This is the point of rendezvous.
--------------------------------------------------
Hi, I'd like to share a Google Maps link with you. Link:
--------------------------------------------------
Mihir Khatwani mihir.khatwani(a)gmail.com
http://maps.google.com/
I just wanted to extend a warm invitation to all of you to attend a
gathering happening in Pune on Friday, June 17. Professor Bob
Cummings<http://robertcummings.name/index.html>,
an assistant professor of english at the University of Mississippi, has been
in Pune this week helping to launch the India Education Initiative. This
gathering will just be a nice way for him to meet all of you and learn about
what the community has been doing here.
We hope that you'll join us at Cafe Coffee
Day<http://www.punemate.com/2009/05/cafe-coffee-day-koregaon-park.html>
in
Koregaon Park this Friday at 4 p.m.
Feel free to email me with any questions (pjtabit(a)gmail.com).
Best,
PJ Tabit
Wikimedia Fellow, India Education Initiative
Hi all,
Please see the mail below from Sanskriti Menon, director of Center for
Environmental Education (a non-profit organization). They're organizing a
week-long workshop on sustainability and environmental issues for students
from various colleges. One of the sessions they would like to conduct is
about the possibility of using wikis for collecting environmental
information, and was wondering whether there is someone in Pune who can
conduct such a session. Specifically, what is needed is:
> I wanted to know if there is anyone in the Pune Wikipedia Community (or
others) who could help us with the session.
> My plan for the session is somewhat like this:
1. Need for information on local environmental quality, generated and
maintained over time, for improved environmental management and governance
(this part and point 2 and 3 would be done by me)
2. Lack of such information
3. Possibility of students and faculty from colleges and other citizens
generating, recording and maintaining such information (the students in our
workshop would have done field work on collecting data on soil, water and
biodiversity)
4. The suitability of wiki-based platforms (whether it is wikipedia,
wikia, wikispaces, or any other platform) for this purpose
5. Wikipedia protocols/ SOPs - what is considered 'valid information' and
why - I am sure there are discussions among the Wikipedia community members
about this, and it would be useful to understand the various points of view
around the nature and quality of information as this can help students
understand the need for accuracy; it would also be useful to bring in
contrarian points of view about 'expert knowledge' drawing from the social
sciences
6. Practical work on wiki editing
> It would be very helpful for us if you could suggest some resource persons
who have a wider view of information and can provide the practical skills of
wiki editing.
More details about the workshop are in the mail included below.
I would also like to point out that Sanskriti is also one of the primary
drivers behind the Pune Governance Wiki (
http://government.wikia.com/wiki/Pune).
Please let us know if you can help, or if you can suggest the name of
someone else who could.
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Sanskriti Menon <sanskriti.menon(a)ceeindia.org>
Date: Tue, Jun 7, 2011 at 11:09 AM
Subject: wiki
To: Navin Kabra <navin.kabra(a)gmail.com>
Dear Navin,
Centre for Environment Education (CEE) is collaborating with the Mahindra
United World College MUWCI to offer a week long workshop on environment and
sustainability for students from various UWC colleges, from 20 to 25 June
2011.
We would like to introduce the idea that colleges can contribute to
generating information over the years about the environmental status of
their own campus as well as the surrounds - villages/ neighbourhood/ towns
etc. Such information can be generated through both curricular and extra
curricular activities and could include for instance, demographic datas ,
status of water supply, sewerage, waste management, biodiversity, etc. CEE
has been working with colleges and schools for environmental quality
monitoring projects. We would like to go beyond and try and get the students
to record such information over time. Dr Madhav Gadgil has often suggested
that a wiki-based information system would be good for this so that batches
of students (and others too) could upload the information they collect and
eventually trends become visible. As you know, we did also try to create
such an interface for Pune citizens over wikia.
I came across the Wikimedia Campus Ambassadors Program to be piloted in
Pune, and I have applied to be a part if it too. While I guess that
initiative will take its own course, I was wondering if you or anyone
associated with the campus ambassadors programme could actually share the
idea and run a short training/ orientation session within the MUWCI
workshop. The good dates for such a session are 20 and 21 June, late evening
(say 6 pm or 830 pm). Do you think this is possible?
