Statute

This translation is provided for information only. The binding text of the association's statute is the Turkish original.

STATUTE OF THE TURKISH BEYAZAY ASSOCIATION

NAME, HEAD OFFICE AND LOGO OF THE ASSOCIATION
ARTICLE 1)
The name of the association is “Türkiye Beyazay Derneği” (Turkish Beyazay Association), its short name is “Beyazay”, and its logo consists of a white crescent with its tips facing right within a blue circle on a white ground inside a grey rectangular frame, with the word Türkiye in dark blue, the word Beyazay in light blue and the word Derneği in dark blue. Its head office is in Istanbul.
In line with its aims, the association may open representative offices and branches at home and abroad.

AIM AND METHOD OF WORK OF THE ASSOCIATION:
ARTICLE 2)
The aim of the association is to protect and advance the educational, social, cultural, economic, legal, professional and similar rights and interests of people with disabilities and to ensure their employment, their integration into social life and their genuine enjoyment of human rights and freedoms; to work towards ending discrimination against people with disabilities and helping them become enterprising, productive, effective and successful individuals in their lives; to carry out every kind of work to eliminate the causes and consequences that lead to disability and to build social solidarity; to establish mutual love and respect among people with disabilities; to contribute to raising individuals who are healthy in mind and body, and to provide rehabilitation in matters of alcohol and substance dependency.
In order to achieve the aims set out in article two, the association carries out the following work:

a) In order to meet the association's material needs, it holds concerts, sports tournaments and matches, meals, tea gatherings and similar activities, and organises picnics, outings, camps and tours.

b) It uses production and/or import channels to obtain from within the country and abroad the tools and equipment needed by people with disabilities.

c) It establishes study centres conducting social, political, historical and similar research on subjects consistent with its aim; carries out and commissions studies and research in cooperation with universities and all relevant institutions and organisations. It compiles these into a report and announces them to the public.

ç) In line with its aims, it establishes written, printed, visual, periodical or non-periodical press and publishing operations and all kinds of information centres, and produces books, magazines, bulletins, brochures and all kinds of educational, instructive and informative publications relating to people with disabilities. It opens and arranges the opening of all kinds of digital, audio and braille reading rooms and libraries that people with disabilities may use.

d) In order to achieve its aims and to develop society's awareness of disability, it organises conferences, panels, seminars, open forums, symposiums, exhibitions, charity fairs, festivals, competitions, concerts, theatre and film screenings, and takes part in or holds all kinds of activities that serve its aim directly or indirectly.

e) It sends Turkish scholars abroad to carry out scientific research, and invites Turkish and foreign scholars from abroad.

f) It provides support so that students with disabilities engaged in courses, primary and lower secondary education, high school, associate degree, undergraduate, master's, doctoral and similar studies may pursue their education and research at home and abroad; it awards scholarships either in return for a commitment (voluntary participation in the association's activities may be sought) or without any condition, and provides assistance in kind and in cash.

g) It provides assistance in kind and in cash to works of thought and art that will benefit people with disabilities and to those who produce them, as well as the assistance necessary for such works to reach the public.

ğ) In order to inform and raise the awareness of society and of people with disabilities, it creates, operates, promotes and organises a website and e-commerce, and publishes in the digital environment.

h) It supports the work of organisations with similar aims, materially and morally, in so far as its means allow.

ı) Provided that it complies with legal procedures, it organises national and international disability organisations and takes part in those that are organised.

i) It cooperates with national and international unions, associations, federations and organisations with similar aims, becomes a member of them and/or joins higher bodies as a founding member.

j) In order to ensure the social, cultural and psychological development of members and people with disabilities, to rehabilitate them and to help them acquire a profession, it opens courses, clubrooms, internet cafés, sheltered workplaces and similar venues, and establishes funds, cooperatives and sports clubs.

k) For use in line with the association's aim, it purchases, sells, rents and acquires by leasing motorised and non-motorised land, sea and air vehicles; rents out those surplus to requirements in order to generate income; and has them repaired and maintained.

l) In natural disasters, it provides material and moral assistance in cooperation with public bodies and domestic and foreign civil society organisations.

m) It acquires property through agreements and legal transactions; buys, rents, sells and lets; uses its assets and spends its income; makes investments with its assets, allocating assets for this purpose or using them as a share of ownership; borrows where necessary; takes over and assigns service units consistent with its aim; demolishes and builds, operates, lets and runs them jointly.

n) Each year it awards prizes in the categories it deems appropriate in order to support work in the field of disability.

o) It takes initiatives on the prevention of all forms of disability and forms public opinion on this matter.

