Statute

Section 1 – Name, Nature, and Headquarters

B-Beyond Journal (hereinafter, “the journal” or “the project”) is an independent digital magazine, non-commercial in nature, founded by a collective of International Relations students at the University of Florence, later expanded to include collaboration from students and alumni in Political and Social Sciences from all universities. The operational headquarters are exclusively virtual.

The project has an indefinite duration, unless dissolved by the Editorial Board with a qualified majority of two-thirds of the members.

Section 2 – Purpose and Mission

The project offers a platform for free expression to all students and alumni of political and social sciences. It covers topics within the field of political and social sciences, such as national and international politics and economics, the public sphere, sociology, political communication, and law.

The project aims to spread informed, accessible, and interdisciplinary content, with the dual purpose of providing a personal and academic growth experience to its participants and disseminating information to its readers.

Section 3 – Target Audience and Participation

Access to the project is open to any student or graduate from Italian and international universities in the fields of political and social sciences. Participants can contribute on a stable and long-term or occasional basis.

The following participation types are distinguished:

Managing Bodies: The founding core of the journal, Editors, Social Media Managers, and Editorial Managers;
Fixed Authors: Those who are officially part of the Editorial Board;
Occasional Authors: Participants who submit articles occasionally;
External Collaborators: Reporters for events outside the Editorial Board and Experts, specialists in their fields who provide interviews or contribute in-depth insights on topics within their area of expertise.

Section 4 – Project Bodies

The bodies of the project are:

Editorial Managers: They manage relationships with external individuals and organize the internal work of the project. Their tasks include scheduling publications, organizing external collaborations, and ensuring the proper functioning of the journal. To this end, they hold the credentials for the official project email address.
Editorial Board: The members of the Editorial Board are stable and long-term and are distinguished as follows:
Authors: They produce the content – as detailed in Section 5 – necessary for publication;
Editors: They proofread the content and verify the reliability of the sources referenced;
Social Media Managers: They manage the publication and promotion of the project’s activities, both on the website and on social media channels. They hold the credentials for social media accounts and content creation platforms (e.g., Canva). The goal of the Social Media Managers is not only to disseminate the project’s content and promote it but also to attract opportunities for its participants.

The relationships between the bodies and individuals within the project follow a horizontal organizational model.

Within the Editorial Board, decisions are discussed collectively and approved by a simple majority vote (50% of members + 1). Each member has the right to express their opinion, in line with the principles of communication, collaboration, and mutual respect, and is guaranteed the right to be heard and considered in the discussion and implementation of decisions.

The distinctive elements of the project – name, logo, color palette, website and social media post layouts, content organization, and operational methods – must be defined in a way that allows the members of the Editorial Board to operate with autonomy and independence. Collective consultation is only required in cases of substantial changes to identity or organizational elements, or if further consultation is deemed necessary.
Anyone can leave the project by notifying the Editorial Managers. The latter are responsible for informing the rest of the Editorial Board, while maintaining the privacy of the reasons, if disclosed, for the member’s departure.

Section 4.1 – Dispute Resolution

Any disputes, disagreements, or conflicts between the members of the Editorial Board or between them and occasional Authors or External Collaborators must be addressed based on the principles of dialogue, mutual respect, and good faith, aiming to reach a compromise between the parties.

The first attempt at resolution must occur with the voluntary involvement of the parties, who should engage in direct, collaborative, and constructive discussion, with the goal of de-escalating the dispute.

If direct confrontation does not lead to a solution, the dispute is submitted to the Editorial Managers, who will act as impartial arbitrators between the parties.

In situations that compromise the proper functioning of the project, the well-being of the work environment, or the reputation of the journal, the Editorial Board is called to deliberate, as per the procedures outlined in Section 4, on temporary or permanent measures against the involved parties, following the principle of proportionality.

Section 5 – Types of Content

The content produced and disseminated by the project, as of the drafting of the Statute, includes:

Analytical or In-depth Articles: Texts on relevant topics for the journal, with a minimum of 600 words and a maximum of 1200 words;
Thematic Dossiers: In-depth analyses with the goal of providing the most complete possible report on the subject. A length between 2500 and 5000 words is required;
Graph Interpretation: Insights based on quantitative materials (charts, datasets, tables), aimed at providing an empirical research perspective on the topic. A length between 600 and 1200 words is required;
Primary Source Analysis: Commentary and critical evaluations of official documents, social media posts, political speeches, or other primary materials. The analysis focuses on linguistic, content, and contextual aspects. A length between 500 and 1000 words is required;
Interviews with Experts, Professors, Professionals, or Students: Discussions with the indicated subjects on a topic of interest;
Suggestions of Books, Films, Podcasts: Short reviews or analyses of 1–5 works of political and social interest;
Research Suggestions: 1-5 proposals for potential academic research topics. An abstract is required, which should be consistent with the complexity of the research topic and should include its objectives and relevance;
Career Opportunity Announcements: Presentations of calls for proposals, open positions, and professional pathways related to political and social sciences or related fields. The call/job position should be attached. Texts can range from 600–800 words for the explanation of the call/job position to 600–1500 words for interviews and reports.

