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
[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.
[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?