Pro Kaustinen ry

1. Name and domicile of the association

The name of the association is Pro Kaustinen ry and its domicile is Kaustinen.

2. Purpose and nature of the activity

The purpose of the association is to promote and popularise folk music and folk dance, and to preserve and develop folklore in general.

In addition, the purpose of the association is to promote, develop and support the association and its activities in order to ensure the continuity of the Kaustinen Folk Music Festival. The association may organise seminars, educational events, exhibitions, concerts, marketing events and competitions related to the purpose of the association on a non-profit basis in order to further its purpose.

To support its activities, the Association may organise public entertainments for which admission is charged, organise raffles and fund-raising events with appropriate authorisation, and accept grants, donations and legacies. In addition, the Association may own real and personal property for its activities.

3. Members

Membership of the Association is open to legal entities that accept the purpose and rules of the Association.

Upon application, members are approved by the Board of the Association.

4. Resignation and expulsion of a member

A member has the right to resign from the Association by notifying the Board or its Chairman in writing or by notifying the Association in a meeting to be entered in the minutes.

The Board of Directors may expel a member from the Association if the member has failed to pay his or her membership fee when due or otherwise failed to fulfil the obligations to which he or she has committed by joining the Association, or has caused considerable damage to the Association by his or her conduct within or outside the Association, or no longer fulfils the conditions of membership specified by law or the Association's rules.

5. Membership and subscription fee

The annual meeting decides on the amount of the membership fee and the annual membership fee to be charged to members.

6. Government

The Association's affairs are managed by a Board of Directors, consisting of a chairman elected at the annual meeting and three to five other full members.

The term of office of the Board of Directors is the period between annual meetings.

The Board elects a Vice-Chairman from among its members and appoints from among its members or from outside the Board a Secretary, a Treasurer and other necessary officers.

The Board shall meet at the call of the President or, in his absence, of the Deputy President, whenever they consider it necessary or at the request of at least half of the members of the Board.

A quorum is constituted when at least half of its members, including the chairman or vice-chairman, are present. Votes shall be decided by a simple majority of votes. In the event of a tie, the chairman shall have the casting vote, but in the event of an election, it shall be decided by lot.

7. Writing the name of the association

The name of the association is written by the chairman of the board alone, or by the vice-chairman, secretary and treasurer, two together.

The Board of Directors may instruct a member of the Board of Directors or an officer of the Association to sign the name of the Association alone or together with another signatory.

8. Financial period and audit

The financial period of the association is 1.10.-30.9.

The financial statements, together with the necessary documents, and the annual report of the Board of Directors must be submitted to the auditor at least one month before the annual meeting. The auditors must submit their written opinion to the Board of Directors at least two weeks before the annual meeting.

9. Meetings of the association

If the Board of Directors or the Association so decides, a meeting of the Association may also be attended by post or by telecommunication or other technical means during or before the meeting.

Members of the Board of Directors, the Executive Board or other similar governing body of the member communities have the right to be present and speak at the Association's meetings. The vote of a member community shall be cast by a representative authorised by the community.

The Annual General Meeting of the Association is held annually on a date determined by the Board in October-December.

An extraordinary meeting shall be held when the Association's General Assembly so decides or when the Board of Directors considers it necessary or when at least one tenth (1/10) of the Association's members with voting rights request it in writing from the Board of Directors for a specifically notified matter. The meeting shall be held within thirty days of the request for a meeting being submitted to the Board.

Each member has one vote at the meetings of the association.

Unless otherwise provided in the rules, the decision of the Association's meeting shall be the opinion supported by more than half of the votes cast. In the event of a tie, the chairman of the meeting shall have the casting vote, but in the case of an election, the vote shall be by lot.

10. Convening a meeting of the Association

The Board of Directors must convene meetings of the Association at least seven days before the meeting by letter to the members, in the newspaper of the Association's place of residence, or by e-mail.

11. Annual meeting

At the annual meeting of the association, the following matters are discussed:

1. opening of the meeting
2. elect the chairman, secretary, two scrutineers and, if necessary, two tellers
3. declare the meeting to be lawful and quorate
4. approve the rules of procedure of the meeting
5. present the financial statements, the annual report and the auditors' opinion
6. adopting the financial statements and granting discharge to the Board of Directors and other persons responsible for the accounts
7. adopting the action plan, the budget, the income and expenditure budget and the amount of the membership and subscription fee
8. elect the chairman and other members of the board
9. elect an auditor and deputy auditor
10. discuss any other business mentioned in the invitation to the meeting.

If a member of the Association wishes to have a matter brought before the Annual General Meeting of the Association, it must notify the Board in writing in sufficient time for the matter to be included in the notice of the meeting.

12. Amendment of the statutes and dissolution of the association

The decision to amend the statutes and dissolve the Association must be taken at a meeting of the Association by a majority of at least three-quarters (3/4) of the votes cast. The notice of the meeting shall mention the amendment of the Statutes or the dissolution of the Association.

In the event of the dissolution of the Association, the assets of the Association shall be used to further the purposes of the Association in the manner determined by the meeting deciding on the dissolution. If the Association is dissolved, its assets shall be used for the same purpose.

Good governance and a safe environment

Pro Kaustinen complies with the Associations Act and other legislation and good practices in the field of associations. The member associations elect the board of directors at the annual meeting on the basis of a proposal from the nomination committee, which includes representatives from all member associations. Member associations are also strongly represented on the committees and can thus influence decision-making; committees and other voluntary activities are open to low-threshold participation by other interested parties. Efforts are also made to involve young people in the association's bodies. Annual development interviews are held for permanent staff. Gender equality and equity are taken into account as a matter of principle and have been successfully achieved in practice; for example, the gender split of the year-round staff and the current board (according to binary assumptions) is 50/50 %. The Association's annual reports and statutes are available on request and will be made publicly available on the website in the near future.

