Policy Plan 2022-2023 The New Mode Collective (TNMC)

"One of the most important things you can do on this earth is to let people know they are not alone." ― Shannon L. Alder 
Founded in 2021, the New Mode Collective (TNMC) is AMFI's study association. The study association is represented by the board members and current students of AMFI Laura Weller (Chair), Marie Gritz (Treasurer), Charlotte Knootte (Secretary) and Laurine Joly. 
The Board believes in fostering a positive social community within AMFI by creating a sense of company and solidarity. TNMC aims to create the previously mentioned community by hosting parties and borrels and providing free coffee on the first of the month. 
The TNMC's Policy Plan is the base of the 2022/2023 Board's decision making. The plan is the cornerstone for both the Board and the Members. It specifies the guidelines for mission & vision, recruitment, communications, payments, and Internalisation. 
The Board and the Members can refer to the Policy Plan if there are questions about the association's goals, procedures, and organisation. 
The policy plan will be adapted every two years to keep up with the current needs of the study association and student body of AMFI. 

The mission of this year's board is to foster a creative and safe community within AMFI. Our members should feel welcomed and encouraged by the spirit laid down by the association and the board. 

Concerning the revealing stories and reports in 2021 that are coming to the surface regarding safety within the Amsterdam Fashion Institute (AMFI), we believe it is in the best interest of AMFI, Hogeschool van Amsterdam (HvA) and the students that the students within AMFI have a community. We think the study association can create a strong community for students, connecting different years and different dimensions within AMFI. The study association will aim on driving a new constructional and collaborative culture for the students and their student life. This translates into fostering a space for collaboration, networking and friendships that will outlast the students education. 
Together with the students, we hope to create a positive environment for AMFI’s students through planning fun activities, such as movie nights, parties, small gifts, and Monday morning coffees. We hope this will support the creation of a positive social community with a joyful and safe learning environment to collaborate and grow in. 

The board will consist of 4 members who founded the study association. These four members will hold the posts of Chair, Secretary, Treasurer and Commissioner of social media. Each member will be responsible for their specific tasks delegated to their position and be charged with the coordination of the committees. Together the board will be responsible for the full functioning of the association. Next to the four members, we have a commission existing of 2 members who are mainly responible for hosting all events. On the picture on the right you can see all six members together. 

The position of Chair for the board year 2022-2023 will be held by Laura Weller. Laura will hold the ultimate responsibility for all activities and events of the study association, including all decisions made by the Board. The main responsibility of the Chair is to supervise all the developments within the Board and the association as a whole and to keep an overview of both short-term and long- term goals. Therefore, close contact with all Board members is essential. The Chair will host the weekly Board meetings and ensure that the agenda is updated and available to all members. Moreover, she keeps the overview of the membership files and sign-up forms for the association’s events. The Chair is an important contact person for all members of SA. 

The post of secretary for the board year 2022-2023 will be held by Charlotte Kootte. She holds the responsibility for the association’s administration, which includes writing emails and taking the minutes during board meetings and assemblies. Moreover, she helps keeping the overview of the membership files and sign-up forms for the association’s events. The secretary will also be the contact person for the members of the study association and for the committees and will act as a diplomatic mediator within the association should conflict arise. Next to that, the secretary is responsible for the invites for the general assembly. The secretary will represent the association towards external bodies and works on establishing and maintaining contact with these parties, such as the alumni students, as well as other study associations, sponsors and cultural or political institutions. Moreover, the secretary maintains contact with the borrel location and any other venues the association has an interest in. At last the secretary will have responsibility over the invitations of the general assemblies to our members. 

The post of Treasurer for the board year 2021-2022 will be held by Marie Gritz. The Treasurer holds the main responsibility for the financial affairs of the study association. She draws and supervises the yearly budget, administers the bank account, supervises the budgets of the committees and keeps track of the accounts both digitally and on paper. She also ensures proper administration of the receipts, expense claims, income and details of bank payments. Two times a year, the treasurer must submit the budget plan - beginning of September and budget report - beginning of July to HvA Participation for the partial reimbursement of study-related activities. In addition, the Treasurer is the vice-chair, which means that the Treasurer will stand in for the Chair if the latter is absent. 

The post of the Commissioner of Social Media is Laurine Joly. The commissioner of social media holds the main responsibility over all branding related affairs. She will ensure the correct and regular usage of the social media platforms. This includes updating the website and Instagram and providing the members with updates regarding the COVID-19 regulations and their impact on the events and activities of the study association. Next to that, she focussed on all visual language within the study association, such as sign up forms, posters, flyers, etc. Moreover, she will host the LinkedIn pages of the New Mode Collective. 

