Pirate Parties International

(Redirected from The Pirate Party)

Pirate Parties International (PPI) is an international non-profit and non-governmental organization with headquarters in Brussels, Belgium.[1] Formed in 2010, it serves as a worldwide organization for Pirate Parties, currently representing 39 members from 36 countries across Europe, the Americas, Asia, Africa and Australasia. The Pirate Parties are political incarnations of the freedom of expression movement, trying to achieve their goals by the means of the established political system rather than just through activism. In 2017, PPI had been granted special consultative status to the United Nations Economic and Social Council.[2]

Pirate Parties International
AbbreviationPPI
Formation18 April 2010 (2010-04-18)
TypeInternational nongovernmental organisation
Legal statusAssociation
PurposePolitical
HeadquartersBrussels, Belgium
Membership
Pirate parties and affiliated associations
Chairperson
Grégory Engels
Vice-Chairperson
Keith L. Goldstein
General Secretary
TBD
Treasurer
TBD
Main organ
General Assembly
Websitewww.pp-international.net
  Elected in EU Parliament
  Elected nationally
  Elected locally
  Registered for elections
  Registered in some states
  Unregistered but active
  Status unknown
  Ordinary members
  Observer members

Aims

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The PPI statutes[3] give its purposes as:

to help establish, to support and promote, and to maintain communication and co-operation between pirate parties around the world.

The PPI advocate on the international level for the promotion of the goals. Its members share such as protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the digital age, consumer and authors rights-oriented reform of copyright and related rights, support of information privacy, transparency, and free access to information.

The name "Pirates" itself is a reappropriation of the title that was given to internet users by the representatives of the music and film industry and does not refer to any illegal activity.

History

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The first Pirate Party was the Swedish Piratpartiet, founded on 1 January 2006. Other parties and groups were formed in Austria, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, Poland, and Spain. In 2007, representatives of these parties met in Vienna, Austria to form an alliance and plan for the 2009 European Parliament elections.[4] Further conferences were held in 2008 in Berlin and Uppsala, the latter leading to the "Uppsala Declaration" of a basic platform for the elections.[5]

In 2009, the original Pirate Party won 7.1% of the vote[6] in Sweden's European Parliament elections and won two of Sweden's twenty MEP seats, inspired by a surge in membership following the trial and conviction of three members of the ideologically aligned Pirate Bay a year earlier.[7]

On 18 April 2010, the Pirate Parties International was formally founded in Brussels at the PPI Conference from April 16 to 18.[1]

Uppsala Declaration

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At the 2009 conference of Pirate Parties International in Uppsala (Sweden), European Pirate parties agreed on a common declaration of the parties' goals for the upcoming election of the European Parliament.[8][9] Central issues of the declaration are:

  • reform of copyright, exemption of non-commercial activity from copyright regulation, reduction of the duration of copyright protections; banning of DRM technologies, opposition to media or hardware levies;
  • reform of patent law, particularly stating that patents on life (including patents on seeds and genes) and software should not be allowed;
  • strengthening civil rights, transparent government, speedy and fair trial, freedom of speech, and expansion of the right to anonymity in communication.

Prague Declaration

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At the conference of Pirate Parties International in Prague (Czech Republic) in 2012, European Pirate parties agreed to run in the elections to the European Parliament in the year 2014 with a common program as well as establish a European political party (European Pirate Party, PPEU). The declaration[10] has been followed by conferences in Potsdam and Barcelona to work on the structure of the legal body to come and the statutes for it.

Member Parties

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As of July 2 2022, PPI has the following 31[11] Ordinary members with the voting power of 28 (parties sharing territory split the vote among themselves):

Africa

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  1.   Pirate Party of Tunisia

Asia and the Pacific

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  1.   Pirate Party of New Zealand (1/2 vote; vote shared with IP New Zealand)
  2.   Internet Party New Zealand (1/2 vote; vote shared with PP New Zealand)

Americas

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  1.   Pirate Party of Brazil
  2.   Pirate Party of Chile
  3.   United States Pirate Party
  4.   Pirate Party of Venezuela

