ECC – Electronic Communication Committee

I. Committee Members, nominations, terms and rotation

1. The ECC consists of up to 8 members: a Chair, two Ex-Officio members, the Social Media Team Leader and up to 4 Ordinary Members. If applicable, the Chair-Elect or Past-Chair is part of the Committee and can have a voice but not vote.
2. All members must be ERA Full Members. 
3. All members must be knowledgeable and active in electronic communications (website, social media, etc.). 
4. The Chair must be elected by the Council following an open call, and this must be done at least one year prior to the end of the term of the current Chair. A specific form for the candidacy must be used.  
5. The term of the Chair is three years and cannot be renewed. As Past-Chair he/she can remain for one extra year. 
6. To facilitate a smooth transition, one year before the end of the Chair’s term, a new Chair should be elected. The Chair-Elect will then take office once the current Chair’s term ends. 
7. The first Ex-Officio Member must be a current Council member at the time of election. 
8. The second Ex-Officio Member must be a representative of the ERA Registry, appointed by the Council for a three-year term, which can be renewed for an extra three-year term.  
9. It is the Chair who suggests the name of the Social Media Team Leader to the Council for formal acceptance. The term is the same as the term of the Chair. 
10. The Ordinary Members are elected by the Council following an open call. A specific form for the candidacy must be used. 
11. The term of the Ordinary Members is three years and can be renewed for an extra three-year term.  
12. Once a Chair has served for one term, a minimum break of three years is required before applying for the position of ECC Ordinary Member. 
13. Once an Ordinary member has served two terms, a minimum break of three years before applying for the same Committee is required. The only exception to this rule is to apply for the Chair position. 
14. No member can remain in the committee for more than 9 consecutive years. 
15. During elections/voting held within the Committee, in case of an equal number of votes, the Chair has the casting vote. 

II. Duties

The ECC is responsible for overseeing all the electronic communications of the ERA, this includes the social media activity, the newsletters, podcasts, etc., the ERA website and all its various sections/pages. 

1. The ECC is also responsible for the SoMe Team. The SoMe Team Leader and members will receive a certificate at the end of their mandate from the ECC Chair possibly during the ECC Board Meeting, in this case the certificate will be signed by the ERA President and the ECC Chair.   
2. The ECC is supported in its activities by the ERA HQ. 
3. The ECC Chair must give an annual report to the Council. 
4. Communication among members of ECC will normally be organised via the Internet. There will be a face-to-face meeting at the ERA HQ during the year. Additional virtual meetings can be arranged, upon request. 
5. For the rules regarding the reimbursement policy for ECC members who participate in face-to-face meetings, one must refer to General Rules for ERA Committees. 
6. A diploma will be given to all Committee Members ending their term. . For this matter, one should refer to the appropriate section in the General Rules for ERA Committees. 
7. All ERA ECC publications, if any, and initiatives must clearly mention the fact that the ECC is an official body of ERA. The sentence approved by the Council related to this matter is: “This article (to be adapted accordingly) was written by (to be adapted accordingly) on behalf of the ERA ECC which is an official body of the ERA (European Renal Association)”. 

The ECC is responsible also for:

• SoMe Team Regulations
• Social Media Guidelines
• Podcasts Regulations

Last update: October 2023