Considering the fact that this board is laying the foundation of the study association in the upcoming year 2022/2023, the Board will strive to show the associations’ accessibility. Therefore, emphasis should be placed on the recruitment and integration of new members. This applies to both Dutch and international students. 

The first weeks of the study year are crucial for member recruitment and integration of the new students. The Intreeweek plays a major role in the recruitment of first year students. Therefore the new board will be present at the Intreeweek HvA. Next to that, the board will send out one message to all first year students in the beginning of August 2022 to let them be aware of our existence. Furthermore the board will have a presentation which will be presented at Tuschinski when all first years have their introduction day. Also, members of the board will be present during the open days of AMFI to let potential students know our the existence of the study association. Last, when students will have their first tour at AMFI, the board will be present. The students will be invited to see the office of the board and will get a free coffee after which they can sign up. During all these steps, the aim is to promote the study association. 

As our study association is new it is crucial to gain not only first year students as members, but also upper year students. This will be done by sending out an email with an explanation of our vision, mission and structure of the board.
Furthermore we will set up an Instagram account, where we place emphasis on promotion of the study association and its events. Next to that we make posters of our association that will be hung inside the KMH building. We will try to get promoted through different channels, such as the AMFI students IG page, Dirty Laundry IG page, etc. Also, all class representatives will send out a message with our logo in all class chats of all AMFI classes. And last but not least, we contact Athenaeum Boekhandel, the AMFI shop and YUSU to arrange discounts for our members on books, materials and coffee to give students incentives to join. 

Alumni are an essential part of any study association as they have valuable experience and expertise. TNMC would like to welcome the alumni of AMFI with open arms by creating borrels for the alumni. These borrels will allow them to reconnect with old friends and classmates. Furthermore, TNMC will build up an Alumni Network on LinkedIn, fostering a large AMFI Alumni community, enabling graduates to communicate about job openings and create networks. Moreover, TNMC would like to bridge Alumni with current students, creating open connections for advice and internships by hosting the borrels. 

Essential for recruitment and integration of the students is the introduction to the mission and vision of the board. The main focus of the study association is showing the students that a new positive community is made for them, which will make them interested. We will host borrels every Friday before the vacation starts. Next to that, students can get a free coffee every first Monday of the month. Third, members will show more support once they have joined the closing party of the year in June. 

New members of the board need to be recruited every year. The board of 2022/23 will put effort into attracting new board members by using Flyers, Instagram and Mail. They will host a Board Information Evening around mid-April to provide information concerning board tasks. When there is enough interest in board positions, members will be granted the opportunity to have a one-on- one conversation with a current board member and the application process will follow. When there is little interest in board positions, the board of 2022/2023 will do another year after which, hopefully, interest in board positions has increased. 

Members of the new board will be chosen by the old board until the association exists long enough to form a Board Selection Committee. The decision of the new board will be presented and voted on at the second General Member Assembly in July 2023. 

In the first year, the study association will focus on social media for promotion. Firstly, the association will use Instagram to promote events and happenings by placing posts before and after the events/happenings. Secondly, the association will use posters to hang up around the building. Thirdly, the association will use LinkedIn to present the association in a professional manner and to create a professional network for the association. Fourth, the association will start a website where general information and payment can be found. In addition, Instagram and LinkedIn will be used to maintain contact or start up collaborations with guest speakers and other networks as well as improving the network of the study association. 

The study association will try to set up a collaboration with the iNDiViDuaLS of AMFI to design a sweater to start a sale on merchandise. 

In the first year, the study association will focus on email for Communication. Therefore, communication between individual students, MT or other networks is mainly through Outlook. The board can be reached by an email address linked to an HvA email account. Each board member will have their own email address linked to an HvA email account as well. 

The board highly values the communication with AMFI MT department in order to use their network and knowledge to improve the quality of - educational - events. Therefore, the board has once every month a meeting with the director of AMFI, Louise ter Kuile to discuss developments within AMFI and the study association. 

The two General Assemblies will be organised during the academic year. The assemblies will be open to all members. The purpose of the assemblies is to present any developments and how the association is being managed. The General Assemblies are also a platform to present the Policy Plan, the Annual Report, and the year’s budget plan. The voting process of the General Assembly will be the following procedure: Each member gets assigned two cards, a green one for yes and a red one for no. Each member that is eligible to vote will be on a list and can receive their cards at the beginning of the general assembly. The chair will tick off each member that has collected their cards from the list, as well as keep track of the voting cards. To keep the voting process transparent, each member holds up their cards during the general assembly to show whether they agree or disagree with the statement that is given by a candidate. The secretary will count the votes. If the statement gets more than two-thirds of the votes, the statement is accepted. If there is a vote on two different options and none of the options gets two-thirds of the votes, the current board will have the final say. If a member can’t vote, they can give their vote to another member through a signed form that can be found on our website. This form will include the statement, name, student number and signature. 