Europe

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  1.   Pirate Party of Belgium
  2.   Pirate Party of Catalonia
  3.   Czech Pirate Party
  4.   Estonian Pirate Party
  5.   Pirate Party of France
  6.   Pirate Party Germany
  7.   Pirate Party of Greece
  8.   Pirate Party of Hungary
  9.   Pirate Party of Israel
  10.   Italian Pirate Party
  11.   Pirate Party Luxembourg
  12.   Pirate Party of Netherlands
  13.   Pirate Party of Norway
  14.   Polish Pirate Party
  15.   Portuguese Pirate Party
  16.   Pirate Party of Russia
  17.   Pirate Party of Serbia
  18.   Pirate Party of Slovakia (1/2 vote; vote shared with the other Slovakia)
  19.   Pirate Party - Slovakia (1/2 vote; vote shared with the other Slovakia)
  20.   Pirate Party Switzerland
  21.   Pirate Party of Turkey (1/2 vote; vote shared with the other Turkey)
  22.   Pirate Party Turkey (1/2 vote; vote shared with the other Turkey)
  23.   Pirate Party of Ukraine

Resignations

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In February 2015, Pirate Party Australia resigned from PPI due to serious disagreement with the direction and management of the organization.[12] In the same month, Pirate Party UK also resigned[13] and in March the Belgian Pirate Party suspended its membership within PPI.[14]

On 20 April 2015, the Pirate Party of Iceland voted overwhelmingly to leave PPI.[15] A member of the executive, Arnaldur Sigurðarson, reported a 96.56% vote in favor of leaving, adding: "PPI has been pretty much useless when it comes to its objectives which should be to encourage international cooperation between Pirate Parties."

In May 2015, the Pirate Party of Sweden resolved with a significant majority to leave PPI, canceling their observer status.[16]

In July 2016, the Pirate Party of Canada officially withdrew from Pirate Parties International citing ongoing troubles with the organization as well as a failure to adequately provide any accomplishments over its history.[citation needed]

In 2022, the Pirate Party of Austria withdrew from the Pirate Parties International.[17]

In December 2023, Florie Marie resigned from her role as chairperson of the Pirate Parties International after less than one year.[18]

Structure

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The PPI is governed by a board, formerly led by two co-chairs,[19] and since the Warsaw conference of 2015 by a chair and a vice-chair. Policy, governance, and applications for membership are the responsibility of the PPI General Assembly which must convene at least once per year.[20] By the current rules, board members are elected for a two-year term, half of the board being elected every year. Since the 2019 General Assembly, the Board has 9 members (previously 7). General Secretary and Treasurer positions are filled by the board by its members.

PPI Board
No. Term Co-Chairs (chair & vice-chair from 2015 onwards) General Secretary Treasurer Member of the board Alternates
1st Board IV/2010

III/2011

  Grégory Engels,

  Jerry Weyer

  Joachim Mönch   Nicolas Sahlqvist

  Aleksandar Blagojevic,
  Jakub Michálek,
  Bogomil Shopov

2nd Board III/2011

IV/2012

  Samir Allioui,

  Marcel Kolaja
(receded)

  Lola Voronina   Pat Mächler

  Finlay Archibald
(receded),
  Paul da Silva
(receded),
  Thomas Gaul

3rd Board IV/2012

IV/2013

  Grégory Engels,

  Lola Voronina

  Travis McCrea   Ed Geraghty

  Nuno Cardoso,
  Jelena Jovanović,
  Denis Simonet

  Brendan Molloy,
  Thomas Gaul,
  Alessandra Minoni,
  Andrew Norton
(receded)

4th Board IV/2013

IV/2014

  Grégory Engels,

  Vojtěch Pikal

  Thomas Gaul   Marc Tholl

  Nuno Cardoso,
  Azat Gabrakhmanov,
  Denis Simonet

  Jelena Jovanović,
  Paul Bossu,
  Radosław Pietroń,
  Yasin Aydın

5th Board IV/2014

VII/2015

  Maša Čorak,

  Koen de Voegt

  Thomas Gaul   Sebastian Krone

  Grégory Engels,
  Anders Kleppe,
  Stathis Leivaditis

  Marco Confalonieri,
  Yasin Aydın,
  Min Chiaki,
  Chemseddine Ben Jemaa

6th Board VII/2015

VII/2016

  Andrew Reitemeyer (chair)

  Patrick Schiffer (vice-chair)

