Hey gang, If you haven't cast your ballot for the HOT Board of Directors yet, I would like to encourage you to consider this, briefly:
There is no question whatsoever that all three nominees for board positions are eminently qualified to represent HOT, and would be valuable additions to the Board of Directors, however -- our board already has a preponderance of Americans. I mention this primarily because we, as HOT, have to deal with a humanitarian aid community -- and particularly that part within the UN system -- that is sometimes suspicious of Americans. We are sometimes perceived, regrettably, as having a tendency to try to take over and run the whole show, whatever the show is. Now, you all know as well as I do that the Americans involved in HOT are sensitive to political nuance, and do strive to be suitably respectful of our colleagues in other organizations, regardless of nationality. The problem isn't with the HOTties -- it's with the possible perception of HOT from *outside* our group. I believe that it is of the utmost importance to the future of the Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team that the organization is NOT perceived by others as primarily an American initiative. We are a group with a genuinely international character, and the rest of the world should see us as such. Therefore I will tell you that I am voting for Harry Wood for the available directorship. Harry is at least as qualified, as skilled, and as committed as anyone else who has been nominated -- and he has the advantage of being from someplace other than the US. I know that he will continue to be an asset to our organization as a director on our board, and I hope that you will elect him to this role. Yours truly, An American. _______________________________________________ HOT mailing list [email protected] http://lists.openstreetmap.org/listinfo/hot
