wiki.occupyboston.org - User contributions [en]

GA Minutes Sat Feb 25 2012

2012-02-26T05:35:40Z

Tim Smith: added time and location of GA

Occupy Boston General Assembly Minutes

Saturday, February 25, 2012, 5 PM

Community Church of Boston

Facilitators: Matt and ??

Note Takers: Charlotte and Tim

==Discussion about how Thursday's GA Ended==

Getting a late start on notes. facil talking about confusion re: possibility of a 3rd round of ammendments at last thursday's GA. the proposal from thursday is tabled until the proposer comes to GA- they are not here right now. Facil would like permission from GA to use their best judgement in situations like this as to whether to break process. if proposer shows up tonight we will have a conversation about whether to continue that proposal tonight. This discussion is now tabled.

==Working Group Announcements==

'''Occupy UMASS:''' occupy spring break, march 15-18, we'll be outside. next week we'll be making a proposal asking for use of kitchen tent. teach-ins, etc

'''queer DA:''' clothing swap! bring your old clothes. maybe we'll screen print some. also glitter. date forthcoming but wanted to see if you're interested.
POI: are you a wg? (yes) then your acronym is QDAWG.

'''Occupy the T (via Rene):''' going well, meet friday 6-8 at SEIU and at SAA sunday nights 5pm community church.

'''Tactical (via Rene):''' meets at remingtons 9pm wednesday

'''Logistics:''' work party tomorrow all day at a private house email logistics@occupyboston.org

'''Spokes:''' meets right after SAA at 8-8:30ish to plan for action on March 17th. spokes council is when several wg's/affinity groups

'''Secret wg:''' i practice good security culture. maybe there are things you want to do, or are planning, that shouldn't be shared online. i'm making this announcement to remind you that. ex: don't post the route of a march. don't give out identifying or contact info about other members.

'''Emma/Child care:''' available monday night for decolonize community gathering, email me childcare@occupyboston.org

'''Chess:''' we're not toning it down, playing chess, not scattergories! also we want to host a game night community gathering. 4pm 27 yarmouth st #3.

'''Safer spaces:''' working on community agreements. will present one on march 6th at GA. meetings saturday E5 2-3:30.

==Individual Announcements==

'''Occupy Worcester:''' Feb 29th "shut down the corporations" day. wednesday 8am protest pfizer research facility in groton, CT

'''Allie:''' zuzu at the Middle East tonight at 11pm tonight! come dance with us!

'''Nick:''' open house April 2nd. wg's contact nbokron@gmail.

'''Mike:''' i work with election defense alliance organization. since 2000 we've been looking at what's going on in the US about electronic manipulation of our votes. i came here tonight to ask you to get involved with us. corporations have taken over our vote counting systems. our voting systems are not secure. 97% of our ballots were counted unobservedly by optical scan equipment. we have no access to memory cards, paper ballots- we can't get to it, politicians can't get to it. why not? Suggestion from Rene: come to SAA at 5pm here tomorrow, people come to plan action.

'''Franklin:''' seeking individual donations to cover application fee to college, $25

'''Occupy the food supply (Ellen):''' feb 27 is occupy the food supply day, boston doesn't have anything planned. Come to SAA tomorrow night to plan.

'''Allie (later):''' Priority process proposal to denounce American-style democracy tonight!

==Order of Proposals==

Women's Caucus- all proposers tonight have agreed they can go first. will temp check for proposals 2-4

proposal: looking for endorsement of F29 action in CT (occupy pfizer)

Proposal: formal process for standasides, people who don't want to vote in a count

Proposal: shut down GA business except announcements until we shut down two banks. i'll go last

FAWG rollover proposal will be 2nd.

order: womens caucus, FAWG, occupy worcester (pfizer action), standasides, shut down GA

==Proposal: Women's GA (Women's Caucus)==

background: international womens day established spring of 1911 in germany. march 8th. day to celebrate women and women's issues. at the time they were fighting for voting rights. As women of OB we feel it is very important to celebrate this day as not many in US know about this day. Even though one day isn't enough, this is an opportunity to focus our agenda on women's issues. we propose GA that night be focused on women's issues, organized by women's caucus and affiliated groups.

'''Questions/Information:'''

CQ: why during a GA?

A: march 8th is a GA night. also, hard to fit in another day for a meeting. also, often when we have women's issue focused event people who feel less comfortable don't come. GA generates a big crowd.

CQ: are you proposing a strategic action assembly? or a typical GA but only proposals dealing with womens issues will be discussed

A: intended to be an evening to look at various aspects of women's issues. we don't envision a regular GA. Sort of like the MLK focused GA

CQ: women's caucus would do facilitating? what role, if any will facilitation play?

A: we would like women to facilitate. if there are women in facilitation who want to do this that would be great. also we are just starting to envision this. we don't want a situation where the women are sitting in the back and men are talking.However, all are welcome to join the conversation

'''Breakout Groups'''

'''Supports:'''

S: a lot of people wish there were more spaces for conversation. lately we've taken time to change up GA to respond to needs of different groups and the community has responded well

S: it's nice to have people other than facil bring GA one night

S: this is a long time coming and i'm excited to see WC together and doing stuff

S: i think we can use this to draw people in

S: support this and hope you can outreach to other groups

S: doesn't seem clear yet what the thing is, but i trust WC to figure it out

S: love the idea of calling attention to a united effort by women to improve certain issues

'''Concerns:'''

C: think it's great and necessary but concern is taking over GA. GA is too structured & process issues to do what you're trying to do, which should be more free-flowing. I think GA keeps some people away, if it were a special night just for that.

POI: they are asking for permission to disband the structure of GA for that night to have a free-flowing conversation.

WC: yes. this has happened in the past (anti-oppression, MLK day, etc)

CQ: is it your intention to have announcements?

A: haven't thought about that yet. could be that we give 30 min for business/announcements. we haven't talked about it and we invite everyone to work with us to plan it.

C: this proposal is addressing time, on march 8th we'll use GA time. i've heard many process concerns. concern is that this will be restricted by process related amendments.

C: frame it to not make those of us who do the job invisible. There are many excellent female facilitators

'''Amendments:'''

A: list in proposal areas where womens issues will be addressed

A: allow announcements at the beginning

A: you will announce when you are planning to have planning meetings

A: clarify that you are asking to suspend GA process

'''Amended Proposal:'''

Amended proposal is read. Regular GA process will be suspended on March 8, except that evening will begun with 30 minutes of announcements as usual.

'''Questions/Information:'''

Anna: I think there is a 7-9 slot at E5 on Fridays if you want it.

'''Supports:'''

Jay: I support this proposal and I think we need to do more things like this.

'''Concerns, Amendments, Blocks:'''

[none]

'''Vote:'''

Appears to be unanimous support!

The proposal passes.

==Proposal: Participatory Budgeting (Rene)==

This proposal addresses dwindling financial resources and lack of a budget. The participatory budgeting WG proposes to spend 15 minutes of Tuesday's GA for a discussion about how to transition into a process that reflects participatory democracy.

'''Questions/Information:'''

Q: You said 15 minutes, right?

A: Yes.

Q: How do we do things now?

A: Currently, the person who convinces everyone that their idea is best is the one who gets the money. I have been involved in proposals that spend $20,000. This is a more democratic way.

Q: I really don't understand what the new process is.

A: That's what the 15 minutes is about. Participatory budgeting is a huge topic. It's a process for us all to create a budget together. We want to budget two or three months in advance.

Charlotte: We would consent to using this process after the 15 minute presentation?

A: No, we want to start a regular meeting time to discuss this. We need an initial educational presentation.

Anna: There are whole groups that don't have access to the budget or find it too complicated. Are you going to do special outreach to these groups?

A: Yes.

Carolyn: I wonder if we can allocate a little more time than 15 minutes.

A: We don't want to take up too much time and bore people.

Jay: We tried to ratify temp checks and it took like an hour. We should be cognizant of that when asking for only 15 minutes.

A: Cool.

Q: The 15 minutes is just from this one GA, or each GA will have some part devoted to participatory budgeting?

A: That would be ideal, but this is just a one-time brief education.

Q: Will there be PowerPoint?

A: Very likely, yes.

Q: Is 15 minutes how much you feel like you need?

A: We would love to take up 4 hours, but 15 minutes is enough for the basics.

Charlotte: At a past GA when someone wanted 15 minutes, we decided we could temp check it.

A: We want the slot guaranteed, because we will be bringing equipment.

'''[temp check fails for breakout groups]'''

'''Supports:'''

Bill: I think this is wonderful, let us all say we trust you and not amend or change anything.

'''Concerns:'''

Ellen: I am concerned that 15 minutes is not enough.

'''Amendments:'''

Ellen: I amend that you take 15 minutes for the presentation and we use 45 minutes for discussion.

Charlotte: I amend that the PowerPoint be available online.

Carolyn: 15 minutes presentation, 15 minutes discussion.

[various temp checks on how long discussion should be after presentation]

'''Amended proposal:'''

15 minutes presentation, 15 minutes discussion.

'''Questions/Information, Supports, Concerns, Amendments, Blocks:'''

[none]

'''Vote:'''

Consensus, proposal passes!

==Proposal: Shut Down the Corporations Day (Brian of Occupy Worchester)==

My proposal is that Occupy Boston endorses / issues a statement of solitarity for Feb 29 Shut Down the Corporations Day in Groton, Connecticutt. 8:00 in the morning on Wednesday, meeting at Eastern Point Beach Park in Groton. Look it up at Occupy Hartford. This has already been endorsed by other Occupies.

'''Questions/Information:'''

Joe: What is the action going to be?

A: We are protesting outside the Pfizer facility. We have demanded of Pfizer that they remove themselves from ALEC (American Legislative Exchange Council) and stop supporting them.

POI: There is a Pfizer building in Cambridge if anyone is interested.

A: You are more than welcome to do actions of your own and spread the word.

POI: There are other actions planned by OB for the 29th. Details haven't been released yet.

'''Supports:'''

Ellen: I think it's great that you're doing us, I don't think we address Big Pharma enough. I think Big Pharma affects people even more than the big banks. Power to you.

'''Concerns:'''

C: While I support protesting Pfizer, there are other objections we have to that corporation. You seem to be singling out a single issue.

'''Amendments, Blocks:'''

[none]

'''Vote:'''

>= 75%, proposal passes!

==Proposal: Funding for Decolonize to Liberate (presentation only)==

'''Quorum has been lost.''' No decisions can be made, proposals can only be presented, not voted on.

A community meeting of Decolonize to Liberate is happening on Monday night. We stand in solidarity with indigenous people and support indigenous issues. Colonization is the commodification of life, which is the root cause of what we're all protesting. We're gathering on Monday night to discuss these issues.

Our proposal is that the Decolonize to Liberate Working Group (meeting since October 8, 2011) will receive no more than $400 reimbursement from the OB General Fund to cover travel expenses (receipts provided) for speakers and special guests (as determined by the Working Group) to attend the 2/27 Community Gathering, hosted by the Working Group.

