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on the spirit of the Charter

answer from Robert WHEELER, Allie. United States , 18 August 2005

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As far as the Charter goes I think that it is quite suitable; however it leaves out several of the most important matters. The first is the methods and means by which we can purposefully expand and strengthen the Alliance. The Alliance is based upon a solid framework and orientation that does not seem to me to have been implemented very well. I refer here to the development of Collegial, Geographical, and Substantive Working Groups as well as the regional and continental assemblies.

It has never been clear as to how coordinators for such groups will be selected; what type of support will be provided to establish such networks; or what type of a process will be developed to ensure that we do what is needed to develop in all areas simultaneously. I seem to remember that Pierre started to work on this in an earlier proposal, but there doesn’t seem to be anything in this document about this. It is essential that these types of things be defined in the Constituent Charter.

In addition, I believe that an earlier draft also talked about means and guidelines for how one can develop campaigns and initiatives that are associated with the Alliance. I think that this also needs to be included in the document and such campaigns that will bring us closer to establishing the type of world we want to live in will be encouraged and supported by the Alliance as a whole.

The other matter that is not dealt with in this draft proposal is the financial relationship between the Fondation and the Alliance. It is quite clear that the financial decisions that the FPH makes have a profound impact on the direction, orientation, and effectiveness of the Alliance. In addition, we have operated in a very undemocratic and non participatory fashion in regards to financial decisions ever since the Alliance was founded.

Either the Fondation must be much more transparent in its financial decision making processes and must explain and put forward the specific means by which it makes its decisions, or it must find a way to devolve some of these decisions to the Alliance itself. One means of doing so would be to give an Alliance Board say half of the money that it has budgeted to use as it will. However it would probably take a good deal of effort to set up an agreeable process for how the Alliance could make such decisions; so it might just be best to improve the methods and transparency by which the FPH makes its financial decisions.

Then in addition, if the Alliance is to set a calendar and priorities every two years there must be some linkage spelled out that ties a certain amount of funding to this.

These are complicated questions that have deserved much more consideration and discussion than they have received to date.

 

 

- Alliance for a Responsible, Plural and United World -
- Charles Léopold Mayer Foundation for the Progress of Humankind -