We are just in the process of forming, this is an attempt at contact! mike On Sun, Feb 1, 2009 at 5:23 PM, David Gerard <[email protected]> wrote: > Kosovo-based organisation forming for free/open source software and > "Wikimedia." Have they been in touch with us at all? > > > - d. > > > > > ---------- Forwarded message ---------- > From: [email protected] <[email protected]> > Date: 2009/2/1 > Subject: Please review our new charter > To: [email protected] > > > Dear sirs, > > we have a new charter for our new Free Software, Open source and > Wikimedia organization, > > The idea is to create a local organization that promotes and supports > * free/libre software > * open source > * wikimedia > * creative commons > * open standards such as from the w3c > > in kosovo, which is so small that it does not make sense to have 10 > different organizations. > > We are working on recruiting and training the young people of Kosovo > to learn to use and help improve the great technologies that you > people have produced. > > All people and all nations are invited and there will be no > discrimination of any sort. > > We will invite the other organizations to appoint members to > collaborate in our working groups to implement and promote our common > goals in newborn Europe. > > We are working on creating the a large yearly conference in Pristina, > Kosovo starting on August 28 this year, but with three dates : > > Prishtina August 28-30 2009 Developers Day(s) > Ferizja Sept 4-6 2009 Education Day(s) > Prishtina Trade Fair Sept 23-28 2009 Business Days(s) > > http://groups.google.com/group/free-software-conference/ > > please review and comment the charter, feel free to join are project > and edit the wiki directly, > or send your comments back to me so that I can incorporate them. > > http://code.google.com/p/sfck/wiki/CHARTER > CHARTER > Charter of Asociacioni per Softver te Lire dhe të Hapur (ASLH) > > * Articles of Association > * §0 – Preamble > * §1 – Name, Office, Nature > * §2 – Definition of Terminology > * §3 – Purpose of the Association > * §4 – Activities of the Association > * §5 – Membership > * §6 – Assembly of Members > * §7 – Meetings of the Assembly of Members > * §8 – Board of Directors > * §9 – Officers and Employees > * §10 - Financing of the Association > * §11 - Liquidation > * §12 – Amendments to the Statutes > * §13 – Reporting Periods and Accounting Years > * §14 - Inception of the Articles of Association > > Articles of Association > §0 – Preamble > > Upon entering the digital age, in which real and virtual space will > equally determine the social, cultural and scientific development of > mankind, Asociacioni për Softuer të Lirë dhe të Hapur (ASLH; The > Association for Free and Open Software) has the long-term goal to > raise and work on the questions this will necessarily raise. > > The direct function of ASLH is the unselfish promotion of Free and > Open Source Software and Knowledge as well as creating and propagating > the awareness of the related philosophical and social questions. > > The further mission of the ASLH is to empower and engage people around > the world to collect and develop educational content under a free > license or in the public domain, and to disseminate it effectively and > globally. > > The ASLH will provides the essential infrastructure and an > organizational framework for the support and development of open > knowledge and software projects and other endeavors which serve this > mission. The ASLH will make and keep useful information from its > projects available on the Internet free of charge, in perpetuity. > > To create the best benefit for the people of Kosovo the ASLH will join > forces with other supporters of the same causes. Instead of creating > multiple organizations in Kosovo we ask the other international > organizations to join forces with us an form working groups under the > ASLH to implement our common goals in the small republic. > > The term Free and Open Source Software and Knowledge in the sense of > the ASLH does not refer to the price, but rather to the following four > freedoms: > > * the freedom to use a program and knowledge for any purpose > * the freedom to study the program and knowledge and adapt it to > your own needs. > * the freedom to make copies for others. > * the freedom to improve a program and knowledge and make these > improvements available to others, so that the whole community > benefits. > > This definition of Free Software goes back to the idea of freely > exchanging knowledge and ideas that can traditionally be found in > scientific fields. Like thoughts, software is non-tangible and > duplicable without loss. Passing feeds an evolutionary process, > advancing thoughts and software. > > Only Free Software preserves the possibility to comprehend and build > upon scientific results. For scientists, it is the only kind of > software which corresponds to the ideals of a free science. > Accordingly, the promotion of free software is also a promotion of > science. > > The distribution of information and the forming of an opinion are done > increasingly by digital media, and the trend is to foster the use of > those means for a direct citizen participation to democracy. > Therefore, a central task of the ASLH is to train proficient citizens > in these media, thereby promoting democracy. > > Digital space ("Cyberspace"), with software as its medium and its > language has an enormous potential for the promotion of all mental and > cultural aspects of mankind. By making it commonly available and > opening up the medium, Free Free and Open Source Software and > Knowledge grants equal chances and protection of privacy. > > Coining the awareness for the problems related to the digital age in > all parts of society is long-term goal and a core aspect of the work > of the ASLH. > > Therefore the ASLH will seek to increase the use of Free and Open > Source Software and Knowledge in schools and universities in order to > parallelize the education in real space matters with the creation of > understanding and awareness of problems