The Structure Team is happy to announce the results of the elections for the Transition Team. In total 24 Leadership Members (of 27) elected 6 community members for the transition team. We like to introduce them in a random order:
TJ Baker (USA)
TJ is located in Visalia, California (USA) and has a long history of working collaboratively in the Joomla Project. He is known as a great team player, making sure all voices are heard, and collaborative decisions are made. According to TJ’s own words he owes a great debt to the many volunteers, past and present, who have made Joomla what it is today. Serving on this team would be a small gesture to repay part of that debt.
Ian MacMillan (UK)
Ian is located in London (UK) and has been a change management specialist for decades. He has dealt with some very difficult transitions in the past and has always managed to get even the most dissolute teams to find cohesion and a clear path to move forward on. He has no history as a Joomla community member but understands the importance of making this evolutionary change. Offering his experience of delivering difficult change, for which being outside of the community, and thus not part of the natural tensions of this significant change, is an additional benefit.
Ken Crowder (USA)
Ken is located in Omaha (USA) and has been a long standing contributing member of the Joomla! Community. He is a moderator on the Joomla forum since 2006 and has held various positions including time on the Leadership team. He likes to think of himself as a level headed person with the ability to look at things objectively and not emotionally. According to him it is crucial that the transition team be made up of individuals that are focused on doing what is best for the project and not made up of individuals that make decisions based on friends or favors.
Helvecio da Silva (Brazil)
Helvecio is located in Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) and is known for his contributions as an illustrator and translator. His goal is to promote Joomla within less privileged communities in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. According to him the project showed him new horizons in his career and improved the way he acts within different communities he is part of. His motivation comes from a quote of Ghandi:“You must be the change you wish to see in the world.” Being part of the Transition Team is one more step into being this change.
Stefania Gaianigo (Italy)
Stefania is located in Garda (Italy) and gave her contributions translating the CMS and the documentation by coordinating the Italian Joomla Translation Team since the birth of Joomla. Currently she is a member of the Joomla Translation Coordination Team and an administrator of Joomla.it, where she daily gives voluntary support to the users of the italian community.
Jon Neubauer (USA)
Jon is located in Charlotte, North Carolina (USA) and has been involved in various teams within the Joomla Community over the years. Currently he is the lead organizer of the Joomla World Conference. He firmly believes that the opportunities offered to us by this transition period is one of the few times where we have the chance to "make or break" Joomla. He is motivated to make sure that, in this new structure we are able to keep the open, nimble, "all together" spirit that has defined most of Joomla's history and work together towards another decade of growth.
The Transition Team will be completed by representatives of each leadership team:
Ryan Ozimek (the board)
George Wilson (PLT)
Guillermo Bravo (CLT)
We would like to thank all the people that participated in the elections as well as Dianne Henning and Jacques Rentzke who verified all votes casted and made sure the procedure was followed.
Timeline:
Between the 20th of September and the 1st of October the Transition Team has an initial handover meeting with the Structure team
On the 1st of October the new Transition Team will officially take over from the Structure Team and implement the new structure.
Forum discussion thread: forum.joomla.org/viewtopic.php?f=704&t=894869
The Joomla Event Travel Programme (JET) is pleased to announce that we have selected 12 members from the worldwide Joomla community (Algeria, Argentina, Canada, Germany, Kenya, Mexico, South Africa, Spain, and Uganda) to attend the upcoming Joomla! World Conference being held November 6-8, 2015 in Bangalore, India.
With 29 applications to choose from, it was a difficult decision that was made easier because of the Application Criteria that was put in place prior to the call for applications. We would like to congratulate the following JWC15 JET recipients:
Alejandro Fabian PascoliAnibal SanchezCarlos OlivaresDavid AswaniFred AbuknyangaJacques RentzkeJoe SonneKarim EmbarekMarco RichterMwijukye OsbertShadrack SeremSøren Beck Jensen
They will have the cost of admission covered to the Joomla! World Conference, and will receive assistance with travel and lodging.
The JET Programme is an initiative that was created to support active project volunteers and community members who have dedicated time and energy to make Joomla better; and who would like to attend larger Joomla events, such as the Joomla! World Conference.
