Fwd: [OpenDataBC] Announcing the creation of The Open Data Society of BC

[Michael Lenczner-2]

Looks cool.


---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: David Eaves <[hidden email]>
Date: Mon, May 7, 2012 at 12:46 PM
Subject: [OpenDataBC] Announcing the creation of The Open Data Society of BC
To: "[hidden email]" <[hidden email]>,
[hidden email], [hidden email]


Hi everyone!

David Eaves here, I am pleased to announce the creation of a
grassroots organization to support the open data community in British
Columbia.


More info below for those interested in participating!


The Open Data Society of BC has recently been incorporated as a
non-profit, member-driven organization created to promote and support
open data initiatives.

What is the purpose of the Society?

There are four main purposes for the Society:

promote open data in British Columbia by providing timely, valuable
information using various means including the Internet and social
media, and by organizing and participating in open data events;
support the British Columbia open data community by facilitating
online discussions and in person social gatherings between members and
liaising with external stakeholders in a way that promotes and
understanding of, and access to, open data
create opportunities for using open data by fostering a community that
helps members to connect with the other open data users and creates
resources that might interested parties make use of open data; and
validate, develop and inform members and external stakeholders of
common practices and standards around open data.

Who are the Directors for the Society?

The following five people are the founding directors for the Open Data
Society of B.C.

Herb Lainchbury

email:  [hidden email]

Nelson Lah

email:  [hidden email]

David Eaves

email:  [hidden email]

Kevin McArthur

email:  [hidden email]

Greg Britton

email:  [hidden email]

Will the Society replace OpenDataBC?

No.  The Society is the officially registered, non-profit society
under the BC Society Act.  It will continue to use the established
brand of OpenDataBC to achieve the Society’s objectives.

Why have you created a Society?

In our work around open data, we have encountered situations where
having a legal entity would be useful.  For example, more formal
interactions with other entities, and the organization of certain
types of events can be facilitated if a legal entity exists.  It is
with this in mind that we created the Society to add another tool to
support the open data community.

How can I get involved?

You can become involved in a number of different ways.  You can join
as a member of the Society (see the next section!)

We will be looking to bring in additional directors over time.
Information regarding the director positions will be posted to the
opendatabc-society Google group (see link below) as they become
available.

As always, your participation in open data discussions and events
makes a big difference.

How can I become a member?

The Society will be membership driven, and there will be several
categories of membership available.  We are in the process of setting
up the categories that would include voting rights, privileges and
membership fees.  If you are interested in becoming a member of the
society, we will have that information available soon.

Where can I find more information?

There is a constitution and set of bylaws for the Society, which are
available here:

http://www.opendatabc.ca/society.html

We have also set up a separate Google group to use for communication
and activity specific to the operation of the Society.  You can sign
up for that Google group here:

https://groups.google.com/forum/?fromgroups#!forum/opendatabc-society

Thank you.

We appreciate the work of each and every person in the open data
community in B.C. to further open data initiatives.  Thank you for all
your efforts to date and we look forward to continue our efforts
together into the future.

Please feel free to contact any of the directors if you have any
questions or comments about this new initiative.

Sincerely,

Herb, David, Nelson, Greg and Kevin