Elections of the future EJC

EJA aims to elect the organising team for a future EJC two to three years in advance. 

This gives the organising team enough time for preparation, also in case of unforeseen problems, and makes it possible for EJA to react in case a team has to withdraw. The nominees for the election process are typically announced ahead of the EJA General Assembly via standard communication channels of the EJA.

The nomination period for EJCs 2026 and onward

For an initial proposal and what this should include, please look at this PDF. The deadline for submission to info(at)eja.net is the 16 April 2024. 

Regardless of the readiness of the proposal, interested organisers are encouraged to contact the EJA ahead of submission. We can provide assistance in the form of experience and feedback to ensure that the team is well prepared for organising an event of this magnitude. We generally expect potential organisers to contact us before or during February and March. This allows for plenty of time to get help preparing a proposal.

Milestones of application and election

Each team that wishes to organise the next EJC needs to go through the stages described below. It is important to note that the EJA is to be considered as an impartial body during the preparation and the evaluation of the proposal. The EJA determines the validity of the proposals solely based on their contents and not based on the personal opinions of the people involved during the preparation process.

We encourage those interested in organising an EJC to contact the EJA at info(at)eja.net . We are happy to provide additional information to help teams get to a stage of preparing a proposal. The experienced EJA Festival Representatives will be able to answer any questions related to the organisation process.

Keep in mind that the election of the future EJC happens 2-3 years in advance of the event. Keep an eye on the announcements for which convention is up for election next.

Assistance in preparation of a proposal

Those having a rough idea of a venue and an eager team are able to get assistance from one of EJA Festival Representatives in preparing an initial proposal. The Festival Representative will serve as a point of contact between the team and the EJA and will provide pointers and advice during the whole preparation process.

Timing

Preparing for an event of this magnitude requires time. Thus we recommend that those interested in organising a convention to contact the EJA no later than February or March of the proposal year. This will also allow the EJA to work with the team with an added flexibility regarding the set deadlines.

The Proposal is a document in which a potential organizing team of a future EJC presents their plans and ideas as well as the status of their project. The purpose of such a proposal is to provide information to EJA, based on which the feasibility of the potential EJC can be judged.

Stages

The proposals usually goes through two stages

  1. An initial proposal shall give a rough idea about the proposed EJC and cover all necessary information in general. It does not need to contain all details.
  2. An extended proposal is an improved version of the initial proposal. It needs to cover all required information, based on which EJA members can already familiarise themselves with the proposal before the pre-screening meeting.

Deadlines for election in 2024:

  • The deadline for initial proposals is the 16 April 2024. The organizing team is encouraged to contact the EJA ahead of the submission deadline. This will allow the team to work with the EJA and receive important feedback about the contents of the proposal. After submission in April, the EJA will review the proposal and will support the applicant teams to improve their proposal towards an extended proposal.
  • The extended proposal has to be prepared in advance of the pre-screening meeting. In 2024, the deadline will be 27 May 2024. It will serve as the basis for the decision at the pre-screening meeting (early June 2024)

Contents of the proposal

The contents of the proposal have to include information about the host city, the planned site for the convention, the draft budget and some information about the organizing team and experience. Typically the information provided should include the following:

 Download as PDF: EJC – Initial Proposal – Suggested Content

About the Venue

  • What is the location? Please give a little bit of information about the local town.
  • What is the layout of the venue?
  • What does the venue cost, and are there any additional costs associated with the venue?
  • If any, what similar events have been hosted there?
  • How big is the hall?
  • What options are available for attendees (e.g., plane, train, bus, car, unicycle), and roughly, how expensive are they for attendees?

Legal Event Requirements

  • Please give a basic description of licensing laws in the municipality that are relevant for the event. These could be on what permissions would be required to hold the event, or other relevant local requirements.

Team

  • Who are the core team members, and what experience do they bring? Particularly, what activities and experience did they gather at previous EJCs?
  • How are the roles and responsibilities allocated within the core team?
  • What does the extended team look like, i.e., volunteers and helpers beyond the core team?
  • How will your team be set up legally, and how will liabilities be managed? Are you setting up a company/association/other legal entity? 

Budget

  • How many attendees are you expecting in a small scenario, a medium scenario or a large scenario?
  • What income sources and amounts do you predict (per scenario)?
  • What expenditure do you predict (per scenario)?
  • What government funding or other funding opportunities are available to you (e.g., funding bodies, grants approved, sponsorship from venue/town)?
  • Will core team members be paid or volunteers? If paid, how much will the payment be?

The goal of the pre-screening meeting is for EJA to determines whether a proposal for an EJC is viable, i.e. if it has a fairly high chance of resulting in a successful EJC. In other words, the pre-screening meeting is an attempt to “save teams from themselves” and prevent not adequately prepared teams from getting the responsibility and burden of organizing an EJC.

The pre-screening Meeting is typically held in person at the EJC of the same year as the election. However, in 2022, we will aim to have the pre-screening meeting online in June 2023, in order to free up time during the EJC.

All teams are required to go through a pre-screening meeting before being nominated for election at the General Assembly.

Attendees:

  • EJA: XC and interested members of the EJA, who have experience in planning / running an EJC.
  • Proposing team: The main organizers and / or the persons behind each proposal.

Eligibility:

All teams with a successful extended proposal, as communicated by the EJA board.

The next EJC is elected 2 – 3 year in advance at the EJA General Assembly, which happens during the week of the convention. All attending jugglers are eligible to vote for a potential candidate. The decision is made by simple majority. In the event of failing to be elected, the organisers are encouraged to resubmit the proposal the following year.

After successfully completing a pre-screening meeting, all organising teams give a presentation at the EJA General Assembly. It is therefore recommended to prepare good promotion material. The winning team will then have the right to officially sign the contract with the EJA. 

Campaigning ahead of the election:

It is generally up to the teams themselves to promote their candidacy in any way they find effective ahead of the EJA General Assembly. The organisers are free to decide whether the EJA will announce their nomination or keep it a surprise until the presentation. 

However, we urge the organisers to exercise restraint before the completion of the pre-screening meeting, unless a nomination is likely judging by the feedback from the communication with the EJA.

 As the final step, contracts are signed between EJA and EJC. There are currently two mandatory contracts to be signed between EJA and EJC:

  • Proof of appointment: After the EJC team has provided their association/contact information to EJA, EJA issues a proof of appointment, appointing the Organisers the right to organize the EJC. 
  • Surplus agreement: It details the handling of a potential surplus. The surplus is split between the Organizing team and the EJA in a predetermined manner. The agreement includes a clause for all surplus to be spent on juggling/circus-related activities.

The contracts also determine how the pre-registration will be operated

Additional support by the EJA:

The organising team can apply for financial support from the EJA, which requires signing a Loan Agreement between the EJA and the EJC.

In addition, each organizing team is assigned a Festival Adviser to consult with during the preparation of the EJC. The Festival Adviser is typically a Festival Representative with experience in organizing an EJC. The organisers are also encouraged to leverage the experience of the board for any related questions until the day the convetion starts.