AGM Decisions

ResolutionNumber: 08
Year: 2003
Title: WHO'S WHO IN AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL USA
Resolved:

WHEREAS "Amnesty International: Who's Who in 19xx", the annual staff list which was formerly provided to many volunteers, was an invaluable resource;

WHEREAS (and despite the proverb which holds that familiarity breeds contempt) enabling people to know one another by name can help build the culture of mutual respect called for in Amnesty International USA?s new strategic plan;

WHEREAS the Monthly Mailing has long been consistent and comprehensive in announcing staff arrivals, departures, and assignment changes, demonstrating that such information is to be shared; and

WHEREAS piecemeal rosters, such as "Who's Who in Government Relations" (distributed at the Ideas Fair at the 2002 Annual General Meeting, and possibly elsewhere) demonstrate the value of "Who's Who", but are inadequate substitutes for a single, readily available, comprehensive roster;

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT Amnesty International USA resume preparation of a comprehensive "Who's Who".

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT "Who's Who" be presented online as part of the Members' Area of the AIUSA web site, and not necessarily in hard copy.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT the online "Who's Who" be maintained so that it is never more than a month out of date.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT this "Who's Who" roster identify: by 31 December 2003, all staff members, including interns; by 30 June 2004, all Board members and all volunteers serving in Board-appointed positions; and by 31 December 2004, all volunteers serving in formally established positions including student chapter groups and community groups.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT, for each individual, "Who's Who" provide at least the following information items: first and last name, location (city and state), position, title, description of responsibilities, and (for staff positions) department and unit. Any AIUSA member will be able to opt out of this list voluntarily and be able to opt to include additional contact information.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT, by 31 March 2004 AIUSA develop policies and mechanisms to support the presentation of contact information on an opt-in basis.

Implementation: The resolution calls for listing the names and roles of both staff and volunteer leaders on the AIUSA website. Currently, volunteer contact information is contained in the Activist Database System maintained by the AIUSA Information Technology Unit. Currently, staff contact information is not available in database form.

The New Media Staff is currently working on two projects that are related to the Who’s Who Directory; these projects will provide much of the technical infrastructure needed to support implementation of the Who’s Who Directory. A project is currently underway to display selected staff, board and country specialists on the public part of the amnestyusa.org website as part of an online media guide. As part of this project, a database has been built containing staff members, board members, and country specialists. Display modules have been created to display this information on the public website, and an editing module has been created to allow appropriate staff to edit the information through a secure web interface. Staff members are coded in the database to indicate whether they should be displayed on the public part of the site, in the Members’ area, or both. The Media Relations Unit is currently updating data for the Media Guide. It should be available on the site by the end of September, 2003.

In a separate project, the New Media team has built an interface to transfer information from the Activist Database System to a separate database for display on the website. This is currently being used to display listings of local and student groups. The data is updated each night. This interface can be expanded to include the volunteer leadership roles listed in the Who’s Who resolution.

The following steps are needed for implementation of the Who’s Who Directory:

1. Editing and maintenance of staff listings (HR Unit)

2. Development of database to contain opt-out/opt-in information (New Media Unit)

3. Informing volunteers of opt-out/opt-in options and collecting information (MMD)

4. Expanding ADS interface to collect volunteer information, and developing web site views. (New Media)

5. Develop policies for opt-in contact information (MMD and New Media).

6. Implement ‘blind-email’ system to opt-in volunteer contacts (form-based email that doesn’t reveal recipient’s address to sender). (New Media).

The implementation plan will meet all deadlines specified in the resolution.

Update: The resolution calls for the display of names and roles of both staff and volunteer leaders on the AIUSA website. Currently, volunteer contact information is contained in the Activist Database System maintained by the AIUSA Information Technology Unit. Currently, staff contact information is not available in database form.

The New Media Staff is working on two projects that are related to the Who’s Who Directory; these projects will provide much of the technical infrastructure needed to support implementation of the Who’s Who Directory. A project is currently underway to display selected staff, board and country specialists on the public part of the amnestyusa.org website as part of an online media guide. As part of this project, a database has been built containing staff members, board members, and country specialists. Display modules have been created to display this information on the public website, and an editing module has been created to allow appropriate staff to edit the information through a secure web interface. Staff members are coded in the database to indicate whether they should be displayed on the public part of the site, in the Members’ area, or both. The Media Relations Unit is currently updating data for the Media Guide. Unfortunately, the programmer who was developing this application left his consulting position with Amnesty (for personal reasons) with the project half-finished. A new programmer has begun work on finishing this application, and we expect it will be live by the end of February, 2004.