The CHNGMKR Constitution
Updated 4 October 2026 (version 2)
A relationship is not a connection
You can know a person’s face, ideas and habits without ever having spoken to them. Following them every day on social media can feel like being close to them. A relationship asks for something else: shared time, shared attention and the possibility of answering one another.
Since 2010, Florian Guillaume has been looking for people whose work, ideas or commitments answer the major social and environmental challenges. This inquiry, pursued with in:Expeditions through the organisation of encounters, is where CHNGMKR comes from.
No one builds themselves alone. Someone passed on a piece of knowledge, opened a door, gave us their trust or raised a decisive objection. Behind a body of work or an initiative there are relationships, a team, means and circumstances. Knowing them helps us understand how people act.
An encounter is a door into a world. It can make a profession imaginable, shed light on a decision or let us join a collective adventure. It can also help us give up a path that does not suit us. Its importance sometimes appears long after the first exchange.
We call an encounter decisive when a person can connect it to a lasting change in the way they understand, choose, act or relate to others.
You can learn from someone without losing your own identity. Édouard Glissant writes: “I can change by exchanging with the other, without losing or distorting myself.” [1]
Making room for the other
CHNGMKR is built against the grain of a time that seems to want to avoid all friction. As if we had to keep away from one another.
A curious refusal, when you think of what friction does in its concrete sense: it wakes, warms, gets the blood moving, soothes pain, loosens knotted shoulders. In mechanics, it lets one part drive another.
The people we seek to make known interest us for this too: they agree to rub up against what they want to change. Their paths can restore confidence in what we are capable of doing together.
An encounter takes effort: time, attention, the willingness to hear or see what we did not expect.
Bringing people together is CHNGMKR’s first purpose. This work is an art of connecting the right people with the right ideas.
Our map is built step by step: people engaged in change recommend others. Each recommendation expresses a personal view: here is someone who matters to me, and why. These views lead us to people we might never have found on our own. They are explained, and the facts they rest on are checked.
We want thousands of people to write this map together and to pass on, in turn, what they have received. We will tell what follows: the work discovered, the encounters and the projects they gave rise to.
We make the first step easier. It remains for each of us to make room for the other.
Article 1. The purpose of CHNGMKR
CHNGMKR maintains a worldwide resource for discovering people whose social, ecological, scientific, cultural or civic contributions are documented. Its first purpose is to bring people together: to revive curiosity about others and to make encounters easier. In doing so it seeks to widen the reference points available to everyone and the possibilities of acting with others. Action is a possible continuation of the relationship, without being a condition of its value.
Reading all public profiles, their recommendations and the search functions needed to discover them remains free, with no subscription and no mandatory account. A person can use the map without buying a service, becoming a member or accepting commercial solicitation.
The association funds this resource in particular through the sale of paid media content and through fees for licences of use. The commercial uses defined in the licence are granted to the company on an exclusive basis at first, under the conditions of article 17. This income contributes to producing and maintaining the map and to keeping it free.
Presence on the map is independent of fame, solvency, relationships with funders and availability for paid encounters. No listing and no better visibility can be bought.
Article 2. The theory of change
It is hard to know paths outside one’s own circle, to understand how they were built and to find a legitimate way to get in touch. A lack of encounters can limit a trajectory, alongside material, social or institutional obstacles that CHNGMKR does not claim to solve on its own.
Our first hypothesis is that discovering someone whose work, ideas or commitments move us revives our curiosity about others and our wish to meet them. Understanding the conditions of their lives, and being able to talk within a framework of trust, can widen a person’s choices and help them act. A continued relationship can then allow them to learn, to contribute and to pass on in turn.
The work begins with looking for people and checking the facts that support the recommendations. It continues with the publication of profiles and inquiries into paths, then, when the people wish it, with prepared exchanges. The map helps people discover, the recommendation gives a reason to take an interest in someone, and the preparation makes the first step easier. The relationship is then built between the people, at their own pace. What follows is documented with their consent, to improve recommendations and encounter formats.
