Incorporates the General Terms and Conditions in full. Standard provisions (Regenerative Covenant, network regeneration contribution, digital infrastructure, data protection, force majeure, dispute resolution, governing law, severability, continuity) are set out therein and apply to this Agreement without repetition.
Every living system needs its elders. Not as a sentimental gesture toward the past, but as a structural necessity: someone must carry the memory of the whole, hold the thread of original intention, and speak when the network risks forgetting what it is. The Elder has already given. They have stewarded land, taught knowledge, built ventures, held communities through difficulty, and remained. This Agreement is the network’s answer to that gift. It does not ask for more. It offers recognition, voice, belonging, and rest — freely, permanently, and without condition.
This Agreement is made and entered into on [Date] by and between:
ReGenerativa APS — ETS, a recognised Association for Social Promotion and Third Sector Entity (Associazione di Promozione Sociale — Ente del Terzo Settore) under Italian law, registered pursuant to Legislative Decree 3 July 2017, No. 117 (Third Sector Code) and inscribed in the Registro Unico Nazionale del Terzo Settore (RUNTS), with registered office at [Address], Castorano (AP), Italy, tax code 92074380442, represented by [Name and Title of Authorised Representative] (hereinafter, the “Association”);
and
[Elder’s Full Name], born on [date] in [city], residing at [address], tax code/ID no. [ID number], a long-term contributor to the network whose standing is recorded in the Contribution Ledger and recognised herein (hereinafter, the “Elder”).
The Association and the Elder are hereinafter jointly referred to as the “Parties” and individually as a “Party.”
1. Purpose and Principle
1.1 This Agreement formalises the transition of the Elder from active operational contribution into the network’s governance and wisdom layer. It is not an exit. It is a deepening — from doing to witnessing, from building to holding, from serving the network to being served by it.
1.2 The network recognises that long-term contribution creates a debt that cannot be repaid in money. It can only be honoured through reverence: through hospitality freely given, through a governance seat with real authority, through the permanent inscription of the Elder’s name and story in the network’s living history.
1.3 This Agreement is the instrument of that honour. It creates enforceable rights in favour of the Elder and binding obligations on the Association and its successors. It survives the dissolution of the Association per GT-13.
1.4 Holon status. For the purposes of GT-4, the Elder Council is treated as the Elder Council holon (as defined in GT-1.10 and GT-4.2(e)) — the terminal holon in the upward overflow per GT-4.4(d) — holding allocation rights over the portion of the Unified Fund routed to it, exercised collectively per its charter (A8-1 §5.5). Until the Council is constituted, the Board stewards this holon under GT-4.4D.
2. Eligibility and Entry
2.1 Eligibility. This Agreement is available exclusively to natural persons; no legal entity may hold it. It recognises sustained, long-term contribution to the network; the operative eligibility requirement is the contribution standing set out in Clause 2.2.
2.2 Contribution Standing. The Elder must hold, or have held, at least one other agreement in the constellation for a minimum period defined by the Association’s governance body and published as a living governance resolution (see Living Governance Resolutions, Resolution LGR-1, dated 2026-05-16). The threshold is set in that resolution (currently five (5) years; three (3) for the founding cohort as defined there; see LGR-1), not in this Agreement, so it can evolve without amending this Agreement.
2.3 Nomination and Invitation. Entry into Eldership may occur by:
(a) Nomination — the Association’s governing body, an active Elder Council, or a minimum of three hub stewards collectively nominate a participant with a long and substantial contribution record for Eldership; or
(b) Self-application — the participant applies directly to the Association, which refers the application to the Elder Council (if constituted) or the governing body for ratification.
In either case, the Elder’s consent is required. Eldership cannot be conferred without acceptance. A nomination shall articulate the specific stewardship-of-the-whole the nominee has demonstrated, recorded in the Transition Rite record (Agreement 8 Annex 2), so that Eldership recognises wisdom shown across the network, not length of tenure alone.
