ExComm meeting in Germany
Column for Mensa World Journal column June 2014
The sun is shining on Freiburg and I will soon leave. Today is the last day of the annual gathering of Mensa Germany, held in this delightfully old and unexpectedly big town, surrounded by beautiful green mountains. I am having coffee and a "marble cake" at Freiburg Hauptbahnhof, waiting for the train to Frankfurt Airport. The Executive Committee of Mensa International had its meeting here too, giving us a perfect mix of official business deliberations and intelligent partying. Thanks, Mensa Germany, for your hospitality and for a well organized and great gathering! Congratulations to the new board and a particular thank you and good bye to my friend and former ExComm colleague Matthias Moehl who stepped down as German chairman.
Most of the value people get from Mensa membership is provided by national groups. The international organisation provides support to the various countries and to members without a national group, and it is has to maintain cohesion, to ensure that we remain one big round table instead of a bunch of isolated tablets.
The ExComm handles day-to-day business, and decisions that arise from such. But our other responsibility is to look at long term developments, the bigger goals of our organization. Where will we be ten years from now? Twenty? A hundred? The combination of concerns on both the near and far scale made for an interesting meeting. Of the more concrete recent matters, I will name a few.
- We discussed changing the way we do testing in countries where there is yet no Mensa. Help from proctors in neighbouring countries is welcome, but talk with us first.
- We are investigating how to use electronic voting for international elections. Seemingly straightforward and easy enough on the national level, it has proved more complicated than expected for Mensa International.
- A subcommittee is working on an online membership verification service that, when complete, may substantially simplify life for online SIGs.
- Speaking of International SIGs; these may now be given permission on a case-by-case basis to limit membership to certain groups, such as young members. Since last year, there is also an opening for them to use the Mensa name, with permission from the relevant board or the international name and logo committee.
- You might have heard of the hugely successful "Logical Olympics" arranged yearly by Mensa Czech Republic. Mensa International (IBD) recently voted to sponsor a translation and adaptation of the material, for use in other countries.
Our strategic discussions were also interesting. As a tool for decision making, the strategic plan with long term goals is a necessity. It helps the mind focus on the right actions, one step at a time. How can a good long term goal for Mensa International be summarized? Here are some suggestions.
"To be universally recognized as the premier community for the highly intelligent." The premier community is not only the biggest, but also the one that it makes the most sense to belong to, because it has the most to offer. Mensa is indeed that community, but we are far from universally recognized.
How about "To move the world"? Too grandiose? But think of it, when our society was founded after the end of World War II, that was indeed the idea, that bringing smart people together could have a real impact for the better. Hence the famous aim in the constitution, "To identify and foster human intelligence for the benefit of mankind". Those words are true and timeless, but not very strategic. They do not tell us where to go next.
"To reach a critical mass". We see this in national groups. They go through certain stages as they grow. When a Mensa becomes big enough, it becomes more than a social group, since it has enough people and resources to do more. With time, networks start to crystallize where individuals with similar interests get together and achieve results that attract likeminded individuals. This is when the many Gifted Children Programs, Foundations and similar charitable initiatives start to bear fruit. What lies beyond that? Is there a tipping point in Mensa's future?
"Reach one million members" is a very measurable goal. If all countries had the same percentage of members as my own Sweden (0,06%), we would already be more than four million, worldwide. And the day Mensa takes off in China, we could be looking at very rapid growth. What sort of organisation will attract such numbers? Curiosity and boosting self-esteem is enough of a motivator. There must be real, tangible benefits for people to join, and abundant pre-tests that make signing up for the entrance test feel less risky.
The big is connected to the small. When dealing with mundane administrative tasks, it is inspiring to lift one's head and get a glimpse of the bigger picture we are painting together. I look forward to hearing what your visions are.
There. Coffee, cake and column finished. Time to get on my train. Auf Wiedersehen!
