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CONSTITUTION OF Technology without Borders

UNC Chapel Hill Initiative to Promote Technology without Borders

Section1.
            TWB claims affiliation with Father Jerry Kelly, a member of the Maryknoll Missionaries in Texas. Fr. Kelly will serve as a source of information regarding the logistics of planning the transportation and implementation of technology to Mexico; Fr. Kelly has prior experience with volunteer work in Mexico. The Maryknoll Missionaries (specifically Fr. Kelly) and TWB will work side by side in Mexico to achieve optimum results. TWB will achieve this synergy without adopting religious orientation or goals, but will purely act for the stated goals of spreading technology, increasing global communication, and encouraging the cultural awareness of all organization members and the Chapel Hill campus.
            TWB also seeks to become affiliated with local technology based companies for the end result of procuring the technology necessary to be successful in planned programs of this organization. These companies would sponsor the organization and would therefore be well informed and in agreement with the philosophy and goals of the organization. In recognition of their contributions, corporate sponsors of TWB would be acknowledged in every printed material that may be created by the organization.

Section2.
            The organization as a whole and the individual members will be expected to adhere by all rules established by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill concerning organization actions. In addition, all actions must be in accordance with the goals of TWB and may not act in violation of the organization or corporate sponsors of the organization. Such actions would be evaluated by the officers of TWB.

          The TWB has a broad goal that is based in a hope for a stronger, more self-sufficient Latin America. Spreading technology is simply one aspect that we believe to be key to the enrichment of life in Latin America. An important issue facing our society is the great disparity between the job related skills of Americans and Latin Americans entering the global work force.  Americans have benefited from the advanced curriculum offered in our school system, which includes proficiency in typing and computer usage, and thus have a distinct advantage. In order for Latin Americans to compete in this world market, technological education is a necessary component of public schools. A fundamental characteristic of a thriving nation is a strong and comprehensive education system, which embodies this goal of technology. If we begin to extend our help to improve education in Mexico, we will be taking a step in the right direction.
TWB hopes to create long lasting effects that become evident in both communities in Latin America and in the local community of UNC Chapel Hill. TWB seeks to increase cultural understanding by the merging of two cultures working toward a common goal of technology based communication. The incredible aspect of this cross cultural communication is that, once begun, it can continue on for years to come. Email correspondence is an amazing ability that means for small Mexican villages an opportunity to unlimited communication. The internet and email are truly a window to the world. The goal that TWB will be most dedicated to is this spread of technology. The specific intention in beginning this organization is to transport computer hardware, set-up the computers and an internet system, and provide basic operation education to children in Mexico.
            Some basic objectives that TWB aims to accomplish this founding school year (2005-06) and update or expand upon in subsequent years include: constructing a website to inform UNC-Chapel Hill students about TWB and involvement opportunities; obtaining donations from local corporations who sympathize with the philosophy behind TWB; developing a technology based curriculum (in Spanish) to facilitate in computer education; and culminating all these efforts in a Summer project in which members travel to Mexico with donations and curriculum with the aim of targeting a select number of Mexican villages, which lack basic technology, just south of the Mexico-United States border. Generally these goals will require group activities focusing in: planning, fundraising, learning Spanish, writing a curriculum, and learning about existing computer operations in Spanish.

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Section1.
            General members will consist of undergraduate and graduate students who wish to participate actively in TWB. These members will be expected to attend a majority of the meetings. Community members will consist of non-students who would like to become involved with TWB.

Section2.
General and community members will be able to directly affect the process of petitioning technology related organizations for support by researching potentially interested companies and drafting letters to be sent to those organizations. These letters will be reviewed by a panel of board members and then sent to the organizations. The president(s) (preferably two) will be responsible for planning TWB meetings organizing activities.
           

           
            The advisor will be selected based on interest in TWB and ability to dedicate a small percentage of time to ensuring that organization plans appear to lead to a successful end. The advisor will be asked to attend one meeting during each semester (fall and spring) at his/her convenience to assess the progress of the organization and contribute any information he/she may have. In addition, the advisor will be asked to support the goals of TWB and will demonstrate this support through his/her signature on significant communication documents to (a) group members, (b) faculty, (c) corporate donors, (d) unspecified documents that may arise. The signature of the advisor will hold weight and therefore will be valued. However, the advisor may reserve the right to choose not to sign a club document or support a club action with which he/she disagrees. If such a situation arises, the opinion of the advisor will be taken into account and an appropriate compromise or course of action will be pursued by the presidents.

TWB does not require any coach or manager.

Section1.
            Meetings will occur weekly on an unspecified day that will be agreed upon by all co-chairs. These meetings should take place at times which are convenient to all co-chairs and which also allow a majority of the general members to attend. The first meeting will be informational and the permanent meeting time will be decided upon after this initial meeting.

Section2.
            To call a special meeting an email will be sent to all members through a list-serve. If this meeting only need apply to officers, then only the officers will contact one another and agree upon a time to meet. If the regular time of meeting needs to be changed during the year, an email will be once again sent in a list-serve alerting all members of this change and this change will also be noted on the TWB website.

Section3.
Operations of the organization will continue as long as the co-chairs remain dedicated to attending the meetings. Meetings will be most productive if a majority of the general members appear, but they will not be dependent on this attendance: functions will be carried out independent of general member attendance. However, if a regular meeting is being held solely for the purpose of informing and consulting general members and less than half of the affected general members are absent, it is at the discretion of the co-chairs whether the meeting will proceed at the specified time.

Section1.
            There will be three office positions at the commencement of the organization: three co-chairs will make up the Executive Board. The first co-chair will be the group leader and have the responsibility of planning and leading meetings, being the primary contact for the organization, and overseeing all aspects of the organization. The second co-chair will be the treasurer and will focus particularly on balancing expenses and donations. The third co-chair will be a communications officer and will be responsible for publicity and communicating with the organization advisor. Of each officer an equal time commitment will be compulsory.

Section2.
            Depending on the support found on Chapel Hill’s campus for the organization, TWB will allow for a larger Executive Board in the future. Tasks that the three co-chairs are now delegated can be further split up to provide for a greater number of officer positions. The tentative positions will be: chair, co-chair, treasurer, publicity representative, donations manager, researcher, and project coordinator.