2.4 Membership. The Elder must hold or simultaneously enter the Membership Agreement (Agreement 2). The annual membership fee is permanently waived upon entry into this Agreement, as provided in Clause 4.3.
3. The Transition Rite
3.1 Entry into Eldership is marked by a Transition Rite — a formal act of community recognition conducted in the presence of the network, or a gathered portion of it. The Rite is not administrative. It is relational: the community names what the Elder has given, and commits aloud to what it will give in return.
3.2 The form of the Rite is determined by the receiving community in dialogue with the Elder. It may be seasonal, ceremonial, or simple — but it shall be witnessed, and its occurrence shall be recorded in the Contribution Ledger as a Validated Contribution event of the highest order.
3.3 The Association shall inscribe the Elder’s name, the date of transition, and a brief narrative of their contribution arc permanently in the network’s living history — a record that persists independently of any agreement, role, or hub.
4. What the Network Gives
4.1 Unconditional Hospitality. The Elder is entitled to welcome at any hub in the network — accommodation, meals, and full participation in community life — at no cost and without requiring a prior contribution in exchange. This is not a favour. It is the primary obligation this Agreement creates.
Hospitality is administered by the relevant Hub Steward (Agreement 3) in coordination with the hub’s capacity. The Elder gives reasonable advance notice where possible. No hub is obligated to host an Elder beyond its genuine capacity, but no hub may decline without first consulting the Association and proposing an alternative arrangement within the network.
4.2 Unified Fund and Council Allocation Rights. The Association operates the Unified Fund as its single financial account (GT-1.10), of which the Elder Council holds allocation rights over the portion routed to it under GT-4.4(d). The Council runs the same allocation shape as every other holon (GT-4.4), through two buckets:
(a) Operating — for the Council’s governance operating costs (convening, deliberation, documentation, annual gathering), bounded by the target O_e set by the Board with the Council (see Living Governance Resolutions, Resolution LGR-2);
(b) Allocation — for Association mission spending directed by collective Council deliberation, under the quorum and procedure of the charter (Annex 1 §5.5.4), toward integral regeneration, which may include elderly-focused hubs and elder-serving programmes as mission-aligned uses, but always as mission spending on programmes, never as personal payments to elders or to Council members.
The Council’s allocation rights are exercised collectively per its charter (Annex 1 §5.5) and bounded by the hard rails of GT-4.5. Reported in the annual bilancio sociale.
4.2A Common reservoir. As the terminal holon, the Elder Council is the network’s common reservoir under GT-4.4A and GT-4.8: the surplus that healthy holons contribute upward (GT-4.4A(c)) is the same pool from which a holon in genuine, sustained shortfall is supported (GT-4.8(a)). Honouring such support claims is part of the Council’s mission allocation under §4.2(b); it adds no personal income to elders and no governance vote.
A holon’s voluntary feed-up earns mutual insurance and earned autonomy at its own level (GT-4.8(d)), and recognition — recorded in the contributing Stewards’ Network Passports as network-level contribution toward access standing and, in time, Eldership eligibility under §2.2 and LGR-1. This recognition is the only way feeding the reservoir touches the Council: it may, over years, count toward a Steward’s eventual eligibility for Eldership, but it confers no allocation voice in the Council and no seat. The Council’s composition remains elder-based, conferred by nomination and the Transition Rite (§2–§3); generosity to the commons is seen and remembered, never enfranchised.
4.3 Membership Fee Waiver. The annual membership fee under Agreement 2 is permanently waived for the Elder from the date of entry into this Agreement. The Association absorbs this cost as a recognition obligation.
4.4 Recognition. Entry into this Agreement is the network’s highest recognition of contribution. It is not a level on a scale and is not accumulated; it is a change of relationship — from individual contributor to one of the conditions in which others grow: shade, soil, mycelium, the conditions for next growth. It is conferred through the Transition Rite and inscribed permanently in the network’s living history (Clause 3.3).
