NEW ORDER OF DRUIDS vzw/npo

PRIVACY POLICY STATEMENT

This is the web site of the New Order of Druids ("us", "we", or "our"), which operates the druidcircle.org and druidcircle.net websites, along with related websites on subdomains (the "Service").

This page informs you (“User”) of our policies regarding the collection, use, and disclosure of personal data when you use our Service and the choices you have associated with that data. We use your data to provide and improve the Service. By using the Service, you agree to the collection and use of information in accordance with this policy. Unless otherwise defined in this Privacy Policy, terms used in this Privacy Policy have the same meanings as in our Terms and Conditions, accessible from https://www.druidcircle.org/

1. Visitors
We recognize and respect your need for privacy and security as you visit our site. When you visit our site to view any public pages, you do so without telling us who you are and without revealing any personal information. While we do not collect identifying information about visitors to our site, we do use standard software to collect information for the strict purpose of tracking activity on our site. This allows us to better understand how many people use our site and which pages and features are most popular. The only information we normally collect and store is:

- The name of your Internet service provider.
- The web site that referred you to us (if any).
- The date and time the pages were accessed.
- The page or pages you requested.

2. Registered members
Upon registering a username account, you become a User in full, and our website collects the following information (additional to the information collected from every visitor):
- Your E-Mail address (see further)
- A username chosen by you (visible to everyone)
- A password chosen by you (information only known to yourself)
- Personal information provided by you in the application form, such as gender and hometown, your motivations to become a member, what your relation is to nature, and how you found out about us.
- Additionally a home address for upgraded members, which will not be asked until you actually proceed toward upgrading your account to a paid membership.

In short, we use the collected data for various purposes:
- To provide and maintain the Service
- To notify you about changes to our Service
- To allow you to participate in interactive features of our Service when you choose to do so
- To provide customer care and support
- To provide analysis or valuable information so that we can improve the Service
- To monitor the usage of the Service
- To detect, prevent and address technical issues

This information is necessary in order to register a functional username account on our system. You can provide us with additional information in your username profile, such as your age, gender and location, by adding it to your profile yourself. This is done on an entirely voluntary basis, and this information is not used outside the purposes of the website. You never transmit personally identifying information that you do not enter yourself. And this is always your option; this information cannot be collected unless you specifically elect to send it to us. This information is used internally only for the purpose of fulfilling the request or for contacting you directly and is not given or sold to any other organization for any purposes. Any information you provide in your account profile, can also be edited and removed by yourself. We will never ask any information such as a home address or phone number, in order to allow you to register and use a username account.

Your E-Mail address is never given to anyone without your consent. Requests to view the contact information of another registered member is always denied. In your username account, you have the option of selecting how, if at all, you wish to be contacted. You can volunteer to choose to display your E-Mail address on your profile, or allow people to e-mail you through a contact form that does not provide them with your E-Mail address, or use the internal messenger system to contact you. Your username account allows the option to turn on or off any function that will e-mail you a notification of a private message, a topic reply notification or e-mails sent by us. If any of our e-mails still reach you, then you can request to stop this by contacting us at Dit e-mailadres wordt beveiligd tegen spambots. JavaScript dient ingeschakeld te zijn om het te bekijken. at which point we will set your account "inactive".

Our newsletter works independent from our main registration system. Joining the newsletter is done voluntary by any member, who then volunteers his/her e-mail address for this purpose. Each person can unsubscribe from this Newsletter at any time, either through an unsubscribe link that is sent with the email or, if such link is absent, in your account settings on the website. This Newsletter option is only used to e-mail its subscribed members regarding the New Order of Druids related information, announcements and other news, but never for any kind of spamming purposes. None of the information of the subscribed members is shared with any other individual or company.

The website administrators can contact you directly, not using the newsletter system, about important news of the organisation. If you wish your e-mail address to be removed from this list, e-mail your request to Dit e-mailadres wordt beveiligd tegen spambots. JavaScript dient ingeschakeld te zijn om het te bekijken. from the e-mail address you wish to have removed from our list.

Further personal information, such as full name and address, are only used for internal administration of the organisation, and to send you the necessary documentation and items included in the membership of your choice.

You will have the option of adding yourself to the Guest Map, allowing to pinpoint your location on a worldmap. This is entirely voluntarily and only added when you yourself do so, or directly send us a request to do it for you.

We respect your privacy rights and provide you with reasonable access to the Personal Data that you may have provided through your use of the Services. If you wish to access or amend any other Personal Data we hold about you, or to request that we delete or transfer any information about you that we have obtained from an Integrated Service, you may contact us as set forth in the “How to Contact Us” section. At your request, we will have any reference to you deleted or blocked in our database, or provide you with further instructions on the relevant procedure to do this.

You may update, correct, or delete your Account information and preferences at any time by accessing your Account settings page on the Service. Please note that while any changes you make will be reflected in active user databases instantly or within a reasonable period of time, we may retain all information you submit for backups, archiving, prevention of fraud and abuse, analytics, satisfaction of legal obligations, or where we otherwise reasonably believe that we have a legitimate reason to do so. You may decline to share certain Personal Data with us, in which case we may not be able to provide to you some of the features and functionality of the Service.

If you request us to remove any data, such as the removal of your account on our website, we will respond to its request within thirty (30) days. We will delete, amend or block access to any Personal Data that we are storing only if we receive a written request to do so from you, unless we have a legal right to retain such Personal Data. We reserve the right to retain a copy of such data for archiving purposes, or to defend our rights in litigation. Billing information is retained for a period of at least 10 years in accordance with accounting and taxation laws.

We do not own, control or direct the use of any of the User Data stored or processed by a User via the Service. Only the Users are entitled to access, retrieve and direct the use of such User Data. We are largely unaware of what User Data is actually being stored or made available by a User to the Service and does not directly access such User Data except as authorized by the User, or as necessary to provide Services to the Users.

We are not responsible for the content of the Personal Data contained in the User Data or other information stored on its servers (or its subcontractors’ servers) at the discretion of the User nor are we responsible for the manner in which the User collects, handles disclosure, distributes or otherwise processes such information.

3. Cookies
A cookie is a piece of data stored on the User's hard drive containing information about the User. Usage of a cookie is in no way linked to any personally identifiable information while on our site. Once the User closes their browser, the cookie simply terminates. For instance, by setting a cookie on our site, the User would not have to log in a password more than once, thereby saving time while on our site. If a User rejects the cookie, they may still use our site. The only drawback to this is that the User will be limited in some areas of our site.

4. Transfer Of Data
Your information, including Personal Data, may be transferred to — and maintained on — computers located outside of your state, province, country or other governmental jurisdiction where the data protection laws may differ than those from your jurisdiction.

If you are located outside Belgium and choose to provide information to us, please note that we transfer the data, including Personal Data, to Belgium and process it there.

Your consent to this Privacy Policy followed by your submission of such information represents your agreement to that transfer.

