SERVAS ONLINE VERSION 2 - WHAT’S NEW?

David Hills, Jim Leask, Paul Nielsen  Servas  March 1, 2024 

Servas.org Version  2 implements some changes in how Servas International works. This document is intended to give Servas administrators an overview of these changes.

Global Administrative Organization

Version 2 was the catalyst for re-organizing the data structure of Servas International. Servas organizations around the world that were formerly referred to as “Countries” are now called “Groups” in Servas.org. This is discussed in greater detail below.

Membership

The basics of Servas membership are:

• Each individual person, 18 years of age or older, has an individual membership (that is, there are no couples memberships).
• Each member has a unique email.
• Each member is included in a Household, which can contain one or more members. See “Household” discussion below
• Members can edit their profiles to offer or remove Hosting and/ or Day Hosting without any intervention by Servas Administrators
• Members are expected to Confirm the accuracy of their profile data every year. 

Each Servas Group configures its membership parameters:

• Membership Fee (If any)
• eStamp Fee (if any)
• Expiration date (single date or rolling renewal)
• Renewal reminder date (when membership can be renewed)
• Grace Period (days between the Expiration date and when membership is considered lapsed)

ServasOnline can send membership reminder emails. Each Servas Group configures:

• Which (if any) emails are sent
• The language and content of these messages.  SI provides default values in the five basic Servas languages.

If a membership is not renewed within the Grace Period set by the Group, the member’s account will be considered “lapsed” and access to member search will be automatically suspended. The lapsed member will be in the Amiko group.

Receiving and tracking any renewal payments is still the responsibility of the Group

Amikos

People who are NOT members of Servas but have an account are known as Amikos (the Esperanto word for “Friend”). The purpose of the Amiko account is to maintain a connection with applicants and lapsed members.

Amiko accounts can happen for the following reasons:

• An application is in progress but the interview and approval process is not complete.
• A member has let their membership lapse and the grace period has passed.

An “Amiko” account has very limited access to the system.

• Amikos have access to their own personal profiles
• Amiko is visible to other members of the household they belong to, but the Amiko member will be highlighted to be obvious they are an Amiko and not a Member.
• Amikos may receive group emails, notifications of local events, depending on the local Servas Group policy.
• Amikos do NOT have access to other members’ profiles
• Amikos can NOT search for other members
• Amikos can NOT travel with Servas or get an LOI or eStamp
• Amikos can NOT host

Other members can not interact with Amiko accounts:

• The Amikos will NOT be found in a host or member search
• The Amikos can NOT be seen by members outside of their own household
• The Amiko will be visible in the Member Admin, such that they can renew memberships or other administrative tasks.

Households

Every Servas member is now part of a Household:

• A Household is defined as one or more Servas members living together
• Every member’s profile can be edited by the other Members of the household
• A Household may have one or more addresses in multiple countries.  Addresses are defined by geography, not by which Servas Group the member belongs to.
• The Household may include any number of non-members, such as children.

The Household Management module of Servas.org allows members to be added to or removed from existing households

Hosting and Host Search

Members can specify if they will provide Hosting or Day Hosting at one or more of the addresses in the Household, with different hosting parameters for each.

The Host Search is geographically based, using the Google Maps engine.  It displays hosts by location, not by which Servas Group they belong to.  

Members who do not offer hosting (i.e. travelers) are not displayed in the Host search;  there is a separate text-based “Member Search” module that will retrieve all members.

Travel

Every member who wants to travel may request an eStamp. The eStamp automatically validates any Letters of Introduction (LOI’s) that the member creates.  The eStamp goes with the Member, not the LOI.

On request and payment of any required fees, Travel Administrators issue eStamps for a period of one year. If a membership lapses (is not renewed within the Grace Period) any eStamp associated with that member, if not expired, becomes inactive until the membership is renewed.

LOI’s may include any and all Members in a Household. For example, an LOI for a three-person Household could include up to three members, and therefore have three eStamps associated with it.

Members are able and expected to create new LOI’s for every trip, focused on their objectives for that trip.

Servas.org will send members an email notification when their eStamp is going to expire.

eStamps are only issued on a member’s request, not automatically issued with renewal.

Servas International Global Organization

The Development of Version 2 or servas.org was the catalyst for re-organizing the data structure of Servas.  In Version 2:

• A resident of any country in the world can now join Servas, regardless of whether there already is a Servas organization in their country
• Member Groups can merge with minimal disruption
• Members of one Group can act as administrators for other groups, providing support for developing Groups

In the new organization, there are three types of Groups

Member Groups: Groups that have the membership and administration to be self-sustaining and which have voting rights in the General Assembly. Servas.org administrative functions are carried out by administrative members of that Group. A Member Group can include one or more countries.

Groups: Servas Groups which have not reached the levels of membership and administration to qualify as Member Groups.  Members of the Development Committee may carry out some of the Servas.org administrative functions if needed.

Areas:  An Area is a type of Group that covers a wide geographic area, and which includes countries that do not have Servas Member Groups or Groups. Each country in the area is considered a Region of that area (in the same way that a state or province is a region of a Member Group).  Members of the Development Committee oversee or delegate the administrative functions until local members are able to take these on.

For example:

• Servas Belgium and Luxembourg is a Member Group with 335 members and voting rights in the General Assembly. They manage two countries, Belgium and Luxembourg.
• Servas Cuba is a Group, with 16 members and no voting rights (yet)
• Servas Asia is an Area, which includes about 33 countries.  Servas Asia currently has 43 members divided between Armenia, Cambodia, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and others.  Administration is divided among 13 members, including some members of the Development Committee. New membership applications are routed to the Chair of the Development Committee.

Applications and Interviews

Six Servas Groups (Belgium-Luxembourg, Japan, United States, Germany, Italy, Israel)  continue to use their own “external” processes for managing applications and interviews. These Groups will manually enter new Members’ data via the “Applications” module.

For the other Groups using the “internal” process supported by Servas.org, the following changes apply:

• The applicant selects their country, then fills in the online application form. This initiates their profile and automatically places them into the correct Servas Group.
• As soon as an application is submitted, the applicants are considered “Amikos” and receive a login to Servas.org.  They can only access their own Household profile, and cannot see any member data. See “Amikos” above
• Multiple applications: two or more members of the same household can submit a joint application and be interviewed and approved at one time.
• Interviewer selection and notification: Using the Applications module, the  Application Administrator selects the Interviewer for a particular application, and the system sends the Interviewer an email notification
• Interviewer reports: Using the “My Interviews” module, the Interviewer enters the interview result, interview date, and a brief report.  These can also be entered by the Application Manager.
• An application approval, and membership payment (if required) must be completed to become a full member.

Communication

One important new feature of Version 2 is that it implements a system of email notifications to help Servas Groups manage Applications, renewals, and eStamps.

The Servas Mail function and the Friends function from Version 1 are not implemented.

Servas Administrative Roles and Titles

The new Version 2 system is administered by each Group using roles and titles. Details of the admin roles will be provided separately.