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IRESC welcomes members from anywhere in the world.  We are mainly an organisation of Radio Amateurs, however you certainly do not need to be one to volunteer because we need a wide range of skills!  We are delighted when experienced people join us, but we equally welcome those that wish to develop new skills through membership - we conduct training activities and help is willingly given.  If you are interested in emergency communications, then IRESC is for you!

Among the skills that we need are:

·              Radio operators: good communicators, perhaps with Net Control Station experience

·              Administrators: handling traffic using database and web skills

·              National coordinators: willing to represent IRESC in their home country

·              Web developers: to keep our website and news services up to date

·              IT specialists: to maintain our servers and web-based systems

·              Language skills: people who can speak more than one language or who can translate from a language into English

We ask that you:

·              Have Internet access: to use our on-line facilities

·              Have reasonable spoken English: the administration language of IRESC is English, although the language used on-air will be determined by circumstance

·              Adhere to our principals of mutual respect and tolerance with regard to race, religion and culture

·              Be a dedicated and regular visitor to our facilities, willing to give your free time and effort when a major world incident occurs and through attendance at staff and training nets

·              Always represent IRESC in a positive and constructive way

Types of IRESC membership:

IRESC has a simple structure, led by a President and a team of Senior Officers.  Several other classes of membership exist, controlled by this guiding group.

·              SUPPORTER:  When someone goes through our membership registration process, they firstly become a Supporter.  Supporters declare their interest in IRESC and emergency communications.  When they register, Supporters are urged to give as much detail as possible about the skills they have to offer.  This information is held in our secure database so that we may call on those skills if circumstances so dictate.  Supporters are granted access to the MYIRESC on-line system where they can share news and views with the whole team.  They are also encouraged to regularly check in to the IRESC Echolink conference.  Because Supporters tend to come and go, there is minimal expectation on both sides of the relationship and thus their access to other IRESC on-line systems is limited.  If a Supporter is particularly active over a period of time, or they possess particularly important skills that IRESC needs, they can be promoted to full Membership.

·              MEMBER:  Member status is mainly a recognition of long-term devotion to IRESC.  IRESC expects Members to support the organisation in word as well as deed.  They will show a more regular presence and a higher degree of dedication than Supporters.  The aspiration to train in the skill areas required by IRESC, such as qualifying as an NCS or learning how to manage our on-line systems as an administrator, would be encouraged at Member level.  Over time, the aim would be for Members to aspire to an Officer position.  This would be accelerated if the Member was willing to take on some of the many outstanding projects that would help IRESC to develop.  Alternatively, outstanding expertise in a discipline required by IRESC would also attract promotion.  Members should be willing to share such knowledge with others by providing or assisting with training.  Members are granted access to all of the IRESC on-line systems so that they can take the fullest part in our emergency support activities.  Members also receive a personal IRESC email address for use in all communication on behalf of the organisation.  Members must remain significantly active within the organisation - if their presence falls away then, over time, levels of privileged access will cease and they may be returned to Supporter class.

·              LIAISON OFFICER:  This special class of membership is reserved for those who are willing to represent whole countries or regions of the world, usually because they are based there.  Liaison Officers can translate from their local language(s) to and from English; they coordinate and represent other IRESC Supporters and Members based in their area.  Liaison Officers may need to take charge and direct IRESC activities if the focus is on their particular region.  IRESC also expects Liaison Officers to make contact and build relationships with professional and governmental points of contact in their home countries using their instinctive knowledge of local protocol.  Liaison Officers also provide the IRESC point of contact for radio amateur organisations in their own areas of the world.  Liaison Officers should be well-trained and conversant with all of the IRESC on-line systems - they may be granted administrator rights to control such systems in certain circumstances.  Their role is exceptionally important to IRESC and therefore their ability to always promote IRESC in a good light with their local contacts is paramount.  Even new joiners can expect to be quickly elevated to this position if they live in an area of the world in which IRESC lacks good membership numbers or they speak languages that are particularly needed by our organisation.

·              SENIOR OFFICER:  Senior Officers may also be Liaison Officers for their regions and in addition they have specific responsibilities for key areas that are essential to the effective running of IRESC.  Senior Officers are expected to 'go the extra mile' and give a great deal of time and dedication to the organisation, leading and motivating all other Members and Supporters in every way.  Senior Officers have administrator-level access to all of our systems and thus have executive control over the moment-by-moment activities of IRESC.  Any Senior Officer may place IRESC on an activation standing.  Senior Officers are expected to represent IRESC at the highest level with outside contacts, generating and/or contributing to documentation and development of all aspects of the organisation.  They are expected to attend international meetings should these be held in their region of the world, as well as giving written on verbal presentations to major gatherings of emergency communications specialists.  Senior Officers must actively seek to bring IRESC to the favourable attention of the widest possible audience and are expected to contribute fairly to the ongoing costs that keep IRESC functioning.  Senior Officers will be long-standing and ever-present members of IRESC who possess the highest level of skill and experience in their particular fields of expertise in emergency communications.