New Order of Druids will take all steps reasonably necessary to ensure that your data is treated securely and in accordance with this Privacy Policy and no transfer of your Personal Data will take place to an organization or a country unless there are adequate controls in place including the security of your data and other personal information.

5. Disclosure Of Data
New Order of Druids may disclose your Personal Data in the good faith belief that such action is necessary to:
- To comply with a legal obligation
- To protect and defend the rights or property of New Order of Druids
- To prevent or investigate possible wrongdoing in connection with the Service
- To protect the personal safety of Users of the Service or the public
- To protect against legal liability

The security of your data is important to us, but remember that no method of transmission over the Internet, or method of electronic storage is 100% secure. While we strive to use commercially acceptable means to protect your Personal Data, we cannot guarantee the absolute security of any information you transmit to us or store on the Service, and you do so at your own risk. We also cannot guarantee that such information may not be accessed, disclosed, altered, or destroyed by breach of any of our physical, technical, or managerial safeguards. If you believe your Personal Data has been compromised, please contact us as set forth in the “How to Contact Us” section. If we learn of a security systems breach, we will inform you and the authorities of the occurrence of the breach in accordance with applicable law.

We may employ third party companies and individuals to facilitate our Service ("Service Providers"), to provide the Service on our behalf, to perform Service-related services or to assist us in analyzing how our Service is used. These third parties have access to your Personal Data only to perform these tasks on our behalf and are obligated not to disclose or use it for any other purpose.

6. Analytics
We use Google Analytics to measure and evaluate access to and traffic on the Public Area of the Site, and create user navigation reports for our Site administrators. Google operates independently from us and has its own privacy policy, which we strongly suggest you review. Google may use the information collected through Google Analytics to evaluate Users' and Visitors’ activity on our Site. For more information, see Google Analytics Privacy and Data Sharing.

We take measures to protect the technical information collected by our use of Google Analytics. The data collected will only be used on a need to know basis to resolve technical issues, administer the Site and identify visitor preferences; but in this case, the data will be in non-identifiable form. We do not use any of this information to identify Visitors or Users.

7. Children's Privacy
Our Service does not address anyone under the age of 13 ("Children"), unless they are under the guidance and with approval of a parent or guardian. Additionally, Users under the age of 18 may be barred from certain parts of our website or Services. We do not knowingly collect personally identifiable information from anyone under the age of 13 without consent of a parent or guardian. If you are a parent or guardian and you are aware that your Children has provided us with Personal Data without your consent, please contact us. If we become aware that we have collected Personal Data from children without verification of parental consent, we take steps to remove that information from our servers.

8. Links
This web site contains links to other sites. Please be aware that we are not responsible for the privacy practices of such other sites. We encourage our Users to be aware when they leave our site and to read the privacy statements of each and every web site that collects personally identifiable information. This privacy statement applies solely to information collected by this Web site.

9. Tell-A-Friend
If a User elects to use our referral service for informing a friend about our site, we ask them for the friend's name and email address. The New Order of Druids will automatically send the friend a one-time email inviting them to visit the site. The New Order of Druids stores this information for the sole purpose of sending this one-time email. This information does not remain stored in any database after the task of sending this one-time email has been completed.

10. Notification of Changes
If we decide to change our privacy policy, we will post those changes on this page so our Users are always aware of what information we collect, how we use it, and under circumstances, if any, we disclose it. If at any point we decide to use personally identifiable information in a manner different from that stated at the time it was collected, we will notify Users by way of an email. Users will have a choice as to whether or not we use their information in this different manner. We will use information in accordance with the privacy policy under which the information was collected.

11. How to Contact Us
If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, or requests in regards to the User Data our database contains of you, you may contact us at Dit e-mailadres wordt beveiligd tegen spambots. JavaScript dient ingeschakeld te zijn om het te bekijken..

This Privacy Policy for New Order of Druids is, in part, powered by TermsFeed.
Updated last on: May 24, 2018.

REGULATIONS CONCERNING THE JOINED MEMBERS

Joined Members will be called "member" or "members" everywhere in the regulations, and effective members (called "member" in the Constitution) will be called "effective members" everywhere in the regulations.

1. GENERAL MEMBERSHIP

1. Everyone who pays annual membership fee, as determined by the Board of Governors, is member of the New Order of Druids.  The Board of Governors has, however, the right to refuse or remove a membership at any time; this is also valid for direct family members of the joined member, or visitors.  Refused or removed members and the heirs of deceased members, can in no way demand any refund or compensation of done payments or services.  Members have no voting right within the organisation.  They are excluded from the effective membership, as stated in the Belgian law of June 27, 1921 on the non-profit organisations, unless the General Assembly decides otherwise in compliance with the N.O.D. Constitution.  Membership fees paid to the organisation will not be refunded unless the Board of Governors decides otherwise.
2. All members are required to comply to the regulations concerning the joined members, as written by the Board of Governors.
3. All members are required that, when they participate in any kind of service provided by the organisation, to do so in a constructive manner and mainly focus on the purpose of the event or the service, and the organisation.  It is not permitted to work disturbingly in any form whatsoever.
4. Respect is shown to fellow members, regardless whether they are new or experienced in the subject at hand.
5. The organisation holds the right to terminate any membership immediately, and causes for immediate termination may be: Incompliance with the message board rules and regulations, resulting in being banned from the message board or website; Violation of any of the membership regulations: Any other extreme or unusual circumstances not covered here, as judged on a case by case basis determined by the Council or, if needed, by the General Assembly.
6. Members have the right to make use of the by the organisation provided services, in as much as they are available.  These services are, depending on their nature, either free or available at a fee.
7. The organisation cannot be held responsible for downtime or malfunctions of the offered services if not caused by the organisation or within its control.  Notice of downtime due to updates of the N.O.D. website performed by the organisation itself, will be given when possible.
8. While we recognize that all Druids follow a personal path and have strong opinions, debating and discussions on all subjects are to be conducted in a respectful manner.  Sectarianism or extremism of any form will not be allowed and will result in banishment.
9. The name "New Order of Druids" is neutral and may not be used to make propaganda for other purposes besides the agenda or intention of this organisation, without approval of the board of governors.
10. It is strictly prohibited to sell products and services of the organisation, with the intention to make personal profit.  Legal action can and may be taken against any person found doing so.
11. The organisation recognizes the free will and free choice of its members, but in no way can be held accountable for their individual actions.  Responsibility and accountability falls upon the legal guardian of members who are minors by law in their resident country.
12. The organisation does not condone nor promote the use of any illegal substances. Such substances are not permitted at events, gatherings, trips, workshops, or functions of the organisation of any kind.
13. The members may be accompanied at meetings or events, by their family members if these family members are still living at the same address as their own, unless notified differently.  These family members are also required to comply to the same membership regulations.
14. General visitors that are not a member nor direct family of a member as stated before, are allowed to attend gatherings, meetings or events, after permission of the Board of Governors or the companion member charged with the leading of the event.  Depending on the nature of the event, an additional fee can be asked.
15. The Board of Governors or a companion member charged with the leading of activities, has the right to refuse admittance to a member at any time, to the location of the activities organized by the organisation, or order a member to leave this location immediately.
16. Members have the right to use materials made available by the organisation, but are required to treat it respectfully. If a member causes damage to any of the materials, this member is required to compensate the expenses for the damage.  It is strictly prohibited to remove the material made available, from the location where the activity takes place, without permission of the Board of Governors or the companion member charged with the leading of the activity.  The members are required to leave the location made available by the organisation, in a clean state.  If they cause damage to the location, they are required to compensate for the expenses.  Members don't throw trash on the floor as a token of respect and in the remembrance of their environment.
17. Members are prohibited from spreading materials, publications or other information obtained through the organisation, in whichever way, without prior written permission of the Board of Governors.
18. Any violation of regulations can have legal consequences at the courts of Antwerp-Belgium.
19. Complaints concerning how the organisation works, or its provided services, can be brought only to a member of the Board of Governors, by the members.
20. Membership regulations are subject to change when requirements dictate, as deemed by the council or the Board of Governors.
21. Disputes concerning the rights and obligations of joined members, for which neither the constitution, nor the member regulations offer a solution or clarity, are decided by the Board of Governors.

