Hello everyone,

The Community Development team https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Community_Development at the Wikimedia Foundation is hosting our first ever community call on February 23, 2022 from 15:00 - 16:00 UTC on Zoom https://wikimedia.zoom.us/j/84302371758.

The purpose of the community call is to provide a space for volunteers to meet the Community Development team. The five-person Community Development team is responsible for developing accessible opportunities for volunteers to grow critical capacities and leadership skills for movement sustainability and growth. The community call is also a shared space for all volunteers to hear or speak about projects related to capacity building & leadership development in the Wikimedia community.

Our first call, Meet the Community Development Team will include a sign up sheet https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdIiyAlq7uKBp4eqmnbyVr9Zmi3LBjCQgZSZ0p_MnGT4VKyqQ/viewformfor those who would like to speak for 5-10 minutes about their individual/community capacity building work.

If you would simply like to attend and listen, join the Zoom link at the scheduled call time, please find the link here https://wikimedia.zoom.us/j/84302371758.

Although the primary language of the call is English, we are committed to providing simultaneous translation to the best of our ability. Please use the same sign up sheet https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdIiyAlq7uKBp4eqmnbyVr9Zmi3LBjCQgZSZ0p_MnGT4VKyqQ/viewformhttps://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdIiyAlq7uKBp4eqmnbyVr9Zmi3LBjCQgZSZ0p_MnGT4VKyqQ/viewform to indicate your language preference so that we can best accommodate translation support as needed.

Some may be asking, what is capacity building and why is the Community Development team supporting this work?

What is capacity building? Capacity building is any activity aimed at developing a skill or capability in others; it can take many forms, ranging from formal training through online self-study courses to individual mentorship.

The “Invest in Skill and Leadership Development” https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Strategy/Wikimedia_movement/2018-20/Recommendations/Invest_in_Skills_and_Leadership_Development recommendation of the 2030 Wikimedia Movement Strategy https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Strategy/Wikimedia_movement/2018-20/Recommendationsencourages movement-wide capacity building as a necessity to achieve our strategic commitment to Knowledge Equity. Capacity building has the ability to encourage diversity, redistribute and share resources, welcome newcomers and grow communities.

Community Development is launching this series to ensure we can hear directly from volunteers who are interested in or who already are leading capacity building work in their communities. This is one one way we plan to create a space for direct conversations with volunteers about the different contexts, challenges, and opportunities in capacity building across the movement.

How do our projects relate to capacity building and leadership development?

Our team's portfolio is a curation of online and offline learning programs and resources that aim to enable skill development and resilience in the movement.

Some of our recent capacity building projects include the Wikilearn Online Learning Pilot https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Community_Development/WikiLearn, Board of Trustees Candidate toolkit https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_elections/Candidate_Resourcesand the 2021 Wikimania Speaker Series https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Community_Development/What_we_do.

In order for us to continue building relevant curricula and programming, we need to hear from the Wikimedia movement. Please visit the Community Development team page https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Community_Development to learn more about our capacity building and leadership development projects.

Key Dates:

-

First community call: February 23, 2022 from 15:00 - 16:00 UTC on Zoom https://wikimedia.zoom.us/j/84302371758

-

Sign up https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdIiyAlq7uKBp4eqmnbyVr9Zmi3LBjCQgZSZ0p_MnGT4VKyqQ/viewform to speak at the first community call. The application closes on February February 14th, 2022.

To participate in the community call:

-

To attend the call, please find the link to the call here https://wikimedia.zoom.us/j/84302371758. -

Please ensure you have zoom downloaded on your personal devicer. -

Use the sign up sheet to confirm your interest to speak about your work in capacity building here https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdIiyAlq7uKBp4eqmnbyVr9Zmi3LBjCQgZSZ0p_MnGT4VKyqQ/viewform

We are excited to see and hear from you in our call!

Thank you from the Community Development team

Cassie Casares Program Support Associate Community Development Wikimedia Foundation ccasares@wikimedia.org