[At this point the laptop being used to record the minutes had to be returned, so the record breaks off here. GA ended not long afterward, following some discussion of this proposal.]

==Individual Stack (from earlier)==

'''Bill:''' I have books, find me. Also if you lost your gloves, find me

'''Brandon:''' please don't have side conversations, it's distracting and disrespectful

'''Allie:''' I think there's a misconception about what a GA is. I think any time we come together is a GA. The idea of a GA is the community coming together, rather than this particular stilted process that we follow. Talk to me at: allie@occupyboston.org

'''Charlotte:''' Health and wellness - come and talk to me: cdbadler@gmail.com

GA/Minutes/Feb2012

2012-02-26T05:31:12Z

Tim Smith: added Sat Feb 25

=== [[GA Minutes Sat Feb 25 2012|Week 22 - Sat Feb 25]] ===

=== [[Media:GA_Minutes_Thur_Feb_23_2012.txt|Week 21 - Thur Feb 23]] ===

=== [[GA_Minutes_Tue_Feb_21_2012| Week 21 - Tues Feb 21]] ===

=== Week 21 - Sat Feb 18 ===

=== Week 20 - Thur Feb 16 ===

=== [[Media:GA_Minutes_Feb_14_2012.txt|Week 20 - Tues Feb 14]] ===

=== Week 20 - Sat Feb 11 ===

=== Week 19 - Thur Feb 9 ===

=== Week 19 - Tues Feb 7 ===

=== Week 19 - Sat Feb 4 ===

=== [[GA Minutes Week 18 - Thur Feb 2|Week 18 - Thur Feb 2]] ===

GA Minutes Sat Feb 25 2012

2012-02-26T05:26:44Z

Tim Smith: posted minutes

Occupy Boston General Assembly Minutes

Saturday, February 25, 2012

Facilitators: Matt and ??

Note Takers: Charlotte and Tim

==Discussion about how Thursday's GA Ended==

Getting a late start on notes. facil talking about confusion re: possibility of a 3rd round of ammendments at last thursday's GA. the proposal from thursday is tabled until the proposer comes to GA- they are not here right now. Facil would like permission from GA to use their best judgement in situations like this as to whether to break process. if proposer shows up tonight we will have a conversation about whether to continue that proposal tonight. This discussion is now tabled.

==Working Group Announcements==

'''Occupy UMASS:''' occupy spring break, march 15-18, we'll be outside. next week we'll be making a proposal asking for use of kitchen tent. teach-ins, etc

'''queer DA:''' clothing swap! bring your old clothes. maybe we'll screen print some. also glitter. date forthcoming but wanted to see if you're interested.
POI: are you a wg? (yes) then your acronym is QDAWG.

'''Occupy the T (via Rene):''' going well, meet friday 6-8 at SEIU and at SAA sunday nights 5pm community church.

'''Tactical (via Rene):''' meets at remingtons 9pm wednesday

'''Logistics:''' work party tomorrow all day at a private house email logistics@occupyboston.org

'''Spokes:''' meets right after SAA at 8-8:30ish to plan for action on March 17th. spokes council is when several wg's/affinity groups

'''Secret wg:''' i practice good security culture. maybe there are things you want to do, or are planning, that shouldn't be shared online. i'm making this announcement to remind you that. ex: don't post the route of a march. don't give out identifying or contact info about other members.

'''Emma/Child care:''' available monday night for decolonize community gathering, email me childcare@occupyboston.org

'''Chess:''' we're not toning it down, playing chess, not scattergories! also we want to host a game night community gathering. 4pm 27 yarmouth st #3.

'''Safer spaces:''' working on community agreements. will present one on march 6th at GA. meetings saturday E5 2-3:30.

==Individual Announcements==

'''Occupy Worcester:''' Feb 29th "shut down the corporations" day. wednesday 8am protest pfizer research facility in groton, CT

'''Allie:''' zuzu at the Middle East tonight at 11pm tonight! come dance with us!

'''Nick:''' open house April 2nd. wg's contact nbokron@gmail.

'''Mike:''' i work with election defense alliance organization. since 2000 we've been looking at what's going on in the US about electronic manipulation of our votes. i came here tonight to ask you to get involved with us. corporations have taken over our vote counting systems. our voting systems are not secure. 97% of our ballots were counted unobservedly by optical scan equipment. we have no access to memory cards, paper ballots- we can't get to it, politicians can't get to it. why not? Suggestion from Rene: come to SAA at 5pm here tomorrow, people come to plan action.

'''Franklin:''' seeking individual donations to cover application fee to college, $25

'''Occupy the food supply (Ellen):''' feb 27 is occupy the food supply day, boston doesn't have anything planned. Come to SAA tomorrow night to plan.

'''Allie (later):''' Priority process proposal to denounce American-style democracy tonight!

==Order of Proposals==

Women's Caucus- all proposers tonight have agreed they can go first. will temp check for proposals 2-4

proposal: looking for endorsement of F29 action in CT (occupy pfizer)

Proposal: formal process for standasides, people who don't want to vote in a count

Proposal: shut down GA business except announcements until we shut down two banks. i'll go last

FAWG rollover proposal will be 2nd.

order: womens caucus, FAWG, occupy worcester (pfizer action), standasides, shut down GA

==Proposal: Women's GA (Women's Caucus)==

background: international womens day established spring of 1911 in germany. march 8th. day to celebrate women and women's issues. at the time they were fighting for voting rights. As women of OB we feel it is very important to celebrate this day as not many in US know about this day. Even though one day isn't enough, this is an opportunity to focus our agenda on women's issues. we propose GA that night be focused on women's issues, organized by women's caucus and affiliated groups.

'''Questions/Information:'''

CQ: why during a GA?

A: march 8th is a GA night. also, hard to fit in another day for a meeting. also, often when we have women's issue focused event people who feel less comfortable don't come. GA generates a big crowd.

CQ: are you proposing a strategic action assembly? or a typical GA but only proposals dealing with womens issues will be discussed

A: intended to be an evening to look at various aspects of women's issues. we don't envision a regular GA. Sort of like the MLK focused GA

CQ: women's caucus would do facilitating? what role, if any will facilitation play?

A: we would like women to facilitate. if there are women in facilitation who want to do this that would be great. also we are just starting to envision this. we don't want a situation where the women are sitting in the back and men are talking.However, all are welcome to join the conversation

'''Breakout Groups'''

'''Supports:'''

S: a lot of people wish there were more spaces for conversation. lately we've taken time to change up GA to respond to needs of different groups and the community has responded well

S: it's nice to have people other than facil bring GA one night

S: this is a long time coming and i'm excited to see WC together and doing stuff

S: i think we can use this to draw people in

S: support this and hope you can outreach to other groups

S: doesn't seem clear yet what the thing is, but i trust WC to figure it out

S: love the idea of calling attention to a united effort by women to improve certain issues

'''Concerns:'''

C: think it's great and necessary but concern is taking over GA. GA is too structured & process issues to do what you're trying to do, which should be more free-flowing. I think GA keeps some people away, if it were a special night just for that.

POI: they are asking for permission to disband the structure of GA for that night to have a free-flowing conversation.

WC: yes. this has happened in the past (anti-oppression, MLK day, etc)

CQ: is it your intention to have announcements?

A: haven't thought about that yet. could be that we give 30 min for business/announcements. we haven't talked about it and we invite everyone to work with us to plan it.

C: this proposal is addressing time, on march 8th we'll use GA time. i've heard many process concerns. concern is that this will be restricted by process related amendments.

C: frame it to not make those of us who do the job invisible. There are many excellent female facilitators

'''Amendments:'''

A: list in proposal areas where womens issues will be addressed

A: allow announcements at the beginning

A: you will announce when you are planning to have planning meetings

A: clarify that you are asking to suspend GA process

'''Amended Proposal:'''

Amended proposal is read. Regular GA process will be suspended on March 8, except that evening will begun with 30 minutes of announcements as usual.

'''Questions/Information:'''

Anna: I think there is a 7-9 slot at E5 on Fridays if you want it.

'''Supports:'''

Jay: I support this proposal and I think we need to do more things like this.

'''Concerns, Amendments, Blocks:'''

[none]

'''Vote:'''

Appears to be unanimous support!

The proposal passes.

==Proposal: Participatory Budgeting (Rene)==

This proposal addresses dwindling financial resources and lack of a budget. The participatory budgeting WG proposes to spend 15 minutes of Tuesday's GA for a discussion about how to transition into a process that reflects participatory democracy.

'''Questions/Information:'''

Q: You said 15 minutes, right?

A: Yes.

Q: How do we do things now?

A: Currently, the person who convinces everyone that their idea is best is the one who gets the money. I have been involved in proposals that spend $20,000. This is a more democratic way.

Q: I really don't understand what the new process is.

A: That's what the 15 minutes is about. Participatory budgeting is a huge topic. It's a process for us all to create a budget together. We want to budget two or three months in advance.

Charlotte: We would consent to using this process after the 15 minute presentation?

A: No, we want to start a regular meeting time to discuss this. We need an initial educational presentation.

Anna: There are whole groups that don't have access to the budget or find it too complicated. Are you going to do special outreach to these groups?

A: Yes.

Carolyn: I wonder if we can allocate a little more time than 15 minutes.

A: We don't want to take up too much time and bore people.

Jay: We tried to ratify temp checks and it took like an hour. We should be cognizant of that when asking for only 15 minutes.

A: Cool.

Q: The 15 minutes is just from this one GA, or each GA will have some part devoted to participatory budgeting?

A: That would be ideal, but this is just a one-time brief education.

Q: Will there be PowerPoint?

A: Very likely, yes.

Q: Is 15 minutes how much you feel like you need?

A: We would love to take up 4 hours, but 15 minutes is enough for the basics.

Charlotte: At a past GA when someone wanted 15 minutes, we decided we could temp check it.

A: We want the slot guaranteed, because we will be bringing equipment.

'''[temp check fails for breakout groups]'''

'''Supports:'''

Bill: I think this is wonderful, let us all say we trust you and not amend or change anything.

'''Concerns:'''

Ellen: I am concerned that 15 minutes is not enough.

'''Amendments:'''

Ellen: I amend that you take 15 minutes for the presentation and we use 45 minutes for discussion.

Charlotte: I amend that the PowerPoint be available online.

Carolyn: 15 minutes presentation, 15 minutes discussion.

[various temp checks on how long discussion should be after presentation]

'''Amended proposal:'''

15 minutes presentation, 15 minutes discussion.

'''Questions/Information, Supports, Concerns, Amendments, Blocks:'''

[none]

'''Vote:'''

Consensus, proposal passes!

==Proposal: Shut Down the Corporations Day (Brian of Occupy Worchester)==

My proposal is that Occupy Boston endorses / issues a statement of solitarity for Feb 29 Shut Down the Corporations Day in Groton, Connecticutt. 8:00 in the morning on Wednesday, meeting at Eastern Point Beach Park in Groton. Look it up at Occupy Hartford. This has already been endorsed by other Occupies.

'''Questions/Information:'''

Joe: What is the action going to be?