2. TYPES OF MEMBERSHIP

The membership of the organisation compromises the following:

1.      The free member:

A Free Member pays no membership fee and can make use of the free services provided by the organisation. A Free Member is also required to comply to the membership regulations, aside from the requirement to pay a membership fee.  Duration of this membership is unlimited, unless the discussion board requirements are not complied to.

2.      The upgraded member:

An Upgraded member obtains the same rights and obligations of the free member, but pays the membership fee and therefore obtains access to the additional services provided by the organisation.  Duration of this membership lasts until the determined duration according to the membership fee expires, or the Board of Governors decides to remove this member.

3.      The moderating member or operator:

This is a member charged with assisting in the moderation of certain services, such as the discussion board, the chatroom and the blog service.  This can be done by either a Free or Upgraded member.  This service is provided by the moderator free of charge for an unlimited time, until either the member resigns or the Council terminates the charge.

4.      The Mentor:

The mentor is charged with mentoring students in the Grove of Dana online college of the New Order of Druids.  This includes, but is not limited to, grading assignments of assigned students, providing feedback, offering support to questions, and interact with the students through the internet.  This can be done by either a Free or Upgraded member.  This service is provided by the mentor free of charge for an unlimited time, until either the member resigns or the Council terminates the charge.  See the sub-section of mentor regulations.

5.      The Druid Senator:

The Druid Senator is charged with leading, or assisting in leading of a local grove of the organisation.  This can be done by an Upgraded member only, and is done free of charge.  See the sub-section of the Druid Senate regulations.

6.      The Council member:

The Council member is charged with providing the services as agreed within the Council, voting on matters where needed, and offer input in regards to obtaining the goal of the organisation or improving it.   This can be done by either a Free or Upgraded member.  This service is provided by the Council member free of charge for an unlimited time, until either the member resigns or the Council terminates the charge.  See the sub-section of Council regulations.

7.      The Board of Governors and General Assembly:

A detailed description of the Board of Governors and General Assembly, including the effective members, is to be found in the N.O.D. Constitution.

All members are required to comply to the N.O.D. Constitution and membership regulations.  Additionally, the organisation may provide the title of Honorary Member to one of the members of the organisation. The Board of Governors and General Assembly, as effective members, have the power for final decision if necessary.

Membership is terminated if the member resigns, dies, the organisation ceases to exist, or the member is removed as stated in the regulations. 



3. DISCUSSION BOARD REGULATIONS

The following regulations apply to all members, regardless of membership status, using the online services of the organisation.

1. The following applies to posts made on the discussion board, text in your profile, username or signature.

   1. Respect the other members, their opinions and free will.

   2. Do not post hate posts or curses.

   3. Do not post offensive language.

   4. Do not post spam.

   5. Do not post illegal, hate or pornographic images or other material, nor links to it.

   6. Follow the instructions and requests from the moderators when needed.

   7. Do not copy information from the forums, and use it for publication on other websites or print media without prior consent.

   Failing to abide these rules, and any possible warnings in this regard, may and will result into a permanent ban on your account, and your account blocked. We reserve the right to immediately ban an account if deemed that instant action is necessary.

2. Usernames that were registered without filling out the application form first, are subject to removal without notice. Usernames that have not made any posts at all, for a time period of 3 months or longer from the day of registering, are subject to removal. In that case, you may apply again, but in order to keep your username, you need to post at least once within 3 months after registering.
3. You agree to follow the guidelines and decisions set by the moderators and administrators of this board. Failing to do so, may cause your username to be removed or banned.
4. Considering the real-time nature of this discussion board, it is impossible for us to review messages or confirm the validity of information posted. Please remember that we at do not actively monitor the contents of and are not responsible for any messages posted. We do not vouch for or warrant the accuracy, completeness or usefulness of any message, and are not responsible for the contents of any message. The messages express the views of the author of the message, not necessarily the views of this board or any entity associated with this board. Any user who feels that a posted message is objectionable is encouraged to contact us immediately by email. We have the ability to remove objectionable messages and we will make every effort to do so, within a reasonable time frame, if we determine that removal is necessary. This is a manual process, however, so please realize that we may not be able to remove or edit particular messages immediately.
5. You agree, through your use of this service, that you will not use this discussion board to post any material which is knowingly false and/or defamatory, inaccurate, abusive, vulgar, hateful, harassing, obscene, profane, sexually oriented, threatening, invasive of a person's privacy, or otherwise violative of any law. You agree not to post any copyrighted material unless the copyright is owned by you or by this discussion board.

4. ORAN MOR WRITER'S TEAM REGULATIONS

The Oran Mór is an e-magazine which is published quarterly on the N.O.D. website. Access to the download section of the Oran Mór section, for the latest edition as well as previous editions, comes as part of an upgraded membership. Members who volunteer articles, poems, artwork or other contributions, will also get access to the download section. Two types of contributors are distinguished:

1. Infrequent contributors, and contributors who supply non-articles
   
   With "infrequent contributor" is understood that a member offers a contribution of any kind to the Oran Mor, without any obligation to do so again for the next edition(s). This doesn't necessarily mean the member won't contribute again to some successive editions, but there is no guarantee or obligation to do so.
   
   With "contributors who supply non-articles" is understood that a member offers a contribution that is not in the form of an article that contains at least 500 words. It could refer to, for example, poems, drawings, short articles, or other artwork.
   
   In both cases as described above, recompensation is given by offering temporary access to the download section of the Oran Mor, for the duration of 3 months (until the next edition is released). This duration will be extended if the member contributes during successive editions. Access is only given if the Oran Mór editor decides to publish the contribution.
   
   
2. Oran Mór writer's team members
   
   Here is understood that a member commits him- or herself to contributing articles, containing at least 500 words, on a frequent basis. Recompensation is given in the form of an upgraded membership (excluding membership card, introduction booklet and diploma, see under §3) for the duration of the membership in the writer's team.
   