ö) It carries out the work necessary to ensure education, training and rehabilitation of every kind and at every level for people with disabilities in every age group, starting from pre-school, and to develop policies in these fields.

r) On the problems of people with disabilities and in the face of social events, it makes statements on radio, television and in the written media, holds press conferences and issues press releases. As a democratic pressure group it carries out every kind of work against human rights violations directed at people and especially at people with disabilities. It may organise demonstrations, marches and rallies.

s) It conducts studies to examine, research, develop, evaluate and find solutions to all kinds of problems of people with disabilities relating to education and training, health, social and psychological matters, employment, medical and vocational rehabilitation, economic and financial, legal, political and cultural matters. It works to prevent every kind of material and moral exploitation of people with disabilities and to protect and raise their social dignity and standing. It cooperates with all kinds of institutions and organisations and with civil society organisations active in this field.

ş) With the aim of serving people with disabilities, companies belonging to the association may establish and operate halls of residence, hostels, guest houses, entertainment and recreation facilities, studios, radio stations and similar facilities.

t) It acquires, buys or sells, rents or lets the movable and immovable property needed for the association's work. Our association may accept material assistance from political parties, workers' and employers' unions and professional organisations, and may provide material assistance to the aforementioned bodies (with the exception of political parties) and cooperate with them.

u) Our association may receive and collect assistance from departments with general and annexed budgets, local administrations, public economic enterprises and their affiliated institutions, from organisations more than half of whose capital belongs to the state, and from the persons and organisations from which associations working for the public benefit are permitted by law to receive assistance. The association shall use 2/3 of its income for the purpose of carrying out its activities.

ü) It may cooperate with other disability organisations and with all institutions and organisations that help people in need.

v) It takes initiatives with the relevant organisations for environmental, architectural and traffic arrangements to be made in order to make the daily lives of visually impaired people easier.

y) It may carry out every kind of activity that is not contrary to the law, to the Associations Law no. 5253 and to the legislation in force.

z) In carrying out all the activities set out in the aims article above, it shall be open to every section of society. No discrimination of any kind shall be made on grounds of region, religion, language, race, sex or locality.

z-1) In order to carry out the association's activities on social media, it opens a virtual (internet) branch affiliated to the head office in the online environment and operates within the framework of the laws in force.

z-2) The Turkish Beyazay Association may operate as a foundation.

z-3) It opens entrepreneurship courses.

z-4) It establishes sports clubs in every discipline.

z-5) It establishes digital gaming sports clubs and carries out digital gaming activities.

z-6) Within the framework of the Law no. 3294 on the Encouragement of Social Assistance and Solidarity, it carries out activities to assist citizens living in poverty and in need and, where necessary, persons who have been admitted to or have come to Türkiye in any manner whatsoever; to ensure the fair distribution of income by taking measures that reinforce social justice; and to encourage social assistance and solidarity. It may also become a member of social assistance and solidarity foundations, of organisations defending human rights and of all kinds of organisations.

MEMBERSHIP
ARTICLE 3)
Members who do not fulfil their obligation to pay association dues are termed passive members. Such members may not vote at the general assembly; however, if they fulfil their obligation to pay membership dues they may vote at general assemblies as full members.
There are two kinds of membership of the association:

1 – Full Membership: Persons qualified to become members apply by completing the form prepared for this purpose. The Board of Directors decides on the application and notifies the applicant in writing.

2 – Honorary Membership: Upon a proposal by the Branch Board of Directors together with its reasons, the Head Office Board of Directors may, by decision, confer the title of “Honorary Member” or “Honorary President” on persons who have made material and moral contributions to the association.

WITHDRAWAL AND EXPULSION FROM MEMBERSHIP
ARTICLE 4)
a) Those who lose the legal qualification to be a member of an association, or who are subsequently found not to hold that qualification, are expelled from membership directly by decision of the Board of Directors.

b) Those who fail to fulfil their membership obligations, who work against the association, who cause material or moral harm to the association, or who commit a disgraceful offence, may be expelled from membership by decision of the Board of Directors.

MEMBERSHIP DUES
ARTICLE 5)
Membership dues are determined by the General Assembly.

