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The New Charter of Perceptions Forum 2012

The Declaration of Independence of Perceptions Forum now that Rethink have pulled out

We are Perceptions Forum, and we are an independent mad organisation.

We used to be funded by Rethink, but we have never been controlled by Rethink.

After the terrible meeting in December 2010, we have had to regroup.

I was not at that meeting (In fact I am generally not at meetings where there later turns out to have been trouble), but I have some ideas of what happened at the meeting. It was the AGM, so it might be expected to be a meeting with some decorum, but apparently there was a bit of a disagreement, and a few people called each other names which they shouldn't have. I hasten to add, Perceptions Forum meetings generally do not have such goings on, but that may be something to do with the way the meetings are chaired.

One of the key points from Rethink's perspective was that at one point, a Perceptions Forum member said that as a decision was being made about something internal to the organisation and was about some of those present, it was inappropriate for members of Rethink to be present during that particular part of the meeting. This was a valid point of proper procedure, and no-one should have taken offence. However, it seems this may have upset someone.

It's hard to say precisely what happened at that meeting because it was such a terrible mix-up.

However the bottom line is that Rethink have pulled out and are no longer funding us. Therefore, we now declare independence, and as from now we are an independent mad organisation.

Although we have no funding for having meetings in the physical world with rail fares paid for, hotel expenses, meals, etc, we still have resources, and we are still a live organisation. We will continue to exist, and to do good in the world!

The website www.perceptionsforum.org.uk (also seen at www.voicesforum.org.uk ) is relatively safe from any attempts to close it down. We have independent hosting and an additional backup plan if that fails. Also, we have an a new funding model for the website, which means it is likely to be around for a long while to come. The term "indefinitely" comes to mind.

Perceptions Forum was originally of charity status, and used the charity number of Rethink. However, those days are gone now because Rethink have ceased funding our glorious user-led organisation. We are therefore no longer a charity, but we are still a Good Cause. Our status is similar to that of a sole tradership, where we can continue in business without much fuss.

The outgoing chair's chairmanship expired towards the end of 2011, and we now have staff as follows:

Chair ... Chris Barchard

Vice-Chair ... Chris Andrew

Webmaster ... Zyra ... who also runs Zyra.org.uk

We have a membership of about six hundred people. We also have an e-mail newsletter list of about four hundred people. However, we are having a bit of trouble with the postal membership list. I'll explain...

When we had the help of Rethink, our trusted representative Rachel (who was employed by Rethink) looked after our postal membership list. Unfortunately, when Rethink made Rachel redundant (through no fault of her own), Rethink kept our membership from us. I consider this to be not fair as it is OUR list, and those are OUR members. So, by rights, we should have the list. We have subcontracted Rethink to look after the list for us, so really they should return it to us in a timely fashion.

In absence of such fair play by Rethink, we are going to make a brave attempt to reconstruct the postal membership list! So, if you are a member of Perceptions Forum, or if you'd like to be a member of Perceptions Forum, please write in and tell us your details and we'll add you to the New List! To have some hope of receiving a magazine, we need an address which the postman can use to deliver the item. Also, you need to opt-in. To subscribe, it's currently free. And, you get to keep the used stamps.

(Also, because Zyra is a hoarder , we may be able to rebuild a sizable portion of the list from old e-mails and form-fillings, which have of course been kept!)

We have a magazine, the Perceptions Magazine, and the intention is to print new editions of it when we get enough of the postal list rebuilt and when we get some more advertisers to help to fund the magazine as a commercial venture. If you would like to advertise in the magazine, display ads start at £50 GBP, and you should express your interest in advance by writing in. We'll then include you in our advertiser contact list and let you know if/when an edition is likely and see how big an ad you would like. The viability of publication will depend on having enough advertisers to cover the cost of the stamps, etc. Our projected circulation is likely to be around 600. Demographically we are an interesting diverse group. We already have some companies willing to pay for advertising space in the magazine, and it is expected that more will come along and then we'll have an edition.

Meanwhile the website will continue, and the existence of Perceptions Forum as an organisation will continue. We are a network of contacts in touch with each-other. We help each-other, and we understand about madness, as we are mad.