[Chapter-delegates] [ISOC] By-Laws Update

Tue Apr 10 20:23:20 PDT 2012

hi Rodel

Many thanks for your comments. The ISOC Board of Trustees has set up a  
dedicated mailing list : chapter-bylaws at isoc.org for the purpose of  
posting feedback about the ISOC bylaws. I would therefore ask that you  
kindly follow their request by subscribing to the list, and reposting  
your comments there.

Best wishes

Anne
--

On 11/04/2012, at 12:14 PM, Rodel Urani wrote:

> Dear Mr. Burger,
>
> Would be nice to see the new by-laws in its own form highlighting  
> the amendments being proposed by the board. From there we may be  
> able to discuss and provide our comments further.
>
> Based on the text provided in this email, it might be good to  
> include in the proposed by-laws what kind of entity these Chapters  
> will be with ISOC (HQ), the former's requirement on its formation  
> prior to being accepted as ISOC Chapter. Its overall function to the  
> overall objective / mission of ISOC. It is more important and  
> flexible to write what must be the ultimate character of the Chapter  
> rather than providing the proponents or officers what must be their  
> activities.
> It may also be good to note that all Chapters have its own by-laws  
> and some have incorporated themselves as a legal organization in  
> their country. Considering the texts that ISOC wanted to be included  
> in Chapter's by-laws what provision must be added in proposed by- 
> laws that make them coherent and sound to the overall structure of  
> ISOC?
>
> Thank you.
>
> Kindest regards,
> -Rodel
>
>
> On Tue, Apr 10, 2012 at 5:02 PM, Eric Burger <eburger at standardstrack.com 
> > wrote:
> Due to a technology issue, this message did not get distributed last  
> week. Please accept my sincerest apologies -- we are looking forward  
> to a broad-based discussion on this important update.
> - Eric
>
>
> On Apr 6, 2012, at 8:43 AM, Eric Burger wrote:
>
>                                                                                                                          6 
>  April 2012
>
> Dear Colleagues,
>
> The Board of Trustees of the Internet Society has undertaken to  
> update the Society’s by-laws.  This is necessary to bring our by- 
> laws in line with changes to the statutes under which the Internet  
> Society was incorporated. These statutes specifically apply to not- 
> for-profit cause driven organizations like the Internet Society. We  
> have also taken the opportunity to ensure that the provisions of the  
> by-laws keep pace with the Society’s operational environment, now  
> and into the future.
>
> To accomplish its task, the Board formed a By-Laws Committee  
> comprised of members of the Board, the Board Secretary, and ISOC  
> staff. The Committee embraced this opportunity to produce much  
> needed clarity and organizational flexibility in two phases. Phase  
> one, completed in 2011, dealt with a variety of organizational and  
> legal issues. Phase two, the current phase, addresses the Society's  
> members and chapters. The Board wishes to share its phase two  
> proposals with all of you so that you can understand precisely what  
> the suggested changes are, have the opportunity to consider their  
> implications in the context of the Society’s legal framework, and  
> provide feedback to the Board about the proposals.  The best  
> practice for by-laws is to keep the language to the minimum  
> necessary to meet legal requirements and provide clarity.  This will  
> ensure that the Society will have the flexibility to adapt to its  
> evolving needs.
>
> In your review of the Board’s proposal, it will be important to  
> understand their legal context. According to the law of  
> incorporation under which the Internet Society operates, the Society  
> is a mission, or cause, driven organization. The Society has chosen  
> to have members and chapters that share the Society’s mission. The  
> Society values their contributions highly, and therefore proposes to  
> formally recognize members and, for the first time, chapters in the  
> by-laws. Likewise, we also wish to ensure that the Advisory Council  
> of Organization Members continues to have the inclusiveness and  
> flexibility that characterize its growing value for both  
> Organization members and the Board and Society. Therefore, we  
> removed the confusing reference to “Advisory Council” in the by- 
> laws. That “Advisory Council” in the bylaws is not active. The  
> bylaws give it no role. Furthermore, it is not the existing,  
> operative Advisory Council.
>
> The by-laws now designate the number of Trustees each community  
> selects. Note that we recommend aligning the number of Trustees  
> selected by each of these communities to four Trustees each. The  
> Frequently Asked Questions goes into further detail on this point.
>
> Three new and revised articles, Articles III, IV, and V, define the  
> roles of these communities. Most notably, the articles for all three  
> communities briefly describe their relationship with Society.
>
> The format of the Article concerning Chapters, Article IV, is  
> similar to proposed Articles covering Organizational Members and  
> individual members. Do note that Chapters are not members but rather  
> groupings of members.  In the case of the Chapters, the Committee  
> proposes the following:
>
>
>
> “Internet Society Chapters are groups organized by ISOC individual  
> members who share an interest and belief in the Society’s principles  
> and mission, acting according to the Society’s standards of  
> performance.  Chapters are formed for the expressed purpose of  
> aggregating individual member interests, expertise and creativity in  
> order to pursue the ISOC mission. Chapters form a community that  
> takes on a variety of programmes and activities. These programmes  
> and activities may include one or more of the following: educational  
> events, community programmes, public policy programmes, networking  
> events and others consistent with the mission and principles of the  
> Society.”
> We invite you to let us know if you have suggestions for  
> improvement, have concerns or questions, or if you simply support  
> the proposed revisions.
>
> To facilitate the discussion, we have set up a separate list for  
> each community - individual members, Organization Members and  
> Chapters - to discuss the by-laws. This will keep the Chapter  
> Delegate’s list clear for Chapter administrative business and the  
> Advisory Committee list clear for AC administrative business. These  
> lists are indiv-bylaws at isoc.org, org-bylaws at isoc.org, and chapter-bylaws at isoc.org 
> , respectively. These lists are moderated to keep the discussion on  
> topic and ensure proper community membership on the list. List  
> moderators have committed to releasing messages in a timely manner  
> during work-days and will do their best efforts to release messages  
> on non-work days.
>
> Please subscribe to the discussion list by following the link: https://elists.isoc.org/mailman/listinfo/individual-members-by-laws-discussions
> The bylaws discussion has generated a lot of issues not directly  
> related to the bylaws, yet do relate to membership. Therefore, there  
> is a fourth list for Other Membership Topics, where you can discuss  
> membership issues that do not relate directly to the by-laws but  
> that can be considered in future Board or Society actions. This list  
> is located at other-topics at isoc.org. In addition, there is a wiki  
> with all of the relevant materials at https://wiki.tools.isoc.org/By-Laws_Review_2011 
> .
>
> The By-Laws Committee will review all comments as we have  
> discussions of bylaw amendments at upcoming Board of Trustees  
> meetings.
>
> The Board of Trustees wishes to thank all of you for your  
> dedication, your continuous efforts on behalf of Internet access for  
> all, and your spirit of cooperation as we continue to extend the  
> benefits of the Internet across and around the globe.
>
>
>
> With sincere regards,
>
> Eric Burger, Chair
>
> By-Laws Committee of the Board of Trustees
>
>
>
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Anne Lord,                                 <lord at isoc.org>
Director of Chapters               http://www.isoc.org
Internet Society     "The Internet is for everyone"
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