Structure/Struktur?

hello everybody, would be great to have your opinion on this issue! the small group within the network that has discussed this needs a broader view on this. thanks for participating!

Hello everyone. Firstly I do believe that the movement needs one centralising body. I'm new to transition/permaculture etc. and am keen to support movement however I am totally bewildered by all the different groups/projects in Luxembourg...in such a small country too ;-) I would like to be able to go to one website and be guided towards the groups/activities that are meaningful to me. Looking at these options, the one that seems the most obvious is A. Why do extra work when you already have something in place? Does CELL being an asbl have any legal obligations vis a vis committees, annual general meetings etc? What do the leaders of all the individual groups think? They need to feel that their groups will be supported so I would say they are the decision makers.

Hi Jane. Thanks for kicking off the discussion :)
I just want to answer regarding the legal structure of CELL and obligations towards members. We have one annual general meeting (assemblée générale) per year, where we present a report of the whole year (financial and content) and where people are voted into the Conseil d'administration (exec committee), and general issues can be addressed. This GA/AG is minuted and made public through a report (on the website). We've been functioning with an enlarged exec committee, called Core group, where people from the different action groups can be informed, represented, and make decisions.
Generally, individual groups are free to make their own decisions regarding things that just concern them, but we need to clarify for collaborating within the LTP what decisions should be taken by whom and how.

CELL's statutes are its legal constitution as foreseen by the legislation for non-profit structures in Lux (asbl - association sans but lucratif), and can be seen here: http://cell.lu/cell-wp/wp-content/uploads/documents/CELL%20asbl%20-%20Statuts.pdf
Could you clarify what you mean with committees? same as groups?

Hi. Just a couple of quick thoughts:
Legal structure: the non-profit or ASBL can cover a lot and could have an ex. committee that represents each individual group so all transition groups are involved in decision making.

Common website: the monthly newsletter is great but is only for the mailing list ( I think?) and not open to the public, so anyone outside the groups does not have access to info. in one central place . A common website would remedy this.

Resource bank: a list of resources that can be consulted by people within Transition groups and could be used ( or borrowed) by all of us. (tools, equipment etc.)

Skills bank: a list of people with skills which could be useful not only in their transition group but in others as well.
Sorry for brevity, but I will have more time to contribute soon!

Hi Katy,
Thanks for the update on the asbl side of things. I was previously involved with the set up of an asbl I had some vague memories that there was a legal requirement to have a leadership group (conseil) of min. 3 people voted in every year at the AG. I was referring to the "conseil" when I wrote "committee". Thanks for refreshing my memory! It sounds to me like you have more or less everything in place to go forward with option A. If it doesn't work out further down the line it can always be changed to one of the other options. Unless of course the choice of structure has an impact on how decision making is done and the overall role of the LTP. In which case I would start by agreeing what is in and out of scope for the LTP to be deciding/co-ordinating and work backwards to find the best legal structure that would facilitate this. cheers Jane

Hi all,
I don't really see the point for discussion as CELL is to me becoming legitimised to act as the Luxembourg Transition Platform. When I say so, it's without being a founder member of CELL but just as a witness of the rich developments spread by CELL during the last years, even if many of them occured through different actors!

Hello all,
I don't know so much about the Luxembourg context here, and what is really special and one of the strong points of Transition is that it values and takes full account of the local contexts and particularities. I know can talk more about similar experiences or decisions from elsewhere. For instance Transition Support Scotland (TSS), right form the very early days of Transition (shifting from Kindle energy descent towards 'Transition' as we currently know it) decided to strategically support and seed transition initiatives across Scotland. Their organisation was quite successful (defined in terms of number of initiatives started, and the sustainability of them), but they were also heavily funded by the state, which changed the dynamic somewhat. They (TSS) were a cross between option C and A, in that they functioned quite like CELL (as I understand it) but were a new body with the press and sole aim of promoting and supporting Transition initiative nationally. Hope that helps,
Gerry

Hi, I made my initial comments without seeing the conversation in context, sorry about that - I thought it was a brainstorm as I replied to an email! Seeing the 3 options proposed, option 1 seems the most logical and efficient. (CELL).

Hi
Personally, I feel most inclined towards option B, as that will allow a greater diversity. Being a founding member of CELL, I always loved the free spirit of it and would deeply regret if that would disappear in a formalized instituinonalized something. But then again, it might be time to change towards a bigger structure to help keeping an overview?

Hi,
Why not a fusion of option 2 (national council ) that is administrated by CELL (option 1). By this way there is an official-legal representation of the transition mouvement for all kinds of legal acts. The CELL could by the adminstration and executive body of the national council.