Intercultural & Development Communication:

Mission & By-laws

Mission Statement

The Intercultural and Development Communication division of the International Communication Association (ICA) is concerned with the theory and practice of communication between and among individuals and organizations from the cultures of the world; with the nature and comparison of communication systems in different cultural and national contexts; with all aspects of international communication, and with the relationship between communication and national development. An essential goal of the division is the promotion of exchanges among scholars studying communication from a wide range of humanistic and scientific approaches. In this regard, the division also seeks to establish and maintain linkages and exchanges with scholarly associations in various regions of the world. Other goals include stimulating research on cultural variables, theory building, training and education, and diffusion of what is learned.

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Division By-laws

ARTICLE I : NAME AND PURPOSE

Section 1.  The name of this group shall be the Division of Intercultural and Development Communication (IDC) of the International Communication Association (ICA).

Section 2.  The Intercultural and Development Communication Division exists by the authority of the Executive Committee and Board of Directors of the International Communication Association.  According to its present taxonomy, the Division of Intercultural and Development Communication is Division 5 in the International Communication Association.

Section 3.  The basic purpose of the ICD is  to promote scholarship, teaching, and improved practice in intercultural, international, and development communication based on collegial peer review.

ARTICLE II:  MEMBERSHIP  

Section 1.  Any active member of the International Communication Association who expresses interest in, and subscribes to, the purpose of the ICD is eligible for active membership in the ICD.

Section 2.  The full membership of the ICD shall be those persons who submit a request to be a member of the ICD on their ICA membership application or renewal.

ARTICLE III: MEETINGS

Section 1.  An annual business meeting shall be held at the time and place of the annual convention  of ICA.

Section 2.  Those members present at the Annual Business Meeting shall constitute a quorum for conducting ICD business.

Section 3: A simple majority of those present at the annual business meeting will determine passage of a motion.

Section 4: Motions on mail ballots  may be approved and election outcomes determined by a simple majority of those responding.

Section 5: The Secretary will be responsible to prepare and distribute proceedings of the previous annual business meeting at the next one.

Section 1.  The elected officers of the ICD shall be the Chairperson, Vice-chairperson, and Secretary.  One officer will serve from each of the three specializations represented in the division: intercultural, international and international development..

Section 2.  The chairperson shall preside at meetings of the ICD, discharge the usual responsibilities of the administrative head of a division in a professional association,   plan the program of the annual convention and all other activities based on  peer input and review,  and serve as a representative of the ICD to ICA's Board of Directors and the conference planning committee.  The Chairperson shall serve a two-year term.

Section 3.  The Vice-chairperson shall assist the Chairperson in program planning by handling the peer review procedures for his/her area of specialization.  S/he shall serve as a representative of the ICD to ICA's Board of Directors and the conference planning committee  in the absence of or at the request of the chairperson.  S/he  shall assume the duties of the Chairperson in the event of a mid-term resignation or departure, following which elections will be held for the Vice chairperson's position.  The nominees for vice-chairpersons shall alternate in terms of the three  constituencies of the ICD, namely, intercultural communication,  international communication and international development communication.  The Vice-chairperson shall serve a two-year term and shall succeed to the office of  Chairperson.

Section 4.  The Secretary shall serve a two-year term, prepare and distribute Minutes of the previous business meeting at the subsequent one, be responsible for  newsletters  and other internal communication among the members, and oversee web site matters.

Section 5: Vacancies in the position of Vice-Chair and Secretary for unexpired terms of  six months or less may be filled by appointment of a division member from the particular specialization (e.g. International Development Communication) of the former incumbent.  If the unexpired term is for more than six months, the Chair and the Executive Director of ICA shall initiate a special ballot for election to fill the unexpired term.

Section 6: Any elected officer may be removed from office.  The procedure for removal is that at least one-third of the listed members of the ICD must sign a petition to the Executive Secretary of the ICA requesting a special election and including one nomination for the office in question.  The Executive Secretary arranges an extraordinary election within 60 days with the challenged officer on the ballot.  The result of the election becomes effective immediately.

Section 7. Peer reviews shall  be the basis for program development. The Chairperson and Vice-chairperson shall recruit qualified members (e.g. Associate professors with tenure in university settings) of the ICD to review the  papers/panel proposals submitted for review in each of the three areas of intercultural communication, international communication and international development communication.  Such qualified members of the ICD may indicate their desire to serve as a reviewer at any time.  Peer reviewers are required to   provide the chairperson and vice-chairperson with their blind review ratings and rankings in a timely fashion, given  the tight turnaround time for annual program development

Section 8.  The Nominating Committee for each vacancy shall consist of two  members of the ICD from the section of the division (e.g. Intercultural ) from which  candidates are being  sought.   The Nominating Committee will be responsible for submitting at least two candidates for each position to be filled (i.e., either vice-chairperson or secretary).  The Committee will make best efforts to represent the diversity of the constituency in terms of gender, ethnicity, and national origin. The names of the candidates will be submitted to ICA's national office for inclusion on the official ballot distributed to the association's membership.

Competitive paper submissions shall  be selected on the significance of the topic, the thoroughness of the literature review, theoretical and conceptual development, soundness of methodology, usefulness of findings, and the writing style and organization. All competitive paper submissions shall include a complete paper.  Persons proposing panels, seminars, workshops, and/or other types of formats shall submit proposals  to the program committee listing the names and titles of participants and the purpose and expected outcome of the program.  Submission of competitive papers and/or program panels obligates the submitter to attend the convention where the work is to be presented.  ICD members on the program who do not arrange for a substitute in the event of an emergency may receive negative points during conference program preparation in  subsequent years. 

In addition to the Top Paper awards in Intercultural, Development  and International Communication,  the ICD may institute additional awards for scholarly performance.  All awards will be judged by a three panel committee of  peers  appointed by the Chair.  The Chair will announce a Call for nominations and procedures for nomination in the ICA newsletter. Nominations will include a cover letter stating why the person should be recognized by the ICD, the nominee's vitae, and  letters of recommendation.  The nature of the award will depend on ICD funds.

Section 1.  Amendments to these by-laws may be initiated by any member of the ICD.  Texts of revisions must be made available to the Chair of the division two months before the annual business meeting to enable their  timely distribution to the membership.

Section 2.  A two-thirds majority of those members present and voting at the annual meeting of the ICD shall be required for adoption of an amendment to ICD bylaws.

All meetings of the ICD, its committees and other subsidiary bodies, shall be governed by  parliamentary rules in the current edition of Robert's Rules of Order.

These by-laws shall become effective immediately upon approval by a majority vote of the members present and voting at the 2000 business meeting.  If these by-laws are approved, the secretary is authorized to make any additional minor stylistic changes consistent with the intent of the articles proposed.  The Chairperson, with the assistance and guidance of the other elected officers, shall be responsible for formulating  necessary policies, procedures, and documents needed to facilitate the functioning of these by-laws.