The Omni/Structure statement
The Omni Collective (structure)
A Proposal for the Bay Area Public School
as put forth by David Brazil (Bay Area Public School) on 11/29/2013
Since the Public School has decided to move forward in collaboration with other groups to acquire use of the new space presently known as the Omni, and to collaborate with those groups to develop a "collective of collectives" which will be capable of administering this space, I propose that the Public School formally founds this collective of collectives, hereinafter known as the Omni Collective, and invite our collaborators to join us.
The groups presently recognized as our collaborators are Sudo Room, Timeless Infinite Light, and Counter-Culture Labs.
Each of these groups, along with the Public School, will be asked to select a delegate, according to the decision-making processes of each group. These delegates will form theOmni Collective's executive board, which will be entrusted with making binding decisions on behalf of the groups they represent. Any delegate may bring a formal, written proposal to the executive group in order to vote on it. Decisionmaking by this executive board will be by consensus.
These delegates will be fully accountable to the groups they represent, and subject to recall, according to the decision-making processes of that group.
Ideally the executive board will function like a spokescouncil : delegates will attend the meetings of their groups and report back to those groups from the executive meetings, while retaining the ability to make executive decisions on behalf of the full group.
The executive board will meet weekly, according to a schedule it decides on. Once a month the executive meeting will coincide with a general meeting open to all members of all groups which are part of the Omni Collective; i.e. a general meeting, which will be primarily devoted to open discussion and community conversation. The purpose of this meeting is to continuously ensure that the executive board reflects the will of the larger collectivity, and that the project as a whole stays true to its radical core.
If other organizations wish to become part of the Omni project, a consensus vote of the executive board is required. If such a vote passes successfully, the new group will be requested to select a delegate for the executive board.
If it is deemed necessary to expel a group, the executive board may decide upon expulsion by a consensus vote in which the vote of the delegate from the group to be expelled will not be counted.
The executive board is empowered to amend the terms of its own existence, as outlined in this proposal, by consensus vote.
The task of the Omni Collective is to effectively administer a large and complicated collective space, (which will sometimes require prompt and binding decisions), while making sure that we stick to the guiding principles of this project (that is to say, democracy, equality, fairness, and the prospect of emancipatory social justice). The time to begin developing a framework for balancing these demands is now.