Stormy days at AIDA?

[Walrus]

Hi Trux,
I agree in general that AIDA needs to be far more transparent, this has been a big problem in the past. There are some people running for the current board that want to make improvements in communication as well as other areas.

However regarding the Assembly list I would have to agree with Bill also. I think it should be easily available to all AIDA members but not made public. Most organisations work this way, it's there to serve the members, not the public. Members have paid money, some made efforts with admin, judging, organising etc. It would be too difficult for AIDA international to keep track of "all members" and sign them on the Assembly list, or a forum/web interface, it would really be up to the AIDA Nationals. I'm sure something could be done to streamline the process so it's very quick for all AIDA Nationals to give their members read only access to the Assembly list.



Cheers,
Wal

 

[trux]

Wal, I find that restricting the access to AIDA members only unnecessarily complicates it. So if a member is interested about something, he has to write to his national AIDA, who will then ask the administrator to allow the access. Knowing the response times, it is pretty clear that such action will take weeks, and require reclaiming it several times. All involved parties will be pissed off - the member because he won't see the information in the time he needs, and the national AIDA officer, and the list administrator because they will have to spend time and effort on it. And if every member requests the access, they will do nothing else than that.

Now, tell me what difference it makes, if the access is public? Do you really think there will be other people than AIDA members interested in what's going on there? And even if there are, what would prevent them getting to the information if you really limit it to AIDA members only? Many countries have no member fees (at least as long as you do not compete), so becoming a member will not cost them anything.

So on my mind, restricting the access only to members, is just a ridiculous measure to make it more complicated for AIDA members to get the information that belong to them. It won't make it more complicated for intruders to get to it - alone the idea that there would be some spy who'd like to get and abuse the information is ridiculous.

I have to resort back to the Parliament allegory - parliaments are open to anyone, not only to citizens. Foreign observers, and journalist may come. Parliaments even use to have own TV channels that broadcast their seances non-stop for everyone to see them.

Only if the access to information is easy, it really serves its purpose - the transparency and the accountability, which are the base stones of every democracy. Without the easy access, there cannot be any democracy. Restrictive access makes it too easy to exclude individuals, to hide or delay the information flow, and people won't bother to get involved neither passively nor actively, it they cannot do it instantly, impulsively, and without big effort. If the access requires planning and active approach, almost nobody will use the possibility.

Each healthy democracy desperately needs the participation of the maximum of its members. Without it, it is no more democracy. You will recognize easily that a country derails from democratic principles, when the government starts being secretive, when citizens are being presented with more and more barriers to get to the information.

So please stop presenting excuses that we only can offer access to AIDA members. AIDA has no policies limiting the membership, so anyone can become a member. So if everyone can become member, why everyone cannot look at the fingers of the Assembly?

If it continues in this way, I will do a simple thing - I will found a new national AIDA branch, register it with AIDA, and will give a honorary membership to every singly man and woman on the Earth. And I will then publish the information for all of them. Do you get the point now? Do you see that the argument of limiting the access to members makes no sense?

 

[hteas]

Trux,
I like your idea very much of using a national AIDA to gain access to the goings on within the core of AIDA.
I wonder whether there is an existing national organization that would be willing to do this now. I was a founding member of USAA when Aida US was failing the US freediving community. It was a lengthy process full of unhappiness. I believe a willing national would be a better choice.
If tht can't be done, perhaps starting a national from Grand Fenwick (the country that beat the US in "The Mouse That Roared", a 1959 Peter Sellers movie). I would be willing to become a member of the Grand Fenwick national, and I'm sure there are others that would also.
Howard

 

[Stephan Whelan]

ps. then, I see no good reason to sponsor such a commercial site like this with discussions that should be on a forum that belonging to AIDA - and could give AIDA paid banners etc.

Bill - I know there is a large faction of people in AIDA that don't like DeeperBlue and hate the fact that discussions go on in here around AIDA itself. Public discussion and debate does not harm organisations and should be embraced. I think it speaks volumes that the discussion is having to be held on DB rather than on the AIDA forums (that as far as I can see are dead anyway!).

DeeperBlue.com does sponsor AIDA quite heavily through our courses and the Education arm of AIDA. We have given thousands of Euros in certification fees to AIDA. We get nearly no information or support from any part of AIDA yet we quietly support AIDA every month.

I'd prefer to see a bit of respect from AIDA for DeeperBlue.com and it's community - there are thousands of active members here who are interested in helping AIDA improve yet there is no regular formal representation from AIDA on here - nor do I get any news or information directly from AIDA for us to publish on the news side of the site.

If AIDA wants to grow as an organisation there needs to be some serious change in attitude!

 

[cebaztian]

I am candidating for the post of Media/Pr responsible. If selected I will (with the help of an IT section) do my outmoust to move more Aida related topics to a functioning Aida forum.

Aida tried and failed with that - no need to blame anyone else than themselves.

I will debate and inform any where needed to bring out the message of Aida. The Deeperblue forum is a great gathering of people with a majority of Aida freedivers. No fault in having a public debate here.

And as Stephan says - Deeperblue is a part of freediving, performance freediving, freediving education and thus part of Aida. That should be aknowledged and respected.

Aida will expand if we are inclusive and open, we have nothing to fear. With aroused single members as Trux - we can not fail

Sebastian

PS. Right now more discussions here in this thread - than in the Aida assembly.

