YNP – Young Nephrologists’ Platform

I. Members

1. All ERA young Members automatically are YNP Members. 
2. YNP Members are young nephrologists, 40 years of age or younger, working in the areas of interest of the ERA. 
3. YNP Members will remain as such until the end of the year in which he/she has reached 40 years of age. 
4. Communication, collaboration and education among members of YNP will be organised via teleconference. 

II. Board

1. The YNP Board consists of up to 9 members: a Chair, if applicable a Chair-Elect and up to 7 ordinary board members. 
2. All Board members must be ERA Full members. 
3. Candidates must be 37 years of age, or younger, at the time of their candidacy submission. 
4. The Chair is nominated by the Board from among the Board members. All Chair candidates must submit a specific form: this must be done at least one year prior to the end of the term of the current Chair. 
5. The Chair, the Chair-Elect (if applicable) and the nominated Board members must be approved by the ERA Council. 
6. The term for YNP Board Members is 3 years and cannot be renewed. 
7. Once a Board member has ended his/her term, they can only re-apply for a position in the Board after observing a minimum break of three years. 
8. If a YNP member is not active or under the minimum required activity, they could be substituted: in order for this to happen a YNP Board majority vote must be reached. 
9. The new Board Members are nominated by the current Board Members. 
10. To allow a smooth transition between the Chairs, in the last quarter of the current Chair’s first-year term, a Chair-Elect must be nominated by the Board. The Chair-Elect will assist the Chair in his/her duties and will maintain his/her current active role within the Board. The time served as Chair-Elect is added to the one eventually served as Board member and the age limit of 40 years does not apply, finally, the Chair-Elect ends his/her previous position in the Board by accepting the new one. 
11. The term of office for the Chair is 2 years and he/she then remains on the YNP Board for one further year to help continuity as Past-Chair. As Past-Chair he/she will have a voice but not vote. 
12. During nominations/voting held within the Board, in case of an equal number of votes, the Chair has the casting vote. 
13. No Board Member can remain within the Board for more than 6 consecutive years. 
14. The ERA Secretary-General will be the “YNP Advisor”. He/She will assist the YNP Board in their communication with the Council as well as with any other matter that may be necessary. If he/she attends a YNP Board meeting he/she will have a voice but not a vote. 

III. Board nomination procedures 

1. Ordinary YNP Members are informed of forthcoming vacancies in the YNP Board at least 1 month before they occur, and a call for candidates is posted on the ERA website. 
2. The acceptance criteria for the YNP Board Member are the following: 
   • he/she must be an ERA Full Member 
   • must be 37 years old or younger 
   • must be the 1st author of at least one of three accepted abstracts at international congresses (at least one must be an ERA Congress) in the last five years 
3. The Chair is responsible for making the call for candidates, collecting the candidatures and verifying the documents submitted, and organising the election of Board members. 
4. When a YNP Member submits his/her application for the Board, he/she must send his/her Candidate Application Form. 
5. The YNP-nominated board members must all reside in different Countries. 

IV. Duties of Board Members

1. Once a year the Chair of the YNP Board must present an Annual Report of the YNP activities in the previous year and the future proposals of the Board, normally this will be done at a virtual Council meeting in September. A financial balance, and budget related to the YNP activities, must also be presented at this meeting. 
2. Members of the YNP Board can/will be involved in Working Groups, SAB, Congress Scientific Committees and other ERA initiatives, either by personal application or by invitation from the Council. The YNP Board is expected to give suggestions to the main ERA bodies mentioned above regarding specific matters (or by personal application or by invitation), but the final decision on how to proceed/act remains in the hands of the main ERA body responsible. If other Societies are involved in the activities of the YNP Board, the ERA Secretary General must always be informed. 
3. The YNP Chair is an ex-officio member of: 
   • CME Committee 
   • ERA Education meetings 
   • Congress Scientific Committee 
4. The YNP Board will direct the day-to-day activities of the YNP. The Board will have a special budget which must be prepared by the Board and presented to the Council on a yearly basis, together with an activity report, for formal approval by the Council. If and when the YNP receives support for its initiatives through sponsors, the money must be transferred to ERA. ERA will then earmark the amount so that it can be used by the YNP for its activities (provided that the Council has approved them). Contrary to what happens with ERA funds which must be spent within the year, sponsorship money can be transferred to future years if not spent in the year in which it is granted, however, it must be spent within max. 3 years from when it is received if not it will be automatically transferred to ERA. 
5. The YNP Board through its Chair should suggest to the Chair of the Congress Scientific Committee speakers for the annual ERA Congress, taken from the YNP Speaker Database. The current minimum criteria for the selection are: one or more recent publications in top scientific journals (NEJM, Lancet, JAMA or JASN/KI), academic achievements, awards and excellent speaker skills. All the details can be found in the appropriate section of the Specifications for Organising the ERA’s Congresses and Meetings and the YNP Speaker Database Regulations. 
6. The YNP Board should meet regularly to coordinate its activities, possibly via teleconference, however, and only if needed, one face-to-face meeting is possible. 
7. For the rules regarding the reimbursement policy for YNP Board Members who participate in face-to-face meetings, one must refer to the “General Rules for ERA Committees”. 
8. Diplomas for YNP Board Members. For this matter one should refer to the appropriate section in the “General Rules for ERA Committees”. 
9. The YNP Board will contact all National Societies of Nephrology to stimulate recruitment of young nephrologists to the YNP and to encourage their young members to participate in ERA activities and be offered the special privileges related to their age. 
10. All YNP publications, if any, and initiatives must clearly mention the fact that the YNP is an official body of ERA. The sentence approved by Council related to this matter is: “This article (to be adapted accordingly) was written by (to be adapted accordingly) on behalf of the ERA’s YNP which is an official body of the ERA (European Renal Association)”. 
11. ERA will provide secretarial support to assist the Chair and the Board in their activities and duties via the ERA Headquarters. 

Last update: November 2024