4.5 Named Legacy. The Elder’s contributions are permanently named in the records of every hub they have meaningfully served. These records survive the termination of any individual agreement and the dissolution of the Association.
5. The Elder Council
5.1 Constitution. All Elders holding this Agreement collectively constitute the Elder Council. The Council is a standing governance body of the network, not an advisory committee. It holds the authorities described in this clause by right, not by delegation.
5.2 Quorum and Conduct. Quorum is governed by the Elder Council Charter (Annex 1, §3.5). The Council may convene in person, remotely, or in a hybrid form. It sets its own procedural rules, which it publishes as a living document available to all network participants.
5.3 Council Seat. The Elder Council holds its principal annual gathering at a designated Council Seat — a hub formally recognised by the Association as the network’s seat of elder governance. The Council Seat is designated by the Elder Council itself, in consultation with the relevant hub owner and steward, and may rotate on a cycle determined by the Council. The host hub receives formal recognition as the network’s seat for the duration of its designation.
5.4 Authorities. The Elder Council holds the following authorities:
(a) Covenant Custody. The Elder Council is the custodian of the Regenerative Covenant (GT-2). It has the standing right to name, publicly and formally, when it judges the network to be drifting from the Covenant’s intent. Such a named objection — a Covenant Signal — does not constitute a legal veto, but must be formally and publicly addressed by the Association’s governing body before any contested decision is ratified, following the procedure in the Elder Council Charter (Annex 1 §5.1). Silence or dismissal of a Covenant Signal without response is a breach of this Agreement.
(b) Constellation Integrity Review. Before any amendment to the General Terms, the Statute, or any agreement in the constellation is ratified, the Association shall submit the proposed amendment to the Elder Council for review. The Council has thirty (30) days to respond. If the Council issues a Covenant Signal in response, the ratification process is suspended pending the Association’s formal public response.
(c) Living Probiviri. The Elder Council serves as the primary internal mediation body for disputes that reach the network’s governance core — replacing and fulfilling the Collegio dei Probiviri role referenced in GT-7.2 when constituted. Its mediation opinions are non-binding in law but carry the weight of the network’s deepest relational authority.
(d) Custodial Council Activation. In the event of Association dissolution, the Elder Council constitutes the core of the Custodial Council under GT-13.5 and assumes the authorities defined therein.
(e) Mission Allocation. Per GT-4.4 (Elder Council row of the shape), the Elder Council holds allocation rights over the portion of the Unified Fund routed to it. The Council deliberates collectively to direct its Allocation bucket toward Association mission spending serving integral regeneration. Allocation decisions are recorded in the Council Record (Charter §6.1) and consolidated annually in the bilancio sociale. Each Allocation decision is also posted contemporaneously and is open to member and steward challenge under the transparency-and-challenge procedure of Charter §5.5.7.
5.5 Annual Gathering. The Elder Council convenes at minimum once per year at the Council Seat. The Association bears the costs of this gathering from the Council’s Operating bucket (cost-coverage under GT-4.4(b)). The annual gathering is open to observation by all network members, though deliberation may be conducted in closed session at the Council’s discretion.
6. What the Elder Gives
6.1 Presence. The Elder commits to attending, in person or remotely, the Elder Council’s annual gathering except in cases of genuine incapacity. This is the only formal obligation this Agreement creates.
6.2 Non-Extraction Covenant. The Elder commits not to use their Elder status, Passport standing, or access rights for commercial advantage — including but not limited to: leveraging hub access for personal business activities, using the Elder Council’s authority for private gain, or representing themselves externally as an agent or representative of the Association without explicit written authorisation.
6.3 Informal Availability. The Elder is not obligated to mentor, advise, teach, or serve the community in any structured way. If they choose to do so, those contributions are recorded in the Contribution Ledger as Validated Contributions. But choice is the operative word. The network receives the Elder’s presence as a gift — not a service.