Sanskriti
--
Sanskriti Menon
Programme Director
CEE Central Regional Cell and CEE Urban
Centre for Environment Education
A 10 Garden Estate, 167/1 Nagras Road
Aundh, Pune 411007
Ph: 020 25887009, 25898447, 9822455250
sanskriti.menon(a)ceeindia.org
www.greenteacher.org, www.ceeindia.org
For the information of WikiPuneri's - Apologies if you have already recd this from the India list.
Date: Wed, 15 Jun 2011 09:58:28 +0530
From: arjunaraoc(a)googlemail.com
To: wikimediaindia-l(a)lists.wikimedia.org
Subject: [Wikimediaindia-l] Invitation to join Chapter as Member by 23 June 2011 to participate in EC elections during AGM
Hi Wikimedians,
The Chapter has a statutory requirement that we have our first Annual
General Body meeting before the end of September 2011. We plan on
holding this, in Bangalore, on 24 Sep 2011. (Note: We had earlier
mentioned the date as 17 Sep 2011 but this was changed based on
unforeseen changes in the schedules of EC members and to give more
time for members to join in.)
Filling vacancies in the EC will be one major item on the agenda of
AGM. That said, only people who have become members at least three
months prior to the date of the AGM are eligible to stand and to vote.
Please remember that there is allowance for those members not in
Bangalore to vote as well. What we will do in the next 2 weeks is to
begin a draft nomination process and send it for your feedback and
inputs.
Hence we urge you to join Wikimedia Chapter by 23 June 2011, if you
have not yet applied for membership. Please spread this message with
your fellow wikimedians and encourage them to apply for membership
immediately. The Individual membership form along
with either Cheque/DD payable at par at Bangalore should be received
by 23 June 2011 at Chapter's office.
If you are using online transfer, please send a scanned copy of your
membership form before 23 June 2011 to membership(a)wikimedia.in along
with your online payment details and ensure that your physical
membership form reaches chapter
office before 30 June 2011.
We are really looking forward to an active and strong interest in the
Chapter from the Community.
Sincerely,
Arjuna Rao Chavala
President, Wikimedia Chapter
_______________________________________________
Wikimediaindia-l mailing list
Wikimediaindia-l(a)lists.wikimedia.org
https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediaindia-l
Count me in to support the Conference in Mumbai and hold the yet to be
developed bidding processes for next year...there's no time to
lose...Espcecially since we have dates from Jimmy Wales.
Also FUND RAISING for the event should not be restricted to a
particular group/city but all incoming funds should be directed to one
person who heads the finance committee who has a Conference
Account....that is transparent.
Fund raising, promoting the event and passing the word around should
be everyone's effort.
Warm regards
Harriet from Mangalore!
--
Harriet Vidyasagar
www.outofindia.netwww.womenofindia.net
INDIA: 91-99011 66276
USA: 1-301-649-2240
hi,
Cross posted to the Wikimedia-India, Wikimedia-Mumbai and Wikimedia-Pune
mailing lists.
I agree with points made by User:AroundTheGlobe and Ashwin in the thread. I
think holding a proper discussion on the modalities of the Organising
Committee would ensure that the event will not happen in 2011. We would
therefore request that the Chapter consider the Organising Committee
proposed comprising of various Community and Foundation members and provide
a list of members that it would like to be represented by as soon as
possible.
I would also like to add that Jimmy Wales has expressed availability to
attend the event on November 18, 19 and 20.
warm regards,
Pradeep Mohandas
On 9 June 2011 20:53, <wheredevelsdare(a)hotmail.com> wrote:
> Hi Arjuna,
>
> Thanks for your response. The issue here is time - and we dont have any of
> it. We are running against time for the logistics. For the scale of the
> conference we have planned, we should have had an Event Organising Committee
> in place by now and have started locking the logistics. If we are to host
> this we require ample time to ensure a successful event.
