[Chapter-delegates] An invitation to the Webinar re. LoA/Dashboard and New Tools available

[Christopher Wilkinson]

+1

CW

PS:	Ad. 8.4:  In the European context the relevant Council is the ISOC- 
ECC.


On 03 Mar 2012, at 14:37, John More wrote:

> Dear Jacek
>
> I have provided the legal framework for two iterations of the  
> Greater Washington DC Chapter. I spend a fair amount of time with  
> non-profits and nonprofit governance. In the 1970s I helped start a  
> Chapter of the Sierra Club in Rhode Island.
>
> I think the Affiliation Agreement is an extremely important  
> document.  It goals are laudable -- to strengthen the Internet  
> Society and the Chapters by creating accountability. However, I  
> don't thank that Chapters have been brought into the process (at  
> least from what I have been able to see). Further, as I remember the  
> Bylaws of the Society needed revisions to go along with the  
> Affiliation Agreement.  It does not appear that these revisions have  
> been made.
>
> I had provided comments on an earlier version of the Affiliation  
> Agreement about a year ago.  Then I heard nothing more  In a quick  
> review of this document I find that it still contains major flaws. I  
> do not see how Chapters can be asked to sign on without having had a  
> chance for the Chapter governing bodies to have some input.
>
> I will make only a couple of major points, some of which I made  
> before.
>
> There is no mechanism for resolving a dispute.  There is no  
> identified committee or body within that has the responsibility to  
> review a Chapter's alleged failure to meet the standards and conduct  
> some sort of process (independent of whatever person or body that  
> monitors compliance and finds a failure) with a chance to be heard.  
> There is no provision for a chance to be heard.
>
> I pulled up a section of the Sierra Club's Bylaws that suggests a  
> minimum provision (perhaps there is one but it does not seem to be  
> referred to in the document).
>
> 8.4. The Board may, by affirmative vote of at least nine (9)  
> Directors, suspend or annul a chapter if, in the judgment of the  
> Board, such action is in the best interest of the Club. Such action  
> shall not affect the standing of the individual members as members  
> of the Club. The Board shall not suspend or annul a chapter until  
> the following conditions are met: (1) written specification of the  
> ground or grounds upon which the proposed action is to be based  
> shall have been furnished to the members of the chapter involved and  
> to the officers of the Sierra Club Council; (2) a reasonable  
> opportunity shall have been provided for members of the chapter to  
> present evidence in opposition to the proposed action with a full  
> opportunity to be heard thereon; and (3) the advice of the Sierra  
> Club Council on the proposed action shall have been received.
>
> Note that the Council, an advisory body consisting of one  
> representative from each Chapter, has an advisory role before a  
> action can be taken against a Chapter. This is a legal document that  
> should have this sort of due process protection.
>
> Finally the timetables for compliance seem very rigid.
>
> As it stands, I would have to recommend to our Chapter's governing  
> board that it not sign the Agreement as written.
>
> Yours,
>
> John More
> Greater Washington DC Chapter
>
>
> On Mar 3, 2012, at 7:34 AM, President ISOC-KH wrote:
>
>> Hi Jacek,
>>
>> I have now signed in to be available at one of the two Doodle time  
>> slots – but I did so with some reluctance.
>>
>> According to my mailbox of outgoing mail, I had responded on  
>> Wednesday, 29 February 2012, quite in detail – and some of my  
>> concerns were similar to what some others on our Chapter List  
>> expressed. I do not want to repeat most of what I already wrote –  
>> except the point that I find it difficult to respond under time  
>> pressure with the brief time line offered, and I do not see why we  
>> should engage in such an important issue suddenly. You say: “The  
>> LoA has been in development since 2010 and many individuals in the  
>> Chapters have participated in its evolution.” I am sorry that I  
>> obviously missed it when this was discussed on our common platform,  
>> the Chapter-Delegates list.
>>
>> You also requested: “LoA (see attachment) note that at this stage  
>> we share it only with you, so you are kindly requested not to  
>> forward it further until we have heard and incorporated your  
>> feedback.” We live and work in a fairly top-down traditionally  
>> autocratic environment – but in our ISOC chapter we try very  
>> consciously to practice a different style of communication and  
>> cooperation. For me not to share a draft on fundamental questions  
>> is contrary to what we stand for.
>>
>> You say also:
>>
>> “Your feedback is especially important prior to translation,  
>> Specifically we would like to know if the content make sense to  
>> you, if anything is missing and if the language is easy to  
>> understand...”
>>
>> This wording does not seem to reflect at all some of the basic  
>> questions which had been raised: What is this whole exercise about  
>> – especially in view of the surprising wording about the  
>> relationship between “ISOC Global” (what is it?) that is entering  
>> into contracts with the chapters. Before dealing with the wording  
>> for translations, this basic question needs to be clarified. Did we  
>> already agree – or even discuss – that there will be “a more public  
>> launch”? Your moving up the timing from 12 and 16 March now to 6  
>> and 8 March shows a haste which I do not understand – as others  
>> also had proposed to have an online chat maybe much later, only  
>> after having had enough time to discuss the issues involved on the  
>> Chapters-Delegates list.
>>
>> During the recent communications on this list, you mentioned also  
>> something about a change of the Bylaws. The draft Letter of  
>> Affiliation touches on a number of issues regulated in the Bylaws,  
>> and where a chapter is a legal entity in the countries where they  
>> are established under the law of the country (that is what the ISOC  
>> Bylaws daft had suggested, which is the basis on which we started  
>> to operate), any changes proposed may require quite complicated  
>> legal re-arrangements locally. I am surprised that the issue of  
>> Bylaw changes was mentioned only casually.
>>
>> Finally, I would like to remind us all of the mail from Christopher  
>> Wilkinson which he wrote as Chair of the European Chapters  
>> Coordinating Council, date stamped in my inbox on 29 February 2012.  
>> I kindly request that the serious items listed up there should be  
>> re-read, as they need to get a clarifying response before a  
>> webinar, as planned – again upsetting many schedules - at extremely  
>> short notice - is actually held.
>>
>> With my best greetings,
>>
>> Norbert Klein, President, ISOC Cambodia Chapter
>> _______________________________________________
>> Chapter-delegates mailing list
>> Chapter-delegates at elists.isoc.org
>> https://elists.isoc.org/mailman/listinfo/chapter-delegates
>
> _______________________________________________
> Chapter-delegates mailing list
> Chapter-delegates at elists.isoc.org
> https://elists.isoc.org/mailman/listinfo/chapter-delegates

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <https://elists.isoc.org/mailman/private/chapter-delegates/attachments/20120303/9dce7586/attachment.htm>