A hi-res PDF can be downloaded here.
Please consider printing it out and making copies to put around your town/workplace/school. The more people we get involved the better the organization will be!
If you'd like to get involved, you can read more about the existing committees here. Email the Board of Directors with your interest, and put "Committees" in the subject line. Let us know what you want to work on and how you can help.
]]>Jason Justice
Stephanie Glaros
Natasha Geerts
Sarah Schneider
The new Board was elected in April and began meeting in May. The Board is working on increasing involvement in the GA and getting committees started. If you have any questions or would like to get involved, email the Board and let us know.
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A hi-res PDF can be downloaded here.
Please consider printing it out and making copies to put around your town/workplace/school. The more people we get involved the better the organization will be!
The goals that have enjoyed specific accomplishments are noted here.
"Determining GA goals"
We have created Committees of interest to do the work that the TD has deemed important. Initially, these are Outreach and WebDev. As the first-born of GA projects, they have to pave the way for other committees (Diversity, Member Benefits, Fundraising) since their structure and capacity have to work to grow the rest. There are plenty of other ideas and projects that wait in the wings until membership is ready to engage in them. Some of the shelved ideas include a conference (or conference partnership), various meetups in person (not just via our website), a newsletter, etc. Details are in the Minutes kept on the Wiki.
"Determining GA policies" and "Determining GA organizational structures" are related. These are all elements the TD will pass to the Board for further refinement. They are stated as GA issues, but in truth, the TD must use the structures first, then apply them outward to the GA as a whole.
In the past year, we have developed several structural elements, beginning from the simple matter of what constitutes a quorum to make internal decisions to specifics of how meetings are run, how much time the TD members should expect to give, and how to be a committee chair. These can all be found linked at the Wiki homepage. Policies include aspects of how our list-serv is to be run, and what access the public has, what is appropriate content for the list, and who manages and approves messages.
"Ensuring that communications both to and from the GA constituency and relevant stakeholders are effective" and "Ensuring appropriateness for implementing programming" are also intertwined.
We are cleaning house internally before taking it to the masses. We have built ourselves in a functioning body, kept accurate and intelligible documentation of our process, and have streamlined a method to bring it to the GA membership. We also have outlined our plans to take it wider, with our Letter for Link Welcome and Invitation as well as the earlier Invitation to GA. Our membership is growing, slowly but surely, and we want to be sure we have the capacity not to look foolish and unprepared. All the preparation on such aspects as how the List Serv will function are part of this work. Guidelines are in place for this to proceed, which has the potential to exponentially increase our membership and what we can offer to those members.
We have of course, hit roadblocks. We have struggled to keep in contact with one another, to keep momentum from month to month, and to keep ideas fresh. Not getting bogged down, and knowing the risks of that with a fledgling organization such as ours have made growing pains for all involved. The first year is always risky, and we have survived it, stronger and ready to face the coming year with plans and optimism.
Many of you have expressed interest in working on the GA. We need you! and we're sorry if we haven't been as responsive as we would like to have been. We have several areas in which membership can make a difference now:
• Spread the word about the GA and send people to the website.
• Submit articles of interest and job listings to the e-mail listserv.
• Join one of the currently active committees.
• Donate printing services so that we can make more of our promotional cards.
• Consider participating in the GA Board of Directors to be installed in January.
Please email the TD to be a part of any of this, with your suggestions, comments, etc.
Thank you,
The TD
Fellow Graphic Alliance members:
This is a call for help and assistance to further develop the Graphic Alliance. To date we have created a mission statement, designed and printed literature and developed a base-model web site. Our potential could be much greater with your help, ideas, vision and leadership.
The Graphic Alliance (GA) is currently looking for members who are interested in serving on a temporary Transitional Directorship (TD). The primary responsibility of the TD would be the development of GA governance and management structures, and GA programs that serve our constituency. The term of this position would be for one year, whereas the TD would then be replaced a governance structure we develop.
Perspective members of the TD would be responsible for:
The ideal candidates are:
As we are all located in geographically distant locations, most of our communication and organizing will likely be accomplished via email circles and on line.
To confirm your interest in becoming a member of the Graphic Alliance Transitional Directorship, please email us a short one paragraph statement of intent by July 15, 2004.
After July 15 we will open a voting period to allow the main body of the GA to vote on and approve the new Transitional Directorship.
Please join us in helping build the Graphic Alliance.
The Designs On Democracy conference, "Communication for Liberation", March 26-28, 2004, held at University of California, Berkeley, was an overwhelming success. Pushing 400 attendees, full of workshops, speakers and presentations, largely women and people of color led, the crowd was very diverse, including lots of graphic and web designers, techies, communication workers, students and organizers, youth, elders, international music and more. Groups such as the Third World Majority (an all-women of color media training and production resource center), the Progressive Printers' Network, AK Press, Beehive Design, Graphic Artists Guild, Tech Underground and many more were present. Participants came from all over the US and Canada. The Graphic Alliance was featured in workshops including a 2 day, 2 part session on "Building Practical Alliances". The GA also had a table, with a 4ftx3ft full color banner and distributed about 650 pieces of GA literature over the 3 day period.
If you found out about the Graphic Alliance at the Designs On Democracy conference and would like to join us and participate in building the GA please click here.
The Designs On Democracy conference was organized by Design Action Collective, Tumi's Design, Change the Game, Ruckus Society and dozens of other volunteers.
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