Hi,
As you know, we now have a list of criteria to evaluate prospective
Trusted Organizations[1], which makes it possible to implement our
Constitution's §5.1.11.
Debian.ch is now ready to go through this process. You will find at [2]
how this organization relates to those criteria (wiki source copy-pasted
below, for convenience).
This email starts the official discussion period (of a minimum of two
weeks).
Thanks,
- Lucas
[1] https://wiki.debian.org/Teams/DPL/TrustedOrganizationCriteria
[2] https://wiki.debian.org/debian.ch/TrustedOrganizationCriteria
------------------------------------------------------------------->8
#pragma section-numbers on
See https://wiki.debian.org/Teams/DPL/TrustedOrganizationCriteria
== Introduction ==
See the [[http://debian.ch/articles_of_association.pdf|debian.ch bylaws,
in english]]
== The organization should share Debian's general visions ==
{{{
The organization's bylaws, activities and political stance should not
conflict with the Debian Social Contract.
}}}
From the debian.ch bylaws, article 2:
§2 PURPOSE
1. debian.ch is the official representative of the Debian Project in
Switzerland and Liechtenstein.
1. The Association holds assets on behalf of the Debian Project in
Switzerland and Liechtenstein.
1. It supports the Debian project and its activities using the
Association’s assets.
Note that these bylaws were written under the earlier running state of
debian.ch actually being a TO. These highlight that the intent behind
the debian.ch association foundation was to explicitly be a
representative of the Debian project and support it and its activities.
== The organization should remain loyal to Debian ==
{{{
The organization should be considered fully trustworthy, or provide
guarantees that Debian's assets will be managed according to the Debian
Project's decisions.
}}}
From the debian.ch bylaws, article 5, about membership:
§5 MEMBERSHIP
1. Members of the Debian project with permanent residence or
citizenship in Switzerland (...) may choose to assert membership of the
Association and their membership is automatically accepted.
1. Any member may propose another person for admission as a member.
The General Meeting will decide on their inclusion. The proposed member
must be present at the meeting unless it is impractical for them to
attend.
1. A member can leave the Association debian.ch at his own request at
any time.
1. A General Meeting may choose to exclude a member without cause. A
majority of 2/3 of members present must vote in favour of such a motion
for it to be carried.
* 5.1. Indicates that the bulk of debian.ch members are
[[https://www.debian.org/vote/2010/vote_002|Debian members]], thereby
providing the loyalty warranties.
* For information, the current debian.ch Committee consists of <odyx>,
<gaudenz> and <hug>.
== The organization should provide accountability on assets held in
trust ==
The yearly financial statements are made public after each AGM.
Debian Auditors can ask for detailed account statements on request and
we're discussing ways of better integration with them.
== The organization should be reliable, sustainable, and reactive ==
As for reliability and sustainability, debian.ch has been running since
at least 2008 without interruption, with annual general meetings (AGMs)
and other in-person meetings.
Between 2011 and 2013, [[http://debconf13.debconf.org|DebConf13.ch]] in
Vaumarcus, was launched and conducted successfully by several debian.ch
members. This involvement has hurt these members' reactiveness post-
DebConf13 (which is visible through the time it took to fill this
procedure); this is getting better these days.
== The organization should provide a reasonable financial framework ==
=== Bank account ===
* debian.ch has an account at [[https://www.postfinance.ch/en.html|
Postfinance]] in CHF and a PayPal account. An EUR account could also be
opened if needed. These accounts are controlled by the acting debian.ch
treasurer. The acting debian.ch president also has access to the
accounts in case of need. Switzerland is part of the SEPA area which
allows us free bank transfers within the EU.
=== Spending ===
* debian.ch can spend it's money according to the associations goal,
which is "support the Debian project". This includes transfers to other
TOs.
=== Tax-exemption status ===
* debian.ch did not apply for tax-exempt status, because the additional
bureaucracy and limitations outweigh the advantages at the moment.
* debian.ch is subject to tax on earnings if our yearly earnings exceed
5000CHF.
== Additional opportunities ==
* debian.ch has been (and still is) [[http://debian.ch/merchandise|
selling Debian-branded merchandise]] including the popular umbrellas,
swiss knives and stickers.
Attachment:
signature.asc
Description: Digital signature