   Requirements of the writer's team are as follows:
   
   
   1. Join procedure:
      
      In order to join the writer's team, the candidate needs to provide an article of at least 500 words during at least two successive editions. The articles need to be approved for publishing by the editor in order to qualify. During that period, the candidate gets the same privileges as an infrequent contributor (access to the Oran Mór download section).
      
      The editor decides whether the candidate will be accepted in the writer's team or not, even if two articles of at least 500 words each are published successively. As such, the editor may choose to accept the candidacy, extend the probation period with another month (and so so more than once), or reject the application.
      
      
   2. Membership responsibilities:
      
      A member of the writer's team is expected to deliver at least one article of minimum 500 words per edition, that is found fit for publishing by the editor.
      
      If a member of the writer's team is for any reason unable to meet a deadline, they are expected to notify the editor as soon as possible.
      
      If a member requires an extended leave of absence for any reason, they should also need to notify the editor as soon as possible. In that case, their upgraded membership will be halted for the duration of their absence. Upon their return, the upgrade will be activated again, and the member can resume their responsibilities without needing to apply again or enter a new probation period, but only if their return is within 1 year. If the return occurs after a longer time than 1 year, the editor determines whether or not a new probation period is required.
      
      If a member of the writer's team misses two deadlines, or the quality of the delivered articles does not meet the editor's criteria (and are therefore not published) during two successive editions, he or she is removed from the writer's team and the upgraded membership is halted.
      
      If a member of the writer's team decides to leave the team for any reason, they should notify the editor as soon as possible.
      
      
3. Upgraded membership
   
   Upgraded membership is given to members of the writer's team, for the duration of that membership. The upgrade includes all online services, but not the membership card, introduction booklet, and diploma of completed courses.
   
   If a member is already upgraded through payment, the upgrade remains as is and no refunds are given. When the upgrade expires, it will be reactivated for the duration of the membership of the writer's team.
   
   Paid upgraded members who also a member of the writer's team, but decide to leave the team or are removed from it by the editor, will retain their upgraded membership for the remainder of the normal duration of a paid upgrade.
   
   When a writer's team upgrade that overlaps a paid upgrade, the remainder of the paid upgrade will not be annexed when the member leaves the writer's team, except if the paid upgrade would still be valid had the member not been part of the writer's team.

5. MENTOR REGULATIONS

1. All mentors are required to be actively taking the course in which they are a mentor, or have completed it. The activity in taking the course is set on the same standard as that of any other student (if you are inactive for 60 days, you're unenrolled).

2. Students who wish to become a mentor in that course, need to have completed the course first, if the minimum required mentors for that course has been obtained. This minimum is:
- 5 mentors for the Bardic Course
- 3 mentors for the Bardic Youth Course
- 3 mentors for the Ovate Course
- Druid course: undecided
If these minimum number of mentors has not been obtained in that particular course, then the student applying to become a mentor needs to have completed more than 50% of the assignments.

3. A mentor should be at least 21 years old, unless the Council decides otherwise by majority vote. Mentor applications of people under 21 years old, are therefore to be voted by the Council rather than the Faculty.

4. The approval of a new mentor is done by allowing all current mentors to vote in the Faculty forum. No mentor is required to vote, but in case of insufficient votes, a draw in votes or in case of disputes, the college co-ordinator will have the decisive vote. 

5. Upgraded membership is given to mentors, for the duration of that mentorship. The upgrade includes all online services, but not the membership card, introduction booklet. A printed diploma of completed courses can be requested. The upgrade will only be activated once the mentor has complied to all requirements, such as sending in a signature and joining the mailing list.

5a. If a member is already upgraded through payment, the upgrade remains as is and no refunds are given. When the upgrade expires, it will be reactivated for the duration of the mentorship.

5b. Paid upgraded members who also a mentor but decide to leave the mentorship or are removed from it by the college coordinator, will retain their upgraded membership for the remainder of the normal duration of a paid upgrade. When a mentor's upgrade that overlaps a paid upgrade, the remainder of the paid upgrade will not be annexed when the member leaves the mentorship, except if the paid upgrade would still be valid had the member not been part of the mentor's team.

6. Students that graduate will also find an extra (optional) assignment in where they can apply to become a mentor. If the student does not apply, he or she can still be approached with the proposal, if the college co-ordinator and the student's mentor feel that this person would make a good mentor. The decision upon making this student a mentor is made by vote in the Faculty as explained in paragraph 4.

7. Mentors are responsible for grading assignments at least once every 10 days. A "tolerance time" of 4 more days is acceptable, but no ungraded assignment may be older than 14 days.

8. The "final project" does not need to be graded within 14 days, if the student hands in this assignment prior to its due time (if not all other assignments are done yet, or a year has not been passed yet). The "final project" DOES need to be graded within 14 days, if the student has completed the entire course otherwise, and the due date has been reached or passed.

9. Mentors that are too busy somehow, and won't make the 10 or 14 days limit, are responsible for NOTIFYING both the college faculty AND the students of his/her absence. Announcements to the faculty are by default to be posted in the Faculty forum. If for any reason this is difficult for the mentor, the announcement can also be done directly to the College coordinator by e-mail or message otherwise. The college coordinator will then post this absence announcement in the faculty forum.

10. If the absence is announced to be 15 days or less, no replacement mentor should be put in place, students will be informed that they have to wait a little longer for their grade (but at least they'd know why).

11. If the absence is announced to be longer than 15 days, a replacement mentor should be assigned for that duration.

12. If anyone with the College, be it a mentor, the College coordinator or anyone in the Council, feels that a certain mentor is absent too often, abusing his/her absence announcements, that person can demand a vote to take place, by providing sufficient argument for this vote. The vote of the Council is then final and without appeal.

13. Unannounced absence is not excused. We would be flexible, however, allowing the possibility of computer crashes, internet outages, ... This, of course, can happen to anyone, but if it happens 10 times a year it tends to lose credibility. The "flexibility level" would go as far as 3 unannounced absences within the timespan of one year. After the second unannounced absence, the mentor is clearly warned that this may not happen again, and be made aware of the responsibilities. After each unannounced absence, the mentor is removed from position without further warning/notice, along with any privileges that come with it, and the mentor's students are reassigned to other mentors. The same applies for assignments being graded too late when no absence has been announced.

14. Each mentor is responsible for reporting newly graduated students, in the Faculty forum in the appropriate topic for it, including all the required information. This should be done within a week of graduation.

15. If students are temporarily assigned to another mentor (in case the first mentor is absent for an extended time), and your student account is assigned to yourself as well, you may not grade your own assignments. In that case you can either wait for the original mentor to return, or request another mentor from the college coordinator.

16. A student is required to spend at least 6 months on each course, before being able to take the final exam (Forum Students) or graduate (upgraded students) and move on to the next course in line. If the mentor decides that a student has provided well above average work and should be allowed to take their exams or graduate sooner, this mentor can request at the College Coordinator for an exception to be made. The College Coordinator will then take a closer look at the situation and make a final decision.