>
> We have made public our intention to host this conference way back in April
> and even requested people to volunteer for the Organising Committee and
> various sub-committees on this same mailing list last month. You yourself
> came to Pune Meetup 14 in May and were given a presentation on the
> preparations until then. The next we heard was only on this mailing list
> earlier this week. All through this the chapter was silent and no other
> community came forward with a rival bid. On the other hand, communities
> across India have come forward supporting us and we are grateful for that.
> Several people reverted to our volunteer appeal and several people pledged
> remote support.
>
> It is not that Mumbai/Pune are against any possible rival bid, it is just
> that time is against us at this point. We have done a lot of work this far
> which will all go down the drain if things are not firmed up ASAP. *We
> request that if there is anyone who wants to place a rival bid, they simply
> email this list with "A non binding expression of interest" within the next
> 24 hours.* We can then wait and give requisite time for you to formally
> place something - and there can be a fair evaluation of all the proposed
> hosts. If there isnt anyone else, let us not waste time and get going on
> where we should have been right now - off the black board and onto the
> ground. We have lost enough time as things stand. I hope this is fair enough
> for all parties concerned.
>
> Kind Regards,
> User:AroundTheGlobe
>
> > Date: Thu, 9 Jun 2011 16:02:08 +0530
> > From: arjunaraoc(a)googlemail.com
> > To: wikimediaindia-l(a)lists.wikimedia.org
> > Subject: Re: [Wikimediaindia-l] Community-Chapter Relations
>
> >
> > Hi Wikimedians,
> >
> >
> > Thanks Ashwin, for initiating the feedback thread on the communication
> > from the Chapter. As Chapter starts engaging with the Community, I
> > look this as a positive sign to build the relationship
> > ('storming'[1] part of a typical team building process).
> >
> > Of course, there are whole lot of stuff that EC has initiated
> > (Donations, projects, City/Language SIG) and we look forward to the
> > feedback on that as well and request that the feedback be not colored
> > by the perception generated and shared on Wiki India Conference topic.
> >
> > Keep this discussion going, so that we can collect feedback for a day
> > or two and address the same after discussions in EC.
> >
> > Let me assure you, that we value all your feedback and will revert
> > to you with further updates on the communication in few days time.
> >
> > Thanks
> > Arjuna Rao Chavala
> > President, Wikimedia Chapter
> > [1]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuckman%27s_stages_of_group_development
> > On Thu, Jun 9, 2011 at 11:03 AM, Ashwin Baindur
> > <ashwin.baindur(a)gmail.com> wrote:
> > >
> > > The national chapter recently informed the community about its
> Membership and Community engagement plan -June 2011.
> > >
> http://lists.wikimedia.org/pipermail/wikimediaindia-l/2011-June/003346.html
> > > In that document, the regulatory framework for conduct of
> Wikiconferences was released.
> > > http://wiki.wikimedia.in/India_Wiki_Conference_Framework
> > > Shortly thereafter, a clarification was issued.
> > >
> http://lists.wikimedia.org/pipermail/wikimediaindia-l/2011-June/003378.html
> > > Members of the community must be puzzled at the need for clarification
> from the Chapter on the issues of its regulatory framework when there was no
> discussion online. This is because the recent announcement of the framework,
> in conjunction with other issues, led to the community believing that the
> chapter had forsaken it.
> > > A little history - the idea for a Wikiconference was mooted way back in
> March by the Mumbai community and they asked the Pune community to co-host
> it to which the Pune community agreed. As India now has a national chapter,
> we naturally asked for their support more than two months ago. For more
> than two months they were silent. Yesterday, they responded saying that the
> community was invited to submit their proposal, duly modified as per the
> said framework, and resubmit it for consideration with other bids. The
> cavaliar treatment of the serious efforts put in to date by the communities
> and the contents of the Framework of Regulations were disturbing to the
> community.
> > > At the face off it, one may just consider the Regulatory Framework as
> just another logical and reasonable document, but its language, text and
> subtext upset the community, in light of Chapter's attitude.
