[Announce] Declaration of Council Election and call for Nominations

Sat Jan 2 16:16:17 AEDT 2016

Hey all,

TL;DR: Elections are open. Please nominate and/or stand.

Just a reminder that there are only a few days left until the nomination
period for next year's council closes. If you haven't already, please
head over to https://www.linux.org.au/membership/ and get nominating. If
anybody is considering running and would like to know more about what is
involved I'd be more than happy to have a chat and answer any questions
you might have.

As a lot of you may already know, I do not intend on re-standing for
council this year. I have been on the council for 6 years now (and
involved with LA for even longer) and I think it's time for some fresh
blood, so to speak.

It has been an honour to be trusted by the community to lead this
organisation for such a long time. While I haven't achieved as much as I
had planned, it has been a privilege to be involved and to do what I
could. I hope that I have been able to improve and continue the
organisation's success during this time. Thank you all for this opportunity.

Linux Australia has a lot of challenges ahead of itself for the coming
few years. I touched on a lot of these during my 2014 Presidents report,
and I expect them to be present again in my 2015 report as they are
large and ongoing concerns.

I would like to see the community thinking about some bigger questions.
The organisation has been successful in recent years in running events
but less so in lobbying to the government or advocating for policy
changes etc.

Linux and open source are generally well received technologies and don’t
require advocating for in the same way that they may have been 10-15
years ago. This raises a question of how do we stay relevant as Linux
Australia. In fact, it is pretty obvious that we aren’t relevant as
"Linux" Australia since we’re much more about being an open source
organisation.

A name change for our organisation has been discussed many times before,
but I believe it to still be an important discussion. However, extending
even further from that are more fundamental questions to the
organisation. For example, with open source being so mainstream, what
does that mean for us? Or what does the popularity of mobile and web
platforms mean for open source? Are there opportunities or a need for
advocacy in those areas? How do we extend our ideals to open web, open
data, open government, open hardware and open culture? How do we ensure
that our values[0] are upheld in our industries?

I would like to encourage and challenge our membership to be discussing
these types of issues in a large picture sense and to be giving thought
as to how we might be able to address some of them. Clearly these types
of questions are very difficult to tackle purely at a Council level -
especially when they are concerned with the administration and ongoing
running of the organisation - so it is imperative that the community
attempts to gain a consolidated voice in these areas.

A lot of these challenges are reflected in the 2013 membership survey[1]
where our brand and purpose was often mis-identified by members not
understanding what we do. Addressing these systemic questions will help
guide the direction of the organisation and also lead towards addressing
issues such as our poor communication to membership.

Of course with not standing for the 2016 council myself, that doesn't
mean I will be disappearing altogether. I intend to help the new council
on these challenges in any way I can. I also want to make sure that I'm
available to consult and offer advice where possible should the new
council wish to reach out.

Thank you all for a wonderful 6 years. I look forward to watching this
organisation continue to grow to its full potential.

Warm regards,
Joshua Hesketh

[0] http://linux.org.au/values
[1] http://linux.org.au/news/news/linux-australia-member-survey-2013

On 22/12/15 22:31, Linux Australia Secretary wrote:
> *
>
> Dear Linux Australia Community,
>
>
> Pursuant to clause (15) of the Linux Australia constitution [1] we
> hereby declare an election open and call for nominations to the Linux
> Australia Council for the term February 2016 to January 2017.
>
>
> All office bearer and ordinary committee member positions are open for
> election.
>
>
>   * Nominations will open from 22 December 2015 until 10 January 2016
>
>   * Voting will open 11 January until 31 January 2016
>
>   * Results will be announced at the AGM in Geelong at linux.conf.au
> <http://linux.conf.au/>on or after 01 February
>
>
> The election can be viewed here:
>
> <https://linux.org.au/membership/index.php?page=view-election&id=22>https://www.linux.org.au/membership/index.php?page=view-election&id=22
>
>
> *What do I need to do?*
>
>
> First of all, make sure your details are correct in MemberDB [2]
>
>
> If you wish to nominate, identify the positions you wish to nominate
> for and get an understanding of what they involve. Think about what
> you might bring to the role and prepare a short pitch. Then, accept the
>
> nomination you've been given by clicking the 'Accept nomination' link.
>
>
> If you wish to nominate another person for a position, you may wish to
> contact them first and have a chat to make sure they're happy being
> nominated. Then follow the 'Nominate' link to nominate them.
>
>
> Once voting is open, you will be able to vote for candidates. Results
> will be announced at the AGM at linux.conf.au <http://linux.conf.au/>.
>
>
> *Why should I nominate?*
>
>
> Being a member of Linux Australia Council is a fun way to meet new
> people, work on exciting projects and expand your skill base. It gives
> you excellent transferable skills to help build your career, and allows
>
> you to grow your professional network. It looks great on a CV, and is
> also a chance to give back to the vibrant Linux and open source
> ecosystem in Australia and globally. If you're passionate about Linux
> and open source, it's a great opportunity to help drive and steer
> Australia's contribution in this field.
>
>
> The roles do require a time commitment - a minimum of 2-3 hours per
> week for an Ordinary Council Member; for office bearers 8-12 hours per
> week - so please consider this with your nomination.
>
>
> *Why should I run?*
>
> If you’ve been nominated, or are thinking of nominating yourself, you
> should give the opportunity serious consideration. Being on the
> council is both hard and often thankless work, but it is also
> incredibly rewarding. Linux Australia can only achieve what it does by
> its members and helping out with the council responsibilities is a
> great way to ensure Linux Australia continues to be successful. It is
> also an opportunity to help the organisation grow, reach into new
> areas and to succeed on important topics of national relevance.
>
>
>
> [1]<http://www.linux.org.au/constitution>http://www.linux.org.au/constitution
>
> [2]<http://www.linux.org.au/membership>http://www.linux.org.au/membership
>
>
> As always, your feedback and questions are warmly welcomed. If you'd
> like to have a chat with anyone on Council around what it involves,
> please do make contact.
>
>
> With kind regards,
>
>
> Sae Ra
>
> *
> -- 
>
> Sae Ra Germaine
> Secretary
> Linux Australia
>
> secretary at linux.org.au
> http://linux.org.au
>
> Linux Australia Inc
> GPO Box 4788
> Sydney NSW 2001
> Australia
>
> ABN 56 987 117 479
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> announce mailing list
> announce at lists.linux.org.au
> http://lists.linux.org.au/mailman/listinfo/announce

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