This web page is an internal Mensa communication in connection to a campaign for the election of Mensa International officers. It is not an official communication of Mensa, and the statements contained herein do not express official policies or positions of Mensa.
For information about Mensa, please go to www.mensa.org

REPORT 2015

DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT

Since the previous year, we have had to develop a better procedure for establishing Mensa in new countries. Testing will only be done by properly trained proctors, who may not in their turn train other members to be proctors, at least not until there is a National Supervisory Psychologist in place in the country. When there is interest to start a Mensa in a new country, we try to find an NSP already in the early stage, and letting the Executive Director train the locals to become proctors has proven a way forward. Also, we have invited established Full National Mensas to assume a helping and guiding role towards countries in the start up phase. We might depend on such help as we carry out the plan for the coming year. All this was outlined in my MWJ column for January.

Together with the Executive Director, I have made a list of priorities for the coming year. The plan is to spend more on development, dispatching the ED to several countries without a Mensa group to train new, local proctors and instruct the DIMs living there how to set up an organised group that may become an Emerging Mensa and so forth. Portugal, United Arab Emirates, Taiwan and Russia are such countries.

The past year, Tunisia and Kosovo have been two spontaneous initiatives, from members. Three members of Mensa France with personal connections to Tunisia asked for help in starting a group there. An organizing committee was formed, an NSP in Tunisia recruited and the three were trained by the ED to be proctors. This could be done in Paris, and they later went to Tunis to perform testing, paid by MIL. A few new members joined and it is hoped that this incipient group will be able to grow from there with support from us. In Kosovo, a couple of DIMs in Pristina asked for help to start a group, which resulted in a visit by the ED for training and testing. Testing has also been carried out in Uruguay by a proctor from Mensa Argentina, with our approval. During the year, Mensa Cyprus is the only group that has transitioned from one category to the next, becoming a recognized Emerging Mensa.

Policy-wise, I wrote a couple of motions that were passed by the IBD. As requested by the International SIG Coordinator, there may now be several International SIGs on the same topic, and the unnecessary distinction between SIGs and e-SIGs is removed. An amendment to the IT-policy was passed, emphasizing that MIL IT should mainly focus on core services that cannot be met elsewhere. After a request from the web board, I drafted a policy that opens up for texts in languages other than English on the public web site. (It remains my personal opinion that English is the only realistic option for international exchange, and that the need for communication in other languages is best served by national Mensas and SIGs.) A clarifying motion was passed giving the original language of any policy document preference over its translation, even when the translation is in English. On the issue of whether Mensa International should assume an official role in the coordination of EMAGs and AMGs, I argued against such a move, which was later voted down. Finally, I have decided to grant automatic approval from now on to requests for Direct International Membership if and only if the chair of the National Mensa in question approves, in line with ASIE08-43.

After a year where a lot of work has been done in response to situations or requests, the idea is to be more pro-active the next year, with a concrete plan for new countries. Even seemingly simple things like advising and coordinating from a distance, through skype or e-mail can be time consuming. To remedy this, I have set up a Development Support Committee, on my own authority. The purpose of the DSC is to produce documents and other supporting materials for emerging groups, and to share the workload of engaging with local members. So far, it is a very small group of three people: Annika Thurlow, Isabella Holz and myself. Though recently appointed, it has already been very helpful, and the committee is likely to grow bigger. Perhaps it could one day become an IBD-