Dear all
I am inviting you to join in the ongoing discussions about the future of
the Wikimedia movement. As Chapters, user groups and individual
contributors we are being asked: What do we want to build or achieve over
the next 15 years? What role do we want to play in the world in 2030? Who
will have joined our movement? What work lies ahead of us?
There are various different ways in which individuals can voice their
ideas, including:
- Participate
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Strategy/Wikimedia_movement/2017/Participate>
on wiki
- Attend an in-person meeting
- Participate in a live online facilitated discussion (e.g. through
Skype or Google hangout)
There are three cycles during the first phase of the process (which
culminates at Wikimania 2017), with the first cycle coming to an end on
14th April. Wikimedia UK will be organising or helping to facilitate at
least one 'in person' discussion and an online live discussion during each
cycle, with the first meeting scheduled to take place on *Monday 10th April
from 3 - 5pm *in London. The first virtual discussion will also be
confirmed ASAP.
The meetings in cycles 2 and 3 will happen outside London and outside of
office hours, with details to be circulated when these events have been
arranged. In some cases, in person discussions will be organised at
existing local meetups (with the agreement of those communities) and in
others, specific strategy meetings will be arranged. Any interested
volunteers, members, editors or staff and trustees of the Chapter are
welcome to participate in any or all of these discussions; and I'd love to
hear from anyone who would like to take on a volunteer role in this
process, such as facilitating discussions, or taking and writing up notes
from meetings.
There is a lot of detailed information on meta about the strategy process,
with the main portal
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Strategy/Wikimedia_movement/2017>
for
the project providing a high-level overview and orienting people towards
more specific areas of work. As the process unfolds, myself and others on
the Wikimedia UK team will contact you again with more details of the work
happening here and ways in which you can participate; however in the
meantime I would be grateful if you could email
nicola.furness(a)wikimedia.org.uk if you are planning to attend the meeting
in London on 10th April.
Please note that as the Discussion Co-ordinator for the UK, I am
specifically concerned with the conversations happening within Track A
(organised groups) and Track B (individual contributors). Work is being
developed separately for Tracks C and D, which represent a broader audience
of new and existing readers and parters as well as experts in knowledge,
communities and technology. Wikimedia UK will support and contribute to
these discussions as requested by the Foundation, but they are not our
focus.
If you have any questions about the UK's role in the movement strategy,
please do ask. If you have comments on the movement strategy process in
general, or (crucially!) if you have ideas about where we should be heading
as a movement, please comment on meta
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Strategy/Wikimedia_movement/2017/Participate>
.
With thanks for reading and all best
Lucy
--
Lucy Crompton-Reid
Chief Executive
Wikimedia UK
+44 (0) 207 065 0991
Wikimedia UK is a Company Limited by Guarantee registered in England and
Wales, Registered No. 6741827. Registered Charity No.1144513. Registered
Office 4th Floor, Development House, 56-64 Leonard Street, London EC2A 4LT.
Wikimedia UK is the UK chapter of a global Wikimedia movement. The
Wikimedia projects are run by the Wikimedia Foundation (who operate
Wikipedia, amongst other projects). *Wikimedia UK is an independent
non-profit charity with no legal control over Wikipedia nor responsibility
for its contents.*