| From: | "Annette Jackson" <aja95799(at)bigpond.net.au> |
|---|---|
| Date: | Sat, 3 Mar 2007 17:21:39 +1100 |
| Subject: | Re: [WDDM] A Charter Proposal for WDDM |
Hi All,
Hope youall like this proposal. I mean it to represent requirements
stated in discussion over the earlier posting: "Toward a Charter." The
proposal will need a few seconds before it can be considered a motion for
vote.
Mark
-------------------------
Charter Proposal for WDDM, Feb 28, 2007
I. Charter Review and Adoption Process
1. The sponsor for this charter proposal is Mark Antell. If 10% of the
membership second this proposal it will be considered a charter motion.
Due to uncertainties about the current membership, this requirement shall
be met by 3 seconds. The charter motion will then be posted for a two
week period of discussion and voting. The charter will be considered
adopted if it receives 66% approval by the voting membership. Individual
points of the charter motion are separable so it would be possible, for
example, to adopt several principles without necessarily adopting any or
all of the proposed business rules.
II. Principles of WDDM.
2. Definition
Direct democracy means enhancement and broadening of initiative,
referendum and recall. It also means improved methods for deliberation
and discourse.
3. Mission Statement
Posted at www.world-wide-democracy.net
4. Organizational Goals. WDDM is dedicated to the study, education, and
implementation of direct democracy, deliberation, and consensus at all
levels of governance from the local to the supra-national level. Our
immediate goal is to develop a multilingual global network of websites and
offline efforts committed to encouraging more direct democratic processes
for public policy decision making.
5. Membership.
Membership is limited to those who tend to think that governance would be
improved by expansion and facilitation of direct democracy, deliberation
and consensus. Members must also commit to review proposals and vote on
motions. Further, members commit to civility towards each other, and
respect for minority opinions. After all, we have similar goals.
6. Organizational Methods - commitment to direct democracy
WDDM will be an exemplar for direct democracy. As much as possible,
decision making power will flow from direct vote of the membership. And
we will strive to test and implement cutting-edge methods to enhance
deliberation.
7. Organizational Methods - encouraging discourse
WDDM shall continue to maintain a Bulletin Board to which all members may
post proposals or opinions. Many electronic BBS systems are afflicted
with a problem that they provide high visibility to the most aggressive
multiple posters. The executive board shall propose (for membership
adoption) methods to calm this problem.
III. Business Rules
8. Structure
We will start with a very simple structure: a three member executive
oard - elected for a one year term by majority vote from a self nominated
slate of candidates. Executive board communications, and other committee
communications shall be open for review by the membership.
9. Initiative. Initiative means a process which allows the membership to
raise an issue for discussion and to bring it to binding vote of the
membership.
Any member or group of members may post an initiative for discussion. If,
after a discussion period of no less than one month, 10% of the membership
agree to second the proposal, then it will be posted as a motion. Due to
uncertainties about the current membership, for 2007 the seconding
requirement shall be met by 3 seconds.
10. Approval of Initiative Motions
Motions shall open for vote for two weeks after posting. Business motions
are adopted by a simple majority vote. Charter modification motions
require a super-majority (of those voting) of 66%.
11. Referenda on Executive Board Decisions. Referendum is a process
whereby actions of a governing body are brought to the membership for
validation.
The executive board is empowered to pass temporary business motions;
however executive board decisions will be posted for referendum vote. A
simple majority of voting members is required to confirm executive board
business motions. Decisions not approved will cease to have any force.
The executive board is also empowered to interpret the charter, subject to
validation by the membership as above.