We wish to thank all those who applied, and congratulate those who were accepted! We look forward to seeing you in Bangalore!
The JET Team
The Joomla Event Travel Programme team members are:
Dianne Henning (Community Leadership Team)
Guillermo Bravo (Community Leadership Team)
Roland Dalmulder (Production Leadership Team)
Jessica Dunbar (Production Leadership Team)
Saurabh Shah (Open Source Matters)
Marijke Stuivenberg(Open Source Matters)
Radek Suski (Joomla Events Team)
NOMINATIONS DEADLINE EXTENSION: Transition Team nominations will remain open until July 31.
------------------
Since the vote to adopt the New Structure & Methodology proposal by Joomla leadership in May, the final task of the Structure Team is to organize the nominations to the Transition Team, which will implement the new governance and conduct elections to form the new structure for the Joomla project.
The Transition Team will consist of 9 members, to include 3 leadership liaisons (one from each leadership team, chosen by that team), and 6 people to be elected from the community and/or leadership. Nomination or self-nominations is open to anyone from the current Leadership and the community at large.
Voting on the candidates will be done by the entire leadership on a private ballot form.
Candidates with experience specifically in the area of organizational and governance transitioning are encouraged to apply. The work of the Transition Team is expected to last several months, and will require a significant time commitment.
If you or someone you know is qualified and motivated to serve on the Transition Team, please fill out the nomination form and tell us more about your interest, skills, and experience.
In addition, we are also seeking submissions of names of community members to assist the Secretary of the Board to count the votes at the end of the Transition Team election process. Two community members will be chosen from these submissions. If you, or someone you know is interested, a separate form is available for this below.
Some of the criteria that will be used when evaluating Transition Team nominations include:
Community: the nominee should have a strong track-record of successfully collaborating with, enabling others and earning the respect of the Joomla! community.
Character: the nominee should have a history of acting honestly, fairly and openly in previous and current roles held, have demonstrated a general conduct of a professional and considerate nature on Joomla.org as well as other sites and media channels, and be willing to read and agree to abide by the Joomla Code of Conduct.
Experience and Expertise: in particular candidates are sought who have a good understanding of management systems and experience in transitioning.
Availability: because of the importance and the amount of work this team needs to do, we really want to stress that candidates need to have the time to take on this responsibility. Like most Joomla teams, meetings will take place on week days, and the time of day of the meetings will depend on the time zone composition of the team. The amount of work from week to week may vary, but in general, candidates should be able to devote 4 hours to the work of the team. Interviews of candidates will take place between July 25 - August 2.
Candidates from any country are welcome to apply to either of these openings.
The nomination period will close on July 31, 2015. The target date to announce the results of the election process is August 31, 2015.
Links to the forms:
Nominations submission form
Submission form to assist the vote counting
In consequence of adopting the new structure and methodology by the leadership teams, the Structure Team proposed a procedure for the formation of the Transition Team. The Transition Team will be tasked with providing guidance and processes to transition into the new structure.
The process outlined below was debated and voted on by the leadership teams, and adopted with 23 votes cast, and all in favor.
Process
The Transition Team will consist of 9 members, which includes 3 leadership liaisons (one from each leadership team, chosen by that team), and 6 people to be elected from the community and/or leadership.
Nomination or self-nominations should be open to anyone from the current Leadership and the community at large.
How will the nominations be conducted and by whom?
The Structure Team will conduct the nominations process, which consists of:
putting out the call for nominations (providing a form for that)
contacting nominees who did not nominate themselves to confirm their interest
setting up interviews with the nominees and carrying them out, and making those results available to all leadership team members
discussing the candidates within the team
create a short list of candidates to share with the leadership - LT can comment.
voting on the candidates will be done by the entire leadership on a private ballot form. The votes will be counted by the Secretary of the Board as well as two community members, also to be chosen during the nominations process
contacting all nominees to thank them for their interest
announcing the results
With the agreement on this process by the leadership teams, the Structure Team will prepare a call for nominations and follow the timeline below to proceed with the process.
