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

Wed Sep 17 13:51:01 UTC 2014

Hello everybody,

It's great that Open Knowledge (Foundation), by being true to its cause,
has enabled local communities to follow their own course to Open Knowledge.
For those of us who are more familiar with how the organization as a whole
works, it matters less whether we call it OKCentral or OKGlobal.

However, for people who are new or those not yet introduced, OKCentral and
OKGlobal sounds as Naomi interpreted. To correctly settle the debate, I
think we need a new word and OKInternational sounds good enough. There may
not be an exact word to fit the need. Let's come up with few more words, if
it's that important let's quickly confer to come to a common consensus
(please pardon the alliteration) with a good enough option.

Words can carry only as much value as we choose to give to them.

-Kshitiz Khanal
Volunteer
Open Knowledge Community in Nepal

and, Energy Systems Researcher
GHEaSES International
kshitiz.org
@kshitizkhanal7 <http://twitter.com/kshitizkhanal7>

On Wed, Sep 17, 2014 at 6:43 PM, Naomi Lillie <naomi.lillie at okfn.org> wrote:

> 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
>>>>>
>>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>>> okfn-discuss mailing list
>>>>> okfn-discuss at lists.okfn.org
>>>>> https://lists.okfn.org/mailman/listinfo/okfn-discuss
>>>>> Unsubscribe: https://lists.okfn.org/mailman/options/okfn-discuss
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>  --
>>>> * Rufus Pollock Founder and President | skype: rufuspollock |
>>>> @rufuspollock <https://twitter.com/rufuspollock> Open Knowledge
>>>> <http://okfn.org/> - see how data can change the world **http://okfn.org/
>>>> <http://okfn.org/> | @okfn <http://twitter.com/OKFN> | Open Knowledge on
>>>> Facebook <https://www.facebook.com/OKFNetwork> |  Blog
>>>> <http://blog.okfn.org/>*
>>>>
>>>>  The Open Knowledge Foundation is a not-for-profit organisation.  It
>>>> is incorporated in England & Wales as a company limited by guarantee, with
>>>> company number 05133759.  VAT Registration № GB 984404989. Registered
>>>> office address: Open Knowledge Foundation, St John’s Innovation Centre,
>>>> Cowley Road, Cambridge, CB4 0WS, UK.
>>>>
>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>> okfn-discuss mailing list
>>>> okfn-discuss at lists.okfn.org
>>>> https://lists.okfn.org/mailman/listinfo/okfn-discuss
>>>> Unsubscribe: https://lists.okfn.org/mailman/options/okfn-discuss
>>>>
>>>>
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> okfn-discuss mailing list
>>> okfn-discuss at lists.okfn.org
>>> https://lists.okfn.org/mailman/listinfo/okfn-discuss
>>> Unsubscribe: https://lists.okfn.org/mailman/options/okfn-discuss
>>>
>>>
>>
>>
>> --
>> *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>
>> Social Media Interaction Moderator | The Daily Prothom-Alo
>> <http://www.prothom-alo.com/>
>> Bangladesh Ambassador | Open Knowledge Foundation Network
>> <http://www.okfn.org/>
>> Treasurer | Bangladesh Open Source Network (BdOSN)
>> <http://www.bdosn.org/>
>> Task Force Member | Mozilla Bangladesh <http://www.mozillabd.org/>
>> fb.com/nhasive | @nhasive <http://www.twitter.com/nhasive> | Skype:
>> nhasive | www.nhasive.com
>>  _______________________________________________
>> okfn-discuss mailing list
>> okfn-discuss at lists.okfn.org
>> https://lists.okfn.org/mailman/listinfo/okfn-discuss
>> Unsubscribe: https://lists.okfn.org/mailman/options/okfn-discuss
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>  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
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> okfn-discuss mailing list
>> okfn-discuss at lists.okfn.org
>> https://lists.okfn.org/mailman/listinfo/okfn-discuss
>> Unsubscribe: https://lists.okfn.org/mailman/options/okfn-discuss
>>
>>
>
>
> --
>
> Naomi Lillie
>
> Network Director
>
> skype: n.lillie  |  @naomilillie <https://twitter.com/NaomiLillie>
>
> Open Knowledge <http://okfn.org/>    -    See how data can change the
> world
>
> http://okfn.org/  |  @okfn <http://twitter.com/OKFN>  |  Facebook
> <https://www.facebook.com/OKFNetwork>  |  Blog <http://blog.okfn.org/>
>
>
>
> Open Knowledge Community Stories | http://okfncommunity.tumblr.com/ | see
> how people are changing the world
>
>
> Open Knowledge is a not-for-profit organisation.  It is incorporated in
> England & Wales as a company limited by guarantee, with company number
> 05133759.  VAT Registration № GB 984404989. Registered office address: Open
> Knowledge, St John’s Innovation Centre, Cowley Road, Cambridge CB4 0WS, UK.
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> okfn-discuss mailing list
> okfn-discuss at lists.okfn.org
> https://lists.okfn.org/mailman/listinfo/okfn-discuss
> Unsubscribe: https://lists.okfn.org/mailman/options/okfn-discuss
>
>
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.okfn.org/pipermail/okfn-discuss/attachments/20140917/e62440ca/attachment-0002.html>