Hi everyone,
TL;DR A draft of the Wikimedia movement’s strategic direction[1] is on
Meta. Everyone is invited to read and discuss on the talk page!
At the beginning of this year, the Wikimedia movement began a remarkable
global discussion to consider our collective future, under the name
Wikimedia 2030. Our aim has been to work together to define a common
strategic direction that will unite and inspire people across our movement.
This direction is the foundation on which we strengthen our work, challenge
our assumptions, experiment with the future, build clear plans, and set
priorities around resources and allocation.[2]
The process has been alternately challenging, delightful, messy, and
fascinating. More than 80 Wikimedia groups and communities have
participated in discussions all over the world.[3] Conversations were held
across languages on-wiki, in person (including a 17-hour strategy track at
the Wikimedia Conference in Berlin), virtually, and through private
surveys. We complemented our discussions with research on readers around
the world[4] and conversations with more than 150 experts.[4] We looked at
future trends that will affect our mission on our way to 2030.[5]
In July, a drafting group[6] took on the enormous task of synthesizing this
information into a draft strategic direction. This group, made up of of a
diverse group of community volunteers and representatives from the
Wikimedia 2030 strategy team,[7] aimed to represent the feedback from
participants across the movement who contributed to Wikimedia 2030 --
including individual volunteers, Wikimedia organizations, readers,
partners, and donors.[8] Their goal has been to produce an early version of
the strategic direction that the broader movement can review and discuss.
I am delighted to share our first draft of our movement-wide strategic
direction[9]. Please read, share, and discuss on Talk pages or in upcoming
conversations with discussion coordinators on your local wikis. Based on
your feedback, the drafting group will continue to refine and finalize this
direction through August. The more we all can collaborate on strengthening
this draft, the stronger our future will be.
Thank you to every single person and group that has engaged in this
process. While we’re not done yet, I want to express my personal gratitude
and congratulations to everyone for your engagement, honesty, and
contributions. It has been a remarkable journey.
(For those of you attending Wikimania, the conference will be an additional
opportunity to for discussion, feedback, and exploration around the
findings from the Wikimedia 2030 process. We're hosting a strategy track
that will offer the opportunity to learn more about the findings from the
consultations and research, and offer feedback on the direction. You can
find more information about this track here.
Yours,
Katherine
[1]
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Strategy/Wikimedia_movement/2017/Direction
This draft is currently being translated.
[2] The strategic direction is not meant to be a strategic plan. Plans are
3-5 years, executable and measurable, specific to organizational
capacity/resources, and should give us points to assess progress/viability.
The direction should be broad, enduring, and ambitious, and clear enough to
provide guidance on overarching goals against which a plan with those
specifics can be built. The strategic direction is on a 12-year timeline
because it allows people to focus on aspirational end goals rather than
what it means for their immediate roles and interests. We will talk more
about strategic plans in phase 2, starting in November 2017.
[3]
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Strategy/Wikimedia_movement/2017/Sources/Re…
[4]
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Strategy/Wikimedia_movement/2017/Sources/Ne…;
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Strategy/Wikimedia_movement/2017/Sources/Br…;
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Movement_Strategy_-_New_Voices_Researc…
[5] Considering 2030: Misinformation, verification, and propaganda (July
2017); Considering 2030: Future technology trends that will impact the
Wikimedia movement (July 2017); Considering 2030: Demographic Shifts – How
might Wikimedia extend its reach by 2030?
[6]
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Strategy/Wikimedia_movement/2017/People/Dra…
[7]
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Strategy/Wikimedia_movement/2017/People
[8] The drafting group included reviewers and contributing writers. Over
the past few weeks, volunteer and staff reviewers on the drafting group
reviewed early drafts of the strategic direction developed by contributing
writers. Input was collected through two feedback sessions and through
collaborative editing on Google docs and on-wiki. Notes from feedback
sessions available on Meta:
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Talk:Strategy/Wikimedia_movement/2017/Direc…
)
[9]
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Strategy/Wikimedia_movement/2017/Direction
This draft is currently being translated.
--
Katherine Maher
Wikimedia Foundation
149 New Montgomery Street
San Francisco, CA 94105
+1 (415) 839-6885 ext. 6635
+1 (415) 712 4873
kmaher(a)wikimedia.org
https://annual.wikimedia.org