2025 GOSH Community Council Election

Community Governance
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Hello!

I am delighted to announce that today, June 6, marks the start of the 2025 GOSH Community Council Election cycle! As you may already know, the GOSH Community Council is an elected body of representatives that provides high-level governance to the GOSH Community.

The election cycle itself is governed by the 2025 GOSH Governance Plan, which you are invited to review at your convenience.

The Election Cycle will proceed according to the following timeline.

  • 6 June - Open the 2025 election cycle & share the 2025 GOSH Governance Plan on the GOSH Forum
  • 6 June - Open independent observer nominations
  • 20 June - Close independent observer nominations
  • 20 June - Complete set-up of election infrastructure (platform, etc.)
  • 20 June - Appoint an independent observer
  • 20 June - Open voter registration
  • 25 June - Open nominations
  • 7 July - Close nominations, open consideration of candidates
  • 14 - 18 July - Community meetings for candidates
  • 21 July - Voter registration closes
  • 24 July - Voting starts for the Community Council
  • 5 August 23:59 AoE - Voting closes
  • 8 August 2025-2026 Community Council election results announced
  • 1 September new Community Council members take the seats

I - the Community Coordinator and Election Secretary - will update this thread with relevant posts. You can also find Election information on this dedicated election webpage.

As always, I invite you to reach out with any questions. Please feel free to message me here or at jamaica@openhardware.science.

Cheers,
Jamaica

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Hi everyone,

We are getting excited about the upcoming elections for the next GOSH Community Council and we hope that you might consider stepping forward as a candidate or nominating someone you think would be great in the role.

What is the Community Council?

The GOSH Community Council is an elected group that guides the governance of the GOSH community. Council members support GOSH’s mission by:

  • Helping define and steward community norms
  • Facilitating inclusive and transparent decision-making
  • Supporting working groups, events, and community infrastructure

Council members also choose which governance areas (“domains”) they’d like to focus on - you can read more about those here.

How do I get involved?

Starting June 25, you can:

  • Nominate yourself to run as a candidate
  • Nominate someone else you think would make a great Council member (they’ll need to confirm before running)

What does the role involve?

  • About 2 hours per week
  • Flexibility to take on more leadership if desired
  • A two-year term beginning September 1, 2025
  • Additional onboarding and planning time expected early in the term

Key dates for candidates

  • June 25: Nominations open
  • July 7–24: Candidate bios and position statements shared on the Forum
  • Week of July 14–18: Live community calls with Q&A (join at least one, ideally two)
  • September 1: Elected Council members officially begin their terms

If you’ve been looking for a way to give back to GOSH, help shape its future, and support a global, values-driven community, we’d love to see you in the running.

Questions? Post them here or email us at info@openhardware.science.

More details (including nomination and voting instructions) will be posted soon!

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GOSH Community Council Voter Registration is Now Open!

Starting today, June 20, eligible GOSH community members can register to vote in the upcoming Community Council election.

If you’ve been part of GOSH - whether through the forum, a Community Call, a Gathering, AfricaOSH or ReGOSH, working groups, or as a volunteer - we invite you to register and take an active role in shaping our shared future.

:date: Registration is open June 20 – July 21.
Those who meet the eligibility criteria will receive an invitation to vote once the election begins. If there’s an issue confirming eligibility, we’ll follow up by email.

:mag: To learn more about the election process, please visit the GOSH Governance Plan and the GOSH Election webpage.

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Hello all!

Thank you to those of you who have registered to vote in the upcoming elections, as well as to those who have nominated candidates and/or shared their interest in running as a candidate.

I did want to share that candidate nominations close on Monday, July 7 so please keep those nominations coming! As a reminder, you can nominate yourself or others. Eligibility is open to everyone who has been active in the GOSH Community.

Following confirmation of their eligibility, candidates will be asked to share a statement of interest, and to attend at least one of two Community Calls to be scheduled during the week of July 14.

Those elected to serve on the Council will start their two-year terms on September 1 - a commitment that generally involves about 6 hours of work per month.

You can read more about the Council and the Elections here, as well as on the dedicated landing page on the GOSH website.

Thanks all!
Jamaica

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Hello all!

Just a quick reminder that today is the last day to submit candidate nominations for the 2025 Gosh Community Council Elections.

If you are interested in running for a seat, or if you have someone in mind whom you think would make a great Council Member, please take a moment to submit your nomination today.

Next year promises to be a big year for GOSH, and the Community Council members will play a significant role in helping to guide GOSH initiatives and priorities moving forward. It’s a great time to step up - thanks so much to those who already have!

Cheers,
Jamaica

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Hi everyone,

Thanks so much to those of you who’ve engaged with this year’s Community Council election process. Your time, care, and commitment to community governance are deeply appreciated.

As part of our commitment to inclusive participation, the Council has been reflecting on how to better engage the community in this year’s election. In light of that, they’re currently discussing next steps for the election process.

We’ll be sharing more information as soon as possible, so please stay tuned. If you have any questions in the meantime, feel free to reach out here or by DM.

Kind regards,
Jamaica

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Hello,

As promised, I am writing with an update on the 2025 GOSH Community Council Elections.