The official documents of the association, comprising the Policy Plan, Annual Report, and the minutes from each of the general assemblies will be published on the website of the association. Furthermore, every 3 months a small summary of the board's activities will be uploaded to the website. 

In order to maintain the transparency and inclusive character of the association towards our members the two general assemblies will also function as an opportunity for members at the beginning of the year to express their ideas, expectations and/or feedback towards the Board. This will then be incorporated in the policy plan. 

The association should be inclusive for both Dutch and international students. Thus, the nature of the events should be attractive to both. 

The board of the study association is bilingual. However, posts on IG this year will only be provided in English. Additionally, official documents, posters and LinkedIn posts will mainly be provided in English as most Dutch students are considered to have a good understanding of the English language. Posts that are only applicable to Dutch-speaking students will be provided in Dutch. 

The Board aims for all the members to feel included and to diminish any form of language barrier between our members. The Board sees the use of a common language as beneficial for all of our members. Therefore, English will be the main language. 

The Secretary is a native Dutch speaker and more than sufficient English speaker, and will therefore be the main contact person for all students. When unavailable, the Chairwoman will take on this task. 

Each year the board strives to spend all income in that same year. However, should there be any savings, the next board may decide in their policy plan how to use these savings as long as it will benefit the study association. 

Memberships for students are €10,00 a year. 

The method of pre-authorized debit will be completely replaced by payments through iDeal. Links to iDeal payments are always shown on the website. For larger amounts, bank transfers will also be possible, as it can be more suitable for some members. The usage of a “betaalverzoek” for members to pay their membership is also possible. Ongoing memberships will be paid by automatic ongoing collection. 

The method of cash payments is not possible, as this would complicate the traceability of money influx. 

The office is open every Thursday between 5pm and 7pm until members are increasing. The office of the board located in the HUB. It is a shared space between students and teachers. Therefore members are welcome to come to the office at all times, even with the board not being present. The possessions of TNMC are kept safe in a locker. Only board members can open these lockers. Should the restrictions imposed by the HvA because of the COVID-19 pandemic being reintroduced, the office will be closed until further notice. 

Assuming the study association will not have a massive number of member this year, the presence of the board members in the office is not necessary every day. Therefore each board member will has to attend the weekly opening hours on Thursday between 5pm and 7pm. Next to that, there always needs to be at least 2 board members present on every event. 

The Board will create an agenda for the events in the academic year 2021/2022 with the anticipated time frame in which the events will take place. There will be room for new ideas through the first general assembly in September. Henceforth, the yearly calendar will not have exact dates, but will rather serve as a general framework for further planning. This is supposed to create a balance of events organised by the board throughout the academic year and prevent overabundance in certain periods. As soon as an event date is set, the event will be shared through Instagram, email and flyers. 

When speaking of a sustainable policy, it can be divided into social sustainability and environmental sustainability. 

The board keeps close contact with the Diversity and Inclusion Task Force at AMFI, having Zinzi de Brouwer as their lead. Next to that we use English as our main language, to make sure all members can understand the content we broadcast. 

In light of the ever growing awareness of climate change, the Board will strive to adopt several environmentally-friendly measures in order to contribute to a more ecologically conscious association. First of all, the Board will strive to maintain and improve the cooperation between TNMC and the HvA Green Office to organise educational events. Second of all the Board will strive to maintain and improve the cooperation between TNMC and The Dirty Laundry Team to organise educational events. Third, the financial affairs will continue to be facilitated by SNS. SNS Bank seeks to support projects and businesses with social, environmental or cultural added value through their clients' deposit. Fourth, the Board plans on placing extra bins in the office for recycling. Fifth, for our logo and flyers, we will use a color scheme that asks for less printing ink and less hazardous colors in printing ink to be more sustainable. 

The task of the events committee is to organize fun activities for AMFI students. All activities focus on the creation of a student community within AMFI. The activities organized will be the final party at the end of the year, the borrels at the first Friday of each vacation (autumn, winter, spring and maybreak) and some educational activitites. Promotional activities, such as taking photos and making Instagram content will be done in collaboration with the commissioner of social media, Laurine Joly. 

All recreational events are open for all AMFI students. Educational events are sometimes open for both AMFI students and TNMC members, sometimes only open for TNMC members. Ticket sales for events will be done by using an online ticketing system called Eventix. Members of TNMC always get discount and/or presale options during ticket sales. 

This year’s event committee exists of four members: Sophie Bruintjes (chairwoman), Oyunaa Kerssens (Secretary), Charlotte Bohl (Treasurer) and Luna Tomic (vice-chairwoman). 

