I had no idea of the maelstrom point seven in my proposal would lead to. That said, I want to remove that point as contentious, and resubmit the proposal without it for now.
In response to some of Anthere's questions, I believe that most speaking requests continue to come through the office or the communications committee. Many of the private requests were actually directed to individuals through the office or the comcom.
Although I admit that we cannot enforce it, in the event that people are asked privately, we can ask them to inform the Foundation. For one thing, it is good to know where people are speaking, while we also stand to benefit from their experiences and can provide support if we have a repository of speeches, questions, AV material, etc. available for them.
While I believe that we can turn down speaking engagements, the reason should never be because the requesting group has no money.
As for budgeting talks, I have no problem at all if the order of 3 and 4 are reversed. My feeling is, however, that for talks in Europe, it is probably wiser to send someone locally than to send someone from the US. Nevertheless, this also involves costs and questions. If a free talk is requested in Romania, is it cheaper to send someone from Serbia or from England. That should be a consideration too (until we find an ideal Romanian speaker--this is only an example).
Finally, I believe that we should be as wary of the use of our logo and tm in talks as we are when it is used online.
Having said all that, I submit an amended proposal.
1. Requests for speakers from the Foundation will be approved by a subcommittee of the Communications Committee to be known as the "Speakers Subcommittee."
2. The Speakers Subcommittee will determine whether and how fulfilling the request furthers the goals of the Foundation. This will be called Speaker Objectives.
3. The Speakers Subcommittee will then determine whether the Speaker Objectives are equal or greater to the costs involved in sending a speaker to the event.
4. The Speaker Subcommittee will then determine which representative of the WMF is best suited to deliver the talk, based on considerations of language,
geography, skills, conference needs, availability, etc.
5. Basic costs for speakers will include a. transportation b. per diem (hotel, food) c. ancillary (babysitting, formal wear such as renting a tux, other)
6. The Speaker Subcommittee will negotiate with the requesting organization to ensure that they cover as much of these costs as possible. Should the event be deemed worthwhile, but the requesting organization is unable to cover these basic costs, the Speakers Committee will determine a budget for the speaker to participate.
7. A calendar of speaking engagements and speakers will be maintained in a public space, such as wikimediafoundation.org.
8. The Foundation will discourage the use of logos, registered tms, etc., except by speakers approved and appointed by the Speakers Subcommittee.
9. Upon completing their speaking engagement, speakers will provide a written report to the Speakers Subcommittee in which they describe whether and how the Speaker Objectives were met.
10. The written report will include a summary of the talk, major questions asked, and a copy of handouts, PowerPoint presentations, etc. as necessary.
11. These materials will be made easily available to other speakers so as to enhance their own presentations.
12. Upon completing their speaking engagement, speakers will also submit any receipts for *approved* expenses.
13. Upon submission of receipts, the written report, and ancillary materials--and only upon their submission--the speaker will be reimbursed for any out-of-pocket expenses.