Hi, Caryl
In the January 2017 meeting, the SLOBS approved the following motion:
motion: "Sugar is a learning platform based on the constructionist
educational principles of Jean Piaget, Seymour Papert, Cynthia Solomon,
and Alan Kay. Sugar Labs is responsible to develop, distribute, and
support Sugar with the help of a global volunteer community of
contributors. Sugar Labs provides Sugar in two forms: Sugar for personal
computers and XOs and Sugarizer (Sugar Mobile) for mobile devices and
the Web."
This seems to satisfy the definition of a mission statement.
Tony
On 04/22/2017 01:12 AM, Caryl Bigenho wrote:
Hello All,
This is long, but it needs to be done…
It’s time to “fish or cut bait” as they say. We need to move on with
the Mission Statement and Goals for Sugar Labs. I am submitting a
Mission Statement as a motion to be considered for approval at the
April SLOB meeting. Then, with that in hand, we can move on to settle
on _4-5 broad reaching goals_to go with the Mission Statement to be
voted on in May or June. Specific objectives would come after that.
Most of the things people have put on the wiki are neither a mission
statement nor are they goals. They are Objectives. But most of them
lack the specifics to be considered a true objective.
So… what _/do/_ we need in a Mission Statement?
First let’s take a peek at the current one… yes we do have one and I
found it sitting right at the beginning of the Sugar Labs website
(https://www.sugarlabs.org/)
/At Sugar Labs, we make a collection of tools that learners use to
explore, discover, create, and reflect. We are non-profit and led by
volunteers. We distribute these tools freely and encourage our users
to appropriate them, taking ownership and responsibility for their
learning./
Not bad for starters! Now let’s take a look at that Wikipedia says
about Mission Statements:
*Definition:*
A *mission statement*is a short *statement*of an organization's
purpose, identifying the scope of its operations: what kind of product
or service it provides, its primary customers or market, and its
geographical region of operation. ... The purpose of a *mission
statement*is to focus and direct the organization itself.
Here is the Mission Statement I posted last month, based on an
excellent document Walter had written about Sugar Labs:
Sugar Labs Mission Statement:
/The mission of Sugar Labs is to reach global learners (and educators)
with powerful free and open source educational tools to help them in
engage Constructionist learning./
//
So, with a minimum of editing, we can combine the two to get this:
*Sugar Labs Mission Statement:*
/The mission of Sugar Labs is to reach global learners and educators
with a collection of tools that enable them to explore, discover,
create, and reflect. We are a non-profit and led by volunteers. We
distribute these tools freely and encourage our users to appropriate
them, taking ownership and responsibility for their learning./
/
/
O.K. Let's see if that meets the criteria in the definition of a
Mission Statement as stated above.
* purpose... check! The whole statement
* scope of operations... check! Global
* kind of product or service or service... check! Learning tools
distributed freely
* primary customers or market... check! Learners and educators
* geographical region... check! Global
/
/
Therefore, I propose that the following motion be considered at the
April SLOB meeting:
*_____________________________________________________________________________________________*
*
*
*The 2017 Mission Statement for Sugar Labs shall be as follows:*
*
*
/The mission of Sugar Labs is to reach global learners and educators
with a collection of tools that enable them to explore, discover,
create, and reflect. We are a non-profit and led by volunteers. We
distribute these tools freely and encourage our users to appropriate
them, taking ownership and responsibility for their learning./
/*_____________________________________________________________________________________________*
/
Now, some sample mission statements from a few well known
organizations and businesses. You will note that some of the biggest
and most successful have very simple, concise mission statements:
** “Google's mission statement* is “to organize the world's
information and make it universally accessible and useful.”
* “The Free *Software Foundation*(FSF) is a nonprofit with a worldwide
*mission*to promote computer user *freedom*. We defend the rights of
all *software*users.”
** “Oxfam* is a global movement of people working together to end the
injustice of poverty. ... Our *mission*: To create lasting solutions
to poverty, hunger, and social injustice.”
** “Mission statement*. The *mission* of the Wikimedia Foundation is
to empower and engage people around the world to collect and develop
educational content under a free license or in the public domain, and
to disseminate it effectively and globally.”
** “SIERRA CLUB MISSION STATEMENT*: To explore, enjoy and protect the
planet. To practice and promote the responsible use of the earth's
ecosystems and resources; to educate and enlist humanity to protect
and restore the quality of the natural and human environment; and to
use all lawful means to carry out those objectives.”
* “We are *Doctors Without Borders*/Médecins Sans Frontières (*MSF*).
We help people worldwide where the need is greatest, delivering
emergency medical aid to people affected by conflict, epidemics,
disasters, or exclusion from health care.”
** Facebook’s Mission Statement*
Facebook’s mission statement is “*/to give people the power to share
and make the world more open and connected./*” The company focuses on
making its social networking web site an important part of individual
users’ lives. The following are the significant components of
Facebook’s mission statement:
1. Empowering people
2. Enabling sharing
3. Connecting the world
** THE INTERNATIONAL RED CROSS AND RED CRESCENT MOVEMENT*
The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a global
humanitarian network of 80 million people that helps those facing
disaster, conflict and health and social problems. It consists of the
International Committee of the Red Cross, the International Federation
of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies and the 190 National Red Cross
and Red Crescent Societies.
* The *Mission Statement* of *Amazon*.com: ... The *mission* and
vision of *Amazon*.com is: "Our vision is to be earth's most
customer-centric company; to build a place where people can come to
find and discover anything they might want to buy online."
What features do all of these mission statements have? They are _clear
and concise_. There is _no ambiguity_. There are few if any specifics
about history, organization, specific projects, and the like. That is
what we need Sugar Labs Mission Statement to be like.
Cheers!
Caryl
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