Please closely review the Officer Responsibilities for AZA Grand Board and BBG International Board.

The Candidate Declaration has four steps for all candidates other than for International N'siah and Grand Aleph Godol.

Step 1: Staff Conversation
It is your responsibility to communicate with the professional staff team in your community about your candidacy. Your local community staff team has the right to not endorse your candidacy at any point, including because of lack of awareness. Please know that if a staff member decides not to endorse you, this is not a judgment on who you are as a person or their belief in you—it is only about being a good fit for this experience. You must communicate with your local staff team prior to declaring for the Grand or International Board. Upon submitting your declaration, you will be expected to reflect on this discussion in a brief response. There will be formal and final staff endorsement conversation later in the process.
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Step 2: Self Evaluation Survey
‍This step should help you better assess whether this leadership opportunity is a good fit. This process should also help you further develop your vision for the position that you seek. Should this step prove to be a challenging one, please reflect on what that means for you as you move forward. You must have your self evaluation answers submitted no less than 48 hours prior to your Gaining Perspective call. If it is not received at least 48 hours prior to your call, you will need to schedule another Gaining Perspective Call. If you are caucused for more than one position, you must answer the Self-Evaluation Survey for all of the positions.

Step 3: Time Management Exercise
‍This exercise will help you evaluate if an I-Board position is right for you during your senior year. Being on I-Board requires a lot of time, as do many other senior year activities, so time management is of the utmost importance.  You must have your time management activity submitted no less than 48 hours prior to your Gaining Perspective call. If it is not received at least 48 hours prior to your call, you will need to schedule another Gaining Perspective Call. Please make a copy of the document and upload your completed worksheet as a PDF into the jotform.

‍Grand Aleph Godol and International N’siah candidates do not need to complete this step.

Step 4: Submit your Declaration Packet
Once you've completed your staff conversation, self-evaluation survey, and time management exercise, you can submit your Declaration Packet. You will need to report on your staff convesation and upload your self-evaluation survey and time management exercise as part of your Declaration.

Before you run for office, it is important to really understand the role and life of an International or Grand Board member. The best way to understand that role is to gain perspective from the International Board member currently holding the office you desire. The current sitting officer will be prepared to answer your questions and will review your Self-Evaluation to prepare their own questions. Please come prepared to ask and answer questions about your candidacy. If you are caucusing for more than one position, you must have a call for every position.

‍This call must be scheduled and held by the deadline above. Please email the respective I-Board member(s) to schedule your call time. Please remember that all correspondence regarding your candidacy should be done over email.

Godol Candidates: godol@bbyo.org
N'siah Candidates: nsiah@bbyo.org
S'gan Candidates: sgan@bbyo.org
S'ganit Candidates: sganit@bbyo.org
Moreh Candidates: moreh@bbyo.org
Aym Ha'Chaverot Candidates: aymhachaverot@bbyo.org
Mazkir Candidates: mazkir@bbyo.org
Mazkirah Candidates: mazkirah@bbyo.org
Shaliach Candidates: shaliach@bbyo.org
Sh'licha Candidates: shlicha@bbyo.org
Gizbor Candidates: gizbor@bbyo.org
Gizborit Candidates: gizborit@bbyo.org

It is important to realize that running for Grand or International Board is not just about an individual candidate and their desired choices. This is about what you can bring to the position, the impact (positive or negative) it can have on your community, and learning from the experiences that have been a part of your BBYO journey thus far. 

To move forward in the process, you must meet (in person or virtually) with the most senior BBYO Professional from your community and they must endorse your candidacy. It is your job as the candidate to make sure this happens. Their decision to approve or deny candidacy will be based on the conversation with you, the candidate, as well as their knowledge and experience with your demonstrated capacity and work ethic. This conversation should take place after the Gaining Perspective Call and all prior steps. 

‍Below is an agenda that you and your senior staff member should follow as you discuss if candidacy is the right step for you. Please feel free to discuss your candidacy outside of just what is on this agenda. These are just the most important topics you should hit on.

We’re all on the same team at the end — we want what’s best for the Movement, what’s best for AZA and BBG in your community, and most of all, what’s best for you. Please make sure your staff member fills out this form and submits it within 24 hours of your meeting. It is up to you to make sure this gets done prior to your meeting with your staff member.

It is important for the strength of the Grand and International Boards that all candidates have a deep understanding of the Movement’s priorities, history, and current operations. Of course, we don’t expect you to be an expert in the Movement—but we do expect you to attend a Movement Briefing. It is mandatory that you attend one of the Movement Briefing Sessions. 

Candidates will have three opportunities to attend a Movement Briefing. While we highly recommend you schedule your Movement Briefing Call before your Interview call, it is not required to do it in this order.

Movement Briefing Calls:
Sunday, January 12 @ 12:00 PM ET | 6:00 PM CEST
Tuesday, January 14 @ 8:00 PM ET
Thursday, January 16 @ 3:30 PM ET | 9:30 PM CEST

Candidates for S’gan/S’ganit, Moreh/Aym Ha’Chaverot, Mazkir/Mazkirah, Shaliach/Sh’licha, and Gizbor/Gizborit:
On this call, Dan or Joelle will review your self-evaluation survey with you and push you to think bigger, challenge your understanding of what AZA and BBG international leadership is about, and confirm that you are ready to move forward. This call should not happen before you have received Staff Endorsement and all prior steps. 

