Articles of Association

Unofficial English translation for information purposes only. In the event of any discrepancy, the German original is authoritative.

§ 1 Name, Registered Office, Registration and Financial Year

  1. The association bears the name “Menschen unserer Erde”.
  2. Its registered office is in Naumburg (Saale).
  3. The association is to be entered in the register of associations and, following registration, shall use the suffix “e. V.” (registered association).
  4. The financial year is the calendar year.

§ 2 Charitable Purposes

  1. The association pursues exclusively and directly charitable purposes within the meaning of the section “Tax-Privileged Purposes” of the German Fiscal Code (Abgabenordnung).
  2. The purposes of the association are:

a) the promotion of art and culture;

b) the promotion of education and public education;

c) the promotion of international understanding, tolerance in all areas of culture, and the concept of understanding among peoples.

  1. These purposes shall be achieved in particular through:

a) photographic, audio and written documentation of people of different origins and cultures, their life stories, living circumstances and personal messages;

b) the conception, production and publication of photographs, sound recordings, texts, books, photographic books and analogue and digital media;

c) the organisation of exhibitions, lectures, educational events and other cultural events;

d) the promotion of encounters and cultural exchange between people of different backgrounds;

e) cooperation with tax-privileged cultural, social, scientific and educational institutions in Germany and abroad;

f) the implementation of further projects that directly serve the purposes specified in paragraph 2.

§ 3 Non-Profit Character and Use of Funds

  1. The association operates on a selfless basis; it does not primarily pursue its own economic interests.
  2. The association’s funds may be used only for the purposes laid down in these Articles. Members shall not receive any allocations from the association’s funds.
  3. No person may be favoured through expenditure unrelated to the association’s purposes or through disproportionately high remuneration.

§ 4 Membership

  1. Any natural or legal person who supports the purposes of the association may become a member.
  2. The association has active members and supporting members.
  3. Applications for membership must be submitted to the Executive Board in text form. The Executive Board decides on admission. There is no entitlement to admission.
  4. Membership ends through resignation, expulsion, death or, in the case of legal persons, their dissolution.
  5. Resignation must be declared to the Executive Board in text form and takes effect upon receipt of the declaration.
  6. A member may be expelled for good cause by resolution of the Executive Board. Before a decision is made, the member must be given an opportunity to comment. Within one month of receiving notice of the expulsion, the member may request a decision by the next General Meeting.

§ 5 Membership Fees

  1. Active members are exempt from membership fees.
  2. Supporting members pay a membership fee. The amount, due date and method of payment are determined by Membership Fee Regulations adopted by the General Meeting.
  3. In justified individual cases, the Executive Board may waive fees in whole or in part.

§ 6 Bodies of the Association

The bodies of the association are:

a) the General Meeting of Members;

b) the Executive Board.

§ 7 Executive Board

  1. The Executive Board within the meaning of section 26 of the German Civil Code (BGB) consists of the Chairperson and the Deputy Chairperson.
  2. Board members are elected by the General Meeting for four years. Re-election is permitted. They remain in office until their successors are elected.
  3. If a Board member leaves office prematurely, the remaining Board member may appoint a replacement until the next General Meeting.

§ 8 Representation and Legal Transactions with the Chairperson

  1. The Chairperson and the Deputy Chairperson each have sole authority to represent the association. Internally, the Deputy Chairperson should exercise this authority only when the Chairperson is unavailable.
  2. Transactions creating obligations with a total value exceeding EUR 10,000 require the prior written consent of the other Board member within the internal relationship.
  3. The Chairperson is exempt from the restrictions of section 181 BGB for legal transactions between the Chairperson personally and the association. The Chairperson may sign such contracts both in their own name and on behalf of the association.
  4. Legal transactions under paragraph 3 require the written consent of the Deputy Chairperson before they are concluded. If that office is vacant or the Deputy Chairperson is permanently unavailable, prior consent of the General Meeting is required. The contracts must be concluded in writing and must comply with § 3 of these Articles.

§ 9 General Meeting of Members

  1. An ordinary General Meeting shall be held at least every two years.
  2. It shall be convened by the Chairperson, or if the Chairperson is unavailable, by the Deputy Chairperson, with two weeks’ notice in text form, stating the agenda.
  3. An extraordinary General Meeting must be convened if the interests of the association so require or if at least one tenth of the members request it in text form, stating the purpose and reasons.
  4. Every duly convened General Meeting has a quorum irrespective of the number of members participating.
  5. Each member has one vote.
  6. Resolutions are adopted by a simple majority of the valid votes cast, unless these Articles provide otherwise. Abstentions are counted.
  7. Minutes of the resolutions must be prepared and signed by the person chairing the meeting and the minute-taker.

§ 10 Project Initiator and Artistic Direction

  1. The initiator of the “Menschen unserer Erde” project is Hartmut Hufeld. He is responsible for the artistic and substantive direction of this project.
  2. Artistic and substantive direction includes, in particular, developing and further developing the project concept, selecting the people portrayed and the subjects covered, and determining the photographic, textual, audio and design orientation of publications and exhibitions.
  3. Artistic direction is not a body of the association and does not confer authority to represent it. The statutory duties and duties under these Articles of the Executive Board remain unaffected.
  4. Hartmut Hufeld may designate a successor to the artistic direction by written declaration to the Executive Board. If no valid designation exists at the time of his death, the Deputy Chairperson then in office shall assume artistic direction.
  5. The rights granted personally to Hartmut Hufeld under this section may be revoked or restricted during his lifetime only with his written consent.

§ 11 Copyright and Rights of Use

All copyrights in photographs, sound recordings, texts, translations and other copyright-protected works remain with their respective creators. The nature and scope of rights of use granted to the association shall be governed exclusively by separate written agreements.

§ 12 Amendments to the Articles

  1. Amendments to these Articles require a majority of two thirds of the valid votes cast. The subject of the proposed amendment must be announced with the invitation to the General Meeting.
  2. Changes to the purposes of the association require a majority of three quarters of the valid votes cast.
  3. The Executive Board is authorised to adopt amendments to these Articles required by the register court or tax office for formal or editorial reasons, provided that such amendments do not substantively change the purposes of the association or the rights under § 10.

§ 13 Dissolution and Dedication of Assets

  1. Dissolution of the association may be resolved only at a General Meeting convened expressly for that purpose, by a majority of three quarters of the valid votes cast.
  2. Unless the General Meeting resolves otherwise, the Chairperson and Deputy Chairperson shall act as liquidators with joint authority to represent the association.
  3. Upon dissolution or abolition of the association, or upon the loss of its tax-privileged purposes, its assets shall pass to Ärzte ohne Grenzen e. V., based in Berlin, which must use them directly and exclusively for charitable purposes.

Naumburg (Saale), 5 August 2026

The signatures and list of founding members from the original document are not reproduced in this public English translation.