Advisory Board’s Role
1. Hatred monitoring Centre Purpose
Hatred Monitoring Centre (HMC) is a charity based in the United Kingdom (Registration no: 1212109). HMC primary mission is to stand up against all forms of prejudice and hatred affecting minority groups across the globe. We aim to regularly collect, assess and report hate campaigns, misinformation/disinformation and inflammatory languages propagated through social media platforms. HMC’s mission is to create harmony and inclusive communities and societies. Our perspective is to empower affected communities to synergise their efforts to counter prejudice and stigma that may end up creating the sense of collective guilty.
The organisation’s purpose is formulated as:
For the public benefit, the advancement of education in the subject of racial and religious prejudice and disharmony against minority ethnic groups in the Democratic Republic of Congo and the African Great Lakes Region, including but not limited to, the Banyamulenge, Congolese Tutsi, Congolese Hutu, Hema and Batwa (Pygmies) ethnic groups by:
a. Conducting research into the causes and effects of racial and religious prejudice and disharmony and disseminating the useful results of such research.
b. The provision of education to the public to raise awareness of racial and religious prejudice and the impact this can have on local communities across different countries, including the United Kingdom.
To achieve this objective, HMC will rely on the contribution of its trustees, staff, volunteers and mostly on the expertise of the Advisory Board.
2. Advisory Board
Unlike the Board of Trustees (Trustees), HMC’s Advisory Board does not hold legal responsibility vis-à-vis the charity. Members of the Advisory Board cannot be held accountable for any misconduct of charity’s trustees, staff or volunteers. Members of the Advisory Board play an important supportive and strategic role only: to provide expert advice and insights.
2.1. Appointment’s Terms
As per HMC’s constitution, the Advisory Board comprises six members who are appointed for two years term. HMC’s constitution does not restrict a member of the advisory Board to be reappointed for this role so long as she or he is willing to take it.
2.2. Expertise and Requirement
As per HMC’s constitution, the person appointed as an Advisory Board needs to be a member of an academic institution or research organisation with an expertise in the area of Peace and Conflict, Gender Studies, Mass Violence and Atrocities, Humanitarian Studies, and Genocide Studies.
2.3. Advisory Role
Members of the Advisory Board are expected to support the charity by providing feedback, insights and advice based on their expertise. As practitioners and scholars, HMC expects to gain knowledge, lived and research experience from members of the Advisory Board.
2.4. Strategic Guidance
HMC is meant to be an organisation that will operate and work on sensitive issues, including hatred campaigns in the digital era, racism, antisemitism, Islamophobia, xenophobia and other forms of prejudice against minorities. Therefore, HMC expects that members of the Advisory Board will provide insights and advice on how to establish long-term strategies in dealing with such social phenomena happening in the highly changing environment of human social interactions and the polarization of the global politics.
2.5. Promoting Network & Partnership
The role of Advisory Board members is to support HMC to set up networks and connections with other organisations working in this field. HMC will rely on the expertise and networks members of the Advisory Board in assessing potential partners.
2.6. Fundraising & Resource Mobilisation
HMC believes that members of the Advisory Board will support the charity in the process of fundraising, project elaborations, setting up strategies to mobilise funds to back this noble mission of fighting hatred against minorities. Members of the Advisory Board will assist the charity in advising on how to run campaigns that may to open doors for potential donors or corporate sponsors.
Members of the Advisory Board’s role will involve suggesting on how to establish mechanisms that will help the charity to sustainably rely on its resources. Members of the Advisory Board are in any way personally nor collectively responsible of the finances (mis)management. In relation to funding management, members of the advisory Board are entitled to openly and constructively raise any issue with the Board of Trustees they believe could tarnish the charity and their names’ reputation.
2.7. Voice & Accountability
Members of the Advisory Board members stand as the voice of the communities the charity serves. Their role includes to use their leverage in advising the charity to operate for the interest of the communities. They remain an eye that helps the charity to remain inclusive and aligns with its purpose.
2.8. Ambassadorship
Members of the Advisory Board can play a role of charity’s ambassadors in public forums, media, and policy spaces. They can exercise this role informally or officially when mandated by the Board of Trustees. The Board of Trustees can mandate members of the Advisory Board to officially represent the charity in public forums, conferences and other settings whenever such need arises. If officially mandated to represent the charity, practical and financial modalities to fulfil this mandate are discussed in advance.
2.9. Research and Publications Support
HMC is a research-oriented charity, and it aims to rigorously comply with research principles and ethics. Members of the Advisory Board will advise the charity in this process of research and publications. Reports and working papers will be submitted for comment to members of the Advisory Board. Members of the Advisory Board will be expected to provide feedback to written reports and academic papers before their publication. While HMC is fully responsible for published documents, contributions of Advisory Board members will be acknowledged provided anyone who contributed has given her or his consent.
2.10. Capacity Building
The Board of Trustees requests and nominated members of the Advisory Board because of their expertise (scholars and practitioners) in research. Therefore, HMC expects to (in)formally learn from their expertise whether from feedback that will provide in research and reports’ publication or other training that may be organised to empower charity’s staff and volunteers.
2.11. Transparency and Credibility
Members of the Advisory Board will allow the charity to add their profiles to HMC’s website as this contributes to transparency and credibility. In addition, these role and responsibilities will also be posted to HMC’s website to help everyone access them.
2.12. Advisory Members’ Commitment to support
Members of the advisory Board agreetosupport Hatred Monitoring Centre on a voluntary basis. Members of the Advisory Board commit to spare reasonable time to advise HMC or comment on its reports and publications. Any time-bound duty will be discussed between the Board of Trustees and members of the Advisory Board to match it with availability.
2.13. Access to HMC’s Constitution
Members of the Advisory Board are allowed to request the charity’s constitution and bylaws (when available) to familiarise with the organisation. They are entitled to have access to any document proving that the charity is legally registered in countries where HMC will be also registered.
2.14. Adjustments
The above-mentioned role and responsibilities can be subjected to changes whenever needed and the process of adjusting should be transparent and open to every member of the Advisory Board. The adoption of any changes will be submitted to discussion and debate mostly among sitting members.
Hatred Monitoring Centre team.