in virtual space. > > Free and Open Source Software and Knowledge guarantees traceable > results and decision-making processes in science and public life as > well as the individual rights to free development of personality and > liberty of opinion. It is the job of the Free and Open Source Software > and Knowledge into all areas that touch public life or "informational > human rights" of citizens. > §1 – Name, Office, Nature > > 1.1 The association will be known as Asociacioni për Softuer të Lirë > dhe të Hapur, abbreviated as ASLH. > > 1.2 The association's registered offices are located in Prishtina. > > 1.3 Should no fixed registered office be established, it will be > managed from the residence of the general manager at any given time. > > 1.4 The Association shall be a non-profit organization as defined by > the laws in force in the Republic of Kosovo. > §2 – Definition of Terminology > > 2.1 Free (as in Free and Open Source Software and Knowledge): the > originator puts the intellectual work into the public domain free of > charge and in an irretrievable manner. In doing so, the originator > allows others the freedom to use the work for any purpose, to study > how it functions, to adapt it to his/her own needs, to copy it for > others and to improve it and make changes available for the common > good. > > We talk of Free and Open Source Software and Knowledge in include not > only software, but also the knowledge stored in the form of Wikis and > Documents. > > In order to protect these freedoms, we understand the that Free and > Open Source Software and Knowledge is to be software, documentation, > instructions, Wikipages, videos or other media that is licensed under > the latest version of one of the following licenses: > > * GNU GENERAL PUBLIC LICENSE (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/gpl.html ) > * GNU Free Documentation License Version > (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) > * Creative Commons CC-BY-SA license Attribution-Share Alike > Unported (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa) > > 2.2 Open (as in Open Software): since not all intellectual work can be > or is protected with the same strength as the above mentioned > licenses, we therefore recognize this secondary source of free > software: > > * http://www.opensource.org/docs/osd > > * http://www.opensource.org/licenses > > 2.3 Free and Open Source Software and Knowledge: Any computer > algorithm or other form of intellectual material. We include > wikipages, videos, documentation and software in this definition. > §3 – Purpose of the Association > > 3.1 The purpose of the Association is to promote, develop, distribute > and support: > > * Free/Libre software as defined by the GNU.org project. > * Open Source software as defined by the www.opensource.org. > * open and participatory knowledge as defined by Wikimedia foundation. > * information technology education such as Open Courseware from MIT. > * open society using open and free communcation standards such as > those from the W3C.org. > > in Kosovo. > §4 – Activities of the Association > > 4.1 Activities of the Association are: > > * Run a yearly conference made available to the general public for > the lowest possible charge that will further the aims set out on §3.1 > * Enable access to free and open source software and knowledge by > facilitating distribution and localization into the national languages > of Kosovo > > * Coordinate with national and international partners and sponsors > in the industry, academia and government to further the goals set out > on §3.1 > > §5 – Membership > > 5.1 The membership of the Association is open to any person regardless > of race, gender, sexual orientation, nationality, ethnicity, religious > belief, age or physical capacity. > > 5.2 The Assembly of Members shall determine whether a membership fee > shall be required from members. Failure to pay the membership fee, > after written or email notice of not doing so, shall be a ground for > the exclusion of the member from the Association. > §6 – Assembly of Members > > 6.1 The Assembly of Members is the highest governing body of the > Association. It shall consist of all members of the Association. > > 6.2 The Assembly of Members shall have ultimate responsibility for the > policies and financial affairs of the Association. > > 6.3 Apart from the other powers given to it by these statutes, the > Assembly of Members shall also have the following powers: to elect > members of the board of directors; to approve reports by officers; to > approve the annual working plan; to approve the spending of money over > €300. > > 6.4 The Assembly of Members can delegate any of its responsibilities > to the Board of Directors or any other organ or officers of the > Association, by the decision of the majority of its members. > §7 – Meetings of the Assembly of Members > > 7.1 The Assembly of Members shall meet at least once a year at an > Annual General Meeting (AGM) at which time it shall review and approve > the assets, liabilities, income, expenditures and programmes of the > Association for the past year. It shall also consider anticipated > assets, liabilities, income expenditures and programmes for the > upcoming year. > > 7.2 The Assembly of Members can also meet at Extraordinary General > Meetings (EGMs) whenever required by (half of the members) or by the > Board of Directors. Such request must be addressed to the Secretary > who will issue the notice of the meeting to all members, according to > the procedure described in paragraph 6.3 here below. > > 7.3 Written notice of AGMs and/or EGMs, stating the date and place of > the meeting, together with an agenda of the meeting, shall be > distributed to all members at least 7 (seven) days before the day on > which the meeting is to be held. > > 7.4 A minimum presence of (half) of the members is required for > meetings of the Assembly of Members to conduct business. If this > minimum ('the quorum') is not obtained, the meeting shall be postponed > to a specified later date and a new notice shall be