Civics Meeting Minutes Nov 27 2025

Attendees:

Attendees:

Name	Attendance	Role	Voting Seat (Y/N)	Election Term
Nicolas Cerny,	Yes	Chair	Y	April 2026
Larisa Mcfarlane	Yes	Secretary	N	N/A
Thomas Lindseth	Yes	Intersect	N	N/A
Ken-Erik O	Yes	Member	Y	April 2026
Nana Safo	Yes	Member	Y	April 2026
Alex Seregin	Yes	Member	Y	April 2026
Randy	Yes	Member	Y	April 2026
Dzubang Mermoz	Yes	Member	Y	April 2026
Ian Hartwell	Yes	Member	Y	October 2026
Megan Dyamond	Yes	Member	Y	October 2026
Musa Ridwan Itopa	Yes	Member	Y	October 2026
Simon Fleck	No	Member	Y	October 2026

Community/Other Attendees:

• Simo Sivovic, John Gnobudy, Gintama : Observers

Recording: CIVICS Committee (Intersect) Meeting - 2025/11/27 12:53 GMT - Recording

Transcript: CIVICS Committee (Intersect) Meeting - 2025/11/27 12:53 GMT - Notes by Gemini

Agenda 27 Nov.25

1. Welcome

2. Updates: Chair, CC Snap Election

3. Matters: Charter Review, Member Compensation payments, AMM This Saturday, Civics Vice Chair Election, Upcoming Dates (Holidays)

4. Working groups update: Governance Health Working Group (Nicolas), Governance Education Working Group (Nana), Constitutional Amendment Process WG

5. AOB & Close

Decisions/Actions

Decisions Made

• Withhold Retroactive Compensation: The voting members passed a motion to withhold the retroactive service rewards (stipends) for the period of July to November from members due to confirmed inactivity and non-contribution to the Civics Committee's activities (no meeting attendance, working group participation, or Discord activity).

Key Actions & Updates

• Snap Election Timeline Acceleration: The voting for the CC Snap Election was opened sooner than initially planned (on November 26th instead of December 1st) to give D-Reps more time to vote.

• Next Steps: Voting closes on December 5th. The on-chain governance action is scheduled for submission on Monday, December 8th, following internal and third-party audits.

• Member Compensation Policy Implementation: Intersect is moving forward with the bulk payment of member compensation, backdated from June 2025 (5 months/3,000 ADA).

• Next Steps: For future payments starting in January, members will self-claim rewards via the member area, requiring a short summary of their contributions. The committee decided to review and potentially publish the attendance tracker for transparency.

• Vice Chair Election: The committee formally initiated the process to elect a Vice Chair in December. Members are encouraged to consider and announce their intent in the coming weeks.

• Annual Members Meeting (AMM) Participation: Members were strongly encouraged to attend the Intersect AMM on Saturday, November 29th, specifically the dedicated Civics Session at 10:00 AM UTC in Room 1.

• Civics Committee Charter Review: The Charter was reviewed, and it was noted that the broad scope should be kept in mind. Members were encouraged to study the Charter and consider making amendment suggestions in the future.

• Working Group Update Postponement: The planned updates from the working groups (including a presentation by Gintama) were postponed until the next meeting due to the extended discussion on member compensation.

Topic	Discussion	Notes
Meeting Start & Agenda	NC welcomed everyone to the weekly Civics Committee meeting. He outlined a packed agenda including the CC Snap Election, the Committee Charter review, member compensation, the Annual Members Meeting (AMM), and Vice Chair election.	Meeting date: Nov 27, 2025. AS noted a calendar issue/deletion previously.
CC Snap Election Update	TL provided an update on the CC snap election. Voting opened sooner (yesterday) instead of the following Monday to give D-Reps more time.	Voting is open on Ekklesia until Dec 5th. 5 candidates. The winner proceeds to on-chain governance.
Snap Election Participation & Next Steps	TL reported 12 D-Reps had voted (735M ADA, 5.4% of active stake) in the first 24 hours. NC, TL, and LM discussed the next steps, including audits.	Leaderboard: Christina is currently in the lead (84% of ADA voted due to U's early vote). D-Quadrant and Adam Dean will perform audits over the weekend. Governance action submission is planned for Mon, Dec 8th.
Civics Committee Charter Review	NC reviewed the Committee Charter, emphasizing the mission to ensure Cardano governance is accessible, fair, and transparent, focusing on facilitation and oversight, not decision-making on constitutional changes.	Charter scope is broad; the Committee serves as a "facilitation layer." Discussions are encouraged for potential amendments to the Charter. AS raised a question on the definition of "fairness" in governance.
Fairness in Governance	AS, NC, and KEØ discussed the subjective nature of "fair" governance. KEØ suggested checking the USC observer handbook for values in democracy.	KEØ offered to share the USC Observer Handbook document.
Member Compensation Payments	LM announced that Intersect is "imminently" ready to make bulk backdated payments to members from June 2025. The payment is simplified: 500 ADA per month for attending meetings.	Payments cover June to November (6 months), totaling 3,000 ADA. The Committee needs to decide on compensation for members who did not attend/contribute.
Transparency & Attendance Tracker	KEØ and MD supported publishing the attendance tracker, noting that meeting summaries and recordings are already public. MD suggested sanitizing any non-attendance-related personal data.	The tracker currently records: attended, not attended, or apologies sent. Committee members agreed to an internal review before publishing to ensure accuracy and mutual accountability (NSWD).
Motion to Withhold Compensation	NC moved to withhold retroactive stipends from July to November due to inactivity/non-contribution. The motion was seconded by NSWD.	AS objected, citing the need to contact the members first (similar to D's case) to allow them to present any evidence of asynchronous contribution. NC argued that contributions should be visible (meetings, working groups, Discord).
Vote on Compensation Motion	A vote was held on the motion to withhold retroactive stipends from July to November for the three inactive members.	9 votes in favor of withholding compensation (Decision: Passed). NC noted a need for clearer policy/guidelines on attendance and accountability (MD, NSWD).
Vice Chair Election & AMM	NC confirmed the need to elect a Vice Chair in December. LM and NC announced the Intersect Annual Members Meeting (AMM) on Saturday.	Interested members should express interest in the Vice Chair role over the next few weeks. AMM details: Sat, 10:00 AM UTC, Civics Session in Room 1.