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<body><div>Totally agree with you Norbert as regards problems with the charter. However I think in a context where we dont have coordinator elections up to date, and we dont have a website available (let alone no appeals team, and probably no refresh of cscg for some time) it might be a less urgent task. But happy to engage on this when we get our basic structure back together again!</div><div><br /></div><div>Ian</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>
<div><br /></div>
<div>------ Original Message ------</div>
<div>From: "Norbert Bollow" <<a href="mailto:nb@bollow.ch">nb@bollow.ch</a>></div>
<div>To: <a href="mailto:governance@lists.riseup.net">governance@lists.riseup.net</a></div>
<div>Sent: 20/07/2019 9:26:56 PM</div>
<div>Subject: [governance] Need to work towards improving the charter (was Re: Procedural rules for amendment of the charter)</div><div><br /></div>
<div id="xc3dcab07f0b64ce" class="plain"><blockquote cite="20190720132656.390d6686@quill" type="cite" class="cite2">
<tt style="word-wrap:break-word"><div class="plain_line">On Fri, 19 Jul 2019 20:04:19 +0000</div>
<div class="plain_line">"<a href="mailto:ian.peter@ianpeter.com">ian.peter@ianpeter.com</a>" <<a href="mailto:ian.peter@ianpeter.com">ian.peter@ianpeter.com</a>> wrote:</div>
<div class="plain_line"> </div>
<blockquote type="cite" class="cite2">
<div class="plain_line"> Thanks for making that all clear Norbert. In fact I believe the last</div>
<div class="plain_line"> attempted charter amendments failed, despite a 70 for, 4 against vote</div>
<div class="plain_line"> - because the number of voters did not equate with the requisite 2/3</div>
<div class="plain_line"> percentage of "members" . So that area is difficult and best left to</div>
<div class="plain_line"> one side for now.</div>
</blockquote>
<div class="plain_line"> </div>
<div class="plain_line">I agree that charter amendments are difficult.</div>
<div class="plain_line"> </div>
<div class="plain_line">They may however be less difficult than what the above-cited experience</div>
<div class="plain_line">might indicate: If I remember correctly, the amendment proposal in that</div>
<div class="plain_line">failed attempt was for a relatively minor change. There wasn't much</div>
<div class="plain_line">opposition, but it also wasn't seen as a vitally needed, important</div>
<div class="plain_line">change. I think that the situation might be different for a charter</div>
<div class="plain_line">amendment proposal where for at least some of the proposed changes, it</div>
<div class="plain_line">is broadly agreed that the changes are absolutely needed for important</div>
<div class="plain_line">reasons. Such a proposal would in my view have a much better chance of</div>
<div class="plain_line">passing the threshold of 2/3 positive votes.</div>
<div class="plain_line"> </div>
<div class="plain_line">In any case I don't agree that the difficulty of charter amendments</div>
<div class="plain_line">implies that it would therefore be wise to avoid thinking about</div>
<div class="plain_line">amending the charter.</div>
<div class="plain_line"> </div>
<div class="plain_line">If we want a large umbrella caucus where all civil society voices on</div>
<div class="plain_line">Internet governance are welcome, and where on that basis constructive</div>
<div class="plain_line">consensus-seeking discourse takes place, then I believe something needs</div>
<div class="plain_line">to be done to effectively address the problem of the dysfunctional</div>
<div class="plain_line">patterns of interaction which have plagued this community in the past.</div>
<div class="plain_line"> </div>
<div class="plain_line">When I was a co-coordinator some time ago, I tried to do this on the</div>
<div class="plain_line">basis of the principles and mechanisms and procedures which are</div>
<div class="plain_line">defined in the current charter. That failed pretty dramatically, in</div>
<div class="plain_line">that it actually caused those dysfunctional patterns of interaction to</div>
<div class="plain_line">become worse. Other co-coordinators have largely ignored what the</div>
<div class="plain_line">Charter says on those matters. In that way, they have at least been</div>
<div class="plain_line">able to avoid those counterintentional effects. But the problem remains</div>
<div class="plain_line">unsolved, and I don't think that it can be solved in IGC without</div>
<div class="plain_line">amending its charter.</div>
<div class="plain_line"> </div>
<div class="plain_line">Greetings,</div>
<div class="plain_line">Norbert</div>
</tt></blockquote></div>
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