This hypothesis assumes available time, attention, a freely accepted exchange and concrete possibilities of continuing. It also asks for the willingness to hear or see what one did not expect. It can fail: an intimidating example, a closeness that is only apparent, an unbalanced relationship, unsuitable advice or a lack of means. These cases are part of the evaluation. A disagreement or the absence of a shared project is not, however, enough to conclude that it has failed.
CHNGMKR guarantees neither a lasting relationship nor personal fulfilment. It commits to the quality of the research, the preparation and the framework it offers. The company’s services cover this work and its delivery, without promising to transform a life.
Article 3. What being recommended means
The map reflects editorial choices that can be revised. It is neither a ranking of people’s worth nor a general certification of their conduct. Each profile states the contributions for which the person is recommended, who recommends them and what information this choice rests on.
A recommendation says what one person recognises in another and what connects them: an encounter, shared work or a piece of work that left its mark. This personal view remains attributed to its author. It comes with verifiable facts so that everyone can form their own opinion.
A recommendation, a declared inspiration, a collaboration and an actual encounter are different kinds of ties. The map does not infer a personal relationship from a follow on a social network. A large number of recommendations from the same circle does not amount to several independent views.
Article 4. The conditions of entry
An admission meets all of the following requirements, considered in their context:
- An identifiable contribution. A body of work, a practice or a commitment already exists. A promise, an intention or personal communication is not enough.
- Usefulness to others. The file states who benefits from this contribution and what it changes. It also considers the known harms and the people who may bear their cost.
- A documented reality. The achievements and the person’s exact role can be verified. The team, the partners and the resources involved are acknowledged.
- A path that teaches. The profile makes it possible to understand at least one way of acting, one decision or one difficulty that others can discuss, without presenting the path as a recipe.
- Examined integrity. The file looks for relevant contradictions and controversies. No serious unresolved element makes the recommendation manifestly incompatible with the mission.
The length of commitment is assessed according to the field and the stage of the path. A young or little-known person can enter the map. The size of a project, degrees, prizes and media recognition are not conditions of admission.
Geographic, social, generational and disciplinary diversity guides the research and the allocation of editorial resources. It does not permit lowering the standards of proof. Fluency in English or the ability to produce a communication file must not become implicit filters.
Article 5. The path to admission
Anyone can propose a person or a project, free of charge and with no sponsor required. The moderation team examines proposals according to their relevance, editorial priorities and available means. A proposal gives no right to publication or to a guaranteed review timetable.
The research gathers what is needed to understand the achievements, their context and their limits. Sources may be published work, field observations or cross-checked testimonies. Their quality is assessed according to the subject; no uniform number of documents or reviewers is imposed.
In the last resort, the founder decides on admissions. He may rely on the correspondents, seek an outside opinion or delegate the review of a file. A brief note keeps the reasons for the choice and any ties of interest.
The person concerned is informed before publication and can correct the facts or ask not to appear on the map. Their silence means neither membership of CHNGMKR nor availability for an encounter. The publication of personal data and the use of a photograph rest on the appropriate rights and permissions. [4]
The profile states the contributions retained, the author of the recommendation, the sources that can be shared and the date of verification. Relevant reservations and ties are stated. No recommendation can be bought.
Article 6. The revision of profiles
Profiles are updated when new information warrants it and according to the priorities of the editorial work. The date of verification remains visible. Uncertain information can be flagged, corrected or removed; a profile can be archived when the available elements no longer allow it to be maintained.
A drop in popularity, a declined encounter, criticism of CHNGMKR or disagreement with its founder do not justify removal. The departure of a correspondent does not entail the departure of the people they proposed.
Article 7. Correction and removal
The founder may correct, suspend, archive or remove a profile when a significant error, a misleading attribution, a falsification, seriously harmful practices or elements that have become insufficient call the recommendation into question. The measure takes account of the seriousness and reliability of the facts. An accusation is not enough to establish them.
