The Role of an Associate
Your role as an Associate will evolve over time, keeping
pace with your changing circumstances, resources, interests and opportunities.
Being an Associate can
involve any or all of the following:
- Doing
everything in your power to "walk the talk", putting into effect lifestyle
changes that are consistent with Meridian goals of sustainability,
minimising "footprint", reducing environmental impact and increasing
awareness of the issues involved.
- Becoming
better and better informed about the concerns, activities, concepts and
dynamics of the Meridian Programme.
- Spreading
Programme information through your circle of influence, your family,
friends and neighbours, workmates, colleagues and contacts.
- Encouraging
others to engage as Associates of the Meridian Programme.
- Contributing
as much as you can afford on a regular basis to the financial resources of
the Programme, enabling network support and development, funding research
and application and empowering achievement of Meridian Aims and Objectives
across the world.
- Raising
funds and donations for the Programme from other appropriate sources to
which you may have access, working on your own or in collaboration with
other Associates.
- Engaging
personally in your own journey of integration, making conscious that which
is still unconscious in your own behaviour, seeking to actualise your full
potential as a human being and a responsible member of the global
community.
Flexibility
The role of an Associate has as many variations
as there are people involved. You are in charge of the level of energy,
time, resources, and skills that you invest. Nobody tells you a minimum commitment below which you are disqualified
as an Associate. Nobody lays down a
limited ceiling beyond which your passionate engagement is unwelcome.
Financial Contribution
Financially, as in all other ways, you set your own
limits. Meridian does not operate with
a fixed fee or membership subscription. Each Associate contributes the percentage of their net available income
which they decide is appropriate. Your
decision will take into account your specific personal circumstances together
with your evaluation of the place the Meridian Programme should take within
your own particular set of financial priorities. This flexible funding solution has many advantages over the more
usual fixed subscription policy:
- It places the power for financial decision-making in the hands of the
membership instead of concentrating it at the centre.
- It is equitable across all income groups. A fixed fee, in contrast, could not be afforded by those with
little available income, while the higher the income, the less significant
the fixed fee becomes as a reflection of personal commitment to the
Programme.
- It allows each Associate to adjust their actual contribution to take into
account changes in their personal circumstances while maintaining their
proportional commitment.
- It also enables each Associate to increase, maintain or decrease their
proportional commitment to the Programme, on an annual basis, reflecting
changes in evaluation, interest, or involvement in its work.
Practical Arrangements
On a practical level, arrangements could not be more simple:
- A
policy of high confidentiality and secure information is maintained at all
times.
- Web-based
systems are now in place, so that contributions can be received in any
currency from anywhere in the world and on all major credit-cards (using
the well-tried, high-security "World-Pay" platform).
- Payment
can be made on a monthly, quarterly, bi-annual or annual basis.
- A
simple protocol allows Meridian to reclaim income tax on all contributions
made by UK tax-payers (the "Gift-Aid" scheme) so increasing the value of
the contribution without any extra cost to the Associate.
- In
addition to the regular proportional contribution, there may be occasions
when Associates are offered the opportunity to make a donation to support
a particular project or capital need that cannot be met from the regular
income of the Programme.
- Any
Associate who, after due reminders, fails to make any contribution in a
period of two years shall be deemed to have voided their Associate
status. Their details will then be
removed from the Associate data-base.
How are the financial resources used?
The Meridian Programme operates on a "not-for-profit" basis
as part of an educational research Trust, registered in the UK with charitable
status and under the strict financial and legal scrutiny of the Charity
Commissioners. Information is available
for public examination via the Charity Commissioners' web site.
The Annual reports and accounts can also be viewed on the Finances section of
the Meridian site.
- All
resources received by Meridian are dedicated to the achievement of the
Aims and Objectives of the Programme, and used in the most efficient and
cost-effective manner possible. There are, of course, no shareholders involved, and no Officer or
Programme Member is allowed to benefit personally from the charitable
funds of the Trust.
- Operational
costs of the Programme Hub are kept to a minimum and include the basic
salaries of the Programme Director, Research Assistant and other office
staff as needed. Then there are
the running costs of the offices, provision and maintenance of the
equipment, and the buying-in of specialist expertise in Web development
and the creation of the dedicated software tools required to sustain the
effective operation of the Metanet.