  Henrique Peer   Karla Medrano

  Min Chiaki,
  Chemseddine Ben Jemaa,
  Dr. Richard Hill,

  Anders Kleppe,
  Nikolay Voronov,
  Koen De Voegt,
  Grégory Engels

7th Board VII/2016

XI/2017

  Guillaume Saouli (chair)

  Bailey Lamon (vice-chair)

  Thomas Gaul   Keith L. Goldstein

  Andrew Reitemeyer,
  Raymond Johansen,
  Koen De Voegt

  Nikolay Voronov,
  Patrick Schiffer,
  Adam Wolf,
  Grégory Engels

8th Board XI/2017

XI/2018

  Guillaume Saouli (chair)

  Bailey Lamon (vice-chair)

  Keith L. Goldstein   Thomas Gaul

  Koen De Voegt,
  Raymond Johansen,
  Nikolay Voronov

  Adam Wolf,
  Etienne Evellin,
  Daniel Dantas Prazeres,
  Grégory Engels

9th Board XI/2018

XII/2019

  Guillaume Saouli (chair)

  Bailey Lamon (vice-chair)

  Keith L. Goldstein   Michal Gill

  Etienne Evellin,
  Raymond Johansen,
  Ladislav Koubek

  Daniel Dantas Prazeres,
  Grégory Engels,
  Kitty Hundal,
  Cédric Levieux

10th Board XII/2019

XII/2020

  Bailey Lamon (chair)

  Grégory Engels (vice-chair)

  Keith L. Goldstein   Daniel Dantas Prazeres

  Cédric Levieux,
  Thomas Gaul,
  Michal Gill,
  Linda B. Tørklep,
  Giuseppe Calandra

  Sebastian Krone,
  Carlos Polo,
  Svein Mork Dahl,
  Cristina Diana Bargu[21]

11th Board XII/2020

I/2022

  Bailey Lamon (chair)

  Grégory Engels (vice-chair)

  Michal Gill   Sebastian Krone

  Keith L. Goldstein,
  Carlos Polo,
  Manuel Caicedo,
  Dario Castane,
  Daniel Dantas Prazeres

  Svein Mork Dahl,
  Thomas Gaul,
  Ji Yong Dijkhuis

12th Board since

I/2022

  Bailey Lamon (chair)

  Grégory Engels (vice-chair)

  Michal Gill   Sebastian Krone

  Keith L. Goldstein,
  Carlos Polo,
  Manuel Caicedo,
  Dario Castane,
  Alexander Isavnin,
  Mauricio Vargas

  Ji Yong Dijkhuis
  Veronika Murzynová
  Adam Wolf
  Sebastian Krone

13th Board since I/2023   Florie Marie (chair)

  Grégory Engels (vice-chair)

TBD TBD   Keith L. Goldstein
  Michael Toledo
  Bailey Lamon

  Michal Gill
  Julian Häffner
  Alexander Isavnin
  Mauricio Vargas

  Mia Utz
  Adam Wolf
  Sebastian Krone
  Raman Ojha
  Carlos Polo
14th Board since I/2024   Grégory Engels (chair)

  Keith L. Goldstein (vice-chair)

TBD TBD   Bailey Lamon,

  Alexander Isavnin,
  Sebastian Krone,
  Owen C. Richardson,
  Michael Toledo,
  Julian Häffner,
  Mia Utz

  Raman Ojha,

  Carlos Polo,
  Thomas Gaul

All board meetings are recorded and the minutes are published here: https://wiki.pp-international.net/wiki/index.php?title=PPI_Board/Board_Meetings.

