[en] FSFLA News Issue #1

[Beatriz Busaniche]

FSFLA News
Issue #1
August 1st, 2005

* Work in progress

FSFLA is taking concrete steps towards its final organizational and
legal incorporation. One of them regards designing of its structure and
drafting its bylaws. This is where the FSFLA Team is concentrating its
work today.
 
In order to complete this job and open up the debate to interested
members of the community, the team agreed to publish a a first draft of
the proposed structure, and to invite interested people to an open
exchange on how FSFLA ought to be structured, and how individuals can
participate.

The goal is to gather input from all those persons who expressed their
interest in helping build the Free Software Foundation Latin America.

To that end, we invite the interested community to subscribe to the open
discussion mailing list through the web interface at
https://mail.fsfeurope.org/mailman/admin/fsfla-discusion to share ideas
and proposals for FSFLA

.....

Draft documentation

The organizational structure drafted by the FSFLA Team for public
discussion is as follows. The individual responsibilities and duties of
the members of each member and of the different governing bodies will be
posted to the discussion list.

FSFLA Structure, First Draft

* Consultative Council (CC or Board) 

The CC is FSFLA's decision-taking organ. It takes all of the
organisation's tactical and strategical decisions. All of its members
have the same responsibilities and duties. The CC meets at least once a
year in a General Assembly, to review the last year's performance and to
decide on future strategy. The General Assembly is the CC's only
official meeting for legal purposes, but it remains in permanent session
through appropriate electronic means. The CC should make every effort to
make its decisions by consensus. When this is not possible, the CC
members will proceed to a vote, one vote for each member. 

To become a member of the CC, a person must be presented by at least one
current member, and approved by two-thirds of the CC without any
negative votes. Candidates to the CC need to be well known to its
current members, usually through their work in one or more of the Work
Teams. A CC member can resign, and he or she may lose membership to the
CC if two thirds of the CC vote for his or her removal. The initial CC
will be elected by FSFLA's founding Team. 

Every two years, the CC elects three of its members for the Executive
Council. For the election to take place, at least 75% of the CC members
must be present. The EC is elected by simple majority.

* Executive Council (EC)

The EC is composed of a President, a Secretary and a Treasurer. Every
two years, the CC elects three persons to occupy this role and take care
of implementing the planned strategies. In order to avoid unnecessary
delays, EC members can take tactical decisions by themselves, although
this should happen only in situations that require a quick response.
When they do take decisions by themselves, they are personally
responsible before the CC for their actions. In the rare case that a
vote within the CC results in a tie, the EC can break the tie through an
internal vote among its members, one vote to a person.

* Work Teams (WTs)

People who are formally or informally linked to the organisation and
whose merits have earned its trust can create WTs dedicated to specific
tasks on behalf of FSFLA. The WTs are where FSFLA's actual work takes
place. Every team has a designated leader, elected by the team members
and confirmed by the CC, who reports directly to the CC. The CC has the
right to veto any action decided within a WT, and to distance FSFLA from
any action already undertaken by a team without the CC's consent. 

.....

Events

Beatriz Busaniche spent a week in Nicaragua, working together with the
Heinrich Böll Foundation, the Humboldt Centre and the Alliance in
Defense of Biodiversity. She introduced the work in progress at FSFLA
and Fundación Vía Libre, spoke on political and ethical aspects of Free
Software at Universities, Social Organisations and at meetings with some
actors of the local Free Software movement. She also took part in two
events introducing the book "¿Un mundo patentado? La privatización de la
Vida y el Conocimiento", which includes articles by Richard Stallman,
Federico Heinz y Beatriz Busaniche, as well as with James Boyle, Pat
Mooney and others.  The book can be downloaded for free from the Böll
Foundation's website, at
http://www.boell-latinoamerica.org/es/web/315.html  This joint
collaboration with the Böll Foundation facilitates the first regular
activities of FSFLA in Central American countries.

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