7. Relationship to Other Agreements
7.1 This Agreement stacks with all other agreements in the constellation (GT-11.4). An Elder may simultaneously hold the Stewardship Agreement, the Mentorship Agreement, or any other — but Agreement 8 is never subordinate to those relationships. The Elder’s standing as Elder takes precedence in all matters of governance and recognition.
7.2 If the Elder holds another agreement and a conflict arises between the obligations of that agreement and the standing or dignity of the Elder role, the Parties shall resolve the conflict through good faith discussion. The Elder Council may be consulted.
7.3 The Elder may choose to step back from any active agreement without affecting their Elder status. Eldership is not conditional on continued operational contribution.
8. Duration and Continuity
8.1 This Agreement is permanent. It does not expire, does not require renewal, and is not subject to termination for inactivity or absence.
8.2 Voluntary Withdrawal. The Elder may voluntarily withdraw from this Agreement at any time by written notice to the Association. Upon withdrawal: the Elder’s recognition is retained in the Passport as a permanent record; the Elder’s named legacy and living history entries are preserved; hospitality rights and membership fee waiver cease; and Elder Council membership concludes.
8.3 Dissolution Continuity. This Agreement survives the dissolution of the Association per GT-13. The rights and recognitions it establishes are enforceable against any successor entity. Any Council Operating reserves remaining at dissolution are administered by the Custodial Council per GT-13.5.
8.4 There is no termination for cause provision in this Agreement. The network does not revoke Eldership. If an Elder’s conduct is seriously harmful to the network or its participants, the matter is addressed through the dispute resolution process (GT-7) and, if warranted, through legal process — but the Eldership itself is not a sanction to be withdrawn.
8.4A Safeguarding suspension. Where a credible allegation of conduct creating danger or serious harm to participants is made against an Elder, the Association’s governing body, acting with two Elders free of conflict (or, before the Council is constituted, alone), may suspend the Elder’s hospitality right (Clause 4.1) and active Council participation pending the process of GT-7. The suspension is communicated with written reasons, the Elder is heard without delay, and it lapses after sixty (60) days unless renewed once with reasons. It touches access to people and places only: the Elder’s recognition, named legacy, living-history inscription, fee waiver, and Passport record remain untouched, and Eldership itself is never revoked (Clause 8.4).
8.5 Active and Emeritus standing. Eldership itself is permanent (§8.1); the active Council seat is renewable. An Elder holds an active seat - carrying the allocation vote (§5.4(e)) and the vote on Council authorities (§5.4) - by affirming active participation each year, in person, remotely, or in writing, at or around the annual gathering (Elder Council Charter §6.6). An Elder who does not so affirm becomes an Elder Emeritus until they next affirm: they retain in full their recognition (§4.4), unconditional hospitality (§4.1), membership-fee waiver (§4.3), named legacy (§4.5), living-history inscription (§3.3), Passport standing, and their voice and presence in Council deliberation - but hold no allocation or authority vote and are not counted in active-Elder quorum. The transition to Emeritus and back to active is reversible and is not a sanction; it exists so the active Council renews rather than only accretes, honouring the movement from doing to witnessing (§1.1, §4.4) without ever vacating the gift. A new Elder is deemed active from the date of their Transition Rite until the first annual affirmation cycle that follows it (Charter §1.5).
9. Signatures
By signing below, the Parties confirm that they have read and understood this Agreement and the General Terms, and agree to be bound by their terms.
For ReGenerativa APS — ETS:
Name: [Name and Title of Authorised Representative]
Signature: _________________________
Date: _________________________
Elder:
Name: [Elder’s Full Name]
Signature: _________________________
Date: _________________________
Linked Annexes
Contribution Recognition
The Elder’s Transition Rite is recorded in the Contribution Ledger as a Validated Contribution event in accordance with GT-3 and GT-3A, and inscribed in the network’s living history (Clause 3.3). All subsequent hospitality, Council participation, and informal contributions remain eligible for Ledger recording at the Elder’s discretion.