FAWC's organizing structure is oriented around decentralized working groups responsible for different aspects of camp. Some specific decisions are recommended to the whole group; otherwise working groups make autonomous decisions.
Here are some of our agreements (and jargon) about participation in the organizing for camp:
Organizing Cell: folk who commit and organize the whole year through
Organizing Body: all of the Cell and folk who arrive on the ground and step into organizing, as well as Path Facilitators who are not part of the Cell.
It is part of our organizing and camp culture to create spaces for us to interact and connect in person to build, expand, and sustain our intimacy with each other to foster this beautiful and potent magic. The following 2 agreements were created to strengthen and evolve these values.
- Organizing Cell members commit to writing / presenting at least one paragraph of a personal check-in to the organizing listserve in the week prior to the conference call. The paragraph can be any length that feels comfortable to the writer, and take various forms – prose, haiku, poetry, etc. To make the disclosure of check-ins easier, personally, and to strengthen our magical organizing container, we will publish the list of people receiving and participating on the listserve. The Coordination Working Group will take on reminding folk of the conference calls and check-ins.
- In the organizing process for our WitchCamp, we will have 2 Face to Face (F2F) gatherings with a strong encouragement that members of the Organizing Cell attend at least one (1) of these gatherings. Any organizers who can attend both gatherings would be joyously welcome to help maintain continuity and momentum. Each gathering would take place at least 2 or 3 months apart, setting the dates through an inclusive, all-cell process bottom-lined by the Coordination Working Group. The agendas for the Face to Face would be co-created online and through phone calls with opportunity for individuals who cannot be at the F2F to have representation by proxy or to weigh in on issues via email or phone. For individuals who cannot make the F2F in person, we desire for your energetic presence, and we will experiment with additional technologies – Skype, conference calls, astral projection, etc – to create space for all of us to link into the conversation and magic.
(In years past, the 2 prior F2F gatherings have taken place in the SF Bay area and in Portland. This year’s suggested locations are also the SF Bay Area, Portland, and Wolf Creek. Suggested time frames are Samhain (October 31) and Imbolc (February 2). The times and locations are not set. The Coordinating Working Group will facilitate the process to come to consensus on the 2010-2011 Organizing Cell F2F dates and locations.)
- All individuals who want to join the Organizing Cell must resolve any interpersonal conflicts with other organizers before entering the Cell.
- Each Working Group must consent upon each other. In other words, the group has to agree to work together as a group.
- There are two Working Groups that must be consented upon by the Organizing Body: Coordination and Facilitation Selection.
- Each Organizer can only be a consenting member of two (2) concurrent working groups at the same time. A "consenting member" means that you are actively engaged in the work of the group, the conversations and the decision-making process.
For example, an organizer can be part of the Site Selection Working Group, which starts scouting and discerning proper sites in August and typically, but not always ends by April. That same organizer could also be part of the Registration Working Group, whose work begins roughly in May, preparing to register and communicate in a flurry in the months leading up to camp.
- Organizers can act as a "Resource" for a number of other working groups. As a "Resource", you can complete tasks of the working group, offer your opinion or expertise on a particular item and participate in the conversation. As a Resource, you are not engaged in the consensus decision-making process.
- Mentors are folks who have experience in their particular working group, and they are charged with getting the work started and providing support for the new folks to keep the momentum going.
- A Bottomliner is someone who is committed to seeing the process of the work complete, from now until camp or until the workgroup's work is complete. A mentor is not necessarily a bottomliner. Mentors, please communicate directly and clearly with your work group to make this distinction for yourself and your crew!!
EDIT this LINE: For contact info, see the contact list available to list members (soon)
Working Groups for 2011!! (updated by barbara 8.5.10)
This is a list of working groups, mentors and participants, and links to pages that include descriptions and meeting notes, etc.
{* indicates mentor, someone with experience and responsible to get the group going. () indicates yet to be confirmed.}
* CoordinationWG - JP Hartsong, Riyana, Rain, Barbara
* FacilitationSelectionWG - Jude*, Gabriel, Glimmer
* Communication/OutreachWG - Riyana*
* Theme/StoryWG - Nora Bee*
* Registration/WelcomingWG - Glimmer*
* Food/LogisticsWG - Ross*, Troll
* Hearth Sustenance WG - JP*, Joel*
* FinanceWG - Song*, Scout
* SiteSelectionWG - Pavini*, Bird, Julie Aurora, Barbara (resource)
* Wellness Culture WG - rain*, Barbara, Carissa, Julie Aurora
See also notes from the first facilitation meeting during 2008 camp.
