Would you like to be involved in Joomla’s future? And do you know how to facilitate, encourage, motivate and inspire a bunch of dedicated volunteers? Be part of Joomla’s leadership! It's election time in Joomland, so now is your time to stand up and go for a board position. Read more if you want to know more about the elections (and how to vote)!

The Board of Directors of Open Source Matters, Inc. (the organisation behind Joomla) provides organisational, legal and financial support to the Joomla Project. In other words: these people pretty much facilitate Joomla.  

As a board member, you have an obligation towards Joomla and its community. Board members are the ones supporting, encouraging and enabling the teams that make it happen. Or, as Simon Sinek puts it: 

"Leadership is not about being in charge. It is about taking care of those in your charge."

 Twice a month, you have a board meeting with your fellow board members. And twice a year there’s the Semi-Annual Member Meeting, where the board reports to the community about everything they’ve done, are doing or are going to do. And last but certainly not least, every first of every month, there's Ask OSM Anything, a meeting where Joomlers can meet one or two board members and discuss various topics.

The board positions open for this election are Vice President, Treasurer and Outreach Department Coordinator.

I’d like to give a huge Thank You to Emmanuel Lemor and Philip Walton, Angelika Prox Dampha and Nadja Lamisch for stepping up, dedicating their time and putting effort into making Joomla the best it can be! 

Vice President

Support the President, and replace the President if needed. That's what's expected from you when you're Vice President of Joomla. You represent Joomla in every way you can. You help and support the DCs and teams, share ideas, answer questions, and you're involved in decisions and the direction the Joomla project is taking. You attend (international) events and give talks there, you engage with Joomla communities and you make proposals for initiatives to grow Joomla.

Does the Vice President have a lot of power? Uhm… Well, actually the department coordinators define strategy and goals, and the board as a whole discusses and approves them and  sets the direction and the future of Joomla. You know: together. Or, in the words of Helen Keller: 

"Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much."

What should you bring?

Passion for Joomla and its community, commitment to open and healthy collaboration with your fellow board members, genuine interest in people, an open mind when it comes to opinions and ideas that are different from your own opinions and ideas, and the ability to listen to our community and advocate on their behalf.

Treasurer

Our Treasurer has a joint top fiduciary responsibility for Open Source Matters, inc. and the Joomla project, together with the President. Fiduciary? What The Finance is that? It means you’re responsible for the organisation’s funds and finances at the highest level. You’re the one doing financial transactions, keeping financial records, approving expenses, making financial reports and coordinating with our legal and accounting representatives. You are also in charge of creating and preparing the annual budget; that means you coordinate the budget planning process of other Board members. 

What should you bring?

Passion for Joomla and its community, combined with thorough knowledge of financial and accounting procedures, knowledge of financial regulations, analytical and numerical skills. And the ability to help your fellow board members with their financial tasks, such as budgeting and reporting. Good to know: the current Treasurer will be more than happy to help you on your way for as long as you need.

Outreach Department Coordinator

The Outreach Department Coordinator coordinates all teams involved in connecting Joomla with the rest of the world. That means marketing, communication, events, education… You’ll be in touch with almost every team in the organisation to see what’s going on, what they’re doing and what they’re planning. So that’s a lot of communication!

What should you bring?

Passion for Joomla and its community, great communication skills, the ability to oversee multiple projects at once, management skills, patience and an open mindset. 

What should all potential Board Members bring?

You probably figured it out by now: Passion for Joomla and its community. It also helps if you have a good sense of reality and if you can put things in perspective. Things will happen, because our community is made of people. There will be discussions, disagreements and situations that are not pleasant. Thick skin may come in handy, as does a sense of humor. And keep these wonderful words from quote in mind: ""

How do the elections work?

If you’re interested in one of these roles, the first thing you need to do is to write a manifesto that contains your ideas and your plans, and submit it. The call for manifestos is open until August 8, 2025.

Once the manifestos are in, there’s a period of time when people can write a recommendation for you. With the last elections, Mattermost channels were opened for people to ask questions or get to know the candidate(s). Here’s how to join Joomla’s Mattermost channel: https://magazine.joomla.org/all-issues/november-2022/getting-the-most-out-of-mattermost  

And then it’s up to the Joomla Community to pick the best candidate for each role! Everyone who is a member of an official Joomla team will receive an email with a voting link. You can vote for a candidate, abstain from voting, or vote ‘None of the above’. The difference between the last two is that abstaining doesn’t count as a vote whereas None of the above counts as a vote against the candidate(s).

Read about the whole process and the timeline here: https://community.joomla.org/blogs/leadership/call-for-manifestos-group2-2025.html  

Why do we have elections so often?

The term for a board member is one year. We’ve split the board in two groups, election-wise, so when new board members come in, they don’t have to start in a board that has no knowledge of anything. Half of the board has been there for at least the last six months.

Who can vote?

For Vice President and Treasurer, every member of every official Joomla Team can vote.

For Outreach DC, you can vote if you’re a member of an official team in the Department.

Why should you even think about a board position?

Maybe this sounds familiar to you: 

"I always wondered why somebody didn’t do something about that; then I realized I was somebody." 

It was Lily Tomlin who said this, and she was right. So if you have ideas about what Joomla should or shouldn’t do, or if you know ways to do it better: step forward. And if you’re not convinced by now, maybe Winston Churchill can change that:

"We make a living by what we get. We make a life by what we give."

Why should you vote?

Since we're quoting here anyway, we’re going to quote Margaret Mead on this:

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has."

By voting, you enable people to change the Joomniverse, or at least let them know they have your support.

It’s not just an obligation, it’s a chance to contribute to Joomla’s future, and it’s just one click away.