The EESTEC Congress is the highest decision-making event of the Association, as defined in the General Rules of Procedure. It is a formal assembly where representatives of all Local Committees gather to discuss strategic matters, hold elections, and make official, association-wide decisions that determine the future direction and long-term development of EESTEC.
Two Congresses are organized each association year: the Autumn Congress and the Spring Congress. These events are the largest gatherings within EESTEC and typically last around one week. Before 2016, only one Congress was held per year.
The main purpose of the EESTEC Congress is to evaluate the work of the international bodies of EESTEC, and to ensure transparent and democratic governance within the Association. Through structured discussions and voting procedures, members (LCs) take key association-wide decisions and define EESTEC’s strategic direction.
Additionally, the Congress aims to:
The Congress is attended by various entities, each with a clearly defined role in reporting, facilitation, or organization to ensure the proper functioning of the event.
Representatives may come from Observers, Junior Local Committees (JLCs), or Local Committees (LCs) and are delegates officially representing their Branch at the Congress.
They are responsible for:
Representatives from Local Committees (LCs) hold voting rights, while representatives from Observers and JLCs participate without voting rights, in accordance with the General Rules of Procedure.
These are individuals who attend EESTEC Congresses on behalf of NGOs with which EESTEC has an international partnership. They give presentations about their respective NGOs and provide information on their current situation and activities. They are present throughout the entire Congress.
In addition to presenting their NGOs, they may actively participate in discussions within EESTEC-related sessions by sharing their NGO’s perspectives and approaches on relevant topics. Similar to other bodies such as the BoA, LBACs, and SB, they also take part in Q&A sessions. By answering questions during these sessions, they contribute to mutual understanding and support potential future collaborations.
Leaders Board Assistants and Coordinators (LBACs) also act as representatives at the Congress. Unlike Local Committee (LC) Representatives, they represent their respective teams or projects. They are expected to be familiar with the reports submitted prior to the Congress and to answer questions related to their team’s or project’s activities.
The Board of the Association (BoA) is the international executive body of EESTEC and is present at the Congress to report to the General Assembly (GA) on the work carried out within their respective departments and roles.
The BoA ensures:
The General Assembly is the main decision-making body of EESTEC. To ensure that the General Meetings are conducted properly and documented accurately, a General Assembly Staff consisting of Secretaries, Scrutinizers, and a GA Chairperson is appointed.
GA Staff members work closely with the Board of the Association (BoA), the Congress Organizing Committee (COC), and each other to guarantee the smooth and transparent execution of the General Meetings.
For GA Stuff Guide go here.
General Assembly Secretaries are responsible for following the discussions during the General Meetings and documenting them accurately. They ensure that all decisions and discussions are properly recorded and finalized in the official minutes after the Congress. This role requires strong written English skills, attention to detail, and effective collaboration with the GA Chairperson, BoA, and other GA Staff members.
General Assembly Scrutinizers are responsible for overseeing and documenting the voting procedures during the General Meetings. They ensure the accuracy of vote counting, maintain the secrecy of closed ballots, and support the orderly conduct of sessions, including assisting with microphone management when necessary. Scrutinizers work in close cooperation with the GA Chairperson, BoA, and GA Staff.
The General Assembly Chairperson is responsible for facilitating and moderating the General Meetings of the Congress. This role is fulfilled by an experienced and trusted EESTEC member, independent from their Branch and the Board of the Association.
The GA Chairperson ensures that discussions are conducted efficiently and in accordance with EESTEC’s legal documents, oversees voting procedures, and guarantees that decisions are taken in a transparent and structured manner. Close collaboration with the BoA, ACOC, and GA Staff is essential before, during, and after the Congress.
Members who represent their respective Teams or Projects during the Congress, acting as the main contact point between their Team or Project and the General Assembly. They participate in the designated Q&A sessions, take an active role in relevant discussions throughout the Congress, and contribute to maintaining an engaging and constructive atmosphere during the General Meetings.