Timeline:
Call for Transition Team nominations July 7 - July 21
Transition Team selection (interviewing, creating shortlist, vote) July 28 - August 11
Transition Team is announced August 12
Structure Team is dissolved August 12
Forum discussion thread: http://forum.joomla.org/viewtopic.php?f=704&t=890511
The Joomla! Event Traveller Programme (JET) is pleased to announce that we will be taking applications from the worldwide Joomla community for the upcoming Joomla! World Conference, to be held on November 6-8, 2015 in Bangalore, India.
The JET Programme is an initiative that was created to support active project volunteers and community members who have dedicated time and energy to make Joomla better, and who would like to attend larger Joomla events, such as the Joomla! World Conference and J and Beyond. The JET Programme will cover the cost of the admission ticket and will provide assistance with travel and lodging for the conference.
The Deadlines
July 15: Deadline for applicationJuly 25: Recipients selected and notifiedJuly 30: Public announcement in a blogpost on joomla.orgSeptember 30: All tickets must booked
Application Criteria
The criteria to be followed by the JET Team for the election of candidates is as follows:
Applications of the candidates will be arranged in accordance with the contributions made to the Joomla project (especially during the last year) based on the information enclosed in the application and duly proven with recommendations from team or working group leaders.
Subsequently, all applicants will be accepted in order of appearance in the final list until the estimated budget for this edition of the JET Programme is reached.
This is an opportunity for the entire Joomla community, however, priority will be given to those participants who have not yet received a JET recognition.
The JET Team will give special consideration to well written applications that include details and timeframes of their participation in the Joomla project.
You must have a valid passport and be eligible for any necessary travel visas. Please contact your local Embassy to know if a travel visa is required. Expenses to acquire any travel documents are not included with the JET recognition.
We encourage you to apply using this form http://events.joomla.org/jet. Please note, these criteria and conditions must be met. Please read the guidelines carefully. Good luck!
The JET Team
The Joomla Event Traveller Programme team members are:
Dianne Henning (JET Team Lead, Community Leadership Team)
Guillermo Bravo (Community Leadership Team)
Roland Dalmulder (Production Leadership Team)
Jess Dunbar (Production Leadership Team)
Saurabh Shah (Open Source Matters)
Radek Suski (Joomla Events Team)
And a Small Guide to Volunteering and Liability
In the past weeks a member of our community raised questions about the structure reform and of potential issues with liability.
In the process of investigating these claims, and in dialogue with our Law firm (www.wtplaw.com) and our insurance broker (www.austin-co.com), I realized that very few of our volunteers actually understand the liability question that follows from being a volunteer in a non-profit like Open Source Matters.
In the next section I will explain the claims made and the answers and then move on to a general informational chapter on Volunteering & Liability.
The claim made against the Structure Proposal was focused on the question if new OSM Directors being elected in each department and operating as Department Coordinators would have a double role that would make them count as Employees under the New York State law. A consequence of that would be that they would no longer be independent Directors of the board, and that it would also constitute a problem in terms of liability.
However, going over the claim with our lawyers and insurance broker there are some key elements.
All volunteers in Open Source Matters from working groups to directors are in fact Volunteers and not employees.
All volunteers, and specially Officers and Directors (D&O) are covered by our insurance – which is a standard non-profit organization insurance as its normal in the US (coverage for all + special D&O coverage).
Officers & Directors of the board can be volunteers on multiple levels in the organization without becoming “employees” or “dependent” as long as they are volunteers and not paid employees.
Even _if_ they were a “dependent” Director i.e. an Employee representative in the Board of Directors they would still be OK and would still be covered by insurance.
Even _if_ they were to be counted as Employees they would still be covered by our insurance
Even _if_ they would be to have a double role that would make them employees and so not independent directors the remaining 4 Officers would still constitute independent directors and yet the board would have at least 1 independent Director, which is all it needs in reality.
Even _if_ a double role would have made a Director count as an employee this would already have been the case in OSM since day 1 when OSM was created.
To clarify some things about volunteering, liability and background:
Open Source Matters Inc. is based in New York in the USA.
