Just cross-posting, this might be an interesting discussion for some of you. :) Cheers from Milano,

Nicole Ebber International Affairs

http://wikimedia.de ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: "Fae" faewik@gmail.com Date: 19 Apr 2013 17:37 Subject: [Wikimedia-l] Question: How do we define lobbying? To: "Wikimedia Mailing List" wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org, "Wikimedia Chapters general discussions" chapters@wikimedia.ch Cc:

In a workshop in the Milan conference, there was a break-out discussion led by Iolanda (WMIT) on lobbying. There is a lot of interest in finding ways of supporting change in copyright legislation and open knowledge access in as many countries as possible.

One of the interesting features of the WMF agreement when providing funds under the FDC process is that this money should not be used for lobbying. During the coffee break I had a quick chat with Garfield (the WMF CFO) about a possible clarification. My understanding from that chat was that if there were valid reasons for lobbying in support of our cause, this should be a separate grant for traceability reasons, it is not intended to imply a blanket ban, but traceability is needed to satisfy the IRS. If a chapter has separate income from the WMF, then there is no concern as this is a matter for the individual chapter board and membership to worry about.

I think this is a useful clarification, and this ought to be followed up as an action from our workshop.

I would welcome any comments from the wider community on what sorts of lobbying as a movement that we definitely want to support, encourage and possibly provide funds for, and if we could come to a clearer definition of what lobbying is (such as political protest) and things we do as a community that is not quite lobbying, even though it may relate to government legislation (such as publishing a white paper with our summary of the benefits of changes in copyright law).

Cheers, Fae -- faewik@gmail.com http://j.mp/faewm Guide to email tags: http://j.mp/mfae

_______________________________________________ Wikimedia-l mailing list Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l