Overview

So,youwanttojointherevolutionandhelprebootAfricanjournalismbyestablishingalocalchapterof HacksHackers. Thispagewillgiveyouaquickoverviewoftheminimumrequirements,membershipeligibility,andpossible financialsupportforachapterinyourcityorregion.Youshould,however,alsoreadtherestofthewikifor moredetailedguidelinesonthevariouscomponentsforsettingupasuccessfulchapter. Chaptersareselfgoverning,butthereisacentralthreepersonHacksHackersAfricaprojectteamwho wouldbehappytohelpguideyouthroughtheprocessorsimplyhelpanswerquestionsforissuesnotyet coveredbythewiki.

WhatisaHHchapter?

Achapteris...

Aplacetomeetsmartandinnovativepeople,whoareinterestedinsharinginformationand collaboratingonprojects Anonprofit,publicbenefitentitymanagedbyademocraticallyelectedcommittee Amemberdriven,networkingassociationofinnovatorsinterestedinreinventingthewaythatnews andjournalismwork Aplaceforjournalistswhoarekeenongettingabettergripofnewtechnologies. Aplacetofind/recruit/workwithtechnologists/journalistswhoareonthebleedingedgeofnew technology.

Achapterisnot...
Runbyacorporationormediahouse Aplacewhereyouhearsalespitchesorcorporatepromotions Focusedondevelopingsolutionsforanysinglemediahouseorcompany Aplacetocriticizeindividuals/personalitiesandtheirprojects Aplacetocriticizemediacompaniesontheirstrategies. Isnotalobbypointforpoliticalparties.

Everythingcheckout?Okaythen,onward!Makesureyou'vecheckedthechapterlistandseethatnoother chaptersareinyourarea.Ifthereisone,great!Contacttheorganizerandjoininthefun.

MinimumRequirements
MembershiptoHacksHackersisopentoanyoneinthejournalismandtechnologyspace.Itishowevernot limitedandanyonewithaninterestintheintersectionofthetwoiswelcometojointhecommunity.

MinimumnumberofMembers
Fortymembersshouldbetheminimum,withahealthybalanceofjournalismandtechnologystakeholders, tostartthechapterinanylocation.Allindividualsandorganizationsfallingwithinthedefinedscopeofthe Chaptershallbeeligibleformembershipwithoutdiscrimination.

Chaptersarecity/regionbased
Weshallhaveonechapterpercity/majorpopulationcenter.IfthereisalreadyaHacks/Hackerschapterin thatarea,thefounderswillberequestedtoalignthemselvestothatgroup.Majorpopulationareasare: Cities Towns Countries

Dependingonthesizeofthetechnology/journalistecosysteminanarea,subgroupscanbecreated.Please contact

ChaptersmustelectanExecutiveCommittee
TheChaptermustelectapresidentwhowillbethemostseniorofalltheleadersofthechapter.Thiswillbe typicallyreferredtoasthePresident/Chairpersonhewillberesponsibleforthestrategy/visionofthechapter. TheChaptermustalsoelectapersonresponsiblefortheadministrativetasksinthechapter,thiswill typicallybereferredtoastheSecretaryoftheChapter. TheChaptershouldalsoelectapersonresponsibleforthefinances.Thiswilltypicallybethe treasurer/accountant.Therolemaybemergedwiththatofthesecretary. Thesepositionsarevalidforamaximumperiodofthreeterms(whereeachtermisoneyear).

ChaptersmustelectaBoard
TheboardwillcompromisevolunteersintheMedia/Technologyspacewhoaremoreestablishedandcan helpindividualsinthechapterswithfundraisingforevents/projectsthattheyhave. Boardpositionscanbeheldforamaximumoffiveyearsforeachboardmember.

Chaptersmustmeetmonthly
Chaptersmustmeetmonthly(ormorefrequentlydependingondiscussioncontent/speakers). AnnualGeneralMeetingsmustbeheldtoselectnewleaders/reappointthecurrentones.

Chaptersmustkeeptheirwebsiteupdated
Chapterswillberequiredtohaveawebsitewithgeneralinformationonthechapter,andablogthatis frequentlyupdatedwiththemonthlyactivityinthechapter. Amailinglistadditionallywouldassistingroupcommunication. WewouldalsoliketorequestthevariousmemberstohaveTwitteraccountsandGoogle+pagestomake communicationwiththegeneralpublicfasterandeasier.