A: We are protesting outside the Pfizer facility. We have demanded of Pfizer that they remove themselves from ALEC (American Legislative Exchange Council) and stop supporting them.

POI: There is a Pfizer building in Cambridge if anyone is interested.

A: You are more than welcome to do actions of your own and spread the word.

POI: There are other actions planned by OB for the 29th. Details haven't been released yet.

'''Supports:'''

Ellen: I think it's great that you're doing us, I don't think we address Big Pharma enough. I think Big Pharma affects people even more than the big banks. Power to you.

'''Concerns:'''

C: While I support protesting Pfizer, there are other objections we have to that corporation. You seem to be singling out a single issue.

'''Amendments, Blocks:'''

[none]

'''Vote:'''

>= 75%, proposal passes!

==Proposal: Funding for Decolonize to Liberate (presentation only)==

'''Quorum has been lost.''' No decisions can be made, proposals can only be presented, not voted on.

A community meeting of Decolonize to Liberate is happening on Monday night. We stand in solidarity with indigenous people and support indigenous issues. Colonization is the commodification of life, which is the root cause of what we're all protesting. We're gathering on Monday night to discuss these issues.

Our proposal is that the Decolonize to Liberate Working Group (meeting since October 8, 2011) will receive no more than $400 reimbursement from the OB General Fund to cover travel expenses (receipts provided) for speakers and special guests (as determined by the Working Group) to attend the 2/27 Community Gathering, hosted by the Working Group.

[At this point the laptop being used to record the minutes had to be returned, so the record breaks off here. GA ended not long afterward, following some discussion of this proposal.]

==Individual Stack (from earlier)==

'''Bill:''' I have books, find me. Also if you lost your gloves, find me

'''Brandon:''' please don't have side conversations, it's distracting and disrespectful

'''Allie:''' I think there's a misconception about what a GA is. I think any time we come together is a GA. The idea of a GA is the community coming together, rather than this particular stilted process that we follow. Talk to me at: allie@occupyboston.org

'''Charlotte:''' Health and wellness - come and talk to me: cdbadler@gmail.com

Working Groups

2011-11-14T05:43:46Z

Tim Smith: expanded lead, emphasizing that working groups are open; removed notice to the contrary and over-emphasis on mailing lists

'''Working groups''' are teams of people within the Occupation, each focused on a particular area or task. These groups are the organs supporting the body of the Occupation. Within them you will find resources, discussions, and courses of action in every field.

Working groups are '''open''', which means anyone can help out, including you! Like the Occupation as a whole, working groups are run as horizontal democracies, using consensus decision-making and holding publically accessible meetings. To join or volunteer with a working group, see its wiki page for contact information and meeting times.

== Alphabetized - All Working Groups ==

*[[Animal Safety]]
*[[WG/Anti-Oppression|Anti-Oppression]]
*[[Arts and Culture|Arts and Culture]]
*[[Camper Caucus|Camper Caucus]]
*[[Citizens United to End Political Bribery|Citizens United to End Political Bribery]] For ending corporate money in politics
*[[Commons]] Defining what is "Common Property"
*[[Tent City/Safety/Community Wellness|Community Wellness]]
*[[Direct Action|Direct Action]]
*[[External Technology Support]] (to work on this wiki and other sites, not necessarily at Dewey Square)
*[[WG/Facilitation|Facilitation]]
*[[Faith and Spirituality|Faith and Spirituality]]
*[[Food|Food]]
*[[Finance Working Group|Financial Accountability]]
*[[Free School University (FSU)]]
*[[Ideas]]
*[http://wiki.occupyboston.org/wiki/Indigenous_Solidarity_and_Outreach Indigenous Solidarity and Outreach (Decolonize Boston)]
*[[Individual Action]] What each of us can do on our own
*[[Info Tent]]
*[[InterOccupation Communications/Connections]]
*[[Immigration_Working_Group|Immigration]]
*[[Jail Support]]
*[[Legal|Legal]]
*[[Tent City/Library|Library, A-Z Library]]
*[[Logistics|Logistics / Tactical]]
*[[Media|Media]]
*[[Medical|Medical]]
*[[Music and Events]]
*[[Nonviolence and Civil Disobedience|Nonviolence and Civil Disobedience]]
*[[WG/OBIT|OBIT]] Occupy Boston IT
*[[Occupy Boston Globe]]
*[[Occupy Everywhere|Occupy Everywhere]]
*[[Outreach|Outreach]]
*[[Safety|Safety]]
*[[Signs|Signs]]
*[[Solidarity]]
*[[Strategies, Proposals, Positions|Strategies, Proposals, Positions]]
*[[Street Theater]]
*[[Students Occupy]]
*[[Survivor Advocacy]]
*[[Transparency|Transparency]]
*[[Volunteer Coordination|Volunteer Coordination]]
*[[Winterization|Winterization]]
*[[Womens Caucus]]

WG/Working Groups

2011-11-08T00:13:28Z

Tim Smith: preferred name for Facilitation group

Working Groups are the organs supporting the body of the Occupation. Within these groups you will find resources, discussions, and courses of action in every field.

Working Groups are open; please contribute!

===Action and Information===
*[[Anti-Oppression|Anti-Oppression]]
*[[Arts and Culture|Arts and Culture]]
*[[Direct Action|Direct Action]]
*[[Citizens United to End Political Bribery|Citizens United to End Political Bribery]] For ending corporate money in politics
*[[Media|Media]]
**[[Occupy Everywhere|Occupy Everywhere]]
*[[Outreach|Outreach]]
*[[WG/OBIT]] Occupy Boston IT
*[[External Technology Support]] (to work on this wiki and other sites, not necessarily at Dewey Square)
*[[Ideas]]
*[[Strategies, Proposals, Positions|Strategies, Proposals, Positions]] 11/4/11 This group has forked into Author's Group One, a subgroup of Ideas and....????? See the meeting minutes for more info. Look on the Ideas page for AG1.
*[[InterOccupation Communications/Connections]]
*[[Nonviolence and Civil Disobedience|Nonviolence and Civil Disobedience]]
*[[Volunteer Coordination|Volunteer Coordination]]
*[[Street Theater]]
*[[Womens Caucus]]

===Infrastructure and Onsite Support===
*[[Conflict Resolution|Community Wellness]]
*[[Facilitation]]
*[[Faith and Spirituality|Faith and Spirituality]]
*[[Food|Food]]
*[[Finance Working Group|Financial Accountability]]
*[[Info Tent]]
*[[Legal|Legal]]
*[[Logistics|Logistics / Tactical]]
*[[Medical|Medical]]
*[[Safety|Safety]]
*[[Signs|Signs]]
*[[Tech|Tech]]
*[[Transparency|Transparency]]
*[[Winterization|Winterization]]

===Friends of Occupy Boston===
*[[Library|A-Z Library]]
*[[FSU|Free School University]]
*[[Music and Events]]
*[[Students Occupy|Students Occupy]]
*[[Occupy Boston Globe|Occupy Boston Globe]]
*Also see groups listed in [[Solidarity|Solidarity]].

Facilitation Working Group

2011-11-08T00:09:31Z

Tim Smith: preferred name

== About ==

The Facilitation Working Group is dedicated to protecting the collective thinking and consensus decision-making processes to ensure maximum inclusivity of those present for OccupyBoston decision-making. Our work may include facilitation of meetings, assessing and improving the consensus process and the conduct of meetings, documenting the processes being used by Occupy Boston, training of facilitators and making proposals to Occupy Boston General Assembly regarding improved processing of proposal- and decision-making.

Facilitation WG meetings are at 5:00 PM, Monday through Friday, and 4:00 PM, Saturday and Sunday. The meetings are held in the Federal Reserve plaza, next to the building across the street (Atlantic Avenue) from where General Assembly takes place. Please join us, your help is needed.

''What is a facilitator?''A facilitator helps members of any Occupy Boston group express themselves in their meetings in a way that allows for consensus-building. Facilitators relinquish their democratic voice on the subjects at hand in order to protect the process for the benefit of the community. As such, facilitators do not indicate their feelings or express their ideas about what is being said or decided upon during the time they are facilitating.

----

 Please see the living document we're using to guide the General Assembly and the consensus process.
[[Wiki/GA Facilitation & Consensus|Facilitation and Consensus Guide]]
----

== Pending Proposal ==
[[Wiki/FWG Proposals|Priority Process Proposal]]
'''WILL BE PRESENTED FOR CONSENSUS AT THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY''''''(hopefully) TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 8'''''''''

----

== Meeting Minutes ==

*[[Facilitators Working Group - November 1|Nov 1]]
*[[C.T. Butler Workshop Notes|C.T. Butler Workshop]]
*[[Facilitators Working Group - October 30|Oct 30]]
*[[Facilitators Working Group - October 24|Oct 24]]
*[[Facilitators Working Group - October 23|Oct 23]]

----

== Contact Us ==

[mailto:facilitation@occupyboston.org facilitation@occupyboston.org]

----

''Based on: [http://occupyboston.wikispaces.com/Facilitators Facilitators at wikispaces]''

Talk:Facilitators

2011-11-08T00:06:15Z

Tim Smith: moved Talk:Facilitators to Talk:Facilitation: per talk

#REDIRECT [[Talk:Facilitation]]

Talk:Facilitation Working Group

2011-11-08T00:06:15Z

Tim Smith: moved Talk:Facilitators to Talk:Facilitation: per talk

== PRIORITY PROCESS PROPOSAL - consented by FWG, on 10/20/11 ==

:[[User:Gsmurphy]] Thursday, 6:25 pm

This proposal will be presented to a public working group, for consensus, before being presented at a GA:

To strive for an inclusive consensus process, to allow the Assembly to be more informed about, and better prepared for hearing and voting on proposals, to help OccupyBoston participants to be able to plan to be at specific General Assemblies to vote on proposals of interest, and to better the likelihood of passage ....

The Facilitators Working Group proposes that pre-announced, pre-posted, pre-scheduled proposals which have had publicly announced meetings and passed consensus at a public working group meeting, will be considered prior to other proposals, at General Assemblies. Working Groups and individuals may still bring proposals to the GA, without submitting to this new process. Emergency proposals, e.g., from Safety, Medics, Legal, etc., will continue to get immediate attention.

The Facilitators Working Group proposes the following process for preparing proposals to be taken through consensus at a General Assembly:

1. First Steps (at least one week prior to presenting at GA): ○ post the proposal on the OccupyBoston wiki and make physical copies available at camp; ○ schedule and post online, the date of the GA at which the proposal will be presented; ○ do outreach to all Working Groups to let them know you have a proposal in the pipeline and would like their input; ○ schedule and post online, the date of a public working group meeting, at which the proposal will be reviewed and taken through the consensus process. (Individuals can host meetings, they simply become a working group once the meeting begins.) 2. Announce at the earliest possible evening GA: ○ that you are preparing a proposal, ○ the subject of the proposal and that it is posted online, ○ the date, time and location of the public working group meeting, ○ and the date the proposal will be presented to the GA. 3. Conduct a full consensus Working Group meeting: ○ Document all objections and amendments, ○ Explain how objections were addressed, (Objections must remain on a public list so that if the proposal cannot address them, and is still consented to, the community knows that there are outstanding concerns/objections to address.) ○ Explain whether or why not amendments were adopted. 4. If the proposal has passed consensus in the public working group meeting, present the proposal at the pre-scheduled GA. 5. If the proposal did not reach consensus at the public working group meeting, post that result online and announce at the next available GA that the proposal will not be presented on the previously scheduled date.

