[IAEP] Motion To Approve 2017 Sugar Labs Mission Statement

[Caryl Bigenho]

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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