That update comes in the form of a statement from the current Community Council. The statement reads as follows:

Hi everyone,

Due to low voter registration (16), which is an insufficient representative number of the community’s eligible voters, the Council has decided to alter the selection process.

Under the new arrangement, the Council, along with the election observer, will interview the candidates and thereafter publish profiles of selected candidates on the forum.

Below is the revised timeline:

  • 14 - 18 July – Candidate nominations/headhunting continue
  • 21 - 25 July – Interviews with shortlisted candidates
  • 30 July – Publish Profiles of selected candidates
  • 20 August – Announce 2025-2026 Community Council
  • 1 September – New Community Council members take the seats

The Council is committed to ensuring the process is as transparent and inclusive as possible. Therefore, if you have questions or concerns, please contact the Election Secretary/Community Coordinator at jamaica@openhardware.science.

Kind regards,
Karl, Sakti, Lara, and Saad

As this statement indicates, I am available to receive and coordinate a response to any inquiries or concerns that arise due to these changes. Please do not hesitate to reach out either here or via email.

Kind regards,
Jamaica

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Dear GOSH Community,

Thank you for your patience as the Council worked to adjust the 2025 Community Council Election process. As you may remember, and in light of low voter registration, the Council decided to interview all interested candidates and make recommendations to the community regarding candidates for the upcoming term.

I am pleased to report that the Council has recommended three candidates and that all three have accepted.

The candidates recommended by the Council include:

We’re excited to welcome Maria, Yan Kay, and Dara to the Council and look forward to the insight and energy they’ll bring to the role. Where available, the candidates’ bios and statements are linked above - we encourage you to take a moment to learn more about the incoming members.

The Council has also prepared a brief report outlining the interview process and the basis for their selections. You can read that here.

Finally, we’ll be following up next week with a report from our Independent Observer, Michael Ampah Yeboah (@Ampah).

Thank you to everyone who engaged and expressed interest throughout this process! As always, I remain available to answer any questions you may have.

Kind regards,
Jamaica

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Hello Jamaica,

Thanks for the update.

I got a message that I was nominated and I also filled the nomination form.

But I was not interviewed.

I guess I missed some of your mails.

Thanks

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Ebuka,

Thank you for this message, and I am so sorry that we weren’t able to connect earlier in the process. Invitations to interview were sent during the week of July 14. We didn’t receive a response from you and opted to not pursue further follow-up, as we didn’t want to press the matter.

Please feel free to connect privately if you would like to discuss this. Again, I am so sorry we weren’t able to connect earlier in the month.

Kind regards,
Jamaica

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Ok, thanks Jamaica.

I will reach out to you privately.

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Dear GOSH Community, Council Members, and Jamaica,

Thank you for nominating me to serve on the Community Council. I recognise that this year has had a bit of an unusual process for the elections, but I look forward to working with you all to support the activities that are of most interest to you, openly share what we learn, and help grow our community.

I believe @jamaica will soon update us of the next steps moving forward, but in the meantime feel free to comment below if you have any questions for us and/or suggestions of what we should prioritise in the year ahead.

Kind regards,
Yan Kay

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Dear GOSH Community members, council members , Community Coordinator Jamaica Jones.

Thanks for the nomination to serve on the community council .
I count it a great privilege and honor .
I look forward to working with you all and
to make our community grow better.

Kind regards,
Dara Obademi

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Dear GOSH Community,

What follows will serve as the formal 2025 GOSH Community Council Election Report, summarizing the process, deliberation, and outcome of this year’s effort to seat a cohort of incoming Council members.

To start, I would like to reiterate our sincere thanks to everyone who participated in this year’s Council-seating process, whether by putting your name forward, registering to vote, or helping spread the word.

Between June 6 and 20, the nomination window opened for six Council seats. Five eligible candidates stepped forward. Voter registration totaled 16 eligible registrations. Because the field was smaller than the number of open seats, and because the formal election process, as written, is quite resource intensive, the sitting Council chose to pursue an alternative means of filling vacant Council seats.

All eligible candidates were invited to a structured interview with current Council members and Independent Observer Michael Ampah Yeboah (per his availability). This process ensured that qualified candidates equitably representing multiple geographic regions could still be seated in a timely and resource-friendly manner.

Based on these interviews, the Council invited the following candidates to serve two-year terms (2025–2027):

  • MarĂ­a CastellĂł
  • Yan Kay Ho
  • Oluwadara “Dara” Obademi

Two candidates were unable to complete their interviews due to technical difficulties. At its 6 August meeting, the Council agreed to maintain their prior recommendations, inviting the two candidates affected by technical difficulties to 1) remain actively engaged in working groups and other community activities, and 2) consider future candidacy in upcoming election cycles.

The next steps will be to orient Maria, Yan Kay, and Dara in the coming weeks, and invite them to their first Council meeting on Wednesday, September 17. In the meantime, the Independent Observer may share an observer statement at his discretion.

We are grateful to every candidate who stepped forward, and to the community for its patience and support while we navigated an unusual election year. Congratulations to Maria, Yan, and Dara! We welcome you to the Council, and look forward to working with you.

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