ChaptersmustadheretotheHacksHackersCharter
Chaptermayundertakeanyactivityreasonablyrelatedtoandinfurtheranceofitspurposeandthepurpose andmissionoftheHacks/HackersCharter.

ChapterStatus

Incubation
Achapterisconsideredtobeinincubationwhenthefollowingrequirementshavebeenmet: AlocalProjectChampioncommitstoputtingthebuildingblocksinplacetoestablishalocal chapter Anexecutivecommitteeisyettobeelected.

HHAfrica'sprojectteamisavailable(onrequest)toprovidestrategicguidance,technicalsupport,andto assistwithnetworking.

Startup
Achapterisconsideredtobeinstartupphasewhenthefollowingrequirementshavebeenmet: Aminimumof10interestedstakeholdershavebandedtogetherintoafoundinggroup,andhave formallyexpressedinterestinestablishingachapterviaHHAfrica'sprojectteam Thefoundinggroupcreatesamailinglistofinterestedstakeholders,usingHHAfrica'sstandardised platforms/templates Thefoundinggroupdemonstratesthatitisactivelyrecruitingappropriatemembers,usingHH Africa'sstandardisedform,toreachthe20memberminimumrequiredforachapter Thefoundinggroupsuccessfullyhostsaninauguralmeetupofinterestedstakeholders,atwhichthe HHCharterisadopted,adraftActivityPlanisproposed,andadraftBudgetistabled.Templatesare availableforeachofthesedocuments.ThemeetingmustberecordedandbloggedontheHHAfrica webportaltocounttowardschapterstatusrequirements.

HHAfrica'sprojectteamisavailable(onrequest)toprovidestrategicguidance,technicalsupport,andto assistwithnetworking.

Active
Achapterisclassifiedas'active'onceithasreachedtheminimumcriticalmassformembership,andonce ithasthenecessaryorganisational,partnershipandsponsorshipagreementsinplace.Theminimum requirementsare: Aminimumof20activemembers,withcompletedprofilepagesontheHHAfricawebportal Proofthatthechapterhassuccessfullyhostedasecondmeetup,ofmorethan20members,with theeventadequatelyrecordedandbloggedontheHHAfricawebportal ElectionofaninterimExCo,usingHHAfrica'sonlinevotingtemplate,tomanagethelogisticsand financesforthechapter ApprovaloftheActivityPlan,Budget,andanyappropriatepartnershipagreements(suchasvenue oreventsponsorshipagreements)

EstablishmentofachapterprofilepageontheHHAfricawebportal,withalltherelevantchapter detailsandmembership/leadershipinformationuploaded

HHAfrica'sprojectteamis,onceagain,availableonrequesttoprovidestrategicguidance,technical support,andtoassistwithnetworking.

Dormant
Achapterisclassifiedasdormant,whenithasfailedtohostanyphysical,inpersoneventsforthreeor moremonths.Thefollowinginstitutionalstepsaretakenwhenachaptergoesdormant: TheAMIgrantandchapterbankaccount/sponsorshipagreementsarebothfrozenbythe Treasurer HHAfricareviewsthechapter'sfinancialmanagementandresources Thechapter'sExCoissuspended,pendingelectionofnewleadershipandapprovalofanewActivity Plan Thechapter'spageontheHHAfricawebportalisfrozen,withallqueriesredirectedtotherelevant SSAorNAcommunitymanager Thechapter'seligibilityforparticipationinHHAfricaeventsorinitiativesissuspended

Anyresourcesorpartnershipsthatarefrozenwhenachaptergoesdormantwillbeheldintrust,andwillbe reactivatedwhenthechapterisreactivated.

FormalApplicationforChaptersupport
OK,soyou'vecheckedthatthereisn'talreadyalocalchapterofHHinyourregion,andyou'restillkeento launchachapter.Fillinthissimpleapplicationformifyou'vemanagedtogetyourfoundinggrouptogether, andarereadyforthenextstep.Theformisshort(wepromise!),andwillhelpustoquicklycontactyouto helpgettheresourcesyouneedtogettheballrolling.

ChecklistforestablishingyourChapter

Dowehave: LocalChampion. gGroup TwitterAccount FacebookPage Google+Page AccesstotheHacks/HackersPortal Elections Firstmeeting?

ExCo