[OSGeo Oceania] [Meeting invite] OSGeo Membership discussion and OSGeo Oceania election debrief

[Edoardo Neerhut]

I think that's a good idea Bruce.
I'll drop the OSM talk mailing lists after this email so I stop spamming
your inboxes, but for those interested, please join the conversation
on the OSGeo
Oceania lists <https://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/oceania>.

My intention with the membership meeting was to flesh out some of the
conversations from the talklists. The more we can discuss here prior to the
meeting, the better. Ideally these discussions give us some concrete
actions and talking points in the meeting. There is no silver bullet though
and discussions both on the mailing lists and in a meeting will be helpful.

*OSGeo Oceania membership*
The OSGeo Oceania membership policy as it is currently was arrived at after
some discussion
<https://lists.osgeo.org/pipermail/oceania/2019-October/thread.html>. It is
very similar to the concept of OSGeo membership that Bruce referenced. They
key differences are:

   1. A straightforward application process. This helps to gauge whether or
   not the prospective member lives up to the eligibility criteria in the
   Membership Policy
   <https://docs.google.com/document/d/14_6Ru8Xy5jGIuWXysuIJQwQonmjhtlpmHbqVwtOsUNA/edit>.
   It also helps us comply with ASIC <https://asic.gov.au> in maintaining
   the membership register. The application process is simple and the vast
   majority of applicants are approved...eventually.
   2. Members can vote in the board elections.

Others in the community can correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe we
reached this Membership Policy because we wanted a simple, non-exclusive
type of membership. It also felt premature to have a Charter Membership
concept when the organisation as an entity is so young. Everyone should
feel welcome to become a member.

To ensure an active membership base, we made it a responsibility that
members vote in the annual elections. Failing to two so in two
consecutive elections would indicate an ineligible member. We may need to
revise this.

Membership should not be exclusive, and if it feels that way, it's a
failure in communication and potentially in process.

Cheers,

Ed




On Thu, 17 Dec 2020 at 11:39, Bruce Bannerman <
bruce.bannerman.osgeo at gmail.com> wrote:

> I admire your enthusiasm Ed. Well done!
>
> Can I suggest that we start by working through the issue of what is a
> member on the oceania at lists.osgeo.org list?
>
> Having the discussion on only one list, will avoid people missing out on
> discussion that occurs on another list that they are not subscribed to.
>
> This process will take longer, but I hope it will get more people involved
> in the necessary discussion, particularly at this time of year.
>
> An email discussion will also allow the community time to reflect on
> various approaches and to add their comments.
>
> Some of our members may be hesitant to voice their opinions at a public
> meeting, but may be willing to share their thoughts via email. There could
> be many reasons for this, including that community participants may not be
> native English speakers and need time to ensure that their message is
> understood.
>
> I encourage everyone involved in our community to contribute to evolve how
> we want to work together. You may not think so, but your thoughts and
> opinion **are** important.
>
>
> @Ed,
>
> Can I suggest that we:
>
>
>    - start with the membership rules and approach of our parent
>    organisation, the OSGeo Foundation. These rules may be found at [1];
>    - explore why we believe that an alternate approach is warranted;
>    - discuss any proposed alternate approach; and
>    - arrive at a community consensus position on membership.
>
>
>
> Kind regards,
>
> Bruce
>
> OSGeo Foundation Charter Member [2]
> Member, OSGeo Incubation Committee [3]
>
>
> [1] https://www.osgeo.org/about/membership-rules/
>
> [2] https://www.osgeo.org/about/charter-members/
>
> [3] *https://wiki.osgeo.org/wiki/Incubation_Committee
> <https://wiki.osgeo.org/wiki/Incubation_Committee>*
>
>
>
>
> On 16 Dec 2020, at 21:42, Edoardo Neerhut <eneerhut at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> Hi everyone,
>
> *What does it mean to be a member of OSGeo Oceania?*
>
> This is one of the many questions people have been asking the organisation
> and it is one that we should collectively answer.
>
> I would like to invite you all to a meeting on Wednesday, December 23rd at
> 12:00pm UTC+11 to discuss this and other questions further. I have added
> this meeting to an open OSGeo Oceania calendar
> <https://calendar.google.com/calendar/embed?src=dgea06cf2tu9ukl2f7nmfqjp98%40group.calendar.google.com&ctz=Australia%2FMelbourne> where
> you will find this meeting and others.
>
> If you cannot make the meeting, but are interested nonetheless, please add
> yourself to the agenda
> <https://docs.google.com/document/d/1FE57J6Ze3X9jV7oJEE66TAUcMMO6s73-YxuFPb9bDsU/edit#>
> under 'Apologies, but interested'. That way we can make sure to invite you
> to future meetings.
>
> The agenda is sparse at the moment, but I welcome new additions.
>
> Other questions to discuss include:
>
>    -
> *What does it mean to be a member of OSGeo Oceania? *
>    -
> *What are the requirements to be a member? *
>    -
> *Should there even be requirements? *
>    -
> *Why was the recent election vote participation so low? *
>    -
> *How can a member get involved? *
>    -
> *How do we do a better job engaging current and potential members? *
>    -
> *How do we ensure a welcoming environment? *
>    - *How do we live up to the "Oceania" in OSGeo Oceania?*
>
> I hope to see many of you there, and please invite others you may know who
> are interested.
>
> Thank you,
>
> Ed
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Oceania mailing list
> Oceania at lists.osgeo.org
> https://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/oceania
>
>
>
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