Additional content proposals can be submitted by anyone, inside or outside the Editorial Board, and must be discussed collectively according to the procedures outlined in Section 4.

Section 6 – Editorial Guidelines

Each contribution must adhere to principles of accuracy, source verifiability, and analytical rigor. To this end, it is mandatory to explicitly reference consulted sources through the inclusion of footnotes; for non-digitizable sources, a bibliography in APA 7th style is required.

All content and images derived from non-original or unpublished works must comply with copyright laws. Before submitting content taken from projects delivered to their universities (theses, papers), it is necessary to check for any exclusive rights constraints of the institution.

Interviews must be conducted with full respect for the interviewee’s privacy. Informed consent regarding the use of their name, image, and provided information is required. Any content from events, seminars, or lectures within universities must respect the privacy of the involved individuals.

The dissemination of defamatory content, false or misleading information, and materials related to propaganda is prohibited, if presented as such and without analytical or informative purposes. Contributions that critically analyze the use of propaganda, fake news, or other forms of manipulative communication by political, media, or institutional actors, however, are allowed and are in line with the journal’s objectives, provided that such content is treated contextually, documented, and with the aim of study, research, or information.

The journal is committed to respecting each Author’s writing style; however, clear, accessible, correct, and non-discriminatory language is mandatory.

In light of the above, each content submission must include: the title, author’s name, at least one image (with copyright if not original), and tags. Any type of content can be submitted individually, in pairs, or in groups; the preferred languages are Italian and English. When deemed relevant for the discussion, the content can also be presented in other languages, provided it is accompanied by a translation.

The use of artificial intelligence tools is permitted, provided the name of the software and its usage are indicated.

Written content must be presented in paragraphs. The required length is specified in Section 5. For audio and video content, please do not exceed 15 minutes of playback, unless exceptions are agreed upon with the Editorial Board.

Interviews, in addition to the summarized and discursive text, must be accompanied by informed consent from the interviewee(s), a transcript of the interview (with questions from the interviewer and answers from the interviewee(s)), and, where possible, an audiovisual recording of the interview.

Content submission must be done via email in the following formats:

Texts: Word (DOCX), Google Docs (DOC), OpenDocument (ODT);
Images: JPEG or PNG (minimum 800px per side);
Video: MOV or MP4;
Audio: MP3.

If the content exceeds the maximum size supported by Google Gmail, you can contact the Editorial Board to arrange an alternative delivery method, provided it does not affect the quality of the attachments.

Section 7 – Review and Publication Procedure

Authors must submit their content to the Editors by uploading it to the designated Google Drive folder at least twelve (12) days before the scheduled publication date according to the calendar.

The assigned Editor is responsible for evaluating the quality, accuracy, and format of the content. Therefore, the Editor must check the sources, spelling and/or translation errors, and the fluency of the text. The Editor cannot, under any circumstances, substantially modify the content without prior consultation with the Author, respecting the authorship of the work. The review procedure must be completed at least three (3) days before the scheduled publication date. The name of the Editor will always be credited in the publication.

Once the review process is complete, the assigned Social Media Manager is responsible for scheduling and verifying the publication of the content on the journal’s website and promoting it through social media channels, primarily Instagram and LinkedIn, in the format most suitable for the target audience. The promotion channels must remain consistent with the layout as per the prior guidelines from the Editorial Board.

The published content must be integral, matching what was approved by the Editor.
All parties involved must update the content’s status in the calendar and move it to the appropriate Google Drive folders to communicate the progress of their tasks.

Section 8 – Intellectual Property

Authors retain full ownership of the rights to reproduce and disseminate their content. Third parties can only reference the content by citation, without reproducing the text or attached materials in full.

By submitting the content to the journal, the Author authorizes B-Beyond Journal to publish and share it, both on the website and on the project’s social media channels, while respecting the authorship of the work and with no time limitations, unless otherwise agreed upon by the parties.

The name and logo of the project cannot be used for personal or commercial purposes without the Editorial Board’s authorization.

Section 9 – Responsibility

B-Beyond Journal is not responsible for the opinions expressed by individuals, whether they are members of the Editorial Board or external collaborators.

Each Author is fully responsible for the content they produce, including the accuracy of the information, respect for copyright, privacy, and compliance with current regulations.

Section 10 – Transparency and Independence

To ensure the integrity and editorial autonomy of B-Beyond Journal, the journal adopts the following principles:

Impartiality Statement: All contributions must be made in an objective and impartial manner, without favoritism toward individuals, organizations, or political positions;
Funding and Sponsorship: Any form of external funding or sponsorship must be declared clearly and transparently. The journal does not accept contributions that could compromise the independence of its content;
Absence of External Influences: No external entities, including private organizations, institutions, or individuals not part of the Control Committee, may exercise control or influence over the editorial content. The editorial line remains autonomous and bound solely by the journal’s ethical and scientific principles.

Section 11 – Amendments to the Statute

Any amendments to this Statute can be proposed and decided exclusively by the members of the Editorial Board.

Amendments come into effect only if approved through a favorable vote by the majority of the entire Editorial Board and the Editorial Managers, together.

No non-permanent member of the organization can intervene in the Statute.

Each revision must be documented and communicated to all members, ensuring transparency and continuous updates to the statutory text.