[Wikimedia-GH] BritishBlackMusic.com

On 31 March 2014 08:10, Jon Davies <jon.davies(a)wikimedia.org.uk> wrote: It might be an idea to let one of your employees handle international events and answer questions like these when you are on holiday rather than leaving a silence. Questions were raised as far back as 20th March, which is a long time in advance of the event for there to be no answers on basic logistics or matters of governance and reputation.[1] I am puzzled by your statement that WMUK ran an editathon last year in partnership with BritishBlackMusic.com without offering to support with any expenses. For the workshop on Saturday in Accra, the UK did provide funding and official merchandizing though the amount paid or promised has not been published. I am concerned that your statement that there was no relationship with BTWSC or BritishBlackMusic.com for Saturday's workshop in Ghana as you are retrospectively contradicting the published advertizing: * Wikimedia UK's events page listed the workshop with a link of "BritishBlackMusic.com_in_assn_with_BTWSC/Wikimedia_UK" which is an unambiguous claim that BritishBlackMusic.com were providing it in association with Wikimedia UK.[2] * The official Eventbrite listing states that the workshop in Accra was organized by BritishBlackMusic.com and that this was officially supported by Wikimedia UK.[3] Wikimedia UK was alerted to these questions well in advance of the workshop. Why did you take no corrective action before the wokshop if the advertising by BritishBlackMusic.com falsely claimed a partnership with Wikimedia UK? Wikimedia UK did not contact the local Wikimedian community in Ghana, a significant failure to use the opportunity to create positive relationships with the proto-chapter there, or to ask them for help to ensure that the money the UK chapter was spending was put to best use. Luckily, the local community took the initiative to coordinate their own attendance and response.[4] However there are serious questions about the UK charity's management and support of this workshop: * "I'm not being jealous or envious here for the Wikimedia UK 'empowering' Kwaku, but the question is, on what basis was he given such a privilege? The less than 50 edits? Or because he's black-skinned and says verbally he comes from Ghana?" * "Even after your asking, [no] email has *officially* come in from [Wikimedia UK]. We're just negligible in their eyes." As you have a personal interest in inter-chapter relations, you may wish to follow-up to ameliorate this damage to the reputation of the charity. As you took time to remind me 11 days ago, it is up to you what you wish to spend your time on. [Adding wikimedia-gh as I have quoted statements on that public list in this email.] Links: 1. https://wikimedia.org.uk/w/index.php?title=Water_cooler&diff=54401&… 2. https://wikimedia.org.uk/w/index.php?title=Events&oldid=54679 3. http://web.archive.org/web/20140327135842/http://www.eventbrite.com/e/talki… 4. http://lists.wikimedia.org/pipermail/wikimedia-gh/2014-March/001510.html Fae -- faewik(a)gmail.com https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Fae