==== re: Proposal for GA Proposal Submission - consented by FWG, on 10/20/11 ====

::[[User:Anonyta]] Today 1:24 am

Hi all,

The proposal below emerges from a tough Transparency WG meeting and from conversations with some of the most active people on-site -- the people who don't attend meetings and GAs (to their detriment, of course - but, also, to ours). Basically, there are big problems with internet access and a lot of frustration about the aimlessness of some GAs. I floated it in this past Facilitation meeting and got some advice on it from Maureen and others. Tell me what you think!

The proposal: that agendas (of proposals! not announcements) for GA nights should be decided on the night before, in a small, consensus-based discussion between the individuals and WG reps presenting proposals. On Friday night that small discussion will decide the proposals agenda for both Saturday and Sunday. The idea is for presenters to figure out together which proposals need to be discussed most immediately, versus those that can be discussed by a smaller group or even moved to the next GA or re-worked. A facilitator can facilitate the discussion and gather the proposals and put them on the wiki or on occupybostonglobe.com, so that commuters as well as campers know what proposals will be discussed, and in what order.

Talking Points -- I offer to do this, and recruit some facilitators for it, since I am free on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays more than on Tuesdays and Thursdays (in fact, I teach on those nights). --This face-to-face consensus decision would eliminate the problem of internet access, but still allow for some level of predictability and preparation for everybody. --It would also, ideally, highlight the proposals that are not yet worked out enough, in a consensus environment. --after the Transparency meeting and these various conversations with campers, I realized that Allison's proposal for proposals, which we passed in the previous FWG meeting, relies too heavily on the internet. It will guarantee that the WGs whose members are mostly working off-site are always given priority, over those who are on-site. So, for example, groups or individuals that are talking about "Message" will be given priority, over those that are organizing events that often come up within the week, or those that need money within the week. At the moment, we don't have the kind of stability that would allow WGs to prepare proposals for a week - especially with winter coming, it seems that things are much more in flux for groups that organize events. --Ironically, in a lot of those conversations, people were basically saying that they wanted us Facilitators to use more of our common sense, to vet proposals in order for GAs to be bearable. For the good of the community and etc.

Well, do let me know what you think! Allison, what do you think about the modification that this makes to your proposal??

==== re: Proposal for GA Proposal Submission - consented by FWG, on 10/20/11 ====

::[[User:Pcovery]] Today 4:44 am

I welcome more organization, especially in a way that knits together on-site and off-site participants. Thanks for your stamina in facilitating!

==CORRECTED GA Schedule Consented Proposal - 10/21/11==
:[[user:gsmurphy]] Yesterday 5:06 am
The Facilitators Working Group (FWG) proposes, starting on Sunday, October 23, that OccupyBoston move to a schedule of conducting General Assembly on Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, 7:00 PM to 10:00 PM, and in case of emergencies.

The FWG proposes that all Working Groups hold at least one publicly accessible, weekly meeting -- except Legal WG, whose meetings are necessarily confidential. The day and time and place of the meeting is to be posted on the OccupyBoston website, and made available to the Info tent and the Media scheduling boards. The meeting will be facilitated as a horizontal democracy using a consensus decision-making process. During the non-GA evenings, there will be facilitated discussions and debates starting 7pm, on issues that interest the Occupy Boston community. Topics for these non-GA nights should be proposed in advance by individuals or Working Groups during General Assembly.

The FWG offers its services to all Working Groups who wish to be trained in a consensus process, and, if needed, can help Working Groups with the facilitation of their first scheduled public meeting.
====re: CORRECTED GA Schedule Consented Proposal - 10/21/11====
::[[user:gsmurphy]] Yesterday 5:19 am
Actually, the proposal was consented to by the GA, on 10/20/11

==Final GA Schedule Proposal - consented by GA on 10/20/11==
:[[user:gsmurphy]] Thursday, 6:20 pm
The Facilitators Working Group (FWG) proposes, starting on Sunday, October 23, that OccupyBoston move to a schedule of conducting General Assembly on Sundays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, from 7:00 PM to 10:00 PM.

The FWG proposes that all Working Groups hold at least one publicly accessible, weekly meeting, during one of the non-GA evenings, or on a weekend afternoon. The day and time and place of the meeting is to be posted on the OccupyBoston website, and made available to the Info tent and the Media scheduling boards. The meeting will be facilitated as a horizontal democracy using a consensus decision-making process.

The FWG offers its services to all Working Groups who wish to be trained in a consensus process, and, if needed, can help Working Groups with the facilitation of their first scheduled public meeting.

Talking points
• FWG knows that members of OccupyBoston are yearning for more public (community-wide) discussion on relevant topics. This new GA schedule allows plenty of opportunity for these discussions, as well as community teach-ins and workshops, without a sponsoring group having to go through a GA consensus process to arrange the time.

• For example, this new schedule allows groups, such as the anti-oppression group, to present additional workshops, on an ongoing basis, without impacting GA time.

• This new schedule would allow for Working Groups to attract broader participation from Boston residents who do not live at that camp and who are not available during the day, via meetings held during early evening hours, without interfering with and/or drawing people away from GA.

• This new schedule allows the FWG much needed meeting time to address other facilitation and communication needs, and to develop and schedule facilitator trainings and Introduction to consensus decision-making workshops.

• Let us remember and recognize that this global movement, of which occupyboston is the local realization, is steeped in horizontal democracy and the consensus process. It is the cornerstone, if not the foundation of how it operates - all voices are equal and everyone gets to listen and comment.

• As Facilitators, we are the protectors and champions (as many of you are, as well) of these guiding principles and we hope to inculcate the consensus practice throughout OB, and not simply have it be seen as a GA management tool.
====MISTAKE - Final GA Schedule Proposal - consented by GA on 10/20/11====
::[[user:gsmurphy]] Yesterday 5:05 am
MISTAKE - this was not the Final Version consented to by the GA.

==Proposal for GA Proposal Submission==
:[[user:gsmurphy]] Thursday, 10:48 am
To strive for an inclusive consensus process, to allow the Assembly to be more informed about, and better prepared for hearing and voting on proposals, to help OccupyBoston participants to be able to plan to be at specific General Assemblies to vote on proposals of interest, and to better the likelihood of passage ....

The Facilitators Working Group proposes the following process for preparing proposals to be taken through consensus at a General Assembly:

1. First Steps (at least one week prior to presenting at GA):
○ post the proposal on the OccupyBoston wiki and make physical copies available at camp;
○ schedule and post online, the date of the GA at which the proposal will be presented;
○ do outreach to all Working Groups to let them know you have a proposal in the pipeline and would like their input;
○ schedule and post online, the date of a public working group meeting, at which the proposal will be reviewed and taken through the consensus process. (Individuals can host meetings, they simply become a working group once the meeting begins.)
2. Announce at the earliest possible evening GA:
○ that you are preparing a proposal,
○ the subject of the proposal and that it is posted online,
○ the date, time and location of the public working group meeting,
○ and the date the proposal will be presented to the GA.
3. Conduct a full consensus Working Group meeting:
○ Document all objections and amendments,
○ Explain how objections were addressed,
(Objections must remain on a public list so that if the proposal cannot address them, and is still consented to, the community knows that there are outstanding concerns/objections to address.)
○ Explain whether or why not amendments were adopted.
4. If the proposal has passed consensus in the public working group meeting, present at the pre-scheduled GA.
5. If the proposal did not reach consensus at the public working group meeting, post that result online and announce at the next available GA that the proposal will not be presented on the previously scheduled date.

We propose that pre-announced, pre-posted, pre-scheduled proposals which have had publicly announced meetings and passed consensus at the public working group meeting, will be considered prior to other proposals, at General Assemblies.

==Revised GA Schedule Talking Points==
:[[user:gsmurphy]] Wednesday, 8:29 pm
TALKING POINTS

• FWG knows that members of OccupyBoston are yearning for more public (community-wide) discussion on relevant topics. This new GA schedule allows plenty of opportunity for these discussions, as well as community teach-ins and workshops, without a sponsoring group having to go through a GA consensus process to arrange the time.

• For example, this new schedule allows groups, such as the anti-oppression group, to present additional workshops, on an ongoing basis, without impacting GA time.

• This new schedule would allow Working Groups to attract broader participation from Boston residents who do not live at that camp and who are not available during the day, via meetings held during early evening hours, without interfering with and/or drawing people away from GA.

• This new schedule allows the FWG much needed meeting time to address other facilitation and communication needs, and to develop and schedule facilitator trainings and Introduction to consensus decision-making workshops.
====re: Revised GA Schedule Talking Points====
::[[user:gsmurphy]] Thursday, 8:03 am
additional TP:

Let us remember and recognize that this global movement, of which occupyboston is the local realization, is steeped in horizontal democracy and the consensus process. It is the cornerstone, if not the foundation of how it operates.

As Facilitators, we are the protectors and champions (as many of you are, as well) of these guiding principles and we hope to inculcate the consensus paractice throughout OB, and not simply have it be seen as a GA management tool.

==Revised GA Schedule Proposal==
:[[user:gsmurphy]] Wednesday, 8:20 pm
This proposal reached consensus at the Facilitator Working Group Meeting, on 10/19/11, and will be presented to the GA, on 10/20/11.

PROPOSAL
The Facilitators Working Group (FWG) proposes, starting on Sunday, October 23, that OccupyBoston move to a schedule of conducting General Assembly every other night, from 7:00 PM to 10:00 PM.

The FWG proposes that all Workin Groups hold at least one publicly accessible, weekly meeting, during one of the non-GA evenings, or on a weekend afternoon. The day and time and place of the meeting is to be posted on the OccupyBoston website, and made available to the Info tent and the Media scheduling boards. The meeting will be facilitated as a horizontal democracy using a consensus decision-making process.

The FWG offers its services to all Working Groups who wish to be trained in a consensus process, and, if needed, can help Working Groups with the facilitation of their first scheduled public meeting.

