Meetings with such great numbers of engaged people are indeed powerful. Happy and confused by all the blending impressions, you return home with an impressing sleep deficit and a suitcase of papers, tons of ideas and a bunch of tasks that you have promised to take care of. Welcome to IFMSA.

During IFMSA meetings the six Standing Committees are transformed into Working Committees, and there may be Working Committees also in other fields as well. The main work takes place within these Working Committees, and apart from these and all the social programme, there are plenary sessions to attend. At the plenaries you will hear loads of reports with a zillion abbreviations, you will observe strange rituals and somewhat peculiar behaviours. The procedures at meetings are charmingly stated in the Standing Orders and Constitution for the interested reader. They are mainly designed to make meetings more efficient, though at times taken to extremes.

The show is conducted by a chairperson, accompanied by a vice-chair, a secretary and a vice-secretary. If there are questions regarding the constitution or the Standing Orders, the Constitution Credentials Committee (CCC) can be consulted, and there are questions regarding financial matters, the Financial Committee (FC) can be consulted. Two Returning Officers counts votes when it comes to voting.

You must table a motion if you would like something to be debated or decided upon. After the motion is proposed, the chair asks for a seconder. A seconder support the NMO proposing the motion and if there is no seconder, the motion fails. If there is a seconder the chair asks for direct negatives. If there are no direct negatives, the chair proceeds to voting. If there is a direct negative, then a discussion is opened and amendments or alternative motions may be proposed. A procedural motion deals with reopening of points of the agenda, no confidence in the chair, etc., and takes precedence over all terms of address to the chair.

If you only would like to ask a question or if you would like to add some information about something a speaker says, then you ask for a point of information, either during or after the speech, as the speaker chooses. The point of information is for facts and questions only, not for expressing a point of view. For interpretations of the Constitution and Standing Orders you may ask for a point of order. The point of Order precedes all other terms of address, even the Procedural Motion, and can not be used for statements.

Click here to download the IFMSA Motion and Debate Maze as a pdf file. Hopefully you won't get lost in the maze!