HEAD OFFICE BODIES OF THE ASSOCIATION
ARTICLE 6)
The bodies of the association's Head Office are as follows:
a) Head Office General Assembly

b) Head Office General Board of Directors
c) Head Office Audit Board

d) Head Office Executive Board

e) A General Coordination Board has been established in order to coordinate the association's national and international work, to determine policy, strategy and vision, and to develop projects concerning people with disabilities in Türkiye and worldwide. Its working procedures and principles are determined by a regulation to be issued by the Board of Directors.

GENERAL ASSEMBLY
ARTICLE 7)
a) In the Head Office General Assembly, the members of the Head Office Board of Directors, the members of the Head Office Audit Board, the Regional Presidents, the Head Office Founding Members, former Presidents and Branch Presidents are natural delegates for as long as they remain members of the association. The number of delegates from branches is 1/100. Where a fraction remains it is rounded up to 1. Accordingly, from 1 member to 149 members corresponds to 1 delegate, and 150 members to 2 delegates.

b) The Association's General Assembly convenes in two forms: ordinary and extraordinary.

1) The Head Office Ordinary General Assembly is held once every three years, during the month of ‘May'.

2) Branches complete their Ordinary General Assembly Meetings at least two months before the Head Office Ordinary General Assembly meeting.

3) The Extraordinary General Assembly convenes in accordance with the provisions of the relevant legislation.

c) General assembly members are invited to the general assembly by electronic mail, with preparations made within the framework of the relevant legislation.

d) After the opening, a presiding committee is formed by electing a chair, a sufficient number of deputy chairs and a secretary to conduct the meeting.

e) General Assembly decisions are taken by an absolute majority of those attending the meeting, by open or secret ballot. The General Assembly decides whether the ballot is open or secret. Where those elected to the association's bodies receive an equal number of votes, the method of determining the successful candidate is decided by the General Assembly.

f) Before board elections the lists are submitted to the presiding committee, which presents them to the General Assembly for its information before the vote.

g) The Association's General Assembly may be held in ordinary session on the date specified in the statute at the place where the association's head office is located, or elsewhere in accordance with a decision to be taken by the Head Office Board of Directors.

DUTIES AND POWERS OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY
ARTICLE 8)
The duties and powers of the General Assembly are as follows:
a) To examine the reports of the Board of Directors and the Audit Board together with the balance sheet and the income and expenditure accounts, and to discharge the Board of Directors in accordance with the results of that examination

b) To amend the statute and to decide on the dissolution of the Association,

c) To carry out the other duties determined by the relevant legislation

c-1) By decision of the Head Office Board of Directors of the Turkish Beyazay Association, it may become a member of domestic platforms and of unions to be established within the country, and may be accredited as a member of international institutions. It may become a member of international unions and of platforms and unions deemed appropriate abroad.

b) The Executive Board consists of seven (7) persons to be appointed by the President from among the members of the General Board of Directors.

c) Branch Boards of Directors consist of seven (7) full and seven (7) substitute members.

ç) Regional Presidencies, each consisting of a president and two deputies, have been established in order to ensure coordination between branches and to enable the follow-up of business and transactions on behalf of the head office. The division of branches into regions, the determination of presidents and their deputies, and the working procedures and principles are set out in a regulation to be issued by the Board of Directors.

d) The allocation of duties among the Executive Board members appointed from within the Head Office Board of Directors is made by the President, and the allocation of duties among Branch Board of Directors members is made by the Branch President.

DUTIES AND POWERS OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
ARTICLE 10)
The duties and powers of the Board of Directors are as follows:
a) To take and implement the decisions necessary for the association's work to be managed in accordance with the statute and the decisions of the General Assembly,

b) To decide on the issuing of periodical and non-periodical publications,

c) To accept donations of any kind or to make donations,

d) To prepare the agenda of the General Assembly and to prepare the three-year activity reports, the work programme, the budget and the income and expenditure accounts

e) To appoint, employ or dismiss paid or unpaid staff according to the association's needs,
f) To grant awards for various purposes,
g) To carry out the other duties required by the legislation in force and by the statute,

DUTIES AND POWERS OF THE PRESIDENT
ARTICLE 11)
The duties and powers of the President are as follows:
a) To represent the association,

b) To plan, monitor, organise, coordinate and/or lead the work,

c) To convene the Board of Directors,

d) Where deemed necessary, the President may delegate part of their powers to members of the Board of Directors, members of the Executive Board and Branch Presidents.

AUDIT BOARD
ARTICLE 12)
The Audit Board consists of three (3) full and three (3) substitute members.