== Priority Process Proposal as amended at FWG public meeting ==
Priority Proposal Process(Draft - updated to reflect amendments made during public working group meeting )(please note and use the Comment function, at the upper right. 
 For Occupy Boston proposals to: reflect more voices and broader ownership; strive for an inclusive process; allow the Assembly to be more informed about and better prepared for hearing and voting on proposals; to help Occupy Boston participants plan to attend specific General Assemblies so they can vote on proposals of interest; help those making proposals gain practice presenting; and to better the likelihood of passage; the Facilitator Working Group recommends a Priority Proposal process. We strongly encourage everyone to make proposals, particularly those from historically oppressed communities. We think this process helps to ensure that your voice will be heard. Please note that emergency proposals, e.g., from Safety, Medics, Legal, etc., will continue to get immediate attention. We propose the following steps to achieve priority status for your proposal:

#Decide if you want your proposal to receive priority status at a General Assembly. Anyone, whether a group or an individual, can make proposals and gain priority status. Pre-announced, pre-posted, pre-scheduled proposals which have had publicly announced meetings and passed consensus at a public meeting, will be considered prior to other proposals at General Assemblies. Working Groups and individuals may still bring any proposals to the GA, without submitting to this new process, they simply will not have priority status on the agenda.
#First Steps (at least 4 days prior to presenting at GA):
##post the proposal on the OccupyBoston wiki and make physical copies available at the camp library;
##schedule and post online, the date of the GA at which the proposal will be presented;
##do outreach to all WGs to let them know you have a proposal in the pipeline and would like their input;
##schedule and post online, with 48 hours notice, the date of a public meeting (which must be at least 48 hours prior to the scheduled GA), at which the proposal will be reviewed and taken through the consensus process. (Individuals can host meetings) (On non-GA evenings, facilitators will be available at the 5pm Facilitators Working Group meeting to assist with all of these steps, including typing your proposal and helping you write, to the best of our ability.)
#Announce at the earliest possible evening GA, 
##that you are preparing a proposal,
##the subject of the proposal and that it is posted online,
##the date of the public meeting,
##and the date the proposal will be presented to the GA;
#Conduct a full consensus WG meeting where you
##state the need the proposal is addressing;
##first assess whether the proposal requires consensus at a General Assembly;
##Document all objections and amendments.
##Explain how objections were addressed (Objections must remain on a public list so that, if the proposal cannot address them and is still consented to, the community knows that there are outstanding concerns/objections to address.)
##Explain whether or why not amendments were adopted.
#If the proposal has passed consensus in the public meeting, present at the pre-scheduled GA;
#If the proposal did not reach consensus at the public working group meeting, post that result online and announce at the next available GA that the proposal will not be presented on the previously scheduled date OR that you will still bring the proposal to the GA, but it will not be given priority status.

 

== Name of group ==

Hi everyone. I've seen this group called both the "Facilitators Working Group" and the "Facilitation Working Group". Which is preferred? I would pick the latter, since the group is not just about facilitators, but deals with the whole facilitation process. And of course, participation in the group is not limited to facilitators, but open to everyone. If there's agreement about this, we can move this page to "Facilitation" instead of "Facilitators". [[User:Tim Smith|Tim Smith]] 23:53, 26 October 2011 (EDT)

:I brought this up at yesterday's (sparsely attended) facilitation meeting and people seemed to agree, so I'll go ahead with it. [[User:Tim Smith|Tim Smith]] 19:03, 7 November 2011 (EST)

== Process Question and Possible Transparency Issue ==

Hi,

Forgive me if this is a bit jumbled. I'm know what I want to ask, but I'm not sure how to phrase it. I heard once that there was a way to ask for consensus on a proposal "as it is", that is w/o letting a hundred people do things like correct your grammar...but with considering comments of substance? Is that clear? I ask because while it welcomes comments of substance, the process of getting 100 people to agree on the grammar (generally speaking) of a Message Statement seems self defeating.

I await your response, unfortunately, see below, I dont' know how I'm going to get it, since I am not getting wiki alerts. I know many of you are on the ideas list, but this request was not in that email, see below.

This brings up the related transparency issue of not being able to get the Monday 7pm SPP meeting on the calendar.

Feel free to respond via the spp googe group...I guess there's no new list serve for SPP either....????

occupy-boston-spp@googlegroups.com

or to my personal email: aria@littlhous.net

SPP Update: Briefly,

I have not been able to get the Monday SPP meeting on the calendar. Is this a transparency issue?

Message Statement Underdevelopment & Community Input

I sent an email to George Lee (liaison to Occupy Hood (?) and extended community/) asking him/them to comment on the Message Statement currently being developed. Ditto via a shared link to the wiki space of Anti-Oppression. I hope to speak to Darren from Mass Uniting later today/soon. Terra has been talking to people on site.

http://wiki.occupyboston.org/wiki/Road_Map

Comments on the substance of the Message Statement Roadmap Mashup are welcome in the discussion section.

I/we continue to have communication difficulties related to the wiki/google group migration. I am not getting update alerts from the wiki.

Trajectory: I've suggested two possible paths 1. Asking Ideas to use it for the basis of one of its forums 2. Presenting directly or semi directly to GA...that is after a public meeting. I really don't know which is going to happen. At least one member of SPP is suggesting starting the (as yet unapproved??) Priority Proposal Process tomorrow night.

My thoughts: I do think that once whatever happens to this Message Statement (Mashup Roadmap), that afterwards SPP will either completely dissolve or merge with Ideas, but I really don't know.

If anyone wants to speak to me real-time--please do! I plan to attend the Sunday, 2pm Arts and Culture meeting and of course the 7pm Monday SPP meeting, when I will probably use some company and dinner.

D.

Facilitation Working Group

2011-11-08T00:06:15Z

Tim Smith: moved Facilitators to Facilitation: per talk

== About ==

The Facilitator's Working Group is dedicated to protecting the collective thinking and consensus decision-making processes to ensure maximum inclusivity of those present for OccupyBoston decision-making. Our work may include facilitation of meetings, assessing and improving the consensus process and the conduct of meetings, documenting the processes being used by Occupy Boston, training of facilitators and making proposals to Occupy Boston General Assembly regarding improved processing of proposal- and decision-making.

Facilitation WG meetings are at 5:00 PM, Monday through Friday, and 4:00 PM, Saturday and Sunday. The meetings are held in the Federal Reserve plaza, next to the building across the street (Atlantic Avenue) from where General Assembly takes place. Please join us, your help is needed.

''What is a facilitator?''A facilitator helps members of any Occupy Boston group express themselves in their meetings in a way that allows for consensus-building. Facilitators relinquish their democratic voice on the subjects at hand in order to protect the process for the benefit of the community. As such, facilitators do not indicate their feelings or express their ideas about what is being said or decided upon during the time they are facilitating.

----

 Please see the living document we're using to guide the General Assembly and the consensus process.
[[Wiki/GA Facilitation & Consensus|Facilitation and Consensus Guide]]
----

== Pending Proposal ==
[[Wiki/FWG Proposals|Priority Process Proposal]]
'''WILL BE PRESENTED FOR CONSENSUS AT THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY''''''(hopefully) TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 8'''''''''

----

== Meeting Minutes ==

*[[Facilitators Working Group - November 1|Nov 1]]
*[[C.T. Butler Workshop Notes|C.T. Butler Workshop]]
*[[Facilitators Working Group - October 30|Oct 30]]
*[[Facilitators Working Group - October 24|Oct 24]]
*[[Facilitators Working Group - October 23|Oct 23]]

----

== Contact Us ==

[mailto:facilitation@occupyboston.org facilitation@occupyboston.org]

----

''Based on: [http://occupyboston.wikispaces.com/Facilitators Facilitators at wikispaces]''

Talk:Facilitation Working Group

2011-11-08T00:03:58Z

Tim Smith: /* Name of group */ update

Talk:GA/Minutes/Guidelines

2011-11-07T21:55:57Z

Tim Smith: different approach

Is there a reason we're uploading minutes like this
<nowiki>[[File:destination_filename|GA Minutes]]</nowiki>
rather than like this
<nowiki>[[Media:destination_filename|GA Minutes]]</nowiki>?

The second option eliminates an extra page in the middle. Is it just that important to display the warning on the file page about malicious content?

:I took a different approach: instead of uploading the minutes as a file, I just made a wiki page for them. Example: [[GA Minutes Nov 6 2011 Evening]]. This way the minutes can be edited for typos and transcription errors, and we can also have a clickable table of contents at the top. [[User:Tim Smith|Tim Smith]] 16:55, 7 November 2011 (EST)

GA/Minutes

2011-11-07T20:36:11Z

Tim Smith: added GA Minutes Nov 6 2011 Evening

[task: we are missing Mins files for the following dates Sept 27th - Oct 4th, Oct 6th - 8th and Oct. 11th, 12th and the 14th. For details on how to help fill the gaps check out [http://occupyboston.wikispaces.com/message/view/GA+Minutes/44557288 this discussion] ]

= [[General Assembly]] Meeting Minutes and Summary Archive =

([[Instructions for Uploading Minutes|Instructions for Uploading Minutes]]) '''''Learn about the [[General Assembly]]'''''

== GA #31, Sunday, November 6, @ Camp ==

[[GA Minutes Nov 6 2011 Evening]]

== GA #29, Thursday, November 3rd, @ Camp ==

<strike>''[task: minutes summary]''</strike>

[[GA Minutes November 3 2011, Evening|GA  Transcript]]

[[Media:GA_Minutes_Nov_03_2011.txt|Text file]]

Proposals Passed: Legal team will be preparing an injunction on our behalf to prevent BPD from evicting us from Dewey Square. Winterization will be purchasing one large tent to replace our current kitchen tent, more tents to follow if this one works out. FAWG will license a DBA in the name of Occupy Boston. Paul Carnes & Sydney Sherrell are officially banned from speaking for Occupy Boston and are Removed from the camp.

== GA #28, Tuesday, November 1st, @ Camp ==

''[task: minutes summary]''

[[GA Minutes November 1 2011, Evening|GA  Transcript]]

== GA #26, Saturday, October 29th, @ South Station and Enucuentro5 ==

Record of live GA Transcript [[GA Minutes Oct 29 2011, Evening|GA Transcript]]

[[Media:GA_Transcript_10_29_2011_evening.txt|10_29_2011_evening.txt]]

Proposal passed by GA, brought by Safety Working Group:

NOTE: The document is a "living document," this is part of the proposal that we passed at GA. A living document is an evolving thing; Safety intends for its team to continue to evolve its practices according to the needs of the camp. If you would like to offer revisions or suggestions, that's cool; this author thinks that Safety Working Group might be the best place to direct your suggestions. There are discussion pages on here and lots of other places to put your ideas. '''But please DO NOT edit the above file''' that contains the proposal that was passed at GA; we need it up here for our records of what GA actually passed!

== [https://docs.google.com/document/d/1f_7GBh3RlOzgFd1Hhf0AP3cPXKTwNs38hEaQdfucqo8/edit?pli=1 GA #25, Thursday, October 27th 2011 @ Camp] ==

Here is the live transcript of this GA.  Transcript is used loosely; this is an *attempt* to describe what people said as it was heard; if people spoke quickly or quietly, their words were not necessarily reported exactly: [https://docs.google.com/document/d/1f_7GBh3RlOzgFd1Hhf0AP3cPXKTwNs38hEaQdfucqo8/edit?pli=1 [Transcript]]

The transcript reports the portion of GA that took place offsite, indoors, at [http://encuentro5.org Encuentro5].