A person may ask to no longer appear on the map without having to give a reason. Their request is handled as quickly as possible, in compliance with the applicable legal obligations. A serious risk may justify immediate hiding.
Reports are examined according to their seriousness and the available information. When contested facts may lead to an unfavourable decision, the person concerned may present their observations, unless immediate protection is needed. Sources and affected people are protected.
The founder may take a precautionary measure and then review it in the light of the elements gathered. The decision and its reasons are kept in a simple form. A public explanation is given when it is useful, without spreading unproven accusations or confidential information.
Article 8. The review of a decision
The person concerned, the proposer or the author of a report may ask for a review, stating the facts or arguments that justify it. The founder takes up the file again and explains his decision. He may ask for the opinion of a guarantor or of a competent person, in particular when he is himself directly implicated.
Reinstatement is possible on the basis of new elements or verified corrections. This review does not limit external legal remedies.
Article 9. An organisation suited to its means
At the start, the founder runs CHNGMKR operationally and editorially. He organises the work, sets the priorities and chooses the people to whom he entrusts responsibilities. The organisation can grow with the needs and resources of the project.
The association’s statutes define its members, its representatives and the decisions that belong to its bodies. This Constitution imposes neither a board of fixed size, nor reserved seats, nor any additional standing committee. The association’s functioning can remain simple, within the applicable rules. [5]
Being a correspondent, appearing on the map, buying a service or funding a programme does not automatically confer membership of the association or editorial power. Association responsibilities and commercial functions are identified.
Article 10. The correspondents
The founder chooses and directly invites the correspondents, according to his knowledge of their work, the quality of their judgement, their field experience and the trust the collaboration requires. This selection is a matter of his editorial judgement; it requires neither a call for applications, nor a jury, nor prior approval by the guarantors.
Correspondents look for people, explain their recommendations, document paths and contribute to revisions. Their proposals rest on their knowledge of the field.
Florian Guillaume is the founder of CHNGMKR and offers its editorial direction under the title of Chief Correspondent. The status of founder is permanent; operational responsibilities come under a written three-year mandate, renewable after evaluation by the board, in his absence.
This authority is exercised within the mission, the editorial criteria and the association’s statutes. It makes the founder accountable for his choices and for explaining them.
The editorial team applies a public method. Analytical or artificial intelligence tools may assist the research; an identified person remains responsible for every publication and every decision.
Article 11. The role of the guarantors
The guarantors bring an outside view on CHNGMKR’s faithfulness to its mission. They may advise the founder, point out a difficulty and help resolve a disagreement or a sensitive situation. They intervene from time to time, according to the needs of the project and their availability.
Their opinions are advisory. They do not authorise publications, do not choose the correspondents and do not stand in for the editorial direction. The founder considers their observations and explains his position when a disagreement of principle remains.
This role can be put in place gradually. The absence or unavailability of a guarantor does not block day-to-day activity. A qualified person can be called on for a specific file without a standing college being formed.
Article 12. The choice of guarantors
The founder invites one or more people whose experience, discernment and freedom of judgement he values. He looks for views useful to the project: knowledge of the field, research, publishing, an understanding of social and ecological issues, or how associations work.
A previous professional relationship with the founder does not rule out this role. Relevant ties are made explicit. A guarantor does not give an opinion presented as independent on a decision they took part in or from which they draw a direct benefit.
Each person’s role and availability are agreed in writing, with no duration or renewal imposed by the Constitution. The names of the guarantors actually engaged are made public with their consent, with a faithful description of their role.
A guarantor may step down. A collaboration may end in the event of unavailability, breach or incompatibility with the mission, after discussion. A critical opinion is not in itself grounds for removal.