COC is the organizational body formed by the committee responsible for hosting the Congress. It is responsible for ensuring that Congress is organized and conducted smoothly and efficiently. The CoC works closely with the Board of the Association before the Congress to plan and coordinate all logistical and organizational aspects, and supports the needs of the General Meetings and the General Assembly throughout the event.
The General Meeting is the core part of the Congress where reports are presented, discussions are held, and formal decisions are taken through voting. It follows a predefined agenda and procedural rules.
Organized between March and May by the Spring Congress Organising Committee (SCOC).
Spring Congress is usually thought of as the big Congress since the following points must be covered:
Organized between September and November by the Autumn Congress Organising Committee (ACOC), by which time the Board-Elect from Spring Congress are officially the Board-in-Office. During this Congress, a great number of things can be discussed and voted on,
AC has to include in its agenda is:
Under certain circumstances, EESTEC Congresses may be organized in different formats depending on feasibility, accessibility, and safety considerations.
If an on-site Congress can be organized, physical participation of all representatives and the Board of Administrators (BoA) is mandatory. This format allows full face-to-face interaction, more effective discussions, and the complete execution of formal and informal Congress activities.
A hybrid format may be used when physical participation is not possible for all Local Committees. This can occur due to political restrictions, travel limitations, or health and safety concerns that prevent some participants from reaching the host city. In this case, the Congress is conducted with a combination of on-site and online participation.
An online Congress is organized when no local organizing body (CoC) can be formed to host the event on-site, or when external conditions make physical organization impossible. In this format, all Congress activities, including General Meeting sessions, are conducted in an online environment.
EESTEC Congresses usually last between 4 and 6 days. The first day of the Congress is not necessarily the first day of the General Meeting (GM). On the opening day, participants typically gather in the evening for an Opening Ceremony. This may include a welcome speech from a sponsoring company or a representative professor from the host university. Organizing the Opening Ceremony separately allows the following days to be fully dedicated to Congress and GM sessions without interruptions.
The General Meeting officially ends on its last day with the final hammer strike of the GA Chairperson. However, this does not always coincide with the last day of the Congress itself.
Since participants arrive from many different countries, the Congress schedule usually includes buffer days to facilitate arrivals and departures. Participants are advised to plan their travel accordingly when booking flight tickets.
The General Meeting (GM) is conducted over multiple days and follows a structured yet dynamic flow. While the agenda is formally approved, the GM adapts continuously to attendance changes, elections, discussions, and time constraints. The sequence below reflects how a GM typically unfolds in practice.
Each GM day begins with an attendance check, conducted by the GA Chairperson. This confirms and ensures that decisions taken during the session are valid and GMs can continue if 2/3rd of the Branches are present .
At the beginning of the Congress, the following foundational steps take place:
Attendance checks are repeated throughout the day, especially:
This ensures that requirements are met at all times.
A significant portion of the GM is dedicated to reporting and accountability.
This includes:
Reports are usually followed by:
LC Representatives are expected to be familiar with reports in advance and use GM time for clarification, not repetition.
Reports from International Teams, Projects, and Board Assistants are often grouped into extended sessions.
In practice:
These sessions often require sustained attention, as they involve a wide range of operational and strategic topics.
Elections are among the most time-intensive and fragmented parts of the GM.
A typical election process includes:
LC Representatives should remain attentive, as election procedures often resume with short notice.
Beyond formal reporting and elections, the GM includes:
These sessions are less structured than report presentations but still follow GA procedures. They provide space for broader debate, sharing, and long-term planning.
Active participation from LC Representatives is particularly valuable in these sessions.
Throughout the GM, procedural decisions may be taken, such as:
Such decisions are proposed, discussed briefly, and voted on according to GA rules.
The final GM session concludes with:
The General Meeting officially ends with the final hammer strike. This moment marks the conclusion of all decision-making authority of the Congress.