== GA #24, Tuesday, October 25th 2011 @ Camp ==

This GA included a lively 30 minute discussion of the financial impropriety associated with Paul Fetch/Paul Carnes' involvement in Occupy Boston.  Here is an attempted live <a href="[https://docs.google.com/document/d/1g8JhI2o1cTrKnOm4dISwoLjL66hUX7s6ybokZOLig2A/edit https://docs.google.com/document/d/1g8JhI2o1cTrKnOm4dISwoLjL66hUX7s6ybokZOLig2A/edit]">transcript</a> of the GA entire, including this discussion.  This reflects an attempt to report participants' words accurately as they were spoken, to the best of the transcriber's ability (and hearing, and typing speed).  This is ''not a perfect transcript; ''there are definitely parts that were omitted--the transcriber has attempted to indicate this, where omissions are known.

== GA #23, Sunday, October 23rd 2011 @ Camp ==

Tonight the general assembly was a short one. One proposal and the whole thing complete within a half-hour. The proposal was created by a pop-up working group called the "Statement of Purpose Working Group" which was created today specifically to catalyze the GA into accepting a statement. This group was disbanded after its success, and the future is open to those who wish to come forth with their own proposals. The accepted amendments proposed by the general assembly were grammatical. The amendments denied were not necessary for GA approval.

This proposal was democratically voted by consensus of near 100%.

The proposal is as follows:

"We the people who have occupied Dewey Square, under the name Occupy Boston, have done so in order to maintain a place, where all voices are welcome for the open discussion of ideas, grievances, and potential solutions to the problems apparent in our society. We are and will be holding general assemblies where proposals may be brought to the group as a whole, to be consented to. We have and will continue to occupy this space for the purpose of DEMOCRACY."

Two representatives from the Homeless Working Group got on the open mike after the GA to tell their stories of poverty. This was followed by a musical combustion on stage.

== GA #22, Saturday, October 22th 2011 @ Camp ==

== No General Assembly on Friday, October 21th 2011 @ Camp ==

=== [http://occupyboston.wikispaces.com/file/view/GA_Minutes_Oct_20_2011_Evening.rtf GA_Minutes_Oct_20_2011_Evening.rtf] ===

-The GA ratified a proposal by the Facilitation Working Group:

*The Facilitators Working Group (FWG) proposes, starting on Sunday, October 23, that OccupyBoston move to a schedule of conducting General Assembly on Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, 7:00 PM to 10:00 PM, and in case of emergencies.
*The FWG proposes that all Working Groups hold at least one publicly accessible, weekly meeting -- except Legal WG, whose meetings are necessarily confidential. The day and time and place of the meeting is to be posted on the OccupyBoston website, and made available to the Info tent and the Media scheduling boards. The meeting will be facilitated as a horizontal democracy using a consensus decision-making process. During the non-GA evenings, there will be facilitated discussions and debates starting 7pm, on issues that interest the Occupy Boston community. Topics for these non-GA nights should be proposed in advance by individuals or Working Groups during General Assembly.
*The FWG offers its services to all Working Groups who wish to be trained in a consensus process, and, if needed, can help Working Groups with the facilitation of their first scheduled public meeting.

- The GA passed a resolution in solidarity with Occupy the Hood (see [http://www.occupyboston.org/2011/10/21/occupy-boston-occupy-hood-present-day-strength-solidarity-2/ Occupyboston.org]) -'''Announcements'''

*Tech -- Sat from noon to nineish we'll be training WG to set up email lists, addresses, domain names, etc.
*Outreach -- there are flyering kits for various events at the flying table. Contact us at [mailto:occupybostonoutreach@gmail.com occupybostonoutreach@gmail.com], also at the welcome area
*Occupy boston globe -- Kickstarter is close to 6K of 8K! still need presses to donate printings or discount printings. if anyone knows of any presses please come find me!
*We also need more writers, we need profiles from the camp, local stories, stories of economic disenfranchisement, disconnect w/ elected representatives, and Occupies around MA. Also we need liaisons from WGs, we need info from you to post. When we print dailies, this is how to get info out! Email us at [mailto:submit@occupybostonglobe.com submit@occupybostonglobe.com], or e-mail me at [mailto:danieljoshuaschneider3@gmail.com danieljoshuaschneider3@gmail.com]
*DA has two actions planned this weekend. Friday we are going to this thing in MA. Meet here at 4:30! We'll take the silver line. Saturday we will be doing something in cooperation with OtH at the police station by the Ruggles stop. It is National Stop Police Brutality day. Meet here at 11.
*Free School University: Meeting sat at 3p; we need more volunteers and someone here Tue Wed Thurs for daytime help. Even one person any day, half a day, whenever you can be there.

== GA #20 Wednesday, October 19th 2011 @ Camp ==

Informal GA due to rain, guided by one or two facilitators and not making official decisions. Not enough Facilitators to facilitate a formal GA.

== [http://occupyboston.wikispaces.com/file/view/GA_Minutes_Oct_18_2011_Evening.txt GA #19 Tuesday, October 18th 2011 @Camp] ==

--Native Solidary Group reads UAINE's response to Occupy Boston's Statement of Solidarity with Indigenous Peoples (endorsed Oct. 8) --GA tables Direct Action's proposal to rent a charter bus for traveling to other Occupy cities --GA tables proposal for Occupy Boston color (blue, and purple discussed, both tabled) --GA tables individual proposal for Mission Statement of Occupy Boston. --Media Working Group meeting (all can attend) 9pm tomorrow (Wednesday 10/20) --Noam Chomsky will speak on SATURDAY (not Wednesday) see occupyboston.org. --Thursday night (time TBA, see Media releases) Roxbury event: Hibernian Hall event celebrating Roxbury organizing -- [http://www.facebook.com/tranzmissionprisonproject The Asheville (NC) Tranzmission Prison Project] is doing a tour and has agreed to do a workshop for occupyboston folk. They would like to do this workshop at 2pm on Saturday the 22nd and meet at the Gandhi statue. At this point, there is limit to the amount of people who can attend.

== [http://occupyboston.wikispaces.com/file/view/GA_Minutes_Oct_17_2011_Evening.docx GA #18 Monday, October 17th 2011 @Camp] ==

-GA ratifies Tech Working Group (OBIT)'s proposal towards security measure:

"For both security and political reasons, the Occupy Boston Information Technology (OBIT) Working Group proposes that all working groups move off of Google Groups and onto mailing lists hosted by May First/People Link. In addition, and for the same reasons, we propose using our own domain—[http://occupyboston.org/ occupyboston.org]—for working-group email addresses. This transfer should occur by November 1, with training and support supplied by OBIT."

-Finance Working Group announces formation of the Finance Accountability Group, meetings open to all -Noam Chomsky will speak on Wednesday Oct 19 at 6:15 before GA. -Direct Action in planning for an event on National Police Brutality Day, Saturday. -Free School University events (see their events calendar on [http://www.occupybostonglobe.com/ www.occupybostonglobe.com]) -Labor event [needs to be edited] -Individual Proposal of a "Declaration of Occupation" presented to GA, retracted for further work. --Individual Proposal Roadmap to Horizontal Democracy and Economic Justice.

== [http://occupyboston.wikispaces.com/file/view/GA_Minutes_Oct_16_2011_Evening.txt GA #17 Sunday, October 16th 2011 @Camp] ==

Short GA tonight (Working Group announcements and individual announcements only) due to Anti-Racism and Oppression workshop.

'''[http://occupyboston.wikispaces.com/file/view/GA_Minutes_Oct_15_2011_Evening.txt GA #16 Saturday, October 15 @Camp]''' -The GA passed a proposal from the Finance Working re:accountable and transparent finance system for Occupy Boston. TBA on Finance Working Group's page. '''-''' Outreach''':''' We are seeking 100 supporters to join eviction blockade with City LIfe / Vida Urbana this Monday. Monday 10/17, there will be an eviction blockade and rally at a home that is being foreclosed on in Malden. Contact: Katie ([mailto:katie.gradowski@gmail.com katie.gradowski@gmail.com]) or with Nicole at the direct action. -Tech: There is now a new "I'm being arrested" App for download. Check Tech Working Group site for info.

== '''GA #15 Friday, October 14 @Camp''' ==

[task: mins file] Short GA due to rain. - Passed proposal to reschedule Anti-Opression workshop to Sunday. - Proposal brought that OB participate in Sunday's World Food Day. By this time, we did not have quorum.

== [http://occupyboston.wikispaces.com/file/view/GA_Minutes_Oct_13_2011_Evening.txt GA #14 Thursday, October 13th @Camp] ==

-GA passes Resolution:

==== '''United with the World for Global Democrac'''y ====

On [http://15october.net/ 15th October 2011,] united in our diversity, united for global change, we demand global democracy: global governance by the people, for the people. Inspired by our sisters and brothers in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Syria, Bahrain, New York, Palestine-Israel, Spain and Greece, we too call for a regime change: a global regime change. In the words of Vandana Shiva, the Indian activist, today we demand replacing the G8 with the whole of humanity – the G 7,000,000,000. Undemocratic international institutions are our global Mubarak, our global Assad, our global Gaddafi. These include: the IMF, the WTO, global markets, multinational banks, the G8G20, the European Central Bank and the UN Security Council. Like Mubarak and Assad, these institutions must not be allowed to run people’s lives without their consent. We are all born equal, rich or poor, woman or man. Every African and Asian is equal to every European and American. Our global institutions must reflect this, or be overturned. Today, more than ever before, global forces shape people’s lives. Our jobs, health, housing, education and pensions are controlled by global banks, markets, tax-havens, corporations and financial crises. Our environment is being destroyed by pollution in other continents. Our safety is determined by international wars and international trade in arms, drugs and natural resources. We are losing control over our lives. This must stop. This will stop. The citizens of the world must get control over the decisions that influence them in all levels – from global to local. That is global democracy. That is what we demand today. Today, like the Mexican Zapatistas, we say “¡Ya basta! Aquí el pueblo manda y el gobierno obedece”: Enough! Here the people command and global institutions obey! Like the Spanish Tomalaplaza we say “Democracia Real Ya”: True global democracy now!” Today we call the citizens of the world: let us globalise Tahrir Square! Let us globalise Puerta del Sol! Follow it on Facebook from October 14th: [http://www.facebook.com/pages/United-for-Global-Democracy/281998261825102 http://www.facebook.com/pages/United-for-Global-Democracy/281998261825102]

Discuss it on Twitter with the hashtag #globaldemocracy Endorsements: Noam Chomsky,Vandana Shiva, Eduardo Galeano, Michael Hardt, Naomi Klein, Tim Gee, Nicola Vallinoto- Council member of the World Federalist Movement, ATTAC Spain, ATTAC France, Egality London, Egality Berlin, War on Want – London, Globalise Resistance – London, Uncut UK, Uncut Italy, DRY International, Gaia Foundation, Democracia Real – Argentina, General Assembly Puerta del Sol – Madrid, General Assembly London, General Assembly Buenos Aires, General Assembly Sao Paulo, General Assembly Manchester

== '''GA #13 Wednesday, October 12 @Camp''' ==

[task: mins file and summary]

== '''GA #12 Tuesday, October 11 @Camp''' ==

[task: mins file and summary]

== '''[http://occupyboston.wikispaces.com/file/view/GA_Minutes_Oct_10_2011_Morning.txt GA #11 Monday, October 10 @Camp]''' ==

[task: summary]

== '''[http://occupyboston.wikispaces.com/file/view/GA_Minutes_Oct_09_2011_Evening.txt GA #10 Sunday, October 9 @Camp]''' ==

[task: summary]

=== [[GA Archive Week 2 October 2nd to October 8th 2011|GA Archive Week #2 October 2nd to October 8th 2011]] (GA Meetings #3-9) ===

=== '''[[GA Archive Week 1 September 27th to October 1st 2011|GA Archive Week #1 September 27th to October 1st 2011]]''' (GA Planning 1,2 and 3 + GA 1 and 2) ===

----

''Based on: [http://occupyboston.wikispaces.com/GA+Minutes GA Minutes at wikispaces]''

GA/Minutes/31

2011-11-07T20:28:21Z

Tim Smith: imported from https://docs.google.com/document/d/1n4Hi1qzkGcruBpqH9VuZPVPputObTmml2rCwZxyFTHM/edit

==Transcription==

This is the transcript of the Occupy Boston GA for Sunday evening, November 6, 2011.