Article 13. Editorial disagreements
A factual challenge is handled by checking the sources and, if needed, by a correction. A disagreement over a recommendation, an angle or a priority is discussed with the people concerned, then settled by the founder in the light of the mission and the criteria of the map.
When a dispute concerns a principle of the Constitution, commercial pressure or a personal interest, a guarantor or a competent outside person may be called on to inform the decision or to facilitate mediation. This opinion does not amount to prior authorisation.
A means of contact makes it possible to report an error or a difficulty. Significant challenges and their outcomes are kept in a brief form. Public explanations remain proportionate to what is at stake and respect the confidentiality of the people involved.
Article 14. Ties of interest
Knowing a person personally or professionally is part of fieldwork and is not enough to disqualify a recommendation. Ties likely to influence the choice are, however, made explicit: a financial interest, a family tie, professional dependence or an expected benefit.
When a direct interest calls the impartiality of a decision into question, the founder seeks an outside view and keeps a record of it. Agreements between the association and a company related to it follow the provisions of article 15.
Clients, partners and funders may propose people or pass on information. Their support gives them no right to an admission, a removal or better visibility. Commercial pressure cannot replace editorial judgement.
Article 15. The association and the company
The association carries the free world map, its editorial research and its educational or civic uses. It has its own budget, funded in particular by its paid media content and by fees for licences of use. It may also receive donations and grants within the applicable framework. Its resources serve its mission.
The company sells the research and organisation of encounters, their preparation and follow-up, as well as bespoke cartographies. It bears the costs and risks of these services and pays the association for the uses covered by the licence.
A client pays for a defined service. They buy neither access to the public map, nor a listing, nor any right over a person. Everyone remains free to decline an encounter, with no consequence for their listing.
A commissioned cartography answers a client’s scope, stating its sponsor, its criteria and its method. It leads to no automatic admission to the world map. The client cannot impose the conclusion of an inquiry or an editorial choice on the association.
The association produces and sells its own media content: inquiries, interviews, documentaries, publications or thematic files, by the unit or by subscription. All public profiles, their recommendations and the search functions needed to discover them remain free. The licence granted to the company preserves this editorial activity of the association.
Each structure keeps its own accounts, contracts, responsibilities and files. Shared means are described in simple agreements, with a justifiable allocation of costs. The company funds the work intended for its services; the association funds the work that serves its mission.
Agreements between the two structures are approved by the competent body under the statutes, after declaration of the interests concerned. A person with no direct interest in the company represents the association for their review and signature. The same person does not sign for both parties. The economic terms are explicit and a summary of the flows is published every year. This organisation does not prejudge the tax qualification of the arrangement. [2]
Article 16. Control of the map
The association must have, over the long term, the rights and means needed to publish, maintain, correct and pass on the map. A prior inventory identifies the current holders of the trademark, the domains, the code, the texts, the images and any rights over the database. No transfer of ownership is presumed by this Constitution.
The proposed scheme is for the association to hold the assets specific to the map and its public identity, subject to the rights of authors and of the people concerned. Existing assets are the subject of suitable written assignments or licences. Software and trademarks specific to commercial services may belong to the company. The association keeps the technical access, exports and continuity rights it needs, including if the founder leaves or the company ceases to exist.
Article 17. The commercial licence
The licence granted to the company pays for defined uses: reproduction of content, integration of the database, distribution under certain trademarks or operation of tools, within the limits of the rights actually held. It creates no monopoly over public facts, the people represented or the organisation of encounters with them.
The licence is granted to the company on an exclusive basis for a first period set in the contract, of no more than thirty-six months. This exclusivity covers the commercial uses expressly defined. Public consultation, association uses, educational programmes and the production and sale of the association’s premium media content remain outside its scope.
The remuneration combines a guaranteed annual minimum and a variable share of the pre-tax turnover of services using the licensed resources. The contract specifies the basis, any third-party costs excluded, cancellations, supporting documents and the right of audit. The amounts remain to be set after valuation and review of the forecast, taking account of the exclusivity granted.