There is a federal law called the Volunteer Protection Act that in much detail protects volunteers against liability and claims when doing voluntary work. (http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/PLAW-105publ19/pdf/PLAW-105publ19.pdf)
That means that the Act provides liability protection for volunteers under the following conditions:
The volunteer was acting within the scope of the volunteer’s responsibilities in the non-profit organization or governmental entity at the time of the act or omission;
If appropriate or required, the volunteer was properly licensed, certified or authorized by the appropriate authorities for the activities or practice in the State in which the harm occurred, where the activities were or practice was undertaken within the scope of harm occurred, where the activities were or practice was undertaken within the scope of the volunteer’s responsibilities in the non-profit organization or governmental entity;
The harm was not caused by willful or criminal misconduct, gross negligence, reckless misconduct, or a conscious, flagrant indifference to the rights or safety of the individual harmed by the volunteer;
The Act does not affect that “liability of any non-profit or governmental entity with respect to harm caused to any person,” nor does it affect a governmental entity or non-profit’s taking civil action against any volunteer of the non-profit. For more information, see US Public Law No: 105-19.
A bit more background etc. can be found here: http://www.npccny.org/info/gti2.htm
New York has its own amendments and state laws too, as do all US states – in general any Federal law will supersede any state law but there are some modifications here.
If you read the following publication (I would suggest first couple of chapters and then go to Page 74) http://www.iyi.org/resources/mentor/pdf/Liability%20Laws%20Overview.pdf.
General chapters give a good understanding and as you can see on page 74, for New York there really aren't many changes that affect us (as we are not voluntary fire fighters).
However N.Y. Not-for-Profit-Corp. Law § 720-a confers qualified immunity for uncompensated officers and directors of certain not-for-profit corporations as of 2002, and can be read in detail here: http://www.dfs.ny.gov/insurance/ogco2002/rg203061.htm
Full law text for 720-a can be found here: http://codes.lp.findlaw.com/nycode/NPC/7/720-a.
The full law text for Not-for-Profit Corp. Law for New York can be found here: http://codes.lp.findlaw.com/nycode/NPC.
A general and in detail read on liability for not-for-profit organizations and insurance of same can be read here: http://www.icnl.org/research/journal/vol4iss2_3/art_3.htm.
A copy of our insurance policy for Open Source Matters, Inc. can be found here https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B5YM847DtmTJM0NHTXAxSmdJQms&authuser=0.
It has been highlighted to underline the sections that are interesting in relation to this post.
Regards,
On behalf of the Structure Team
Ronni K. Gothard Christiansen
Discussion topic on this blog post at http://forum.joomla.org/viewtopic.php?f=704&t=889488
The Joomla! Production Leadership Team (PLT) is pleased to announce the addition of a new member. We welcome Marco Dings to the team. Marco will be managing and helping to document the workflows within the project, helping with the work on Joomla future releases and adding further frontend knowledge to the PLT.
The PLT is responsible for leading and coordinating the development of the Joomla CMS and the Joomla Framework. This includes releasing new versions, fixing bugs, adding new features, translating and creating documentation.
Last week the combined Joomla leadership teams (Community Leadership Team (CLT), the Board of Directors of Open Source Matters, Inc. (OSM), and the Production Leadership Team (PLT)), voted to adopt the New Structure & Methodology proposal, by a vote of 19 to 9.
Starting in the fall, the proposal was put through several rounds of leadership, working group and community feedback, and underwent numerous revisions before the proposal was put to a vote.
The structure team that worked on the proposal was formed at JandBeyond 2014 one year ago under the motto of “Make it happen”, and is made up of three representatives from each of the three leadership teams. The team was given a mandate by the Joomla leadership at JAB to do this work, and that mandate was renewed at the joint leadership summit in Cancun in November, 2014. The work of the structure team built on and drew from discussions and research that started at a joint leadership summit in 2011, and from the Governance Working Group research and idea catalogue.
As can be expected in a community as diverse and passionate as Joomla’s, there has been a wide spectrum of reaction to the proposal and resulting vote. Since a two-thirds majority in favor of the proposal was required to carry the motion, the vote was very close and there are some strong dissenting voices.
As with most things, this new structure can be viewed from different angles and with different mindsets. Details might be subject to interpretation, and assumptions are quite often easily made. However, without ignoring those facts, and keeping in mind the lessons learned from them, it is important now to be focused on our future, and have faith in our common goals.