17. A digital diploma is available for all students who have completed a course. Printed diploma's are only available to upgraded members, who have completed a course, and can only be requested during the time of their upgrade. 

18. Digital diplomas are only available for graduations on or after September 1, 2014 if the student is a free member, or in or after July 2007 if the student is an upgraded member. Printed certificates (upgraded members only) are available for graduations in or after July 2007.

5a. PROCEDURE FOR REMOVAL OF STUDENT FROM COLLEGE

It should be pointed out that this procedure for removal should only be started if various attempts at other solutions have been made first.
The mentor should be working with the student to resolve the issue (Step 1). However, if it appears that the student is not responding to these efforts then this needs to be drawn to the College Coordinator’s attention as early as possible in order to explore and implement other options to resolve the problem. (Step 2).

1. Warning(s) expressed by mentors to student.
2. Concerns of mentors expressed to College Coordinator.
3. College coordinator’s message to Mentor(s) to retain evidence.
4. College Coordinator reviews and assembles evidential material.
5. College Coordinator request to other College Coordinator to independently review.
6. Evidential material reviewed by College Coordinators (Dutch site)
7. Recommendation of removal sent to Council.
8. Notification to Mentors of decision to recommend removal to Council.
9. Notification of recommendation sent to the Student6 and suspension of College files.
10. Council notifies the Student of receipt of recommendation sending evidential material and offers student the opportunity to send a statement of defence in response. Receipt of Statement of Defence is acknowledged by the Council Leader. 
11. Council reviews evidential material and statement, if submitted.
12. Council votes. Decision confirmed and announced by Council Leader in Council Forum.
13. Council informs student of decision (and of right of appeal* if the recommendation is upheld – 5 days) 10 If upheld, copy of letter to student is sent by Council Leader to College Coordinator, who in turn notifies Mentors.
14. If the recommendation is not upheld, the student continues in College. Copy of letter sent to College Coordinator by Council Leader. 11 College Coordinator informs mentors. 
15. If no Statement of Grounds for Appeal is received, Council Members & College Coordinator notified by Council Leader 
16. Student is un-enrolled by College coordinator. Council Leader, Mentors and Grove of Dana Mentors Group notified. 
17. If the student submits Statement of Grounds for Appeal to Council Leader, its is presented to the Chair of the General Assembly.15 Acknowledgement of Statement sent to student.
18. Chair of General Assembly acknowledges receipt of statement to student and Council Leader.
19. If received, General Assembly considers ground for appeal and reaches decision for whether to hear the appeal.* (see below: Grounds for Appeal)
20. Student informed of decision by the General Assembly Chair.
(a) Grounds for appeal rejected. Decision upheld. Student informed and removed from college. Decision is final.
(b) Grounds for appeal upheld. Student informed.
21. If (b) Student submits evidential material for appeal which is acknowledge by the Chair of the General Assembly 20, forward to the Council Leader so that the Council may, if it so wishes, can refute the arguments made.
22. The General Assembly reviews the submissions and decision reached.
(a) Appeal is rejected. Student informed and removed from College. Decision is final.
(b) Appeal upheld. Student informed and remains in College.
23. The appropriate notification is submitted to all parties in N.O.D. 
24. The Council carries out a review of the case and makes any necessary recommendations for future implementation.

* GROUNDS FOR APPEAL
* There are only three grounds for appeal –
(a) the process has not been followed
(b) the evidence is incorrect
(c) not all the evidence has been considered

6. DRUID SENATE REGULATIONS

1. The Druid Senate is the name of the (online) gathering of leaders of N.O.D. groves and other representatives.
2. Every grove leader and representative is in this fashion given the title of "Druid Senator".
3. Each full N.O.D. Grove has at least one and maximum two Druid Senators in the Druid Senate, of which at least one is the Grove Leader.
4. The Druid Senate is lead by two consuls:

Chief Druid - only a Grove Leader can be a candidate, not a co-leader

Chief Bard - any member in the Senate can be elected, also a co-leader

Both consuls are elected each year. All Senators are allowed one vote each, and also Council members have one vote each. If a Council member is also Druid Senator, he or she still only has one vote.

The Chief Druid functions as: spokesman between the Senate and the Council, a representative of the Senate to bring out advice to the Council regarding decisions related to the groves (including the setting up of new groves), to offer proposals of the Senate to the Council, to ensure cooperation between the various groves, to make sure that decisions made by the Council related to the groves and Senate, are effectively carried out in the Senate.

1.  
   1. The Chief Bard has the same functions, but is secondary next to the Chief Druid, in where he assists the Chief Druid in these functions where necessary, takes over the functions fully in case the Chief Druid is on prolongued absence, or if for whichever reason no Chief Druid is appointed.
   2. The election of both consuls is annual, unless the Chief Druid is unable to continue his position for whatever reason, the Chief Druid resigns from his position (even if not from the Senate entirely), the Chief Druid is removed from his position by the Council
   3. The same as above applies for the Chief Bard position.
   4. Any Council and Senate member is allowed to vote in the election, but not obligated. The vote booth will be opened for a maximum time of 1 week, where after the results are counted. A minimum number of votes must be reached for the vote to be valid; this minimum is 50% of the total number of people allowed to vote (including Senators and Council members).
   5. A Chief druid and Chief Bard can be re-elected for an unlimited number of times, unless decided otherwise by the Council.
   6. When a Council member is also a member of the Senate, his or her vote still only counts just once.
   7. The Chief Druid, or in his/her absence the Chief Bard, functions as chairman. In any vote within the Druid Senate aside from the consul election, the vote of the chairman is the winning one if the vote results end up being equal in numbers.

7. E-NEMETON REGULATIONS

STATEMENT
An E-Nemeton is an online "grove" community in the form of a mailing list similar to the Yahoo Groups. It can be created for two different purposes: to unite people that live approximately close to each other, and/or as a study-group.

REQUIREMENTS
1. The statement "E-Nemeton of the New Order of Druids vzw/npo" needs to be stated on a somewhat prominent place of the E-Nemeton's website.

2. Any provider for mailing groups (such as Yahoo! Groups) can be used for this purpose, but its related E-Nemeton website needs to have a clear link back to the N.O.D. site (possibly near where the New Order of Druids vzw/npo is mentioned).

3. The E-Nemeton leader must have read the 9 ideals, and decide whether or not his/her group is in line with our ethics. Listing them or linking to them is NOT required.

4. The E-Nemeton's leader is recommended to send a monthly report to Dit e-mailadres wordt beveiligd tegen spambots. JavaScript dient ingeschakeld te zijn om het te bekijken. of what is going on. This is NOT required, but if he/she does not, there will be no news of this E-Nemeton put in the Oran Mór edition.