The initial terms are approved under article 15, with the agreement of the three guarantors and of two thirds of the general meeting, with a quorum of half the members, after independent legal and economic review. On expiry, any continuation of the licence is without exclusivity, unless a new express agreement is adopted under the same procedure and for twenty-four months at most. No exclusivity is renewed tacitly.
The contract provides for the loss of exclusivity if commitments are not kept, the conditions of termination, reversibility and the fate of services in progress. A change of control of the company triggers a review. No contract grants editorial power to the licensee.
The company’s funding gives no rights over the association’s assets. The association does not guarantee the company’s debts and does not pledge the map as security. Each funder knows the entity funded, the use of the funds and the rights attached to their support.
Article 18. Uses and the rights of people
The free map, the possibility of contributing to it and its governance must make CHNGMKR a global common good. The expression does not mean that all data or all works can be freely reused for every purpose.
A public reuse policy distinguishes texts and images, the structured database, software and personal data. It states the uses allowed free of charge, in particular for teaching and research, and those subject to a commercial licence, within the limits of the rights held. The choice of standard licences is settled after the inventory of assets and published before it applies.
Contributors remain credited. The permissions needed for publication and for the planned reuses are collected explicitly. People keep control over their participation in interviews and encounters. Payment for their time or contribution is agreed separately; it does not depend on their listing.
Private contact details, confidences and address books are neither published nor sold. No account, browsing history or user profile is transferred automatically from the association to the company. A request for an introduction goes through a distinct process, with information about the recipient and the person’s explicit choice.
Every encounter presupposes agreement on its purpose, its participants, any payment and its confidentiality. A recording or the use of someone’s image is the subject of a separate permission. The association’s site may present the company’s services, identifying their provider and the fact that they are paid, without making them a condition for using the map.
The association documents the purposes, legal bases, retention periods, rights of access and security measures. It provides a contact for exercising rights and correcting errors. The public nature of a piece of data does not exempt it from these obligations. [4]
Analyses of paths can be discussed and corrected. They do not infer sensitive characteristics, a psychological diagnosis or moral worth from a user’s preferences. The number of clicks, claps or bookmarks plays no part in eligibility for the map. An automated tool never admits, excludes or ranks a person on its own according to how exemplary they are.
The encounter programmes supported by the association answer its mission and public access criteria. They have their own budget. They are not used to subsidise, without justification, the company’s services or its acquisition of clients.
Article 19. Transparency and change
Every year, the association publishes a concise report on its activity, its resources and their uses, including the main flows with the company. Its accounts are drawn up and approved under the statutes and the applicable rules. The information published respects privacy and protected secrets.
The founder may adapt working methods and delegations as the project develops. Amending the Constitution is a matter for the competent body under the statutes; it does not require the agreement of a college of guarantors. The applicable version is dated and accessible.
The free public map, the freedom to decline an encounter and the impossibility of buying an admission are CHNGMKR’s fundamental commitments. Changes to the organisation must preserve them.
Decisions to dissolve or to transfer assets are a matter for the statutes and the applicable law. Once obligations are settled, the association’s assets are passed on to an organisation pursuing a compatible mission, with no private appropriation. Continuity of public access to the map is sought.
Article 20. Evaluation
CHNGMKR seeks to understand what discovering a path or having an encounter makes it possible to understand, choose or undertake. Voluntary feedback may be collected when means allow, with no follow-up schedule imposed on each participant.
The accounts state what changed, the role attributed to the encounter and the other factors that counted. Difficulties and the absence of any follow-up have their place in this work. Satisfaction with a service and the lasting effects of a relationship are kept distinct.
The lessons gathered serve to improve recommendations and encounters. Published figures state their scope and their limits. Traffic to the map is not enough to demonstrate its effect on people’s trajectories.
Directory of every changemaker · The cartography · Places · Constitution · CHNGMKR home
