) The International Committee of Young Men’s Christian Associations 347 MADISON AVENUE, NEW YORK FOREIGN DEPARTMENT The Relationships of a Foreign Secretary Adopted by the Foreign Committee September 29, 1919 I. DEFINITIONS 1. “Secretary,” unless otherwise designated, means in this pamphlet a secretary of the International Committee of Young Men’s Christian Associations. 2. “International Committee” means The International Committee of Young Men’s Christian Asso¬ ciations of the United States and Canada. 3. “National Committee” means the executive body of all the Associations in a country or group of countries. II. GENERAL POLICY 4. The International Committee has been charged by the International Convention of the Associations of the United States and Canada with the administrative duty of carrying out a policy to establish self-directing, self-sustaining, and self-propagating Young Men’s Christian Associations in other lands. In many countries the secretaries of the International Committee were the pioneers in this Movement, but in some countries the secretaries of the English National Council were first on the field. There are in several of the large areas not only American, Canadian, English and Scottish secretaries, but also Australian, New Zealand, Dutch, Swiss, and Danish. All of these are prac¬ tically honorary workers, sent by their respective countries for service, and are provided with salary, allowances, and personal*expenses through their home committees. 5. In harmony with this general scheme, the International Committee also sends secretaries and pro¬ vides entirely for their support. There are secretaries sent from the United States and Canada imder the auspices of the International Committee who are supported entirely or partially by local com¬ mittees; the International Committee is not responsible financially for these secretaries, except under special arrangements. 6. The relationships defined in this manual refer entirely to secretaries of the International Com¬ mittee. 7. The fact that these secretaries are chosen in the United States and Canada and are supported through the International Committee involves other relationships to the International Committee as well as financial; each secretary and the International Committee have mutual responsibilities which are hereinafter defined. • in. THE RELATIONSHIP OF THE SECRETARY TO THE INTERNATIONAL COM- MITTEE 8. The secretary is called and appointed by the International Committee which also decides upon the country in which he is to work. The appointment of a secretary contemplates service for life except when a limitation of time is specified. The salary and allowances are fixed on a scale described in a separate pamphlet. It is mutually understood that a secretary on appointment undertakes to carry out the policy and wishes of the International Committee and to conform to its instructions. 9. The location of a secretary in the country is determined by the National Committee after consul¬ tation with the local Association concerned and with the Senior Secretary and, of course, in agree¬ ment with the appointee. Among the factors involved in the decision as to location are the needs of the field, the special training of the secretary, the physical condition of the secretary and his family, and the securing of the best combination in that particular field of leadership, tempera¬ ment, and experience. Where there is no National Committee, the Senior Secretary and the local Association determine his location with due consideration of similar factors. 10. The secretary may be withdrawn or transferred from one national field to another at the discretion of the International Committee, in consultation with the National Committees concerned and the secretary himself. 11. It is the duty of the secretary to report regularly and fully to the International Committee and to follow the counsel of the Committee in keeping his constituency informed as to his work. Ordi¬ narily he should send a report at the end of every quarter and one of these reports will be an annual letter to the General Secretary of the International Committee and an annual report to the International Committee, both of which are sent at the same time. Suggestions about reports are found in another pamphlet. 12. The secretary is expected by the International Committee to devote all his time to the task which he accepts from the National Committee or from the local Association and he will not give time to other work without the consent of the Association or of the National Committee. In cases of emergency he should follow the counsel of the Senior Secretary. 13. Should the work which he accepts, under these conditions, provide additional remuneration, this should be credited as a refund on his salary in view of the fact that he is supported entirely by the International Committee. IV. THE SENIOR SECRETARY 14. In order that the International Committee may have a representative on the field specially qualified to interpret its policy and spirit and to deal with the personal questions of the secretaries of the International Committee, the International Committee appoints one of the staff as the senior in every field where there is more than one secretary. Where there is a National Committee this appointment is made in consultation with it. 15. The functions of the Senior Secretary as they specially affect each secretary of the International Committee are: 16. A. In Fields where there is a National Committee: (a) To attend to such personal problems of the secretary as health of himself and his family, his personal finances, as the.se involve arrangements with the International Committee, insurance and relief, income tax, furloughs, place of residence, use of vacations, relations with the home constituency, and with the secretary’s own government. (b) To act as agent of the International Committee in the disbursement of its funds and in the acquisition, use, and sale of its property. (c) To receive the secretary on his arrival in the country, introduce him to the National General Secretary, and instruct him as to his relationship. (d) To preside when necessary for some special reason to have a conference of secretaries of the International Committee. (e) To have charge of the archives of the International Committee on the field. (f) To cooperate with the National General Secretary in seeing that the attitude of each secretary of the International Committee toward the Association work on the whole field is in accord¬ ance with the policy of the International Committee. (g) To perform such other functions in relation to other secretaries of the International Com¬ mittee on the field as may be indicated by the International Committee. 