> > > The first and over-riding issue was the type of language used and its
> indication of the relation between chapter and communities. We all know that
> the Wikimedia Foundation encourages national chapters so that the community
> and creation of knowledge by them is facilitated. However, the language
> herein clearly gives a message - that the Indian chapter is boss and all
> Indian wikimedian communities are subservient to it.
> > > While that is a great inequity in itself, the community was also
> aggrieved that the framework has been foisted on them without discussion,
> without any attempt to get them to participate and buy in into the plan,
> without community consensus and without any consideration of the community's
> interests. This feudalistic attitude is considered to be an anachronism in
> volunteer driven communities of the 21st Centuries especially in India. So,
> no matter whether the framework is good or bad, sensible or not, the
> approach to the community taken by the chapter is to be firmly objected to
> and resisted.
> > > The Mumbai & Pune community supports the chapter, and have defended the
> chapter on number of occasions in email discussions. Members of the two
> communities have enthusiastically joined the chapter once membership opened.
> A member of the Mumbai and a member of the Pune community are the first two
> members to join by NEFT and physical cheque. To the best of my knowledge 24
> members from Pune joined the chapter in response to Arjuna Rao Chavala's
> appeal for member ships when he came last month to our Pune meetup.
> > > We earnestly believe that India needs an active, sympathetic,
> facilitative and supportive chapter. We look forward to heartily cooperating
> with such a chapter - alas, the chapter's latest tune was nothing of that
> kind. It seemed to be indicative of wanting power and to dominate.
> > > The third issue, were the "black" provisions of the framework. Each of
> the sentences seemed to imply negative connotations for the community.
> > > To give you some examples of the "black" provisions -
> > > Example one - Finance
> > > The responsibilities of the Host city team included "Fund raising",
> whereas the corresponding responsibility of the Chapter Team was
> "Responsible for facilitating financial operations and accountability for
> finances for the event".
> > > The message conveyed was that the community was responsible for
> raiising funds but only the chapter was allowed to decide how it was spent.
> No commitment of raising monetary support was made by the chapter for the
> event.
> > > Example two - Logistics
> > > The responsibility for the "Host city team" is mentioned as being
> "responsible for City logistics in terms of Venue, local transportation,
> stay assistance". However, the city community was to be given no say in the
> decision-making i.e. organisation of the programme, guest list, expenditure
> etc. The OC head was to be some person of chapter Executive Committee. That
> meant, the community had to do the hard work but the chapter would take
> credit. If the conference succeeded, it was the chapter's moment of glory.
> Whereas if the conference failed, the communities would be blamed.
> > > Example three - Venue
> > > After three months of spade work by Mumbai-Pune, when no other city had
> shown any inclination to take up the project, the chapter thanked the city
> community for the "proposal", came up with this framework, asks the city to
> make changes as per the framework and resubmit it for consideration within
> two weeks or so. Then, all proposals/bids would be considered by the chapter
> and the decision communicated.
> > > For two months, the community waited with bated breath for the
> chapter's response and was floored when it eventually came. There were no
> emails of encouragement, no saying "we support you", no saying "great job
> guys, lets give it to Mumbai-Pune this time, next time, cities can bid". The
> community, not surprisingly, were forced to construe such a response as lack
> of support by the chapter.
> > > So what was to be done? The community was furious at being treated this
> way. They could not acquiese to this kind of 'fatwa' type of decision-making
> by the chapter. It was felt that if the community accepted this state of
> affairs this time around, it would act as a precedent and set the tone for
> all future interactions between community and chapter.
> > > So, we indicated to the chapter informally through various people that
> this sort of thing just will not do. We were prepared for a confrontation on
> matter of principle. However, thanks to various third party
> back-of-the-scenes attempts, the chapter is now beginning to realise this. A
> member of the chapter Executive Committee has given a clarification. You can
> read it here -
> > >
> http://lists.wikimedia.org/pipermail/wikimediaindia-l/2011-June/003378.html
> > > The community's demands are few and equitable.
> > > Firstly, treat us like equals and stakeholders. Amongst us, chapter
> will then be first among equals. The community will not accept any other
> form of relationship.
