Public relations activities
Question
Our basketball club would like to raise awareness about our association with a street campaign in a pedestrian zone. We will set up a basketball hoop and allow people to take shots. We will also be giving away drinks, but not selling anything. Do we require authorisation for this campaign?
Answer
Yes, all events and campaigns held on public land require authorisation, irrespective of whether anything is sold or not. Responsibility here lies with the municipality or city administration. Enquire here in good time(!) how you can obtain authorisation and what requirements the association has to meet (disposal of waste, space requirements, etc.).
Most municipalities have a usage concept for the use of public land. This may also be available online. Demand is often great at well-frequented locations, meaning that the administration also assumes a coordinating function.
Question
We would like to generate interest among potential new members for our association. We have now come up with the idea of making our next general meeting accessible to the public and inviting interested parties and media professionals to the occasion. Are we allowed to open up the general meeting to non-members?
Answer
There are no legal provisions in this respect unless something is governed under your articles of association or regulations.
Otherwise, the association is free to also invite non-members. This can be quite useful. Potential members, relatives, representatives of authorities or financial backers, specialists, media professionals - they can all be invited as guests. It is advisable to provide guests with allocated seating so that it is clear who is and who isn't permitted to vote.
For invitations of this kind, the event should be sufficiently attractive for the guests and be significant in terms of its content. Nobody wants to simply listen to items of business relating to the association's articles of association. An invitation with an interesting and varied programme is helpful. And, of course, be sure to extend a special welcome to the guests at the meeting.
Question
Our association now has a Facebook account. To make the page attractive, we want to make photos of our activities available within the network. In some cases, easily recognisable individuals are shown. Does their permission need to be requested? After all, the images on our Facebook page can only be viewed by "friends".
Answer
Photos are classified as sensitive personal data and, generally speaking, may only be used with the consent of the individuals shown in them. Even if you are able to restrict access on Facebook, it is nevertheless an open medium whose appeal lies in precisely the fact that more and more people gain more and more insights. Furthermore, the association is interested in having as many "friends" as possible.
I therefore advise against publishing any photos without first obtaining the consent of the affected individuals. Sending an enquiry in this regard to association members also provides the opportunity to get in contact with them.
As a rule, images should be used in which people are only recognisable to a limited extent or as part of a crowd. Furthermore, photos should not be noted with the names of the people who appear in them and no images should be used that encroach on the privacy of the people shown in them or that allow for conclusions to be drawn about their religious or political views, show the consumption of drugs or criminal activities, document the receipt of social welfare, etc.
It goes without saying that images should be deleted upon the request of the people they show.
Question
Our choir is planning to issue a brochure to mark its upcoming anniversary and gained approval from the general meeting for a budget of CHF 500. It has now materialised, however, that the costs have been completely underestimated. Do we now have to have the members vote again on a higher amount?
Answer
By voting on the issue again at an extraordinary general meeting, the committee is playing things safe. You can better judge for yourself whether the ordinary general meeting would approve of a corresponding cost overrun upon being presented with the accounts. Either way, the committee is well advised to inform the members in a timely and transparent fashion.