Upon receiving written confirmation from Dan or Joelle that they recommend you continue in the declaration process following your Interview Call, you will be sent and must fill out the Commitment Form. It is possible that after your interview, Dan or Joelle will encourage you to continue reflecting on your candidacy. Please remember, this is not personal, it is to help ensure that candidates aspiring for I-Board are qualified and comprehend the scope of the role. This form may not be filled out until you have received an email from Dan or Joelle recommending your continuation in the process.
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Candidates for Godol/N’siah:
‍Because you have already had a call with Dan or Joelle to gain perspective, you will have your interview call with BBYO's Senior Director of Teen Leadership, Morgan Wittenberg. On this call, Morgan will review your self-evaluation survey and will push you to think bigger, challenge your understanding of what serving as the Presidents of AZA and BBG entails, and confirm that you are ready to move forward. This call should not happen before you have received Staff Endorsement and all prior steps.

Upon receiving written confirmation from Dan and Joelle that they recommend you continue in the declaration process following your Interview Call, you will be sent and must fill out the Commitment Form. This form may not be filled out until you have received an email from Dan and Joelle recommending your continuation in the process. 

Be prepared to answer challenging and personally reflective questions. Please realize that after speaking with us, you may question your desire to run. That is the point of these calls. Don’t take it personally. Again, I-Board is not for everyone. However, after speaking with us, you might also realize that you are meant for the Grand/International Board.
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These calls must be scheduled and held by the deadline and the form must be completed by the deadline. This is the last time for you to add a slide over position. You can always take away a slide, but you cannot add after this point.
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Candidates for Godol/N’siah:Candidates for Grand Aleph Godol or International N’siah must schedule a call with Morgan Wittenberg (BBYO's Senior Director of Teen Leadership) and their families. Please email Morgan Wittenberg (mwittenberg@bbyo.org). Following this call, your parents/guardians must complete the Family Acknowledgement Form. 

Candidates for S’gan/S’ganit, Moreh/Aym Ha’Chaverot, Mazkir/Mazkirah, Shaliach/Sh’licha, and Gizbor/Gizborit:Families and candidates who are aspiring for all other positions must register for one of the webinars listed below. Please register for a Webinar call by clicking on the link.

Sunday, January 19 @ 11:00 AM EST | 17:00 CEST
Tuesday, January 21 @ 8:00 PM EST
Thursday, January 23 @ 8:00 PM EST
Sunday, January 26 @ 1:00 PM EST | 19:00 CEST

Attendance on webinars will be confidential to all participants. ‍If there are concerns about any individual candidate’s candidacy, there may be an ask for an individual family call, in addition to attendance on the webinar. 

Please do not attend a webinar happen before your Interview Call. The Family Acknowledgement Form should not be completed until after the webinar.
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Following your attendance on a webinar, your parents/guardians must complete the Family Acknowledgement Form. ‍

This step requires multiple materials to be submitted. Please feel free to submit them early, as they are completed. They must all be in by the deadline. Be aware that all of your candidacy materials will be posted to the AZA & BBG website for the order to see before your election.

VISION STATEMENTS
Your Vision Statements are your opportunity to paint a picture for the voting body of the Movement that you’d work to build for AZA and BBG if elected. Demonstrating an understanding of the role you’ve declared for and the priorities that you’re responsible for as a result is vital. It’s important that you have a firm grasp of the Movement’s needs, what you hope the Movement will look like in the future, and how to move between those two points should you have the chance to lead.

Your Vision Statements will allow the Convention body to review your goals and ideas prior to election day. You will answer three of the prompts via essay format with no more than 250 words and then you will choose one of the four prompts to answer via video. For your candidate video see criteria below.

CANDIDATE VIDEO
You’ll need to record a video that both expresses your personality and your answer to a Vision Statement prompt for the voting body to watch prior to International Convention. Your Candidate Video will be posted ahead of Convention for members worldwide to review and submit questions for Elections ahead of time.

The Candidate Video is an opportunity for you to display your personality and articulate your vision for the position you are aspiring for and allow the Order to better gauge your candidacy as a whole— we’re not looking for who has the best video editing skills. Please record a 2-minute video stating at least:

• Name
• Chapter
• BBYO Community
• Insight into yourself and your personality
• Position Aspiring For
• Your answer to one of the four Vision Statement Prompts

Parameters‍

• This video should not include any qualifications you have for your position. Please include only the requirements outlined above.
• You may not feature anyone else in your video – this means in voice, video, or physical presence. This includes photos of Alephs and BBGs that you may be showing on screen.
• You are not permitted to share your video (publicly or privately) unless given explicit instructions to do so.
• You must be the one who builds this video. You may have an individual who is not currently a member of AZA or BBG assist only in the filming of this video. They may not provide creative direction or edit footage for you.

