GAPOA exists to hold a single admission standard — ten criteria, verified by external examination — and to provide infrastructure for self-organised professional communities. It does not govern communities, does not employ staff, and does not control the admission process.
Admission to any GAPOA community requires a Certificate of Contribution issued by the independent Certification Center. The certificate attests that at least four of ten criteria have been confirmed on the applicant's evidence. No community may add, remove, or override criteria.
Each community is self-organised. It elects its own organisers, sets its own agenda, runs its own events, forum, and working documents. The umbrella does not set the agenda for any community.
There is no application fee, membership fee, or renewal fee. The community operates on a small grant from the umbrella and on the voluntary time of its members.
The member roster is visible only to confirmed members of the same community. The public may verify any individual certificate by number, but may not browse or search the roster.
Every function inside a community — moderation, event organisation, document authorship, forum management — is filled by elected or volunteering members. There is no permanent staff.
VII
Speaking with one voice
When a community issues a public position — to a regulator, a platform, or a standards body — it does so only after members have shaped and ratified the position through the community's own process.
VIII
Standing of certificate
Membership in a community continues for as long as the member's Certificate of Contribution remains valid. If the certificate is revoked or suspended by the Certification Center, membership is suspended the same day.
Twelve holders of a Certificate of Contribution in the same discipline may petition the umbrella to open a new community. The umbrella verifies the certificates and, if valid, seats the community.
These bylaws may be amended by a two-thirds vote of all confirmed members across all communities, convened at the umbrella level. Amendments take effect immediately upon ratification.