5. An E-Nemeton leader/applicant needs to be a member of N.O.D.

6. N.O.D. events are permitted to be cross posted to E-Nemetons.

7.  E-Nemetons will be listed on the N.O.D. site under a section of the N.O.D. NEmetons with a link going to each.

8.  E-Nemetons have an open character by standard, which means that non-NOD members can also join. An application for a closed E-Nemeton of N.O.D. needs to be brought before the Council for discussion first.

9. E-Nemetons not in compliance to these regulations are subject to be removed and renounced by N.O.D. vzw/npo.

10. The E-Nemeton leader is responsible for maintaining the E-Nemeton itself by mediating in case of disagreements, and by keeping out spam or obtrusive messages.

11. An E-Nemeton must not contain any pornographic, hateful or in any form illegal material.

12. An E-Nemeton cannot request financial funds or recompensation of N.O.D. but can request that a small website is hosted for free on the server of N.O.D.

13. Any N.O.D. member who wants to open an E-Nemeton needs to fill out the relevant application form on the N.O.D. website.

14. Council members are allowed at all times to join any N.O.D. E-Nemeton.

15. The E-Nemeton can also be affiliated with other groups and organisations, if the ethics are agreeable.

16. If a problem should arise, by which the E-Nemeton is no longer compliant with regulations, the E-Nemeton leader must either take the necessary steps to correct this, or may be rejected as NOD E-Nemeton henceforth.

8. NEMETON REGULATIONS

8.1. Nemeton definition:

1. A Nemeton is a physical gathering that acts as a representation or affiliation of the New Order of Druids and that expands its activities in certain geographical locations, -languages or specific areas of interest
2. A Nemeton is based on the Druidic/Pagan principles in respect and responsability for all life.
3. A Nemeton aims to exist in a state of ethical awareness.


8.2. Types of Nemetons:

There are two types of Nemetons. One is a full Nemeton (henceforth referred to as simply “Nemeton”) and one is an Affiliate (henceforth referred to as Vernemeton).


8.3. Nemetons

8.3.1. Requirements to create a Nemeton

The Nemeton Leader must be the one who applies for the creation of their Nemeton, and in order to do so, he or she must comply to the following regulations:

1. The applicant need to be at least 21 years of age.
2. The applicant needs to be a member of the New Order of Druids for at least 10 months. They also need to be an Upgraded Member or a Council Member of NOD. If they are neither, and they do not have the means necessary to upgrade their account, they can request a “Sponsored Membership” from the Council, by sending a motivation letter. The Council will then vote upon this, and may decide that a service is expected in return, such as mentoring, writing articles for the e-zine, moderating forums, etc…
3. The applicant must have at least two other people who live in the same area, who are willing to assist in the Nemeton. The applicant, as Nemeton Leader, will then choose which member becomes the “Assistant Leader”. The Assistant Leader must be at least 18 years old (or older, if the minimum age of adulthood is higher in the country of residence) and be a member of NOD for at least 5 months. There are no specific requirements for the third member. The application must contain all the names of these members.
4. The Nemeton Leader and Assistant Leader must have an account on the international NOD website, where they will be given access to the Druid Senate forum. They will be expected to actively participate in this forum.
5. A Nemeton Leader needs to have some experience in Celtic spirituality, either by completion of one of the Grove of Dana Druid College courses, by recommendation from his mentor in the course he is currently taking, by taking the Advanced Placement exam, or by any other form of proof that the applicant can provide. This will then be reviewed and decided upon in the Council.
6. The Nemeton application will be voted upon in the Council. If approved, the Nemeton will be official. If the application is disapproved, the applicant can have a second chance one month after the result of the first application. A second application however should be voted on in the Druid Senate.
7. After a trial period of 3 months, an evaluation of the new Nemeton will be made.

The Nemeton to be must also comply to the following regulations:

1. An appropriate name must be chosen for this Nemeton.
2. A mission statement must be written for this Nemeton.
3. A suitable location needs to be found where meetings can take place, preferably a separate room that is not populated by people that don't attend the meeting.
4. The Nemeton must have some kind of legal format that will identify it as an organisation that can run on its own. This can be in the form of a non-profit organisation, or factual organisation. Commercial organisations are not allowed.
5. After the application is approved, it will be required for the Nemeton to open their own bank account and provide documents of proof to the General Assembly.

All this information must be included in the application submitted by the Nemeton Leader, which is addressed to the Nemetons representative of the Council. The Council will then vote upon the application, and if approved, the Nemeton will be official. If the application is disapproved, the applicant can have a second chance one month after the result of the first application. A second application however should be voted on in the Druid Senate. After a trial period of 3 months, an evaluation of the new Nemeton will be made.

When the Nemeton application is approved by the Council, the Nemeton Leader will receive a “starter’s package”. This starter’s package will contain a certificate that determines the Nemeton to be officially recognised by NOD. It will also contain some NOD brochures, the NOD rituals, 3 times the member’s Introduction Booklet (one for each of the first three members) and a Nemeton Booklet that contains further practical information on how to run an NOD Nemeton. This booklet will also be available as College Course on the Grove of Dana, located on the NOD website, into which the Nemeton Leader can enrol if he or she wishes more assistance in setting up their Nemeton. This course is free of charge and exclusive for Nemeton Leaders. Additional brochures can be provided in limited supplies by NOD, but copies of the member’s Introduction Booklet are at the expense of the Nemeton.