The Board Report presents the strategic direction, activities, and achievements of the Board during the reporting period and is subject to discussion and approval by the Congress.
The report begins with a general presentation of the overall Board workflow. This includes an overview of mandatory obligations and an update on which of these have been fulfilled. The Board also reports on internal developments, such as changes within the Board and the Board Meetings (BoMs) held during the period, including the number of meetings and their general outcomes.
Following this, the Board provides an update on its Annual Plan, presenting the current status of the defined goals and their respective subtopics. For each goal, progress is explained, and a brief timeline is presented indicating the expected completion or next milestones.
After the general Board overview, each Board member presents an individual report covering their responsibilities and departments. These reports include updates on relevant Annual Plan goals, the number of meetings held, progress achieved so far, and current challenges. Where applicable, Board members may also report on the status of events or activities under their responsibility, including any ongoing or problematic Operational Events (such as OE Congresses).
Team and Project Reports provide an overview of the work carried out by operational entities within EESTEC. These reports summarize ongoing activities, progress achieved, challenges faced, and future plans, as well as the overall impact of the teams and projects.
Each team and project prepares quarterly written reports, covering approximately three-month periods. In addition to these written reports, teams and projects also prepare a video report presenting their work and the path they have followed so far.
Both reporting formats are used because the timelines of mandates and internal processes do not always align with the Congress schedule. While Congress dates are determined by the Congress Organising Committee (CoC) within the timeframe provided by the Board of the Association (BoA), quarterly reporting periods are fixed.
As a result, the quarterly report may include information that has already been documented in writing, while the video report allows teams and projects to provide updates on important goals or achievements that were completed after the quarterly report was finalized. This ensures that the General Assembly receives the most up-to-date and comprehensive overview of their work.
The Congress Organising Committee (CoC) is responsible for the planning and execution of the Congress. Its role is to ensure the smooth operation of the event and to maintain its overall quality.
During the Congress, the CoC presents a report covering the organisation process of the ongoing Congress. This report includes a general overview of the preparation phase, the working period, and the people involved, as well as the duration and scope of the work.
The CoC also provides a detailed financial overview of the Congress, including income and expenses. In addition, they present the schedule for the remaining days of the Congress and inform the General Assembly of any changes made to the planned programme.
The report is usually concluded with a short closing section, including best wishes to the participants and reminders regarding expected and undesired behaviour during the Congress.
The COC of the upcoming Congress presents a report on the preparations carried out so far. This includes information on organisational progress, such as accommodation arrangements, the planned number of representatives, and any purchases or reservations already made.
The upcoming CoC may also answer questions from Members (Representatives) and listen to concerns, requests, or suggestions raised by the General Assembly regarding the next Congress.
Decisions at the Congress are taken through voting procedures defined by EESTEC regulations. Depending on the importance and impact of the decision, different types of majorities are required.
An absolute majority is reached when more than half of the valid votes cast are in favor of a proposal. Abstentions are not counted as valid votes. This type of majority is commonly used for approval of congress minutes, aganda approvels
A two-thirds majority requires at least two-thirds of the valid votes cast to be in favor of the proposal. This is usually required for critical decisions, such as board election, buget proposal and changges(?).
Note: When should we use against and when should we use abstain?
Participants should vote against a proposal if they clearly disagree with its content or believe it should not be accepted in its current form.Abstention should be used when the participant is unsure, feels neutral, or considers it inappropriate to influence the decision.
The General Assembly (GA) makes decisions through votes cast by its Members, namely the Local Committees (LCs). Voting at the Congress is conducted using one of two main procedures: open ballot voting and closed ballot voting. In open ballot voting, votes are cast without secrecy, while in closed ballot voting the individual choices of Members remain confidential.
Over the years, various digital and physical voting systems have been used at EESTEC Congresses. These methods have been continuously improved to ensure efficiency, clarity, and reliability of the voting process.
