“Getting it off your chest” is a Blog open to all those who wish to submit articles, personal stories, or contribute to the discussions and development of The Citizen’s Alliance for a Charter of Human Responsibilities in Canada/Québec.

The editorial guiding principle is one of openness; giving a voice to those wishing to contribute to an emerging “culture of responsibility” and the building of a viable network of people concerned by the issue of responsibility, nationally and internationally. Its goal is to encourage the exchange of ideas and everyday experiences with responsibility, in all walks of life. Together, we can build a stronger network of solidarity by sharing thoughts and “stories” amongst one another.

Who’s Blog?“Getting it Off Your Chest” does not represent one particular interest group, it is the result of the many efforts of a expanding network globally; to include of all those who contribute articles and material to the parent site and the Blog. This network like any other, is an open entity in and of it’s self. The Blog was created by the Canada/Québec Coordinating committee of the Citizen’s Alliance for a Charter of Human Responsibilities.

The International Site: The parent site is the Citizen’s Alliance for a Charter of Human Responsibilities, hosted by www.alliance21.org. It uses the open source software SPIP, allowing for a user friendly access to publishing, requiring a minimal amount of computer acumen. It is used by an increasing number of independent publications (ie. Le Monde Diplomatique) and is distributed under GPL (General Public Licence). Consult the parent site either at http://www.alliance21.org/en/charter/ or at www.repoinfo.org

How to Participate: Articles can be contributed by whoever wishes to; – participate in the discussions
contribute information and experiences in compliance with the principles of respect of the other and the values of responsibility

Current events in the form of abstracts and announcements regarding other publications will appear under the category of ‘news items’. The parent web site and the Blog reference sites with pertinent content dealing with responsibility.

Every contributor will have a ‘private space’ replete with access codes in order to facilitate participation. No particular knowledge of HTML is required, nor any supplementary software; your usual Web navigator will be all you need! Your ‘private’ space will evolve in relation to your contributions and the development of both the parent site and the Blog.

Editorial Guidelines: An article or ‘news item’ will be refused if they represent; a significant divergence from the values and the general coherence of the Blog, or include personal attacks, or defamatory, racist, obscene or sexist statements.

The principle of freedom of expression implies that each collaborator publicly assumes responsibility for their work. The editorial team has the responsibility to verify that all work respects the law and copyright legislation. Reproduction of press articles cannot exceed a few short quotes properly referenced unless authorisation has been obtained and duly noted.

Copyright: “Getting it Off your Chest” upholds the principle that exchange and the reproduction of material facilitates cooperation between individuals, groups, organisations and web sites. Articles can be cited or copied within this framework. Textes are the property of the author. We encourage the use of open source licences such as ‘Creative Commoms’.http://creativecommons.org/ According to the terms of such a licence, everyone can copy, distribute and adapt material, solely for non commercial purposes on condition that the authors name and the corresponding URL be included. Any contributing author may demand at any point in time the removal of any of his/her articles.

Syndication: Those sites who wish to do so may use the following syndication found on each page of the site: RSS Canada

©© Canada/Québec Coordination Committee (ACRH) February 2006