 

[Aber]

And what's more, the former president of AIDA - Mr. Bill - have used "such commercial site as this" as a major channel of information communicating with the diving community for a long time. He has almost 400 posts on this forum.

 

[rxcnc2]

With aroused single members

ehm, ehm, language please!



Jokes apart, having the discussion here is good mainly because the AIDA forum is dead. Hopefully the new council will see to its resurrection. In which case, I agree that while DB is ok for most things, some of the points more intimately related to the organization and rules of AIDA should be discussed on that forum.

 

[laminar]

It would seem to me that the main reason that the AIDA forum is "dead" is that it provides visitors with very little value. No interesting posts, no frequent updates with breaking or important news with details. In short, no real reason to visit.

For that forum to work, it needs to offer a good experience just like this forum does.

And I agree, AIDA's PR has been pitiful!

 

[apneaboy]

What is the current situation with finding out how much AIDA, the non profit organisation, has in its bank Sebastian?

And more importantly finding how much they now longer have and how it was spent. The thousands in certification fees each year if they are not needed and the bank is swelling could be reduced, especially if some of the expenses are found to be unnecassary.
Posted via Mobile Device

 

[cebaztian]

A majority in the assembly has demanded to get the DETAILS of the latter years financials. The former treasurer seems somewhat reluctant to provide that. The next board will probably move on that issue. If they don´t the assembly will probably see to that they do.

What makes it serious is that it is quite a lot of money we are talking about. The Aidanationals knows how much money it is suppose to be from the very rudimentary annual report supplied by the treasurer.

Sebastian

 

[Stephan Whelan]

How is it that an organisation that receives significant income cannot justify it's financials - even to it's own elected members?

As someone who has directly contributed to the finances of AIDA through the education system (which is one of the main money earners as far as I can tell) I think it is totally unacceptable and will want the new board and president to take up this matter very seriously and to a resolution very promptly.

I've been quiet on this topic too long and now it's time for some serious answers.

 

[cebaztian]

Look here.
Its happening, but its slow.
Changes are on its way, but since so many important things have been overlooked for years by an inactive assembly, overly active president, a board that has either been sleeping or working hard on day to day matters.

Audity
Updating statutes
Proceedures on how to take decisions
Ideas on how to meet the demand of advanced freeidiving
Transparancy
Accountability

... has been some "small issues that has fallen between the chairs".

Education administration and rules updating and all the fights centering around the presidency has taken a lot of energy

Since there was potential vote fraud we had to redo the vote for the board, but soon we will see an operational board. We will hopefully see 9 boarbmembers working 30 minutes a day, not one working 4 hours. Sort of.

Performance freediving and apnea education has a bright future. Hold your breaths.

Sebastian

 

[droppdropp]

Yet it says on his profile here on deeperblue. "That he's AIDA President", becoming confused. Is he or not???

 

[Aber]

The resigned AIDA president will hopefully function until a new one is in place, and make the transition as smooth as possible. Let us all cross our fingers for a healthy and well functioning organization for the future. I hope all - former and new members of the Assembly - will do what's in their power to make this happen.

 

[Kars]

Thank you Bill Strömberg for the Good you've done for AIDA and Freediving!

Hope you manage to make the transition a smooth and a for filling one for AIDA!

Maybe with the extra time on you hands you can take back some Swedish records, anyway Thanks for your energy.

Love, Courage and Water,

Kars

 

[Jorg]

The Stormy Days have a good change to be over now: 2010 Starts With A New AIDA Board! | Shark Freediving

 

[Aber]

Congratulations and Happy New Year to the new AIDA Board.

There are probably people in the new board unfamiliar to a lot of people in different freediving communities around the world. I think it would be a nice gesture that all the members of the new board presented themselves and said something about their freediving experience and why they are in the new board. Preferably on AIDA's webpage.

 

[Kars]

Good idea Aber!

Happy new year, energy, wisdom, Love and Courage to the new board!

Kars

 

[cebaztian]

There are probably people in the new board unfamiliar to a lot of people in different freediving communities around the world. I think it would be a nice gesture that all the members of the new board presented themselves and said something about their freediving experience and why they are in the new board. Preferably on AIDA's webpage.

What a lovely idea. talking about ourselves is what we humans like the most.

I myself am writing this response from a whole new perspective. I have been elected Aida board Media/PR official. It carries a bit weight having to drag that title along and I will have to watch my tongue now.

Give us a couple of weeks to do some "damage assesment" for this last half a year, some priority lists and soon you will hear more from us.

Already lots are happening behind the scenes. Kimmo took on his role quickly and hit the ground running. Myself I am always running and Kimmo is trying to have me run in the same direction as the others

Most of us on the board are known. Some are a bit more "obscure".

John FitzClarke, med/sci responsible has been doctor on Vertical Blue and on the last WC Bahamas.

The secretary Pia Jerabek and technical officer Gregory Piazzola I still have to get to know myself.

Still we have not had our first meeting, so give us some more time to grasp the situation and hopefully we might be able to end this thread with its ominous name and get back to you from a BLOG where readercomments are possible.

Sebastian Naslund
Aida Media/PR officer

Will soon have a new "avatar" here on DB so you know who speaks, and so that I can fool you all again 1st of april under my own name and not tarnish Aidas name.

 

[fcallagy]

Good luck guys on the board and well done for taking up the challenge.