Ambassadors,
The United States and Canada Education Programs are at a turning point.
When we started the U.S. program as the Public Policy Initiative pilot in
2010, we had no idea if it would work. But it succeeded, so much that we've
had to turn away interested professors because we didn't have enough
Ambassador resources to support the demand. It's a testament to the work
you've done over the last two years that the program has grown this much.
Given the enormous interest in the program, we need to start thinking about
its future. While the Wikimedia Foundation is fully committed to the
long-term success of the program, we believe that the Education Program
should be led by our volunteers who have made this program successful: the
Wikipedians and the academics.
We would like to form a new Working Group body, made up of 7 Wikipedians, 7
academics, and 2 Wikimedia Foundation staff, who will guide the formation
of a new "Education Program Structure" to take over the program beginning
in May 2013. The details surrounding this structure will be up to the
Working Group to decide at a Kick-Off Meeting in July 2012.
That's where you come in; we need volunteer Wikipedians and academics to be
part of the Working Group. If you want to help shape the future of
Wikipedia's use in higher education in the United States and Canada, please
join us.
More information about how to apply:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Education_Working_Group
We encourage you to start thinking about what the future could hold for the
United States and Canada Education Programs, and join the Working Group to
make this happen.
Frank Schulenburg, Wikipedia Education Program Director
Annie Lin, Wikipedia Education Program Manager
Jami Mathewson, U.S./Canada Program Associate