For the first time, this vote gives the Joomla project a unified plan for leadership to involve volunteers, plan, mentor and vote. One legal body to oversee and lead the project, guided by the voices of the teams doing the work. The goal of the proposal is to encourage contributors, bring together fragmented leadership teams and processes, involve more global communities, and to have a voting process where leaders are not appointed by leadership itself. It sets a road map for organized conflict resolution and a code of conduct.
Today we need to come together to continue the implementation of this document. The next step will be to form a transition team to provide the guidance and processes to transition into the new structure. In the coming week the structure team will put several options before the entire leadership for a vote on how this transition team could be formed. Once the transition team is formed, the work of the structure team will be over.
Some areas of the proposal still need more detail. The transition team will oversee the formation of teams to define those areas through a continued process of collaboration and feedback. The structure team strongly recommends that all leadership be actively involved in this process, and that the concerns of the PLT in particular, be addressed throughout.
The public leadership discussion and vote on the structure change is something unprecedented in Joomla history. There is a commitment to increased transparency. The vote was respectfully conducted. As the proposal adoption phase comes to a close, the structure team wishes to thank all of the community members, working group members, and members of leadership who shared their views and offered input on the document as it was being developed.
A new day is dawning for the Joomla project. The CMS scene is very different today from what it was 10 years ago when the project was new. Joomla has made its way, stood its ground, and established itself as one of the top Open Source CMS’s in a challenging environment. It is our sincere hope that this structure change, with the continued work and collaboration of the volunteer community, will form the solid basis to guide the Joomla project through the next 10 years, and beyond.
In the spirit of moving forward, we welcome your feedback in the forum:
http://forum.joomla.org/viewtopic.php?f=704&t=888437
The Joomla! Production Leadership Team (PLT) is pleased to announce the addition of a new member. We welcome Tessa Mero to the team. Tessa will be managing speaking opportunities for the PLT and developer community. She will be sharing information, writing technical tutorials, blogs, and reaching out to the greater php developer community. In addition, Tessa will help manage and organize code sprints.
The PLT is responsible for leading and coordinating the development of the Joomla CMS and the Joomla Framework. This includes releasing new versions, fixing bugs, adding new features, translating and creating documentation.
The addition of Tessa brings the total of current PLT members to ten:
Chris Davenport
Javier Gomez
Thomas Hunziker
Tessa Mero
Tom Hutchison
George Wilson
Roland Dalmulder
Jessica Dunbar
Viktor Vogel
Robert Deutz
Tessa Mero
Growing up her entire life in Seattle, Tessa received her web application degree and certification and was hired late 2011 at a Ski and Snowboard company creating their manufacturing websites. After being hired, she discovered Joomla! after taking a training course with OSTraining and then attending her first Joomla! Day NYC in October 2011. Since then, she's been very passionate for the Joomla! community and has devoted her spare time with contributing to the Joomla! Project.
She started with helping test patches in the Joomla! Bug Squad and moved to being an assistant manager of the JED (Joomla! Extensions Directory) team, in charge of hiring and training new team members. She recently served a term as a Board of Director for Open Source Matters, Inc,
She is the organizer of the Seattle Joomla! User Group and hoping to share her love and inspiration for Joomla! around her area.
Aside from being a web developer, teaching web development classes at a college, and being an open source contributor, she also does fun things like plays the Clarinet, hangs out at Chuck-E-Cheese's with her 2 kids (a lot), Snowboards, and has love for the outdoors.
The future
The Production Leadership Team plans the addition of more members during 2015. If you would like to nominate a member from the Joomla community for serving the PLT there is a permanent nomination form available. You are invited to congratulate the new members at the following forum topic: http://forum.joomla.org/viewtopic.php?f=704&t=883175
The Joomla Event Travel Programme (JET) is pleased to announce that we have selected 12 members from the worldwide Joomla community (Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Mexico, Israel, The Netherlands, and USA) to attend the upcoming J and Beyond Conference being held May 29-31, 2015 in Prague, Czech Republic.
With 39 applications to choose from, it was a difficult decision that was made easier because of the criteria point system that was put in place prior to the call for applications.
Because the Joomla! project has a great community, the goal is to empower more volunteers to effectively contribute by increasing transparency, communication and trust. Over the past several years, a majority of the leadership has supported the review and study of governance, convinced that our current organizational structure and methodology are not optimal to move our community forward.
