[Wikimedia-l] Chapter collaboration

[Markus Glaser]

Dear WCA Council Members, dear Wikimedians,

most of you are probably already aware of Ziko's and my resignation as 
Deputy Chair and Chair of the WCA Council. I don't want to reiterate the 
whole story, as many things have already  been said [6][7]. The 
discussions that followed when it became clear that WMFR was about to 
withdraw made it obvious to both of us that our resources are better 
spent elsewhere:

* Support for the WCA within Chapters is very small.
* Chapters withdrew from the WCA long time ago by non-participation.
* The WCA is expected to do big things with no resources.
* It is virtually impossible to get rid of the structural debates.

Still, I firmly believe we need to continue the dialogue. There are some 
projects (started by the WCA and others) that are very promising if they 
get the attention they deserve. As a consequence, I will focus on 
working on Chapter collaboration and the continuation of programmes. 
Here's an (incomplete) list:

* Chapters Exchange [1] as a place of coordination for common projects.
* Boards Training [2] as a way of enabling good organisational work.
* Peer reviews [3] for learning from each other.
* Chapters Manual [4] as a sustainable documentation of the way 
Wikimedia organisations work.
* Journal on Meta [5] for staying up to date.

Obviously, I need help for this :) So please participate, if you find 
these projects useful. I suggest, for coordination, we gather around the 
Chapters Exchange page on meta [1] for the time being.

Cheers,
Markus

P.S.: Thanks so much for the many kind words and your personal support. 
That was really helpful during the course of these events!

[1] 
http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Chapters_Association/Chapters_Exchange
[2] http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Boards_training_workshop_proposal
[3] http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Peer_review
[4] http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Chapters_Manual
[5] http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Chapters_Association/Journal
[6] 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Wikipedia_Signpost/2013-08-07/News_and_notes
[7] 
http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Chapters_Association/Journal#WCA:_Difficult_Sleeping_Beauty_waiting_for_Prince_Courageous

-- 
Markus Glaser
WCA Council Member (WMDE)
Wikimedia Deutschland e.V.