ABOUT THE ROLE AND THE CONSTITUTION OF A SIG OR A GIG
The European Crystallographic Association (ECA) is the regional Associate of the IUCr, representing the crystallographers of Europe and Africa. The ECA wants to be the home of all crystallographers belonging to this area. To be a vital Association, the ECA involves both pure and applied crystallography, intersecting with biology, earth-science, mathematics, physics, chemistry and material science, and act in such a way that theoreticians and experimentalists receive mutual benefit without dominance of the ones with respect to others.
One of the conditions for all that is the establishment of Special Interest Groups (SIGs) and General Interest Groups (GIGs).
A SIG (ideally) includes all the crystallographers working in a given area. In practice the members of a SIG should include a sufficiently large number of people representative of that area
A GIG is ideally meant to represent large groups of crystallographers united by common interests, needs and concerns that are defined by the GIG's statute
SIG's and GIG's (both to be now indicated as Interest Groups, IGs (or IG as appropriate) organize their activities (meetings, seminars, workshops, schools, etcetera) and choose the best ways for exchanging information. The conduction of the activities remains under the responsibility of the IG
The name of the IG is proposed by its members.
The internal rules of a IG are proposed by the IG itself. However each IG should elect a restricted number of people (chairman, secretary, etc., ...) in charge of the conduction of the IG activities, who will interact with the Executive Committee and the Council of ECA and will be involved in the organization of the microsymposia at the ECA meetings (ECM's).
The IG should construct and maintain a webpage, as well as a mailing list of the members.
The basic rules of the IG's should be written in the official proposal which has to be submitted to the ECA Council for the approval. The rules should consider the periodic substitution of its officers (chairman, secretary and/or .....) and the criteria for the acceptance (as members of the IG) of the crystallographers belonging to the IG area.
General info about SIGs and GIGs :
Rules, Laws, How to start a SIG or a GIG