8.3.2. Nemeton Regulations

1. The Nemeton will operate foremost in its own name, when financial, legal or official correspondence is concerned. In all its publicity, however, it will make a clear reference that it is a Nemeton of the New Order of Druids, including the official NOD logo. The official NOD logo should be displayed on all booklets, brochures, website, etc… but the Nemeton can also use their own logo in addition.
2. The Nemeton must also follow the regulations that apply to the New Order of Druids itself.
3. The Nemeton must at all times be an organisation standing on its own, with the exception of the Mothergrove which operates directly under NOD vzw/npo.
A Nemeton should be "open" for all people by default. However, the Nemeton Leader has the freedom to organise activities that are available for a closed group only (e.g. by obligated beforehand subscription). This gives the Nemeton Leader the freedom to make certain aspects closed (e.g. study group meetings) while the Nemeton remains open as a whole.
4.  Depending on particular circumstances, the Nemeton Leader can request for the Nemeton to become a "closed" group instead, by making this request to the Council with a motivation of arguments.
5.  The Nemeton Leader has the right to deny a member or visitor entrance to an activity, if this person causes serious disruption to the activity, the Nemeton leader or other people present. If a person is permanently denied access and has his/her membership revoked by the Nemeton, this should be reported in the appropriate topic of the Druid Senate. This action requires no approval from the Druid Senate or Council, but can be overthrown when an appeal is made in the Druid Senate and receives a majority vote of more than 50%.
6. When a person is permanently revoked as member in one Nemeton, it is not required by other Nemeton or Vernemeton Leaders to revoke that member too, unless the reasons were to involve serious illegal activities.
7. A bank account must be opened in name of the Nemeton, with the three main members having access to it. A paper that provides proof of this must be requested from the bank and delivered to the NOD General Assembly. The Nemeton Leader is responsible for informing the NOD General Assembly of any changes that might occur later on.
8. If the Nemeton is a non-profit organisation, or any other form of organisation (except for commercial forms), the Nemeton Leader must deliver the official Constitution, as well as their by-laws, to the NOD General Assembly. The Nemeton Leader is responsible for informing the NOD General Assembly of any changes that might occur later on.
9. The Nemeton can decide to ask a membership fee of its members, in order to cover necessary expenses. This membership fee would then only be valid for that Nemeton in particular, and the prices should be below the valid prices of an NOD membership on the website. The Nemeton can keep all the incoming membership fees. This membership will not supplant the NOD upgraded membership on the website, it will give the member no additional access to any online services, nor can the price of the Nemeton membership fee be substracted from the NOD Upgraded Membership fee.
10. The Nemeton Leader must send a membership list to the NOD General Assembly once a year. A minimum of 3 members is required, and the list must also contain the names of all members who paid a membership fee to the Nemeton directly.
11. If the Nemeton works with paid membership, they can use the NOD member’s Introduction Booklet to give to their members, but the Nemeton is responsible for printing it, and paying the printing expenses. It is also allowed for the Nemeton to write their own Introduction Booklet, which could include information about the Nemeton, local legends/myths or ceremonies if applicable, etc… If such a booklet is produced, the Nemeton Leader should provide at least one free copy to the NOD General Assembly.
12. The Nemeton can produce a magazine for their members, if they wish. This is not obligated, and if the Nemeton Leader should decide to do so, the expenses will be carried entirely by the Nemeton itself. If they do produce such a magazine, one free copy of each edition should be provided to the NOD General Assembly. Exchange of articles with the Oran Mór or other Nemeton magazines can be discussed in the Druid Senate.
13. The Nemeton can generate other forms of income through sponsorship, activities or sales, in order to cover necessary expenses. NOD will then help promote these events where possible, and add them to a general agenda.
14. When a Nemeton organises any kind of activity (event, workshop, meditation, ritual, meeting, …) for which an entrance fee or participation fee is required from the members, the Nemeton should determine two different prices. The normal price will only be available to Upgraded Members of NOD who can provide their NOD membership card (and, if applicable, to members paying a membership fee to the Nemeton itself), and a higher price for non-paying members. The Nemeton Leader is free to determine exact prices, as long as it follows this system, so that a paying NOD member will have a “discount” on all activities, compared to non-paying (free) members. All income generated by these entrance or participation fees are beneficial for the Nemeton, including the higher fees paid by free members.
15. The Nemeton cannot request money from NOD to pay for its activities, except for the yearly gathering (see further). Only in exceptional circumstances, a request can be made to the NOD General Assembly for financial support, in where the General Assembly will decide whether to approve this request or not, and for which amount, determined by the circumstances.
16. A sub-domain with webspace will be made available to the Nemeton Leader, upon which the Nemeton website should appear. The Nemeton Leader is responsible for putting it online, as well as for its content, and to keep it frequently updated. If the Nemeton leader requests as much, a basic Joomla installation will be made by NOD, but the Nemeton leader will be responsible for keeping the software up to date, as well as for backups of the files and databases. This website can contain information such as the mission statement, agenda, reports of past events and pictures, contact information, etc…
17. The Nemeton must hold at least 4 meetings per year, and these meetings should contain some kind of celebration of the Celtic festivals, be it by ritual or otherwise (meditation, workshop, …). Aside from these 4 meetings, the Nemeton should organize at least two general member meetings or activities. It is also allowed to incorporate non-Druidic elements from other religions, cultures or traditions, if it is believed that this will increase the spiritual experience of the members and a link with the Celtic spirituality is apparent.
18. When performing Druid rituals, the Nemeton should use the same basic structure as the standard NOD rituals, what the opening and closing is concerned, as well as the implementation of the NOD Druid Prayer. The standard rituals can also be used for the middle part of each ritual, but the Nemeton Leader is free to change this middle part entirely.
19. A Nemeton can form a study group for the courses offered on the Grove of Dana. However, a leader needs to have passed the Bardic Course himself before starting a study group. The courses themselves are to be taken in the Grove of Dana college, if the student wishes to proceed to the next course afterwards. The local study group will mainly function as additional guidance, enhanced experience and exchange of experiences. If needed, it can be requested that the Nemeton Leader functions as a mentor, which will be voted upon in the College Faculty.
20. The Nemeton Leader writes up a yearly detailed report for the Druid Senate about Nemeton activities (past and future). Should the Senate not agree to a planned activity or any other subject, then the Nemeton Leader has the possibility to bring the issue to the Council where the issue will be voted up on.
21. A Nemeton Leader is required to check in to the Druid Senate on a regular basis, especially because he/she will have the authorisation to bring out their votes.
22. If a member upgrades their account, and specifies which Nemeton they are a member of, the name of this Nemeton will also appear on their membership card. The membership card for Upgraded Members will be valid in all NOD Nemetons.
23. An annual “Nemeton Gathering” of all Nemetons should be organised, preferably on a fixed date. Each year, another Nemeton should be the host of this Gathering, in the order that new Nemetons joined NOD as much as possible. The Nemeton Leader decides what his hosting Nemeton will organize of activities. All NOD members are welcome to attend these Gatherings. The host Nemeton is allowed to ask for a participation fee, and keep generated income from this, but all prices should remain democratic. These Gatherings will be organised by the Nemetons per region, with the main region being Benelux. Other regions may be added later as more Nemetons appear in those countries, where a main contact person will be appointed by NOD to coordinate everything. The New Order of Druids will partially cover the expenses for organising this Gathering, on the condition that the original receipts are handed over before payment by NOD is made. The maximum amount to be paid by NOD for this gathering, is a yearly budget determined by the Council and approved by the General Assembly.
24. Prior to the annual Gathering, a yearly meeting should be held exclusively for the Nemeton Leaders with the Council and/or General Assembly where applicable. During this meeting, a general evaluation should be made of all local activities and events.


8.4. Affiliates or Vernemetons

8.4.1 Requirements to create a Vernemeton

The Vernemeton Leader must be the one who applies for the creation of their Vernemeton, and in order to do so, he or she must comply to the following regulations:

1. The applicant need to be at least 21 years of age and a member of the New Order of Druids (free or upgraded).
2. The applicant must have at least two other people who live in the same area, who are willing to assist in the Vernemeton. The applicant, as Vernemeton Leader, will then choose which member becomes the “Assistant Leader”. The Assistant Leader must be at least 18 years old (or older, if the minimum age of adulthood is higher in the country of residence) and also be a member of NOD. There are no specific requirements for the third member. The application must contain all the names of these members.
3. The Vernemeton application will be voted upon in the Council. If approved, the Vernemeton will be official. If the application is disapproved, the applicant can have a second chance one month after the result of the first application. A second application however should be voted on in the Druid Senate.
4. After a trial period of 3 months, an evaluation of the new Vernemeton will be made.