> > > The second request is always ask our opinion before issuing policy
> especially for a thing like Wikiconference which has not been conducted
> before. The chapter must be consultative and facilitative of the community.
> The community will not accept orders by fiat.
> > > Lastly, this present framework will not do. We need a framework which
> gives autonomy to the Organising Committee to successfully pull off an event
> of this scale and nature. While organising this Wikiconference, the
> community is willing to develop a sensible, practical framework which can be
> debated and finalised after the event is over. In this manner best practices
> and lessons learnt will be incorporated.
> > > We felt that you as a community member should know what was going on
> and what happened and how we responded to it. Our next step is to list the
> issues concerning how the Wikiconference should be conducted and discuss
> them on the list. At present, an active discussion on this is going on
> between Pune and Mumbai communities off-list. In the meantime, we invite the
> chapter to Mumbai where these issues can be discussed amicably face to face
> and resolved.
> > > We thank all those who spoke out in favour of the community.
> > > Please write back with your views and support as this concerns every
> one of us.
> > > Ashwin Baindur
> > > _______________________________________________
> > > Wikimediaindia-l mailing list
> > > Wikimediaindia-l(a)lists.wikimedia.org
> > > https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediaindia-l
> > >
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> > Wikimediaindia-l mailing list
> > Wikimediaindia-l(a)lists.wikimedia.org
> > https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediaindia-l
>
> _______________________________________________
> Wikimediaindia-l mailing list
> Wikimediaindia-l(a)lists.wikimedia.org
> https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediaindia-l
>
>
National newspaper "The Hindu" carried an interview with Hisham Mundol and
Frank Schulenburg on Campus Ambassadors Programme* *today. The interview
was of 1/4 newspaper size and was a easily noticeable one. Appears on Page 9
in Bangalore edition.
*The Hindu : "Wikipedia to be promoted in educational institutions"*
http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/article2095004.ecehttp://www.hindu.com/2011/06/11/stories/2011061158740700.htm
*Students to be motivated to write articles for the website*
*
*
*New initiative:Frank Schulenburg, Head of Public Outreach of the Wikimedia
Foundation, and Hisham Mundol, Consultant, India National Programmes of the
Wikimedia Foundation, are training 22 Campus Ambassadors to popularise
Wikipedia among students in Pune.*
*
*
*Last week, Pune etched its place in Wikimedia history by becoming the first
city in India, and the first outside the United States, to host the Campus
Ambassadors' Programme, launched by the Wikimedia Foundation.*
*
*
*The 22 Campus Ambassadors, who were chosen by the foundation, will be
working towards promoting Wikipedia as a tool in education in institutions
in Pune. Frank Schulenburg, Head of Public Outreach of the Wikimedia
Foundation, and Hisham Mundol, Consultant, India National Programmes of the
Wikimedia Foundation, who are now in Pune to train the ambassadors, spoke
toThe Hinduon a variety of topics such as why Wikipedia is looking at India
for its offshore expansion, plagiarism and the skewed sex ratio when it
comes to contributors to Wikipedia.*
*
*
*Excerpts:*
*
*
*Why was India chosen for the programme?*
*
*
*Mr. Schulenburg:We sensed the biggest global opportunity in India. A lot
needs to be written about India, and we need a lot more writers from here.
India tops our priority list, and this was one way to increase our reach in
the global south.*
*
*
*How did you zero in on Pune for the pilot?*
*
*
*Mr. Mundol:Pune has a strong heritage in education and a huge student body.
So when we thought of piloting the program in India. Wikimedia Foundation's
aim has also been to increase the number of Indian language pages. Pune,
having a diverse population mix, can be of great use in that aspect as well.
*
*
*
*How will the education programme work?*
*
*
*Mr. Schulenburg:We chose Campus Ambassadors who promote the use of
Wikipedia in education on a day-to-day basis. 824 students participated in
the program creating 5,605 pages on Wikipedia on a variety of subjects.
While the programme was restricted to the topic of ‘Public Policy' in the
U.S., in India it has opened its doors to include all the possible subjects.