Transcriber: Tim Smith

DISCLAIMER from your friendly transcriber: I know there were many important and nuanced things said at this meeting, and I tried really hard to report everyone’s words exactly. I know I missed things<nowiki>; </nowiki>people talk faster than my fingers move! Also it’s cold and my fingers are frozen! This represents a good faith attempt at a transcript, but it’s not an exact transcript.

A few abbreviations I’m using, apart from standard abbreviations (i.e. ppl for people, Sat for Saturday):

CQ--clarifying question

POI--point of information.

POP--point of process

WG--working group

OB--Occupy Boston

OTH--Occupy the Hood

temp check--temperature check

GA--general assembly.

Facs-facilitators, meaning the members of the facilitation working group, who brought an important proposal before GA tonight.

Gandhi--the statue of Gandhi in Dewey Square, a common meeting space in camp

FAWG--financial accountability working group, same as Finance.

“Floor,” “Participant,” “Crowd,” and “Person” are used to reference people whose names/roles I did not hear, or who did not identify themselves by name or role. There isn’t actually a distinction intended, between, say, “Floor” and “Crowd,” your friendly transcriber is just inconsistent. Most people so noted were located in the assembled crowd, not on the stage.

==Introduction==

Occupy Boston is a non-violent movement using a consensus-based decision-making process. Facilitators are here only to help the GA as a group follow the process. We ask everyone to learn and use the hand signals. We invite you to set an example for each other and the world.

<nowiki>[</nowiki>standard hand-signal process introduction]

==Working group announcements==

'''Labor outreach (Tom):''' We are doing on-going work. There are planned actions this Wednesdsay, November 9. The Boston Globe has reported expecting thousands of people to show up. Hands off social security, medicare, medicaid. March is from Dewey Square 10:30 AM, rally 11 AM Wang Theater, 270 Tremont St. Boston. March from Dewey Square 6:30 PM, rally after at Symphony Hall. Regarding foreclosure defenses: there is a national conference call taking place to organize around this issue. Trying to organize Dec 6 national Day of Action against eviction and foreclosures. Anyone interested in getting involved, please talk to Tom. We’re working on a proposal for an emergency defense network to help defends people in their homes.

'''Media:''' There is a public meeting of the media group on Wednesday at 7 PM. Those with media backgrounds are especially welcome.

'''Ideas:''' Monday we’re getting together here at 7 to talk about ideas and values for Occupy Boston.

==Individual announcements==

'''Ariel:''' You people are great, I love you. I’m working with an author’s group that’s working on a message. We want your feedback. Ask me for a copy or for more information.

'''Monica:''' I’m a college professor and I believe in public education. So I do teach-ins here. Tomorrow, Monday, at 6 PM by the library we’ll be talking about the Putney Debates. 300 years ago, people got together at Putney Church and had a debate about democracy. Go to [http://reallypublicschool.com reallypublicschool.com] for more information.

'''Elizabeth:''' I feel we should have an animal safety group. Also a survivor’s advocacy group to help assault victims. If anyone wants to join either working group, see me.

'''Michael:''' I'm an organizer for tenants of government subsidized housing. There's a mass rally on Wednesday. Senator Kerry is a member of the super-committee. It's going to destroy social security and medicare if we can't stop it. On Tuesday there is a Boston election. We are going to occupy the polling places to stop these cuts. We hope to collect thousands of letters about this and deliver them en masse. Please see me if you're interested.

'''David:''' I'm part of organizing Occupy El barrio. We're meeting at 6:30 PM Friday at 19 Meridian St, Suite 4, 2nd floor.

'''Jeremy:''' This Sunday there is a big meeting in Portland, your support will be needed.

'''James:''' I am a candidate for Cambridge City Council. Yesterday there was a memorial gathering for a president of SDS. One of the founders of SDS (Al) visited Occupy Boston and is here right now, and interested in talking with others to draft a new Port Huron document. Vote for me on Tuesday!

==Working group proposals==

Quorum check: Do we have a quorum? No. We will let working groups present their proposals but we will not vote on them tonight.

'''Facilitation:''' Facilitation has had a proposal in the works for weeks but it keeps getting bumped to when there's no quorum. The proposal concerns the submission of proposals to GA. It's on the wiki and there are copies in the library.

'''Alternative banking (Liam and Sam):''' We represent the sacred banking working group. Our proposal is presented as a choreographed argument. <nowiki>[</nowiki>choreographed argument follows] We must create a new role for money in our political and social lives. The new economy we are proposing is rooted in projects that revitalize manufacturing and relocalize our food supply. We must create and govern our own banks. We propose to create a new currency. Our money will decay over time, so that it will be wiser to share it than to hoard it. We propose that OB endorse this. We propose that each of us every day give the gifts that are most needed - a hug, looking into someone else’s eyes.

CQ: Are you working with some of the established progressive finance groups?

Answer: Not yet, but we’re anticipating doing so.

CQ: Do you expect your proposal to work within the current system?

Answer: We expect our currency to initially work within the system, but eventually provide an alternative model.

'''Occupy El Barrio:''' Friday night we had our first meeting. We want to ask if OB will fund a Web site for us. We want to register a domain name. We will raise this next time we have quorum. <nowiki>[</nowiki>Monica volunteers to pay!] Next meeting Friday at 6 PM, location to be determined.

==Individual stack==

'''Tony:''' Social security and medicare need to be fixed. We need to separate the good ways of fixing them from the bad ways.

GA is now over! (8:03 PM)

Talk:Facilitation Working Group

2011-10-27T03:53:47Z

Tim Smith: /* Name of group */ new section

==Proposal for GA Proposal Submission - consented by FWG, on 10/20/11==
:[[user:gsmurphy]] Thursday, 6:25 pm
This proposal will be presented to a public working group, for consensus, before being presented at a GA:

To strive for an inclusive consensus process, to allow the Assembly to be more informed about, and better prepared for hearing and voting on proposals, to help OccupyBoston participants to be able to plan to be at specific General Assemblies to vote on proposals of interest, and to better the likelihood of passage ....

The Facilitators Working Group proposes that pre-announced, pre-posted, pre-scheduled proposals which have had publicly announced meetings and passed consensus at a public working group meeting, will be considered prior to other proposals, at General Assemblies. Working Groups and individuals may still bring proposals to the GA, without submitting to this new process. Emergency proposals, e.g., from Safety, Medics, Legal, etc., will continue to get immediate attention.

The Facilitators Working Group proposes the following process for preparing proposals to be taken through consensus at a General Assembly:

1. First Steps (at least one week prior to presenting at GA):
○ post the proposal on the OccupyBoston wiki and make physical copies available at camp;
○ schedule and post online, the date of the GA at which the proposal will be presented;
○ do outreach to all Working Groups to let them know you have a proposal in the pipeline and would like their input;
○ schedule and post online, the date of a public working group meeting, at which the proposal will be reviewed and taken through the consensus process. (Individuals can host meetings, they simply become a working group once the meeting begins.)
2. Announce at the earliest possible evening GA:
○ that you are preparing a proposal,
○ the subject of the proposal and that it is posted online,
○ the date, time and location of the public working group meeting,
○ and the date the proposal will be presented to the GA.
3. Conduct a full consensus Working Group meeting:
○ Document all objections and amendments,
○ Explain how objections were addressed,
(Objections must remain on a public list so that if the proposal cannot address them, and is still consented to, the community knows that there are outstanding concerns/objections to address.)
○ Explain whether or why not amendments were adopted.
4. If the proposal has passed consensus in the public working group meeting, present the proposal at the pre-scheduled GA.
5. If the proposal did not reach consensus at the public working group meeting, post that result online and announce at the next available GA that the proposal will not be presented on the previously scheduled date.
====re: Proposal for GA Proposal Submission - consented by FWG, on 10/20/11====
::[[user:anonyta]] Today 1:24 am
Hi all,

The proposal below emerges from a tough Transparency WG meeting and from conversations with some of the most active people on-site -- the people who don't attend meetings and GAs (to their detriment, of course - but, also, to ours). Basically, there are big problems with internet access and a lot of frustration about the aimlessness of some GAs. I floated it in this past Facilitation meeting and got some advice on it from Maureen and others. Tell me what you think!

The proposal: that agendas (of proposals! not announcements) for GA nights should be decided on the night before, in a small, consensus-based discussion between the individuals and WG reps presenting proposals. On Friday night that small discussion will decide the proposals agenda for both Saturday and Sunday. The idea is for presenters to figure out together which proposals need to be discussed most immediately, versus those that can be discussed by a smaller group or even moved to the next GA or re-worked. A facilitator can facilitate the discussion and gather the proposals and put them on the wiki or on occupybostonglobe.com, so that commuters as well as campers know what proposals will be discussed, and in what order.

Talking Points
-- I offer to do this, and recruit some facilitators for it, since I am free on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays more than on Tuesdays and Thursdays (in fact, I teach on those nights).
--This face-to-face consensus decision would eliminate the problem of internet access, but still allow for some level of predictability and preparation for everybody.
--It would also, ideally, highlight the proposals that are not yet worked out enough, in a consensus environment.
--after the Transparency meeting and these various conversations with campers, I realized that Allison's proposal for proposals, which we passed in the previous FWG meeting, relies too heavily on the internet. It will guarantee that the WGs whose members are mostly working off-site are always given priority, over those who are on-site. So, for example, groups or individuals that are talking about "Message" will be given priority, over those that are organizing events that often come up within the week, or those that need money within the week. At the moment, we don't have the kind of stability that would allow WGs to prepare proposals for a week - especially with winter coming, it seems that things are much more in flux for groups that organize events.
--Ironically, in a lot of those conversations, people were basically saying that they wanted us Facilitators to use more of our common sense, to vet proposals in order for GAs to be bearable. For the good of the community and etc.

