Organisation and decision making
Servas is an international network and movement whose members believe in the idea that personal contact between people contributes to building a more peaceful world. Individual Servas members join one of the Servas Groups that make up Servas International, a global, international non-governmental organisation (iNGO). Servas International is a not-for-profit organisation.
Servas Groups
The people who support the vision and mission of Servas are individual members of a Servas Group that is typically – with some exceptions – a national entity.
Servas Groups are organised in a global federation, Servas International (SI), which enacted its first statutes (Corporation Charter) in 1972. In February 2022 Servas International was granted authorisation and a registration number as an international non-governmental organisation in Switzerland.
A Servas Group that meets certain criteria stipulated in the Servas International Statutes is granted status as a Servas International Member Group (SI MG). Not all Servas Groups are SI MGs. With SI MG status, a Servas Group increases its capacity to influence the policies and activities of Servas International and the Servas community by proposing initiatives, putting forward motions and voting in the Servas democratic system that has been developed over several decades.
For more information, visit: Servas Groups
International Conference and General Assembly
Servas International, on a regular basis, arranges Servas International Conference and General Assembly (SICOGA) both for SI Member Groups and individual members that are physically present and for those who participate virtually. Servas International General Assembly (SIGA) is the business part of the conference and the fundamental proceedings of the meeting are stipulated by the SI Statutes.
SIGA is Servas International’s highest decision making body and it’s modelled after the United Nations’ General Assembly democratic model: one nation, one vote.
The Servas model is one Servas International Member Group (SI MG), one vote.
For more information, visit: International conferences
Distant Vote
Between SIGAs the SI Member Groups can make decisions through the Servas International Distant Vote system (SI DV).
For more information, visit: Distant Vote
Committees and teams
SI’s global board, Servas International Executive Committee (SI Exco), as well as other elected SI committees and appointed teams make day-to-day operational decisions and act based on what has been decided at SIGA and through SI Distant Votes.
For more information, visit: SI committees and teams