Important: Please do not change the contents of what is written here, only spelling errors. /Hed-the-admin
First of all: why all the "legalese"?
We have chosen to create a förening in Young Researchers called Abbenay. There are several benefits from being a förening, for one we can use the resoures that UFS and FUF have like for example their office and much more. We can also apply for funding for projects. This is desirable.
However; non-members of said förening can participate in our activities.
To learn more about föreningar go to the last heading called "How 'föreningar' works in sweden"
Who makes the decisions in Abbenay hackspace - the förening?
Below is information about certain things that are required by us to do from The Swedish National Board of Youth Affairs and Stockholm County Council in order to receive funding from them through Young Researchers. Among those things are to keep a record of our members, have annual meetings, have a board etc.
Non-members of the förening Abbenay are welcome to participate at meetings, in workshops, the mailing list, edit the wiki etc.
This information only exists in Swedish so LANGUAGE SWITCH
Information om Ungdomsstyrelens krav
Information om Landstingets verksamhetsbidrag
Formalities
Purpose and organisational matters
We are a "förening" (≈ organization/"club") in UFS (Young Researchers Stockholm Disctrict/Unga Forskare Sthlm). UFS is a district in FUF (Young Researchers/Förbundet Unga Forskare) and their purpose is to promote the interest of science and technology among young people (7-25).
Documents
Openess
Our acitivites, such as our meetings and workshops etc, are open to everybody. We do not exclude anyone, our only criteria is that all members of Abbenay do the same (i.e. do not discriminate) and that they follow our bylaws and respect that we make statements as a group and do not promote illegal activites. Non-members are welcome to attend meetings and workshops too but have no formal say in decisions Abbenay make.
Current admin and board
Abbenay is meant to be a group of equals. We have chosen three people to be in a board. This is mainly due to formalities. These people can represent us towards other organisations but they do not make decisions on their own. They are legally responsible for what the förening Abbenay does. They are: Hed, Simulacra and a (these are their nicks as they have no yet agreed to have their names posted here).
The admin is a administrative person who does not have the power to make decisions but merely serves as administrator of such things as membership data, meeting summits, documents etc. Current admin of Abbenay is Hed. Hed reads the mailing list, especially if the subject is "Oh, please Hed do read this plz!".
How "föreningar" works in sweden
Jobjorn said some very clever things on the mailing list about legal persons and föreningar and how this works in Sweden. I thought I'd simply quote that.
"Some legal discussion:
As you probably know, there is something called "legal person" (sv: "juridisk person"). Like real people, legal persons have the right to enter agreements, own property, be in debt, etc.
Different countries have different rules about what is required for an association (sv: "förening") to be recognized as a legal person. In Sweden, there is a difference between economic associations (sv: "ekonomiska föreningar") and not-for-profit organisations (sv: "ideella föreningar"). An economic association is formed to further the immediate economic interests of its members, for example as a work cooperative, a trade union, or a consumer cooperative. Economic associations are bound by lots of laws, and require formal registration.
Not-for-profit organisations, however, do not. Nothing at all is required for an association to become a legal person - it just is, from the moment it is created. In most cases, you'll have to be able to show written bylaws, but theoretically, nothing is stopping you from having the bylaws recorded on tape. Or for that matter, you don't even have to record it. Also, you usually need a board - there is no actual legal precedent for this, the courts have just assumed that that is how it must be. Unless you like hassling with the courts (some people do, which is why I know all this), you'll need a board.
Then, there's "organisationsnummer". They're like "personnummer" (usually compared to American social security numbers... is there, by the way, anyone reading this that actually is unable to read Swedish?), but for legal persons. Back in the days, you didn't have to have one to open bank accounts etc, but now you do (although if you give them enough trouble you can do it without a number). Skatteverket is responsible for handing out these numbers (and it is when they refuse that you go to the courts). Note, however, that having an organisation number is not what makes your association a legal person - it was already, now it just has a number.
Ungdomsstyrelsen (eng: "Youth's board") is responsible for handing out money to organisations with young people as members. They have some requirements, but these have nothing to do with forming an association - just with their handing out money. In order for an association to be eligible, it has to have at least 1000 members, so most associations form larger organisations such as Förbundet Unga Forskare or Sverok. For associations without a larger organisation to belong to, there are some (I know of one, at least) "umbrella" organisations that house a lot of different associations. Alternativa Politikerveckan (www.alternativveckan.se) is a member of Booster (www.boosta.se) and that arrangement is working out quite good.
If an association is too small to get money from Ungdomsstyrelsen, all hope is not lost. Most municipalities and counties have various forms of grants, often in the form of "local activity support" (sv: "lokalt aktivitetsstöd"). There are also many funds and foundations you can get donations from if you do some digging."