[IRP] Tentative proposal for merging the APC/IRP and FCForum charter processes

[Jeremy Malcolm]

On 10/12/2009, at 2:27 AM, Sylvia Caras wrote:

> about merging charters, this group also has a 'charter' or a version
> of one, in its statements - are we wanting to combine all of that a
> UDHR for the internet, UDHIR?

Well, that's the question.  The thinking behind it, from the Free  
Culture Forum group, was that it is desirable to consolidate charters  
and reduce fragmentation.  Rather than paraphrase, let me copy and  
paste some of the list discussion (the original poster Simona is a  
Spanish native speaker, so excuse her English):

> i think we should write to the past relevant efforts to tell them  
> about the charter and to say that their wrk was insprational and to  
> invite them to endorse and participate from now on. so we did with  
> the documents that we propose in the fcforum from our side.  
> Particularly, i think we should write to the APC, (is the more  
> solid, even if i think its forget the legal really and it is to much  
> on the level of intentions more that practical acting). ...
> i think that we absolutely don't let the "movement" or in general  
> the philosophy of free culture to be duplicating efforts and  
> fragnmentating. this is the big success of our charter. to put many  
> people together. so, i agree deeply with Paolo that we must propose  
> the charter as inspiration or even more, we should firmely propose  
> to the  grpoups  that want to start new charter, to use this  
> charter, to take it as  its. if not we do the work of the enemies,  
> fragmentation, irrelevance. Paolo did it and also i was asking time  
> ago to Amelia that the Pirate partiet adopt it and so she succed.  
> but now i think we should really write to the "bill of rights"  
> people and tell them really to discuss it with us and to use it.

The underlying ideal of reducing fragmentation is also why (as I  
understand it) this dynamic coalition decided to rework the APC  
Charter rather than creating a new one.

But at the same time, adding more voices makes the task of producing a  
single document that much more difficult.  So I don't know if this  
group would prefer to continue to revise the APC Charter in a small  
group, rather than to try to merge with the larger FCForum's charter  
project.  I am interested to hear peoples' thoughts on this.

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