Last October the Structural Team, entrusted by the joint Joomla leadership to produce a proposal for a new leadership structure for the Joomla project, shared their work with the combined project Working Groups for their feedback. This version of the proposal is the result of that feedback.
Now we are seeking feedback from the community as a whole on the proposal for a new organizational structure and methodology. Read the proposal here: New Structure & Methodology [Proposal] - Google Doc
You can share your thoughts and comments about this proposal in this public forum thread: http://forum.joomla.org/viewtopic.php?f=704&t=880994 or you can email directly to the structure team structure@joomla.org
The Joomla! Event Traveller Programme (JET) is pleased to announce that we will be taking applications from the worldwide Joomla community, for the upcoming J and Beyond Conference to be held on May 29-31, 2015 in Prague, Czech Republic.
The JET Programme is an initiative that was created to support active project volunteers and community members who have dedicated time and energy to make Joomla better, and who would like to attend larger Joomla events, such as J and Beyond, and the Joomla! World Conference. The JET Programme will cover the cost of the admission ticket, and will provide assistance with travel and lodging for the conference.
The Deadlines
March 20: Deadline for applicationMarch 27: Recipients selected and notifiedApril 1: Public announcement in a blogpost on joomla.orgApril 10: All tickets must booked
Application Criteria
The criteria to be followed by the JET Committee for the election of candidates is as follows:
Applications of the candidates will be arranged in accordance with the contributions made to the Joomla project (especially during the last year) based on the information enclosed in the application and duly proven with recommendations from team or working group leaders.
Subsequently, all applicants will be accepted in order of appearance in the final list until the estimated budget for this edition of the JET Programme is reached.
This is an opportunity for the entire Joomla community, however, priority will be given to those participants who have not yet received a JET recognition.
The JET Committee will give special consideration to well written applications that include details and timeframes of their participation in the Joomla project.
You must have a valid passport and be eligible for any necessary travel visas.
We encourage you to apply using this form http://events.joomla.org/jet. Please note, there are certain criteria and conditions that must be met. Please read the guidelines carefully. Good luck!
The JET Team
The Joomla Event Traveller Programme team members are:
Dianne Henning (JET Team Lead, Community Leadership Team)
Guillermo Bravo (Community Leadership Team)
Roland Dalmulder (Production Leadership Team)
Jess Dunbar (Production Leadership Team)
Saurabh Shah (Open Source Matters)
Radek Suski (Joomla Events Team)
Members of the three Joomla leadership teams, Production Leadership Team (PLT), Community Leadership Team (CLT), and directors of the board of Open Source Matters (OSM), gathered for two days of joint meetings prior to the Joomla World Conference in Cancun last November.
These minutes document the discussions that took place over the two days of meetings. While not a transcript, they are the product of committing all of the proceedings to record, as accurately as possible.
N.B.: the term "[LINK]" appears in place of non-publicly shared documents.
Today I am happy to report that a balanced 2015 budget proposal has been prepared by myself and dedicated volunteers from all areas of the Joomal project.
A special thanks goes out to Chris Davenport and Olaf Offick — budget liaisons from the PLT and CLT — for their hard work and professional attitude throughout the budget process.
Process
The 2015 budget process is quite similar to prior years and is well documented. In short, the 3-month process has 5 stages:
Set project-wide goals
Define objectives to achieve each goal
Assign expenses and/or revenue to each objective
Prioritize objectives
Submit proposal for community feedback and approval by the board of Open Source Matters
Two important changes from the 2014 budget process were included for 2015:
Line item owners would be specified to have decision making authority for expenditures
The budget would be balanced
Budget summary
As a result of the budget process, the proposed budget projects revenue of $755,575 with expenses matching dollar-for-dollar (a summary of revenue and expenses associated with the Goals of the project are shown at the end of this document. The full budget organized by our Chart of Accounts is also available).
Based on this balanced budget, we project that our end-of-year assets will total $329,886.
I am pleased to announce the following with Brian Teeman leading this overdue and needed core en-GB standardisation.
The PLT have accepted the proposal to review and standardise all the en-GB language strings in the core of Joomla based on the style guide that you can see here (until it gets a permanent home).
