[Koha] Communication to Community following Kohacon24 workshop on Foundation

[Auld, Andrew]

On Thursday 26 September, as part of Kohacon24, around 30 people in person
and 8 online met and discussed the next steps for the Koha Project joining
the Open Library Foundation (OLF) following the vote earlier this year. You
can see a recording of the workshop on YouTube
<https://youtu.be/7ls8ApQqXhE?si=7pGxtbsfBzArnoXn> in the Koha channel:
https://www.youtube.com/@KohaILS

You can read the original press release about the proposal for the vote and
the background research document here:
https://koha-community.org/koha-foundation-vote/ and see the vote
result in this
updated version
<https://drive.google.com/file/d/1vhyP2UQWg23Xgy07e0fe_0_Yclw93nyl/view?usp=drive_link>
of the research document..

The group discussed many of the tasks that need to be undertaken over the
next few months to establish a new governance model for the Koha Project.
These tasks include gathering (and addressing) any concerns about the
foundation and suggestions about what, once established, the Governance
Committee should eventually take care of in the long term and also drafting
a voting system for decision making.

The workshop group also discussed and agreed to form a preliminary and
transitional Steering Group that would undertake many of these tasks. The
Steering Group will also agree from within its number the three roles that
are required legally for the Koha Project to form the 501(c)(3) - the type
of non-profit organisation the Project will be - and join OLF. These roles
are:

   -

   Project Manager
   -

   Treasurer
   -

   Secretary

Those on the Steering Group who take on these roles will be doing so on a
transitional basis until we agree a formal process for joining the future
Governance Steering Group/Board/Committee and for voting people into these
positions. It is envisaged, at this point, that the three people taking on
these transitional roles will take these positions for no more than one
year.

Those present at the workshop then agreed to take volunteers from amongst
the group who were willing to be part of the steering group.

The following eleven people have volunteered:

   -

   Éric Bégin - inLibro, Canada - eric.begin at inlibro.com - MM @eric
   -

   Tomas Cohen Arazi - Theke, Argentina - tomascohen at theke.io - MM @tcohen
   -

   Nick Clemens - ByWater Solutions, USA - nick at bywatersolutions.com - MM
   @kidclamp
   -

   Aleisha Amohia - Catalyst, New Zealand - aleisha at catalyst.net.nz - MM
   @aleisha
   -

   David Cook - Prosentient Systems, Australia - dcook at prosentient.com.au -
   MM @dcook
   -

   George Williams - NEKLS, USA - gwilliams at nekls.org - @georgehwilliams
   -

   Thomas Dukleth - USA - td-koha-foundation at agogme.com - MM @thd
   -

   Andrew Auld - PTFS Europe, UK - andrew.auld at ptfs-europe.com - MM @aulda
   -

   Brendan Gallagher - ByWater Solutions, USA - brendan at bywatersolutions.com
   - MM @bag
   -

   Sonia Bouis - Université Lyon 3 and Kohala, France -
   sonia.bouis at univ-lyon3.fr - MM soniab
   -

   Peter-Paul Kloppenborg - BSZ, Germany - paul.kloppenborg at bsz-bw.de - MM
   @paulkloppenborg

By the end of October 2024, this group is tasked with:

   -

   Agreeing on the three roles mentioned above
   -

   Agreeing a terms of reference for the group
   -

   Starting to discuss the tasks involved in establishing Koha as a Project
   in the OLF
   -

   Outlining a timeline for delivering those tasks.

The group will, as part of its terms of reference, agree how frequently it
will update the Koha community on progress and decisions, and also which
decisions will need to be made by the wider community rather than just
within the steering group.

We are setting up an email address, foundation at koha-community.org, which
will reach all of the members of the transitional steering group. If you
have any questions at all, please do not hesitate to get in touch (though
please give us until the start of October to get the email address
established - contact anyone on the committee via the details above in the
meantime if you have questions).


-- 

Andrew Auld

Commercial Director

PTFS Europe

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