[okfn-discuss] Suggestion: OKCentral henceforth be called OKGlobal

Wed Sep 17 12:58:19 UTC 2014

Hi Tom & all,

Interesting! Personally, I am in two minds about this.

To me, calling the non-profit organisation 'Open Knowledge Global' implies
we would then speak for all the global groups, as a sort of collective or
overall representative of all the individual Chapters, Local Groups,
Working Groups and other community groups and individuals. As you know,
this may not always be appropriate - different groups have different aims
and methods, and - for example - if 'Open Knowledge Global' were to write a
thought-leadership blog on successful lobbying, that could damage the
reputation of groups in areas where lobbying is perceived as anarchic or
subversive. 'Central' seems more representative of a supportive
administrative hub, which I would say is closer to my understanding of the
role the non-profit organisation currently undertakes, or seeks to
undertake.

On the other hand, I agree there isn't a 'centre' of Open Knowledge (if
there is, I want the key!!). The non-profit organisation doesn't dictate
what groups do or say, the lines of communication aren't radiating out from
a centre, the groups aren't gathered 'around the centre'; 'global' allows
for a more amorphous cloud of multiple communication streams, and less
hierarchy. Also being called 'OKCentral' has sometimes given the impression
that the most usual geographic location for OKCentral to meet - London,
Berlin or Cambridge - is therefore its 'capital' or office. in the case of
London and Cambridge, this is exacerbated by the fact that there is no
established Local Group, and many people assume 'OKCentral' is the same as
'OK-UK' or 'OK-England'. 'Global' may go some way to address this
misconception and/or help us move away from this habit.

There are examples of other organisations and communities being called
'international' - for example Amnesty International and Greenpeace
International - perhaps people involved in those groups could share
information about what the 'international' there implies and means in
practise, and we could see whether that model fits with what we all are or
hope to be?

I would love to hear more from people on this list about what you think
and/or have experienced, as well as Local Group and Working Group leaders -
here looping in on CC.

Thanks Tom for the thought-provoking suggestion!

Naomi (speaking for myself only)

On 16 September 2014 16:02, Julio Feliciano <julio at sfsu.edu> wrote:

>  +1
>
>  On Sep 15, 2014, at 11:36 PM, Nurunnaby Hasive <nh at nhasive.com> wrote:
>
>  +1
>
> On Tue, Sep 16, 2014 at 12:31 PM, Pieter Colpaert <
> pieter.colpaert at okfn.org> wrote:
>
>> +1
>> Op 15 sep. 2014 13:18 schreef "Rufus Pollock" <rufus.pollock at okfn.org>:
>>
>>  Very good suggestion Tom - we sort of fell into the "Central" by
>>> accident (btw it was always intended to convey coordination and support
>>> rather than direction).
>>>
>>>  If others were happy with the "Global" moniker rather than "Central" I
>>> think this would make perfect sense as a change.
>>>
>>>  Regards,
>>>
>>>  Rufus
>>>
>>> On 13 September 2014 16:12, Everton Zanella Alvarenga <tom at okfn.org.br>
>>> wrote:
>>>
>>>>   Dear all,
>>>>
>>>>  I believe for we work as a network, we shouldn't have a center. Thus
>>>> I'd like to suggest henceforth to call Open Knowledge Central of Open
>>>> Knowledge Global (OKCentral -> OKGlobal). And we work hard to work in this
>>>> way.
>>>>
>>>>  Thoughts?
>>>>
>>>>  Tom
>>>>
>>>> --
>>>> Everton Zanella Alvarenga (also Tom)
>>>> Open Knowledge Brasil - Rede pelo Conhecimento Livre
>>>> http://br.okfn.org
>>>>
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>>>
>>>
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>
>
> --
> *Nurunnaby Chowdhury Hasive*
> Administrator | Bengali Wikipedia
> <http://bn.wikipedia.org/wiki/user:nhasive>
> Member | IEG Committee, Wikimedia Foundation
> <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Grants:IdeaLab/People>
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>
>
>  Julio Feliciano
> Division of Information Technology
> San Francisco State University
> 1600 Holloway Ave, San Francisco CA 94132
>
>  p: 415.405.3685
> e: julio at sfsu.edu
>
>
>
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-- 

Naomi Lillie

Network Director

skype: n.lillie  |  @naomilillie <https://twitter.com/NaomiLillie>

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