17. B. In Fields where there is no National Committee: In addition to the functions outlined in paragraphs (a) to (g) above, in so far as these apply, the Senior Secretary has the following functions: * (h) To study the needs of the whole field and the problems of the whole Movement in order that he may intelligently advise the International Committee on all problems relating to that field. (i) To keep these problems, needs and opportunities as wtII as the results of the whole Association Movement in the field before the International Committee. (j) To see that the claims for expansion of the Association Movement to places and classes where it does not exist are urged upon the International Committee. (k) To act as supervisory agent of the Association or Associations in the field to which the Inter¬ national Committee is related, until the National Committee is formed. V. THE RELATIONSHIP OF THE SECRETARY TO THE SENIOR SECRETARY 18. The secretary should confer with the Senior Secretary' on questions relating to his personal budget which cannot be dealt with by the International Committee because of emergency or other limi¬ tation of time, such as emergency furloughs, changes of location involving expense, etc. 19. In any matters requiring immediate attention which do not fall within the province of the National Committee, and upon which the International Committee has not given the secretary instructions, or upon which its general policy is not clear, the secretary should follow the advice of the Senior Secretary pending hearing from the International Committee. 20. The secretary shall furnish the Senior Secretary with a copy of his quarterly and of his annual report and annual letter to the International Committee. 21. Questions relating to the budget of the secretary and which are not emergencies should be taken up with the International Committee direct. 22. Nothing in these instructions shall be interpreted as barring the secretary from direct access to the International Committee. The International Committee regards every secretary on the field as primarily related to it and values highly direct communication. At the same time the Com¬ mittee believes that the whole wmrk will profit by securing the counsel of the National General Secretary concerning the policy and program of the work and of the Senior Secretary on personal questions. VI. RELATIONSHIP OF THE SECRETARY TO THE NATIONAL COMMITTEE AND TO THE LOCAL ASSOCIATION 23. Secretaries from the United States and Canada, wdio are familiar with the independent relation¬ ship of the local secretary to supervisory bodies, such as the State Committee, the International Committee, or the Canadian National Council, will find in most countries a closer co-ordination of the work and consequently a closer relation between the local Association and the National Committee. This relationship is reflected in the relationship of the secretary to the National Committee. Soon after he reaches the country he is introduced to the National General Secretary and, henceforth, the National Committee has a supervisory relationship to him, which has no exact counterpart in the relationship of secretaries in the United States and Canada to their respective agencies of supervision. The purpose of this arrangement is not only to co-ordinate more closely the work, but also to make the secretary feel immediately that he is a part of the whole Association Movement. 24. The duties of the secretary are determined by the body which appoints him, e.g., the National Committee or the local Association according to the procedure indicated in paragraph 9. 25. While he sustains a primary responsibility to the local Association of which he is a secretary, he is expected to do all in his power to promote close and cordial co-operation between the local Association and other Associations in that,field with the National Committee. VII. THE RELATIONSHIP OF THE SECRETARY TO OTHER INTERNATIONAL SEC¬ RETARIES ON THE FIELD 26. When two or more secretaries of the International Committee are serving the same Board of Directors or the same National Committee, their relations are determined by the definition of their duties. They and all other secretaries of the International Committee on the field should bear in mind that they are related to a common home committee; their relationship to one another should, therefore, be the same as that between secretaries of the International Committee on the home field, namely, one of hearty co-operation and mutual consideration. Inability to work loyally and harmoniously with one’s colleagues in this intimate relationship is regarded by the International Committee as a fundamental disqualification. VIII. THE RELATIONSHIP OF THE SECRETARY TO OTHER SECRETARIES THAN THOSE OF THE INTERNATIONAL COMMITTEE IN THE COUNTRY 27. It is a cardinal principle of the International Committee that its secretaries have the same status as all other secretaries in a given country. While secretaries of the International Committee may have a different scale of salaries and allowances from some others, neither this fact nor any other elements must be allowed to mar the harmony in which International secretaries work with all others on the field, to whom they are related. IX. THE RELATIONSHIP OF THE SECRETARY TO THE CHURCHES AND THE MIS¬ SIONARIES OTHER THAN SECRETARIES 28. The work of a secretary should be carried on in harmony with the missionaries and pastors of Churches in his field and with various societies which they represent. Most earnest efforts should be made to secure their approval, sympathy and co-operation. While he is under obligation loy¬ ally to support the Church and the missions in all their activities, he should seek to serve them especially in their work as it concerns young men. Every secretary should definitely affiliate him¬ self with some branch of the Christian Church on his field.