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/1FAIpQLSdIiyAlq7uKBp4eqmnbyVr9Zmi3LBjCQgZ…>for
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/1FAIpQLSdIiyAlq7uKBp4eqmnbyVr9Zmi3LBjCQgZ…>
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/Recomme…>
recommendation of the 2030 Wikimedia Movement Strategy
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Strategy/Wikimedia_movement/2018-20/Recomme…>encourages
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_Re…>and
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/1FAIpQLSdIiyAlq7uKBp4eqmnbyVr9Zmi3LBjCQgZ…>
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/1FAIpQLSdIiyAlq7uKBp4eqmnbyVr9Zmi3LBjCQgZ…>
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(a)wikimedia.org