The Position of Chair of the event committee 2022-2023 will be held by Sophie Bruintjes. Sophie will be responsible for all of the arranged events in the study association. The chair will keep an overview of the members of the committee and their tasks. Furthermore, the chair will support the committee to develop new goals and events. The committee has a meeting with the members once every two weeks in which the chair will ensure the agenda. If necessary, the chair will be in charge of putting in emergency meetings. The chair of the committee will have fortnightly meetings with the other chairs of the study association to discuss and keep each other informed about past, current or future plannings. 

The post of secretary for the event committee year 2022-2023 will be held by Oyunaa Kerssens. She holds the responsibility for the event committee administration, which includes writing emails and taking the minutes during committee meetings and assemblies. Moreover, she helps keeping the overview of the ticket sale for the association’s events. The secretary will also be the contact person for the members of the study association regarding the events. And will act as a diplomatic mediator within the committee should conflict arise. Moreover, the secretary maintains contact with the borrel location and any other venues the association has an interest in. 

The post of treasurer in the Event Committee year 2022-2023 will be held by Charlotte Bohl. The treasurer holds the main responsibility for the financial affairs of the Event Committee. She draws and supervises the yearly budget for the events, keeps track of the expenses both digitally and on paper and keeps in close collaboration with the treasurer of the board. She also ensures proper administration of the receipts, expense claims, income and details of bank payments. 

The post of the Vice-Chairwoman of the event committee 2022-2023 will be held by Luna Tomic. Luna takes over the chairwoman's’ responsibilities when the chairwoman is absent. Whereas the chairwoman takes responsibility for the communicational side of the committee, the vice-chair oversees the tasks from the chair position outside of communicational affairs, such as the Eventix account, decorations for events. In other words: the more practical side of the event planning. 

Within The New Mode Collective, the merchandise committee design, create, promote, and distributes merchandise for the Study Association. The members of this committee are creative and interested in designing and or production, all with a passion for taking action and initiative in improving both the school and industry. 
The Merchandise Committee has three primary goals : 
- To provide merchandise as a convenience to members and for the purpose of member identification, publicity, and recognition across the HvA.
- Facilitate collaboration and inspire and acknowledge students with one others’ talents, knowledge, and creativity.
- Connect theoretical knowledge to industry actualisation through the production of apparel.
In the 2022-2023 study year the merchandise committee will be funded through the EU solidarity Corps. The project “The New Mode Collective Merchandise Partnership” will run from January to December 2023 receiving €500 each month from the EU to support the project. The Committee members will meet weekly with the EU solidarity Team and design students. Through the funding from the EU, TNMC will create a platform for collaboration where Amsterdam Fashion Institute (AMFI) students can get involved and have a first chance at seeing their work in production by producing merchandise with the assistance of the Merchandise Committee. This year's committee will focus on three collaborations over 2023 and three networking events, in doing so, aims to drive a new constructional and collaborative culture for the students and their student life. This translates into fostering a space for collaboration, networking and friendships that will outlast the students' education. 

This year’s merchandise committee exists of 3 members: Hedda Smith (Chairwoman), Lois Lindeboom (Secretary), Lilia van Lit (Designer) 

The post of Merchandise Committee Chair for the year 2022-2023 will be held by Hedda Smith. The Chair's main responsibility is supervising all the developments within the Merchandise committee and keeping an overview of both short-term and long-term goals. Therefore, close contact with the Board is essential. The Chair will host the weekly Merchandise meetings and ensure that the agenda is updated and available to all members. The Chair will attend the fortnightly Chair meeting with the Chair of the board and Chairs from other Committees within the association to present progress and findings. 

The post of Merchandise Committee Secretary for the year 2022-2023 will be held by Loïs Lindeboom. She holds the responsibility for the committee's administration. This includes writing emails and taking the minutes during meetings. Moreover, she keeps an overview of the contracts, leads, and documentation. The secretary will represent the committee towards external bodies and work on establishing and maintaining contact with these parties, such as other members of the study association and production contacts. The Secretary will attend the fortnightly Secretary meeting with Secretaries from other Committees within the association to present progress and findings. 

The Treasurer of the Merchandise Committee holds responsibility for the financial affairs of the Merchandise Committee. They draw and supervise the yearly budget, relay the budgets of the committee to the board treasurer, and keep track of the accounts both digitally and on paper. They also ensure proper administration of the receipts, expense claims, income, and details of bank payments. Treasurer will attend the fortnightly Treasurer meeting with treasurers from the board and other Committees within the association to present progress and findings. 

The post of The Designer of the Merchandise Committee for the year 2022-2023 will
be held by Lilia van Lit. The Designer of the Merchandise Committee holds responsibility for the artistic design of products for The New Mode Collective. She supervises the feasibility of designs with partners.