Editing Universal Esperanto Association (section)

== Structure and affiliated organizations ==
[[File:2008-07-19 komitatkunsido.JPG|left|thumb|upright=.8|The ''Komitato'', the highest elected body of the UEA, gathering in 2008 at the [[World Congress of Esperanto]]]]

According to its 1980 statutes (Statuto de UEA), the Universal Esperanto Association has two kinds of members:
* individual members join the association directly, paying a fee to the Rotterdam headquarters or to the chief delegate in their country. These members receive UEA services.
* ''{{lang|eo|asociaj membroj}}'' (associate members), i.e., members of organizations that joined UEA. These members are administered by their respective organizations, which can be national or specialist bodies. This kind of indirect membership is, for the individual person, more symbolic than direct membership.

The UEA's supervisory board, the ''Komitato'', has members (''komitatanoj'') elected in three different ways:
* An organization sends at least one ''komitatano,'' plus one more for every 1,000 national members, to the Komitato. Most national organizations have only one ''komitatano''.
* For every 1,000 individual members, one member can be chosen to the Komitato.
* Both previous groups may together elect additional ''komitatanoj'', up to one-third of their numbers.

The ''Komitato'' serves as a sort of parliament and elects a board, the ''Estraro''. The ''Estraro'' installs a general director and sometimes a director as well. The general director and staff work at the UEA headquarters, ''Oficejo de UEA'', in Rotterdam.

Individual members can become a ''delegito'', a 'delegate', who serves as a local contact person for Esperanto and UEA members in their town. A ''ĉefdelegito'' (chief delegate) is someone installed also by the UEA headquarters, but with the task to collect and remit membership fees in a given country.

=== Youth section ===
[[TEJO]], the World Esperanto Youth Organization, is the youth section of the UEA. Similar to the World Congress, TEJO organizes an [[International Youth Congress of Esperanto]] (''Internacia Junulara Kongreso'') each year in a different location. The IJK is a week-long event of concerts, presentations, excursions attended by hundreds of young people from all over the world.

The youth section has a ''Komitato'' and national and specialist affiliated organizations, just as the UEA itself. A TEJO volunteer works at the Rotterdam headquarters.

=== National organizations ===
The first national Esperanto organization was founded in 1898 in France, originally as a potential international association. In 1903 the second one followed, in Switzerland. Within a couple of years, many of the still existing national organizations came into existence. Since 1933-1934 they have sent representatives to the UEA ''Komitato'', making it a federation of national organizations. In Esperanto these were initially termed as ''Naciaj Societoj'' (national societies), but they have subsequently become known as ''Landaj Asocioj'' (country associations).

When UEA accepted national organizations in 1933-1934 for the first time, it required them to
* have at least 100 national members,
* be 'organized in an orderly manner',
* be neutral, meaning having no political or religious aims, and being open to all citizens of the country.<ref name="Sikosek126">Sikosek, Marcus: ''Die neutrale Sprache. Eine politische Geschichte des Esperanto-Weltbundes'' (“The neutral language. A political history of the World Esperanto Association.” Diss. Utrecht 2006. Skonpres, Bydgoszcz 2006, p. 126.</ref>

[[File:Centra Oficejo de UEA.jpg|right|thumb|upright=1|The Central Office of the UEA in Rotterdam]]

Especially the last prerequisite caused serious problems, e.g. to the German national association submitting to [[Nazi Party]] rule. Decades later, in 1959, the Cuban association was refused because its statutes respected the leading role of the [[Communist Party of Cuba]]. In 1980, the UEA statutes were altered to specify that while a national organization need not be neutral itself, it must respect the neutrality of UEA.

=== Specialist organizations ===
Specialist organizations are similar to the national organizations. They are divided into two groups:
* neutral organizations, which can join UEA in the same way as national organizations. In Esperanto they are called ''aliĝintaj fakaj asocioj'' (affiliated specialist associations). Examples are the Esperanto physicians and the Esperanto teachers.
* other organizations in (official) collaboration with UEA. They do not send representatives to the Komitato but can have a room at the World Congress. Examples are Esperantist vegetarians, Esperantist Catholics and Esperantist communists. Some of them choose not to be affiliated because of financial reasons; others are non-neutral and therefore cannot join UEA.

The youth section TEJO has two affiliated specialist groups, the Esperantist cyclists and Esperantist rock music fans.