Regardless of the voting method, each Member is entitled to exactly one vote. Votes are cast under the conditions specified by the GA Chairperson and can be expressed as in favor, against, or abstain.
Most decisions taken by the General Assembly require an absolute majority, meaning that the number of votes in favor must exceed the combined number of votes against and abstentions. For certain decisions of higher importance, a two-thirds majority is required, where the votes in favor must be at least twice the combined number of votes against and abstentions.
Examples
Typical decisions taken through voting at Congresses include:
Leaders Board Assistants (LBAs) are the main persons responsible for teams and projects within the association. They report their work to the association on a quarterly basis, with each reporting period covering three months. The timing of the first quarterly report may vary depending on the start date of the mandate, which is determined by the Board of Association (BoA).
Leaders Board Assistants and Coordinators (LBACs) also act as representatives at the Congress. Unlike Local Committee (LC) Representatives, they represent their respective teams or projects. They are expected to be familiar with the reports submitted prior to the Congress and to answer questions related to their team’s or project’s activities.
In cases where no spot is opened in Congress for LBACs, LBACs are still required to make representation. This may involve participating online during the Congress or responding to questions forwarded by the responsible board members.
During the question-and-answer sessions, leaders or the responsible Board Assistant are primarily expected to respond. If they are unavailable, coordinators may represent the team or project and provide the necessary answers on their behalf.
Participation in the Congress is also important for communication and cooperation among LBAs and LBACs. Establishing inter-team connections and collaborations during the Congress is considered a valuable contribution and is generally regarded as a positive outcome for the association.
As Congress is one of the major EESTEC events, being familiar with EESTEC traditions is highly recommended. If you are not already familiar with them, you can find an overview here: (link).
Some of the most well-known traditions besides other events include:
On the final day of each General Assembly, EESTEC members traditionally wear their Local Committee’s red T-shirts as a way of reflecting the EESTEC spirit and fostering a sense of unity.
Among these, International Night during Congress is typically the largest in EESTEC. Participants are encouraged to represent their local culture through traditional dances, food, and drinks. Similar to Erasmus+ cultural nights, adding authentic cultural elements greatly enriches the experience and makes the night memorable for everyone.
Another informal but well-loved tradition is sticker exchange. Participants often bring stickers from their Local Committees to exchange with others. If you ever see a laptop completely covered in EESTEC stickers, you can be fairly sure it belongs to an EESTECer.
Cerdo is the unofficial EESTEC pet. During 2005 Congress in Madrid participants woke up to find printed sheets entitled "Who da f is Cerdo" hanging on their doors. The sheets contained detailed reports of all the "events" occurred during the previous night's party, the protagonists' identity protected by showing only the first letter of their name, and that of their LC, e.g. E from B. With over 100 people around, coming from several cities which in some cases shared initials, the play detective who is who game was served every morning. During the farewell party, Ljubljana crew finally unravelled the mystery and presented Cerdo (a pig-shaped ceramic piggybank) to the EESTECers. From that moment on, Cerdo makes appearance on each Congress to write its daily reports in its weird accent, and to fundraise for the following COC.
As Cerdo would say, "me know u luuv me xoxoxo".
For most days of the Congress, the recommended dress code is business casual or smart casual, unless otherwise specified (e.g. during a General Assembly held in Belgrade City Hall). As external guests or sponsors may attend certain sessions, participants are encouraged to avoid overly informal clothing.
During General Assemblies, participants are generally seated for extended periods of time, except when giving presentations or speaking. Therefore, comfortable yet appropriate clothing is recommended.
On the final day of each General Assembly, EESTEC members traditionally wear their Local Committee’s red T-shirts as a way of reflecting the EESTEC spirit and fostering a sense of unity.
Practical Recommendation:
Each participant is advised to bring at least one formal outfit (e.g. a suit or equivalent formal attire), suitable for both female and male participants, to be used if required during official sessions or special occasions.
Go here.
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