- On
another level, further resources are used to fund ongoing research and
development, to support essential communication and dissemination of
Programme information, to underwrite specific projects, to cover necessary
travel, and to sponsor the running of special events.
- In
addition to running costs of the Programme, the Trust also needs to raise
sufficient capital to purchase a share of Meridian House and contribute to
the refurbishment budget in order to secure well-ordered office
accommodation for the future.
Staying in touch
Meridian will not be using your resources to finance the
expenses of creating, printing and posting a glossy magazine! Regular exploration of news and developments
on the Meridian Web site will keep you up to date. (See the "What's New" section on the Home page.)
In addition every Associate will receive a
quarterly news e-mail complete with hot-links to developing web-based
resources, events listings, etc.
As the Programme evolves there will be electronic
notice-boards, discussion zones, access to web-resources of other Associates,
and opportunities to link up with those around the world who share your
particular interests and concerns.
Early Adopters
Moving
from the stage of research and development into this current phase of
deployment and application is costly and slow. During the period of comparatively small numbers, immediate benefits of
Association will take time to emerge. Web-based protocols and software resources require major investment of
time, money and expertise. Nurturing
the first little cells of the Meridian Metanet as they tremble into life will
take all the skills and patience at our disposal. It is precisely at this stage that we most need your help and
support.
How to Register
Click on the button below to open up the link to
the "Become an Associate" section of the "Action" Zone of the
web-site. You will find clear step-by-step
instructions and a registration form which is available in both on-line and
download versions.
Beyond Association
Associate Membership is the basic level of involvement with
the Meridian Programme. In addition to
supporting the work of Meridian, many Associates will want to go on to become
active members of the expanding cellular Metanet as soon as this new level is
available. Every Metanet Member has the
opportunity to work with others in a supportive small group:
- Doing
everything in your power to "walk the talk", putting into effect lifestyle
changes that are consistent with Meridian goals of sustainability,
minimising "footprint", reducing environmental impact and increasing
awareness of the issues involved.
- Engaging
personally in your own journey of integration, making conscious that which
is still unconscious in your own behaviour, seeking to actualise your full
potential as a human being and a responsible member of the global
community.
- Empowering
each other as agents of change through a variety of appropriate social
roles.
A growing wealth of information about the Meridian Metanet
will eventually be found at the other points of the Metanet Compass
which is still "under construction". Watch this space!
The Metanet is not yet operational, as it is still at the
design stage. As the Metanet eventually goes live you will be able to get
involved through the "Metanet Portal" on the Action Compass of the Meridian
Web-site. Click on the button below to
explore the current state of play:
From Isolation to Collectivity
The scale of the task is daunting. Any isolated individual feels dwarfed,
insignificant, powerless, overwhelmed and often despairing. Belonging to an active network changes all
that. You are no longer alone. You know yourself to be part of a growing
worldwide community, collectively committed to a common task. As Meridian reaches critical mass it begins
to be able to catalyse significant change in Global systems. Just as multiplying myriads of yeast-cells
can leaven a great lump of dough, so many nodes make Metanet work! Indeed, one of the "laws" of network
behaviour is that its power and influence grow in proportion to the square of
the number of members in the net. Double the membership and quadruple its effect! Every new Associate of the Meridian
Programme (AMP) provides a little extra power to every member of the
Metanet. That enables each person to
act more effectively right where they are. It also empowers the Metanet as a whole to engage more effectively in
wider systems.
Together
we can change the world!
Need more information?
First of all you could explore the rest of the web site
starting with "About Meridian". You will find a presentation on the historic development of the
Programme under the "Origins" link. If you still have unanswered questions then do send an e-mail to
the Programme Administrator at info@meridian.org.uk.
Alternatively you could phone the Programme Administrator on
+44 (0)20 7987 3600.
Or, if you prefer, send a fax to the Programme Administrator
on +44 (0)20 7515 8627.
As a last resort you could write to the Programme
Administrator at:
Meridian House
115 Poplar High
Street
London
E14 0AE
UK
We look forward to
hearing from you and will do our utmost to answer your enquiry as quickly and
completely as possible.
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