The general provisions concerning the financial management of Pro Kaustinen ry are governed by the Associations Act (26.5.1989/503), the Accounting Act (30.121997/1339) and the Accounting Decree (30.12.1997), as well as the rules of the association. The association's accounting is outsourced to an accountancy firm authorised and supervised by the Association for Financial Management. The association and the event are financed from a variety of sources, including ticket sales, catering and accommodation, sales of ancillary products, business cooperation, general grants, project and production-specific grants and project funding. New funding channels are being actively explored. Financial information is communicated openly within the association, to member associations and to donors. Both the expenditure and income structure are kept transparent through sufficient detail in the budgeting and the chart of accounts.

The Kaustinen Folk Music Festival is committed to the principles for a safer space for the sector developed by the Centre for the Promotion of Folk Music and Folk Dance (https://kansanmusiikkikansantanssi.fi/turvallisempi-tila/). The festival has a harassment contact person to whom you can report inappropriate behaviour or harassment anonymously by phone or via the feedback link on the festival website. Feedback will be handled confidentially between the harassment officer and the festival management. Festival staff and stewards have also been instructed to pay attention to safety and equality. This will be communicated on the festival website
https://kaustinen.net/turvallisempi-kaustinen_/

Equality and non-discrimination

The event is committed to promoting equality and equity. We welcome every employee, volunteer, performer and festival guest as themselves. We expect everyone at the festival to play their part in creating a safer space by respecting others, behaving appropriately and being considerate of others. We will not tolerate any form of discrimination or harassment on the grounds of, for example, gender, ethnicity, colour or sexual orientation, or physical, verbal or sexual harassment. This will be communicated on the festival's website https://kaustinen.net/turvallisempi-kaustinen_/

The event has a four-point accessibility plan: 1. accessibility of the built environment: developing the festival area towards accessibility, 2. accessibility of communication: especially using the web and ensuring national visibility, 3. social accessibility: taking into account people with different needs from different backgrounds in programming and services, 4. accessibility of services: including clear communication and signage. Facilitators have free access to the event, and guide dogs have access to all areas. The festival is part of the All Access Card scheme. There is free admission on Monday and hundreds of free performances outside the area during the week, including in retirement homes. The event is open to the public as a listener, professional or amateur performer or volunteer, and there are daily workshops, mostly run by professionals, in music, singing, dance and crafts, open to all, most of which require no previous experience.

As an international cultural heritage event, cultural diversity is at the heart of the event. The aim of the event is to promote cultural interaction and to reinforce the notion of sharing cultural heritage as a common wealth for all. The festival will showcase folk music and dance traditions from around the world and provide a venue for a wide range of cultures and expressions. Cultures from different regions of Finland's main population and traditional ethnic and linguistic minorities are regularly featured, and nowadays increasingly also the cultures of immigrant communities. Related challenges, such as cultural appropriation, are listened to with a sensitive ear in the programming process. In addition to their performances, workshops led by performers from different cultures deepen understanding and appreciation of them and of cultural diversity in general. The festival is open to ideas for programmes that support diversity.

Environmental responsibility

The event will make a concerted effort to reduce its environmental impact. Event venues are mainly equipped with permanent infrastructure, which reduces the environmental impact of temporary construction and demolition. They will also be reduced through reuse and the use of ecological materials. The festival will use mainly local resources, reducing transport. The site is located in the centre of the city centre, which reduces the need for public transport. Most of the performers are acoustic, and only a few of the almost 30 venues have sound and stage lighting. As a result, the electricity consumption of performances is low.

The festival aims to facilitate access by public transport. From Kokkola railway station and the surrounding area, you can take the festival bus to Kaustinen from early morning until late at night. There is also a carpool service.

The aim is to get rid of disposable containers and to encourage more vegan options from food vendors. Waste will be sorted. The festival will strive to use renewable energy.

Government:

Teemu Seikkula, Chairman
Jarmo Finnilä
Sirpa Lahti
Lauri Oino
Anna Pulakka
Valtteri Valo, rapporteur, Executive Director

Programme Committee:

Anni Järvelä, Chair
Mats Granfors
Amanda Harald
Anne-Mari Hakamäki, Programme Director
Jukka Hannula
Ville Ojanen
Désirée Saarela-Portin
Pauliina Syrjälä
Siiri Virkkala

Local Traditions Committee:

Anne-Mari Hakamäki, Programme Director
Salla Aho
Mauno Järvelä
Raila Järvelä
Marita Kaakinen
Paula Kettu, Programme Producer
Vuokko Korva
Mikael Känsäkoski
Emilia Känsälä
Toivo Rauma
Marika Timonen
Ville Uusitalo
Kirsi Ojanen
Outi Valo
Veikko Virkkala

Marketing and Communications Committee:

Sanna Uusivirta, Marketing and Sales Manager
Krista Järvelä
Linda Nevalainen
Eija Rauma
Viivi Paavola
Venla Heikkilä
Anne-Mari Hakamäki, Programme Director

Organising Committee:

Anne Puumala, Chairman
Taneli Hietalahti
Aija Järvenpää
Kari Korkala
Pekka-Elias Paavola
Sakari Puumala
Valtteri Valo, Executive Director
Jukka Virkkala, Production Manager