Please upload your video to your Google Drive and change the permissions to public, viewable by link, and paste the link in the submission form.

HEADSHOT
‍Please submit your name as you’d like it to be shown on your Candidacy + Election Materials and upload a high-resolution, clear headshot. You should be the only one in the picture and it should be from the shoulders up. This will be posted with your Candidacy + Election Materials online and at IC.

You should be the only person in this photo, it should be taken by someone other than you (no selfies) and be high quality. This will be the first time people see your face.

PLATFORM
All declared candidates are allowed to provide a PRE-APPROVED platform prior to elections to the election center website and to be shown during elections. All candidates must submit their platforms NO LATER than February 4th. Should platforms not be received by this date, you will NOT be allowed to use your platform/run at International Elections. Your platform will be sent in to confirm that everything is factual and fits the standards set out in this packet. You will receive either confirmation or mandatory edits within 24 hours from Dan or Joelle. We are not responsible for any spelling errors, grammar mistakes – those are your edits to make!

Please read the following guidelines very carefully, and do not hesitate to ask any questions. If any changes have to be made, you will need time to correct them before they are posted to the website. It is suggested that platforms are submitted as early as possible. Your platform will be posted ahead of the Convention for members worldwide to review for Elections ahead of time. We’ll email you prior to platforms being posted. Don’t leave it until the last minute.

Platform Guidelines:

• Previous positions held must be listed with at least one line explaining accomplishments under each position. 
  

• You must indicate the length of terms (6 months or year). 
  

• Platform digital canvas size must be traditional paper size (US Letter or A4)

• Only black and white platforms are permitted.

Please upload your platform as a PDF.

For Godol and N'siah Candidates only
New this year, your Presidential Program will be an opportunity for you to share your ability to vision, plan, and build impactful, informed, and thorough programs for the dozens of experiences you’ll lead this year. The goal is to be able to give the Movement a taste of the leadership you’ll provide if elected. Please review the current version of Leveraging the International Presidents from the BBYO Toolbox. Then, please craft and submit a completed BBYO Program Planning Form that contains a fully ready to run program that you could deliver in a community visit. We will publish these on the BBYO Elections Center.

All candidates are expected to be on their best behavior throughout the entire convention. No politicking will be allowed. Candidates are held to all of the expectations and guidelines outlined on this page. Elections will be held on Friday, February 14th. Additional candidate-only briefing calls will be hosted in advance of IC to walk through the full Elections Experience.

For 100 and 80 years, the Grand Order of the Aleph Zadik Aleph and the International Order of the B’nai B’rith Girls have gathered at International Convention to elect the International Boards. Below, you’ll find expectations of candidates and opportunities for all members to engage with the elections process. Additional details on Election Day will be given once the candidate pool is confirmed. Please check back often for updates and additions to the experience. 

CANDIDATES MEETINGS
Prior to IC, there will be multiple virtual candidate meetings. We will provide options to accommodate for availability, but it is mandatory that declared candidates be in attendance. Elections procedures will be reviewed and any questions will be answered. More information regarding the timing of these meetings will be shared with candidates closer to elections.

ELECTION CENTER
The virtual election center will go live prior to the start of IC and remain live until elections. Each candidate will have a profile in this virtual center which will include headshot, Vision Statements, Platforms, and Presidential Presentations (Godol and N’siah Candidates).

DRESS
Although you are free to wear whatever you choose, candidates are encouraged to wear business attire for elections.

ELECTION DAY PROCEDURE
Elections will be held on Friday, February 14th in separate business meetings of the Aleph Zadik Aleph and the B’nai B’rith Girls. All candidates who have been approved to caucus will be permitted to run. All delegates at Elections will receive training on the technology before the business meeting’s Opening Ceremonies on Friday. Here are the components of our International Elections Business Meeting:

Here are the components of our International Elections Business Meeting:

I. Opening Ceremonies

II. Candidate Elections (Godol/N’siah, S’gan/S’ganit, Moreh/Aym Ha’Chaverot, Mazkir/Mazkirah, Shaliach/Sh’licha, Gizbor/Gizborit)

• Meet the Candidates
  

  • Meet the Candidates will be facilitated as a panel experience.
    

  • All Candidates caucused for a position will take the stage and receive written and auditory communication of the question.
    

  • Candidates will be able to answer in any order, with 60 second speaking time. 
    

  • After all Candidates have answered the first question, the second question will be presented. 
    

  • Candidates will be able to answer in any order, with 60 second speaking time. 
    

  • After all Candidates have answered both questions, we will call the first candidate to the floor to present their speech. 
    

• Speech
  

  • All Candidates will have a maximum of 4 minutes for their speech.
    

  • It is strongly recommended that speeches contain concrete and well-researched visions and priorities for your potential term, as well as rallying calls that inspire the Movement. Do some learning and prepping to make sure you’re using your time wisely.
    

III. Voting Procedures

• After all candidates have completed Meet the Candidates and their Speech, the body will vote using our virtual voting platform and the elected candidate will be announced. The body will then move on to elect the next position.

IV. Closing Rituals