*
*
*
*The aim is to encourage educational institutions and professors to
encourage students to write Wikipedia articles as course assignments. This,
we believe, will enhance critical thinking abilities in students, and add to
the knowledge pool that is Wikipedia. In the U.S., we have got the feedback
that using Wikipedia has increased the level of motivation, and hence the
quality of work among students.*
*
*
*Will this in any way put an end to plagiarism which is one of the main
concerns in academic circles when it comes to using Wikipedia?*
*
*
*Mr. Mundol:Definitely. Imagine this. If a student has to create a Wikipedia
page, he cannot copy from anywhere. He has to reference it to the source. So
he has to research more, think of adding more aspects to the Wikipedia to
enrich it. Once the assignment is done and its up on Wikipedia, the student
can share it on the worldwide platform and keep working on it. He has the
ownership, while knowing that millions of readers are adding value to it.*
*
*
*What is the goal for the programme apart from increasing the number of
contributors to Wikipedia?*
*
*
*Mr. Mundol:We hope that someday the number of articles that a student or an
institute has contributed will be regarded as a measure for academic
excellence. Digital media literacy is a core skill for students in the 21st
century, and the contribution to Wikipedia can be a proof of it.*
*
*
*Is the skewed sex ratio among Wikipedia contributors an issue?*
*
*
*Mr. Schulenburg: It definitely is! Our research tells us that an average
Wikipedia contributor is 25-year-old male. We are definitely looking to
change this. This is where the Education Programme comes in. In the U.S., 46
per cent of the campus ambassadors were female. Among the students who used
Wikipedia in education last year across universities, we had a 50:50 ratio.
We are looking for the same kind of figures in India.*
*
*
*What else is in store for India?*
*
*
*Mr. Mundol:We are looking launching an India office of the Wikimedia
Foundation in the national capital region this year. This will again be the
first one outside of U.S. In India, we will be launching new initiatives. We
will be targeting the millions of mobile phone-users in this country to
promote the use of Wikipedia.*
Regards
Tinu Cherian
http://wiki.wikimedia.in/In_the_news#June_2011
The national chapter recently informed the community about its Membership
and Community engagement plan -June 2011.
http://lists.wikimedia.org/pipermail/wikimediaindia-l/2011-June/003346.html
In that document, the regulatory framework for conduct of Wikiconferences
was released.
http://wiki.wikimedia.in/India_Wiki_Conference_Framework
Shortly thereafter, a clarification was issued.
http://lists.wikimedia.org/pipermail/wikimediaindia-l/2011-June/003378.html
Members of the community must be puzzled at the need for clarification from
the Chapter on the issues of its regulatory framework when there was no
discussion online. This is because the recent announcement of the framework,
in conjunction with other issues, led to the community believing that the
chapter had forsaken it.
A little history - the idea for a Wikiconference was mooted way back in
March by the Mumbai community and they asked the Pune community to co-host
it to which the Pune community agreed. As India now has a national chapter,
we naturally asked for their support more than two months ago. For more
than two months they were silent. Yesterday, they responded saying that the
community was invited to submit their proposal, duly modified as per the
said framework, and resubmit it for consideration with other bids. The
cavaliar treatment of the serious efforts put in to date by the communities
and the contents of the Framework of Regulations were disturbing to the
community.
At the face off it, one may just consider the Regulatory Framework as just
another logical and reasonable document, but its language, text and subtext
upset the community, in light of Chapter's attitude.
The first and over-riding issue was the type of language used and its
indication of the relation between chapter and communities. We all know that
the Wikimedia Foundation encourages national chapters so that the community
and creation of knowledge by them is facilitated. However, the language
herein clearly gives a message - that the Indian chapter is boss and all
Indian wikimedian communities are subservient to it.
While that is a great inequity in itself, the community was also aggrieved
that the framework has been foisted on them without discussion, without any
attempt to get them to participate and buy in into the plan, without
community consensus and without any consideration of the community's
interests. This feudalistic attitude is considered to be an anachronism in
volunteer driven communities of the 21st Centuries especially in India. So,
no matter whether the framework is good or bad, sensible or not, the
approach to the community taken by the chapter is to be firmly objected to
and resisted.