PPI Conferences

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International Pirate Party Meetings
Name Date of Meeting Location Host Party
International Conference 2007 8-10/6/2007 Vienna, Austria
International Conference 1/2008 26-27/1/2008 Berlin, Germany
International Conference 2/2008 27-29/6/2008 Uppsala, Sweden
PPI Conference 2010 (Founding Conference) 16-18/4/2010 Brussels, Belgium Pirate Party Belgium
PPI Conference 2011 12-13/3/2011 Friedrichshafen, Germany Pirate Party Germany
PPI Conference 2012 14-15/4/2012 Prague, Czech Republic Czech Pirate Party
Pirate Summer Conference 9-10/6/2012 Aarau, Switzerland Pirate Party Aargau
PPI Conference 2013 20-21/4/2013 Kazan, Russia Pirate Party of Russia
PPI Conference 2014 12-13/4/2014 Paris, France, on OpenSpace Conference Pirate Party of France
PPI Conference 2015 4-5/7/2015 Warsaw, Poland, on OpenSpace Conference Pirate Party of Poland
PPI Conference 2016 23-24/7/2016 Berlin, Germany Pirate Party of Berlin
PPI Conference 2017 25-23/11/2017 Geneva, Switzerland Pirate Party of Switzerland
PPI Conference 2018 3-4/11/2018, online continuation on 10/11/2018 Munich, Germany Pirate Party Germany, Pirate Party Bavaria
PPI Conference 2019 7-8/12/2019 online By video conference only
PPI Conference 2020 (w/out board election) 30/5/2020 online By video conference only
PPI General Assembly 2020 6/12/2020 online By video conference only
PPI General Assembly 2021 (w/out board election) 3/7/2021 online By video conference only
PPI General Assembly 2022 8/1/2022 online By video conference only
PPI General Assembly 2022 (w/out board election) 2/7/2022 online By video conference only
PPI General Assembly 28/1/2023 online By video conference only

[22]

Pirate Party movement worldwide

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References

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  1. ^ a b "The Pirate International is born". Presseurop. 20 April 2010. Archived from the original on 2 January 2011. Retrieved 17 May 2010.
  2. ^ "Non-Governmental Organizations Committee Recommends Economic and Social Council Grant Special Status to 14 Entities, Postpones Action on 53 Others | Meetings Coverage and Press Releases".
  3. ^ "Pirate Parties International Statutes" (PDF). Pirate Parties International. 18 April 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 February 2019. Retrieved 7 October 2010.
  4. ^ Ben Jones (9 June 2007). "Pirates Gather at First International Pirate Party Conference". TorrentFreak. Retrieved 28 May 2010.
  5. ^ "The Uppsala Declaration or European Pirate Parties Declaration of a basic platform for the European Parliamentary Election of 2009". Piratpartiet. 2 July 2008. Archived from the original on 8 September 2010. Retrieved 28 May 2010.
  6. ^ "Swedish pirates capture EU seat". BBC News. BBC. 8 June 2008. Retrieved 26 September 2011.
  7. ^ Will Smale (27 April 2010). "Election: Can Pirate Party UK emulate Sweden success?". BBC News. BBC. Retrieved 26 September 2011.
  8. ^ "European Pirate Platform 2009". Pirate Party (Sweden). Archived from the original on 8 September 2010. Retrieved 5 April 2012.
  9. ^ "Uppsala-Deklaration". Piratenwiki (in German and English). Pirate Party Germany. 29 July 2010. Retrieved 5 April 2012.
  10. ^ The Prague Declaration
  11. ^ "PPI Member Parties". PPI. 4 July 2022. Retrieved 4 July 2022.
  12. ^ "Pirate Party Australia resigns from PPI". 11 February 2015. Retrieved 11 February 2015.
  13. ^ "PPUK leaves PPI". 25 February 2015. Archived from the original on 10 January 2017. Retrieved 25 February 2015.
  14. ^ "PPBE suspends their PPI membership". 4 March 2015. Retrieved 8 March 2015.
  15. ^ "Icelandic Pirates: PPIS Vote to Leave PPI and Birgitta only Politician to increase in Trust". 20 April 2015. Retrieved 20 April 2015.
  16. ^ "Motion P01: Proposition ang. att lämna observatörsmedlemskapet i PPI". 10 May 2015. Archived from the original on 15 November 2017. Retrieved 10 May 2015.
  17. ^ desertrold (17 December 2022). "Stellungnahme zum PPI-Austritt". ppAT Basisblog (in German). Retrieved 26 March 2024.
  18. ^ "Discours : Ma démission de la présidence du Parti Pirate International / My resign of the presidency of the International Pirate Parties – Bienvenue par minou" (in French). Retrieved 9 December 2023.
  19. ^ Pirate Parties International Statutes, Article XIII.
  20. ^ Pirate Parties International Statutes, Articles IX - XI.
  21. ^ "Resigned on 22nd of February 2020". Retrieved 13 March 2020.
  22. ^ "PPI General Assembly - PPI". wiki.pp-international.net. Retrieved 24 July 2022.
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