Well, do let me know what you think! Allison, what do you think about the modification that this makes to your proposal??
====re: Proposal for GA Proposal Submission - consented by FWG, on 10/20/11====
::[[user:pcovery]] Today 4:44 am
I welcome more organization, especially in a way that knits together on-site and off-site participants. Thanks for your stamina in facilitating!

==CORRECTED GA Schedule Consented Proposal - 10/21/11==
:[[user:gsmurphy]] Yesterday 5:06 am
The Facilitators Working Group (FWG) proposes, starting on Sunday, October 23, that OccupyBoston move to a schedule of conducting General Assembly on Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, 7:00 PM to 10:00 PM, and in case of emergencies.

The FWG proposes that all Working Groups hold at least one publicly accessible, weekly meeting -- except Legal WG, whose meetings are necessarily confidential. The day and time and place of the meeting is to be posted on the OccupyBoston website, and made available to the Info tent and the Media scheduling boards. The meeting will be facilitated as a horizontal democracy using a consensus decision-making process. During the non-GA evenings, there will be facilitated discussions and debates starting 7pm, on issues that interest the Occupy Boston community. Topics for these non-GA nights should be proposed in advance by individuals or Working Groups during General Assembly.

The FWG offers its services to all Working Groups who wish to be trained in a consensus process, and, if needed, can help Working Groups with the facilitation of their first scheduled public meeting.
====re: CORRECTED GA Schedule Consented Proposal - 10/21/11====
::[[user:gsmurphy]] Yesterday 5:19 am
Actually, the proposal was consented to by the GA, on 10/20/11

==Final GA Schedule Proposal - consented by GA on 10/20/11==
:[[user:gsmurphy]] Thursday, 6:20 pm
The Facilitators Working Group (FWG) proposes, starting on Sunday, October 23, that OccupyBoston move to a schedule of conducting General Assembly on Sundays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, from 7:00 PM to 10:00 PM.

The FWG proposes that all Working Groups hold at least one publicly accessible, weekly meeting, during one of the non-GA evenings, or on a weekend afternoon. The day and time and place of the meeting is to be posted on the OccupyBoston website, and made available to the Info tent and the Media scheduling boards. The meeting will be facilitated as a horizontal democracy using a consensus decision-making process.

The FWG offers its services to all Working Groups who wish to be trained in a consensus process, and, if needed, can help Working Groups with the facilitation of their first scheduled public meeting.

Talking points
• FWG knows that members of OccupyBoston are yearning for more public (community-wide) discussion on relevant topics. This new GA schedule allows plenty of opportunity for these discussions, as well as community teach-ins and workshops, without a sponsoring group having to go through a GA consensus process to arrange the time.

• For example, this new schedule allows groups, such as the anti-oppression group, to present additional workshops, on an ongoing basis, without impacting GA time.

• This new schedule would allow for Working Groups to attract broader participation from Boston residents who do not live at that camp and who are not available during the day, via meetings held during early evening hours, without interfering with and/or drawing people away from GA.

• This new schedule allows the FWG much needed meeting time to address other facilitation and communication needs, and to develop and schedule facilitator trainings and Introduction to consensus decision-making workshops.

• Let us remember and recognize that this global movement, of which occupyboston is the local realization, is steeped in horizontal democracy and the consensus process. It is the cornerstone, if not the foundation of how it operates - all voices are equal and everyone gets to listen and comment.

• As Facilitators, we are the protectors and champions (as many of you are, as well) of these guiding principles and we hope to inculcate the consensus practice throughout OB, and not simply have it be seen as a GA management tool.
====MISTAKE - Final GA Schedule Proposal - consented by GA on 10/20/11====
::[[user:gsmurphy]] Yesterday 5:05 am
MISTAKE - this was not the Final Version consented to by the GA.

==Proposal for GA Proposal Submission==
:[[user:gsmurphy]] Thursday, 10:48 am
To strive for an inclusive consensus process, to allow the Assembly to be more informed about, and better prepared for hearing and voting on proposals, to help OccupyBoston participants to be able to plan to be at specific General Assemblies to vote on proposals of interest, and to better the likelihood of passage ....

The Facilitators Working Group proposes the following process for preparing proposals to be taken through consensus at a General Assembly:

1. First Steps (at least one week prior to presenting at GA):
○ post the proposal on the OccupyBoston wiki and make physical copies available at camp;
○ schedule and post online, the date of the GA at which the proposal will be presented;
○ do outreach to all Working Groups to let them know you have a proposal in the pipeline and would like their input;
○ schedule and post online, the date of a public working group meeting, at which the proposal will be reviewed and taken through the consensus process. (Individuals can host meetings, they simply become a working group once the meeting begins.)
2. Announce at the earliest possible evening GA:
○ that you are preparing a proposal,
○ the subject of the proposal and that it is posted online,
○ the date, time and location of the public working group meeting,
○ and the date the proposal will be presented to the GA.
3. Conduct a full consensus Working Group meeting:
○ Document all objections and amendments,
○ Explain how objections were addressed,
(Objections must remain on a public list so that if the proposal cannot address them, and is still consented to, the community knows that there are outstanding concerns/objections to address.)
○ Explain whether or why not amendments were adopted.
4. If the proposal has passed consensus in the public working group meeting, present at the pre-scheduled GA.
5. If the proposal did not reach consensus at the public working group meeting, post that result online and announce at the next available GA that the proposal will not be presented on the previously scheduled date.

We propose that pre-announced, pre-posted, pre-scheduled proposals which have had publicly announced meetings and passed consensus at the public working group meeting, will be considered prior to other proposals, at General Assemblies.

==Revised GA Schedule Talking Points==
:[[user:gsmurphy]] Wednesday, 8:29 pm
TALKING POINTS

• FWG knows that members of OccupyBoston are yearning for more public (community-wide) discussion on relevant topics. This new GA schedule allows plenty of opportunity for these discussions, as well as community teach-ins and workshops, without a sponsoring group having to go through a GA consensus process to arrange the time.

• For example, this new schedule allows groups, such as the anti-oppression group, to present additional workshops, on an ongoing basis, without impacting GA time.

• This new schedule would allow Working Groups to attract broader participation from Boston residents who do not live at that camp and who are not available during the day, via meetings held during early evening hours, without interfering with and/or drawing people away from GA.

• This new schedule allows the FWG much needed meeting time to address other facilitation and communication needs, and to develop and schedule facilitator trainings and Introduction to consensus decision-making workshops.
====re: Revised GA Schedule Talking Points====
::[[user:gsmurphy]] Thursday, 8:03 am
additional TP:

Let us remember and recognize that this global movement, of which occupyboston is the local realization, is steeped in horizontal democracy and the consensus process. It is the cornerstone, if not the foundation of how it operates.

As Facilitators, we are the protectors and champions (as many of you are, as well) of these guiding principles and we hope to inculcate the consensus paractice throughout OB, and not simply have it be seen as a GA management tool.

==Revised GA Schedule Proposal==
:[[user:gsmurphy]] Wednesday, 8:20 pm
This proposal reached consensus at the Facilitator Working Group Meeting, on 10/19/11, and will be presented to the GA, on 10/20/11.

PROPOSAL
The Facilitators Working Group (FWG) proposes, starting on Sunday, October 23, that OccupyBoston move to a schedule of conducting General Assembly every other night, from 7:00 PM to 10:00 PM.

The FWG proposes that all Workin Groups hold at least one publicly accessible, weekly meeting, during one of the non-GA evenings, or on a weekend afternoon. The day and time and place of the meeting is to be posted on the OccupyBoston website, and made available to the Info tent and the Media scheduling boards. The meeting will be facilitated as a horizontal democracy using a consensus decision-making process.

The FWG offers its services to all Working Groups who wish to be trained in a consensus process, and, if needed, can help Working Groups with the facilitation of their first scheduled public meeting.

== Priority Process Proposal as amended at FWG public meeting ==

Priority Proposal Process(Draft - updated to reflect amendments made during public working group meeting )(please note and use the Comment function, at the upper right. For Occupy Boston proposals to: reflect more voices and broader ownership; strive for an inclusive process; allow the Assembly to be more informed about and better prepared for hearing and voting on proposals; to help Occupy Boston participants plan to attend specific General Assemblies so they can vote on proposals of interest; help those making proposals gain practice presenting; and to better the likelihood of passage; the Facilitator Working Group recommends a Priority Proposal process. We strongly encourage everyone to make proposals, particularly those from historically oppressed communities. We think this process helps to ensure that your voice will be heard. Please note that emergency proposals, e.g., from Safety, Medics, Legal, etc., will continue to get immediate attention. We propose the following steps to achieve priority status for your proposal:
#Decide if you want your proposal to receive priority status at a General Assembly. Anyone, whether a group or an individual, can make proposals and gain priority status. Pre-announced, pre-posted, pre-scheduled proposals which have had publicly announced meetings and passed consensus at a public meeting, will be considered prior to other proposals at General Assemblies. Working Groups and individuals may still bring any proposals to the GA, without submitting to this new process, they simply will not have priority status on the agenda.
#First Steps (at least 4 days prior to presenting at GA):
##post the proposal on the OccupyBoston wiki and make physical copies available at the camp library;
##schedule and post online, the date of the GA at which the proposal will be presented;
##do outreach to all WGs to let them know you have a proposal in the pipeline and would like their input;
##schedule and post online, with 48 hours notice, the date of a public meeting (which must be at least 48 hours prior to the scheduled GA), at which the proposal will be reviewed and taken through the consensus process. (Individuals can host meetings) (On non-GA evenings, facilitators will be available at the 5pm Facilitators Working Group meeting to assist with all of these steps, including typing your proposal and helping you write, to the best of our ability.)
#Announce at the earliest possible evening GA, 
##that you are preparing a proposal,
##the subject of the proposal and that it is posted online,
##the date of the public meeting,
##and the date the proposal will be presented to the GA;
#Conduct a full consensus WG meeting where you
##state the need the proposal is addressing;
##first assess whether the proposal requires consensus at a General Assembly;
##Document all objections and amendments.
##Explain how objections were addressed (Objections must remain on a public list so that, if the proposal cannot address them and is still consented to, the community knows that there are outstanding concerns/objections to address.)
##Explain whether or why not amendments were adopted.
#If the proposal has passed consensus in the public meeting, present at the pre-scheduled GA;
#If the proposal did not reach consensus at the public working group meeting, post that result online and announce at the next available GA that the proposal will not be presented on the previously scheduled date OR that you will still bring the proposal to the GA, but it will be given priority status.

 

== Name of group ==

Hi everyone. I've seen this group called both the "Facilitators Working Group" and the "Facilitation Working Group". Which is preferred? I would pick the latter, since the group is not just about facilitators, but deals with the whole facilitation process. And of course, participation in the group is not limited to facilitators, but open to everyone. If there's agreement about this, we can move this page to "Facilitation" instead of "Facilitators". [[User:Tim Smith|Tim Smith]] 23:53, 26 October 2011 (EDT)