The Vernemeton to be must also comply to the following regulations:

1. An appropriate name must be chosen for this Vernemeton.
2. A mission statement must be written for this Vernemeton.
3. A suitable location needs to be found where meetings can take place, preferably a separate room that is not populated by people that don't attend the meeting.
4. The Vernemeton will operate as an independent organisation which is affiliated to NOD, and NOD cannot be held responsible for their actions. Commercial organisations are not allowed.

All this information must be included in the application submitted by the Vernemeton Leader, and will be voted upon in the Council. If approved, the affiliation with the Vernemeton will be official. If the application is disapproved, the applicant can have a second chance one month after the result of the first application. A second application however should be voted on in the Druid Senate. After a trial period of 3 months, an evaluation of the new Vernemeton will be made.


8.4.2. Vernemeton Regulations

1. The Vernemeton will operate foremost in its own name, when financial, legal or official correspondence is concerned. In all its publicity, however, it will state its affiliation with the New Order of Druids as a Vernemeton, as well as on its booklets, brochures, website, etc…
2. The Vernemeton must at all times be an organisation standing on its own, and NOD cannot be held responsible for its actions.
3. The Vernemeton can obtain money from its own membership fees, sponsorship, or activities and events, and does not need to give discounts to upgraded NOD members unless the Vernemeton leader chooses to do so. If the Vernemeton asks a membership fee, this will not replace the NOD Upgraded membership fee and give the member no access to extra services on the website.
4. If the Vernemeton works with paid membership, they can choose to use the NOD member’s Introduction Booklet to give to their members, but the Vernemeton is responsible for printing it, and paying the printing expenses.
5. The Vernemeton can produce a magazine for their members, if they wish. If they do produce such a magazine, one free copy of each edition should be provided to the NOD General Assembly. Exchange of articles with the Oran Mór or other Nemeton/Vernemeton magazines can be requested from the Council or Druid Senate.
6. NOD will then help promote the events organised by the Vernemeton where possible, and add them to a general agenda.
7. The Vernemeton can in no circumstance request any kind of financial support from NOD.
8. The Vernemeton is responsible for setting up its own website, this will not be provided by the servers of NOD. If the Vernemeton has a website, it should place a link to the official NOD website. The NOD website will then place a link to the Vernemeton in return.
9. The Vernemeton must hold at least 4 meetings per year, whether they are rituals, workshops or general meetings. They need to be related to spirituality.
10. When performing Druid rituals, the Vernemeton is welcome to use the structure of NOD rituals, but is entirely free to use a completely different structure if they wish.
11. A Vernemeton can form a study group for the courses offered on the Grove of Dana, as well as for courses of other organisations or groups that are not related to NOD, as long as it is related to spirituality.
12. The Vernemeton Leader writes up a yearly evaluation report which will be delivered to the Druid Senate.
13. A Vernemeton Leader does not have access to the Druid Senate and cannot vote on decisions, but can request for questions, requests or remarks to be brought before the Druid Senate.
14. A Vernemeton cannot organise an annual “Nemeton Gathering”, but is welcome to attend them.



9.  COUNCIL REGULATIONS

Updated on October 4, 2021

- The Council must at all times be based on equality. This means all members may bring suggestions, ideas, be equal in voting, and equal in executing decisions for the N.O.D, regardless of prior received rank, or education received though the N.O.D, or elsewhere and regardless of sex, age, disability, ethnicity, nationality, sexual orientation, religion or other ethical beliefs.

- The General Assembly will appoint a Council Coordinator to lead the Council, who will be responsible to the General Assembly.

- Following a long tradition dating back to indigenous societies, the Council will operate through a simplified system of consensus decision-making*. In applying this approach Council members will be required to participate (should they wish) through offering input and making decisions when a creative solution is needed. This method overcomes individual biases and preferences which can limit decision-making whilst also enabling the decision-making team to collaborate in an effective way. (For the process see flowchart which is included for reference and for new members of the Council) 

*

A ‘test agreement’ may be called at anytime. Each vote that is opened on any discussion, is, by standard, open for 7 days. After 7 days, the vote is closed. If a consensus vote (YES) is achieved, the proposal passes. If there is a ‘NO’  or ‘BUT’ vote the discussion continues until a consensus is achieved.

A member may ‘no-vote’ up to 3 times on any proposal. If the member does so, then the member may consider offering a resolution for discussion. This may provide a clear process for finding a way forward.

Fall back option

In the event of consensus being unachievable (i.e. that this measure is only to be considered after a lot of effort has been made to find a solution), the Council will move to a super majority vote of more than 75% for the proposal to pass.

- Council members are added by invitation if the Council determines that someone would make a productive addition to the Council and has a proven record of service to the community.

- Council members hold the office for life within the terms of these regulations.  Council Members may step down from their role by giving three months advance notice and may apply for extended leave in adverse personal circumstances.

- The Council has the primary purpose of exchanging communications, information and ideas in regard to website-related areas. This includes, for example, the forums, the College, the Oran Mor e-zine, e-nemetons, groups, etc.

- Most Council members will have a specific task/responsibility within the Council, which they can organize themselves internally as needed. The people responsible for a certain department can take their own decisions within that department. Only if a decision also affects other departments, or if a Council member feels they need input from others before making a decision, should the matter be brought to the attention of the Council.

- The communications between Council members will take place through the NOD Council Google mailing group. Council members can just write or respond to an email which is then automatically sent to all subscribed Council members.

-  The Council Forum on the NOD website is mainly intended for posting important decisions and information to facilitate a future reference source for all Council members

- A Council member has the responsibility to voice their input, opinions, suggestions in the ongoing discussions in the Council Forum, where applicable and appropriate or as necessary.

- If a Council member is expressing an entirely inappropriate behaviour or conduct, every Council member has the right to demand a vote whether this member should be removed from the Council or not. (In this case the allegation will result in the ‘accused’ and ‘accuser’ (if a Council Member) being suspended from the discussion of the proposal and vote, since they will be required to provide evidence to the remaining Council members for their consideration.) The vote can be held by either posting in the Council Forum, or have a poll set up in the Council Forum of the NOD website, where each Council member can bring out their vote anonymously. This is only to be used in case someone is remarkably disrespectful behaviour towards other Council members or any other NOD members/visitors in general. This demand should be backed up with sufficient evidence, whereafter a discussion of the proposal and a vote is held on which all Council members can vote according to regulations already discussed above. The outcome of this vote is final. The Council member will have the ‘right of appeal’ to the General Assembly.

- Council members are responsible for responding to any problems a member addresses to them, or if they are not the right person to address the situation, the Council Member should provide the relevant information to ensure the member can contact the person to whom the matter should be addressed.

- Given that the officers of the General Assembly are accountable in law should the Council operate outside its designated remit, the General Assembly may, following a vote of no confidence,  abolish the Council. Thereafter, the General Assembly is charged with forming a new Council with a period of six months.

A SIMPLIFIED CONSENSUS FLOW CHART 

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