DUTIES AND POWERS OF THE AUDIT BOARD
ARTICLE 13)
The duties and powers of the Audit Board are as follows:
a) To audit, at least once a year, the conformity of the association's work with the statute, the regulations and the decisions of the General Assembly, together with the books and accounts,

b) To submit to the General Assembly, by way of a report, the results of the three-year administrative and financial audit together with the results of the examination of the balance sheet and the income and expenditure account,

c) To notify the Board of Directors by report of any shortcomings and any breaches of the statute and the legislation observed during the audit,

THE ASSOCIATION'S BORROWING PROCEDURE
ARTICLE 14)
In drawing up bills of exchange or other instruments creating debt on behalf of the association, in opening bank accounts and in withdrawing money from bank accounts, the president of the association or a member of the board of directors whom they appoint is authorised. A decision of the association's Head Office Board of Directors or of the Branch Board of Directors is required in this respect.

DISSOLUTION OF THE ASSOCIATION
ARTICLE 15)
The dissolution of the association is carried out within the framework of the relevant legislation, and the General Assembly decides where the remaining assets are to pass.

AMENDMENT OF THE STATUTE
ARTICLE 16)
The statute may be amended by a vote of two-thirds of those entitled to vote at the Head Office General Assembly specified in the statute, comprising the members attending the General Assembly meeting and the delegates determined by the members who have fulfilled their registered obligations to the association.

FORM OF THE ASSOCIATION'S INTERNAL AUDIT
ARTICLE 17)
The association's internal audit is carried out by the Audit Board or by independent audit organisations within the framework of the Civil Code, the Associations Law and their regulations.

THE MANNER OF OPENING BRANCHES, THEIR DUTIES AND POWERS, AND THE DESIGNATION OF CONTACT PERSONS
ARTICLE 18)
a) The General Assembly decides on the opening of a branch within the framework of the relevant legislation,

b) The duties and powers of branches are to work in line with the decisions taken by the General Assembly, the General Board of Directors, the Branch General Assembly and the Branch Board of Directors within the framework of the relevant legislation and the statute.

c) Branches notify the Head Office in writing of new members they register or members whose registration they cancel, within 7 (seven) days at the latest from the date of the decision.

d) Contact persons may be designated for purposes such as attending meetings consistent with Beyazay's aims at home and abroad, holding talks and exchanging information.

BOARD OF FOUNDERS
ARTICLE 19)
The founders of the association are the following:

1) HARUN ATEŞ NATIONALITY: T.C. OCCUPATION: Santralci RESIDENCE: Eşref efen Sok. No:1331/1 Kurtuluş İSTANBUL
2) ERCAN AHMET YÜCEL NATIONALITY: T.C. OCCUPATION: Serbest RESIDENCE: Hobyar Mektep Sok. Cevher Apt. 8/5 Cerrahpaşa İSTANBUL
3) MUSTAFA SEVİNÇ NATIONALITY: T.C. OCCUPATION: Serbest RESIDENCE: Fevziçakmak Mah. Cemsultan Sok. No:24 Sefaköy İSTANBUL
4) CELAL ERTONGA NATIONALITY: T.C. OCCUPATION: Tüccar RESIDENCE: Sericiishak Mah. Kuşluhamam. Sok. No:13/70 Kumkapı İSTANBUL
5) MEHMET ALİ ERKESİM NATIONALITY: T.C. OCCUPATION: Serbest RESIDENCE: Ihlamurdere Cad. No:147/12 B Blok, Beşiktaş İSTANBUL
6) ATİLLA SOFU NATIONALITY: T:C: OCCUPATION: Muhasebeci RESIDENCE: Güzelsebzeci Sok. No:30/6 Kaya Apt. Cerrahpaşa İSTANBUL
7) YUSUF ALPARSLAN NATIONALITY: T.C. OCCUPATION: İşçi RESIDENCE: Şemsipaşa Mah. Cengiz Topel Cad. Gaziosmanpaşa İSTANBUL

BOARD OF DIRECTORS:

Abdülvefa Demirkıran Hayri Köse

Ahmet Dağüstün İlham Abdülkadir Kahraman
Ali Rıza Soyaslan Kasım Pamuk

Ayşe Gündoğdu Lokman Ayva

Ayşe Kartal Mehmet Emin Mülayim

Betül Keklik Meriç Çağlıaydın

Enes Ali Karagül Nurullah Çelebi

Recep Şehitoğlu