sent to all > members. > > 7.5 Each member of the Association has one vote in the Assembly of Members. > > 7.6 Decisions in the Assembly of Members shall be taken by majority of > the members present. > > 7.7 Any member of the Assembly of Members shall abstain from voting on > a decision on any matter in which he or she has a personal or economic > interest. > §8 – Board of Directors > > 8.1 Apart from other powers given to it by these present statutes, the > Board of Directors shall be responsible for presenting an annual > working plan to be approved by the Assembly of Members and > safeguarding the property and good standing of the Association. The > Board of Directors shall always act in accordance with the purpose of > the Association. > > 8.2 The Board of Directors shall be composed of a diverse group people > in good moral and legal standing and significant achievement in the IT > industry, academia and society. They will be elected individually by > the Assembly of Members by a simple majority. Each director shall > serve for a term of (one) year and shall remain in office until a > successor takes office, or until death, resignation or removal. > > 8.3 The Board of Directors shall consist of at least 5 (five) Members. > > 8.4 Members of the Board of Directors can be removed before the end of > their term by a vote at an AGM or EGM of the Assembly of Members. > > 8.5 In case of the death, resignation or removal of a member of the > Board of Directors, the Assembly of Members shall elect a successor to > serve the remaining term. > > 8.6 Decisions by the Board of Directors shall be by majority. > > 8.7 The Board of Directors can decide to refer any matter to the > Assembly of Members for decision. > > 8.8 No remuneration or compensation shall be paid to the Directors > without the approval of the Assembly of Members and only where the > remuneration or compensation is reasonable and for work performed for > the Association. > > 8.9 Any member of the Board of Directors shall abstain from voting on > a decision on any matter in which he or she has a personal or economic > interest. > §9 – Officers and Employees > > 9.1 If necessary, the Board of Directors shall appoint employed > Officers or hire agents to undertake the daily conduct of business of > the Association. The terms of their employment will be determined by > the Board of Directors upon a simple majority approval by the Assembly > of Members. > > 9.2 The Officers will be employed under a written agreement that > details all salaries and benefits to be paid to the Officer. Any > salary or benefit shall be reasonable and paid only for work performed > for the Association. 9.3 Any Officer may resign at any time by giving > written notice to the Board of Directors, to the chairman of the > board, to the vice-chair, or to the secretary of the Association. Any > such resignation shall take effect at the time specified therein, or, > if the time be not specified therein, upon its acceptance by the Board > of Directors. > §10 - Financing of the Association > > 10.1 The funds required for the Association are raised through: > > * membership fees, > * entry fees from the annual conference > * sponsoring fees paid for the conference > * contributions by government and other public bodies > * donations > * other financial contributions made by third parties, > * benefits paid to the Association for activities it pursues for > the common good, including lectures. > > 10.2 The members pay fees based on the decision taken by the Assembly > of Members in simple majority vote. > > 10.3 No portion of the income or property aforesaid shall be paid or > transferred, directly or indirectly, by way of dividend, bonus or > otherwise by way of profit, to persons who, at any time are, or have > been Members of the Association or to any one or more of them or to > any person claiming through any one or more of them. This includes > associates, friends and family. > > 10.4 Except, with the previous approval of the Assembly of Members, no > remuneration or other benefit in money or moneys worth shall be given > by the Association to any of its Members, whether officers or > employees of the Association or not, except payment of out of pocket > expenses, reasonable and proper interest on money lent, or reasonable > and proper rent on premises let to the Association. > > 10.5 Nothing in this clause shall prevent the payment by the > Association in good faith of reasonable remuneration to any of its > officers or employees or to any other person in return for any > services actually rendered to the Association. > §11 - Liquidation > > 11.1 In case of a liquidation of the Association or termination of its > tax-privileged status any assets remaining after the discharge of > liabilities will become assets of the: > > University of Prishtina > Address: > Rektorati, Rr. Nene Tereza, p/n > > 10 000 Prishtina > > Tel: +381 (38) 244183 > Fax: +381 (38) 244187 > > which has to use them exclusively and directly for non-for-profit purposes > only. > §12 – Amendments to the Statutes > > 12.1 The present statutes can be amended by the decision of a three > fourth majority of the Assembly of Members. > §13 – Reporting Periods and Accounting Years > > 13.1 The Board of Directors and appointed Officers shall provide > annual reports to the Assembly of Members AGMs or whenever requested > by an EGM. > > 13.2 The accounting year of the Association shall coincide with the civil > year. > §14 - Inception of the Articles of Association > > 14.1 These Articles of Association come into effect immediately > following a decision by the Assembly of Members on xx February 2008 in > Prishtina, Republic of Kosovo, and online. > _______________________________________________ > Discussion mailing list > [email protected] > https://mail.fsfeurope.org/mailman/listinfo/discussion > > _______________________________________________ > foundation-l mailing list > [email protected] > Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/foundation-l >
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