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Bylaws

BSides Reykjavik Bylaws

Article 1: Association Name

The name of the association is BSides Reykjavik

Article 2: Association Purpose and Value

The purpose of the organization is to organize and hold cybersecurity conferences in the Reykjavik area, in accordance with the agreement with the International BSides Security Association of which BSides Reykjavik is a recognized chapter. This is a non-profit association whose sole purpose is to hold community-driven security events with the goal of educating the community, aiding the community in bonding socially as well as collaborating on technical issues. No business shall be conducted by the association. While the club may solicit donations and sponsorship, care shall be taken to keep all events as free of commercial interests as possible. The association will acknowledge, appreciate, and thank their sponsors, and even allow them to perform technical demonstrations or training on their products. They should though be limited in all direct sales activities at the events so that the events don’t become commercialized.

The association’s core values are diversity and inclusion and to that end, all business, activities, and events shall be conducted in English so that immigrants who aren’t fluent in Iceland as well as visitors from outside Iceland can freely participate.

Article 3: Vision and Mission

The association will aim to achieve its purpose by soliciting lectures and presentations from the community. For this, the association will use a well-established process in the international cybersecurity community known as a Call for Presentations (CFP) where an announcement goes out requesting community members to submit abstracts of presentations they would like to give at the next event. A committee appointed by the association will review the submission and pick the presenters for the event, using the association’s value of diversity and inclusion as the guiding light.

Article 4: Membership

Everyone and anyone interested in cybersecurity is welcome to become a member of the organization. Anyone convicted of, or accused of, sexual crimes will need to apply for membership and have their application approved by a supermajority at a general meeting of all members. Anyone who has been denied membership, has a membership application pending, has been expelled from the association, or is otherwise ineligible for membership, shall be barred from participating in any events or activities organized or held by the association.

Harassment of any kind will not be tolerated. Anyone accused of harassment will get a verbal warning and coaching, and if a member continues to make others uncomfortable, they will be expelled from the association. For more details on this please read our Code of Conduct Policy

Membership level and membership fees shall be decided by the board and submitted for a simple majority approval by members during a general meeting. In absence of any approved membership fee, there shall be no membership fee.

Article 5: General Meetings

The operational period of the association is 12 months coinciding with the calendar year. The general meeting shall be held each calendar year where the board reports on activities of the last year and a new board is elected. There are no term limits on board membership.

The general meeting shall be held in the first quarter of the year, as soon as possible to the start of the year. The meeting shall be announced with no less than two weeks’ notice in a manner that is auditable by the members at large. The meeting shall be considered valid and legal unless the cause can be shown that the announcement or invite was deficit in some way. Unless otherwise stated in these bylaws, matters brought to a vote in the meeting shall be decided by a simple majority of those in attendance.

The agenda for the general meeting shall at a minimum contain the following items:

  • Appointment of meeting director and meeting secretary who shall maintain the meeting minutes.
  • Report from the current board on activities in the last year
  • Financial report submitted for review, discussion, and approval.
  • Election for a new board
  • Other business

Other agenda items that might be needed if called for:

  • Changes to these bylaws
  • Membership fee changes

Article 6: Board of directors

The association board of directors shall consist of 3-7 association members, President, Vice President, plus one to six members at large, elected at a general meeting for a one-year term. The board shall divide and share all duties and tasks equally. The board can appoint task-specific committees at their discretion, for example, a CFP review committee or event work teams, but have no obligation to do so. The president shall call for, invite, and announce all meetings in coordination with the rest of the board. The board handles all business and speaks for the association between general meetings. Signature authority lies with the majority of the board and the board shall appoint who signs on their behalf.

The general members shall have the power to impeach individual board members or the board as a whole. If 33% of members call for a vote of no confidence, a general meeting shall be called within one month, where that vote of no confidence shall be discussed and voted on. If the vote passes by a supermajority of those present, those included in the vote of no confidence shall vacate the board immediately and new people voted in their place to serve until the next regularly scheduled general meeting.

Article 7: Membership fees and fundraising

Operational costs should be predominantly financed through fundraising, donations, and sponsorship. Any decision about taking up membership fees shall be brought to a general meeting and approved by a simple majority of those in attendance. Any proposal for membership fees shall include both the amount and frequency.

Article 8: Operational finances

The board bears the fiduciary duty to not commit the association to expenses for which there are not sufficient funds. That is the association shall collect no debt.

Any operational surplus from one event shall be saved for the next event and surplus from one year shall carry over to the next year. No member shall receive direct financial compensation.

Article 9: Association Dissolution

Decisions about the dissolution of the association shall be taken at a general meeting with a simple majority of those in attendance. All property and savings shall be liquidated and donated to a charitable organization agreed on at the meeting, such as the Icelandic Red Cross.