The Mumbai & Pune community supports the chapter, and have defended the
chapter on number of occasions in email discussions. Members of the two
communities have enthusiastically joined the chapter once membership opened.
A member of the Mumbai and a member of the Pune community are the first two
members to join by NEFT and physical cheque. To the best of my knowledge 24
members from Pune joined the chapter in response to Arjuna Rao Chavala's
appeal for member ships when he came last month to our Pune meetup.
We earnestly believe that India needs an active, sympathetic, facilitative
and supportive chapter. We look forward to heartily cooperating with such a
chapter - alas, the chapter's latest tune was nothing of that kind. It
seemed to be indicative of wanting power and to dominate.
The third issue, were the "black" provisions of the framework. Each of the
sentences seemed to imply negative connotations for the community.
To give you some examples of the "black" provisions -
Example one - Finance
The responsibilities of the Host city team included "Fund raising", whereas
the corresponding responsibility of the Chapter Team was "Responsible for
facilitating financial operations and accountability for finances for the
event".
The message conveyed was that the community was responsible for raiising
funds but only the chapter was allowed to decide how it was spent. No
commitment of raising monetary support was made by the chapter for the
event.
Example two - Logistics
The responsibility for the "Host city team" is mentioned as being
"responsible for City logistics in terms of Venue, local transportation,
stay assistance". However, the city community was to be given no say in the
decision-making i.e. organisation of the programme, guest list, expenditure
etc. The OC head was to be some person of chapter Executive Committee. That
meant, the community had to do the hard work but the chapter would take
credit. If the conference succeeded, it was the chapter's moment of glory.
Whereas if the conference failed, the communities would be blamed.
Example three - Venue
After three months of spade work by Mumbai-Pune, when no other city had
shown any inclination to take up the project, the chapter thanked the city
community for the "proposal", came up with this framework, asks the city to
make changes as per the framework and resubmit it for consideration within
two weeks or so. Then, all proposals/bids would be considered by the chapter
and the decision communicated.
For two months, the community waited with bated breath for the chapter's
response and was floored when it eventually came. There were no emails of
encouragement, no saying "we support you", no saying "great job guys, lets
give it to Mumbai-Pune this time, next time, cities can bid". The community,
not surprisingly, were forced to construe such a response as lack of support
by the chapter.
So what was to be done? The community was furious at being treated this way.
They could not acquiese to this kind of 'fatwa' type of decision-making by
the chapter. It was felt that if the community accepted this state of
affairs this time around, it would act as a precedent and set the tone for
all future interactions between community and chapter.
So, we indicated to the chapter informally through various people that this
sort of thing just will not do. We were prepared for a confrontation on
matter of principle. However, thanks to various third party
back-of-the-scenes attempts, the chapter is now beginning to realise this. A
member of the chapter Executive Committee has given a clarification. You can
read it here -
http://lists.wikimedia.org/pipermail/wikimediaindia-l/2011-June/003378.html
The community's demands are few and equitable.
Firstly, treat us like equals and stakeholders. Amongst us, chapter will
then be first among equals. The community will not accept any other form of
relationship.
The second request is always ask our opinion before issuing policy
especially for a thing like Wikiconference which has not been conducted
before. The chapter must be consultative and facilitative of the community.
The community will not accept orders by fiat.
Lastly, this present framework will not do. We need a framework which gives
autonomy to the Organising Committee to successfully pull off an event of
this scale and nature. While organising this Wikiconference, the community
is willing to develop a sensible, practical framework which can be debated
and finalised after the event is over. In this manner best practices and
lessons learnt will be incorporated.
We felt that you as a community member should know what was going on and
what happened and how we responded to it. Our next step is to list the
issues concerning how the Wikiconference should be conducted and discuss
them on the list. At present, an active discussion on this is going on
between Pune and Mumbai communities off-list. In the meantime, we invite the
chapter to Mumbai where these issues can be discussed amicably face to face
and resolved.
We thank all those who spoke out in favour of the community.
Please write back with your views and support as this concerns every one of
us.
Ashwin Baindur