reasons   such  as  separation  or  merger,  the   chairman   shall  propose   a termination motion.

Article 35: The motion for the termination of ITF shall be approved by the Council.

Article 36: Before the termination of the ITF, a liquidation organization shall be established under the guidance of the relevant authorities to clear the creditor's rights and debts and deal with the aftermath.

Article 37: The ITF shall terminate upon the cancellation of registration procedures by relevant organizations or authorities.

Article 38: The remaining property after the termination of the ITF shall be used for the development in accordance with the relevant provisions of the laws.

Chapter VIII Supplementary Provisions

Article 39: The ITF preserve the rights to interpret the Articles of the Charter.

Article 40:  The  Articles  of  the  Charter  shall  come  into  force  on  the  date  of approval by the registration authority.