Hi everyone,
(Apologies for cross-posting.)
As part of the upcoming celebrations surrounding Wikipedia's 20th
birthday[1], the Wikimedia Foundation is publishing a short optional
survey[2] that will help us understand the needs of people who would like
to host a birthday event. The survey is expected to take three to five
minutes to fill in and will remain open until 23:59 UTC on Wednesday, 30
September 2020.
Before taking the survey, please review the privacy statement policy[3].
We would also like to announce that the Foundation will be supporting
Wikipedia 20 anniversary celebration events through multiple grant programs:
* Rapid Grants[4] to support celebration events up to 2000 USD.
* Additional funding for Conference & Events grantees (e.g. for a regional
or thematic conference) who wish to incorporate a celebration event to an
existing conference.
* Conference & Event Grants[5] to support celebration events for more than
2000 USD.*
*Round one applications for conference & event grants [5] is now open until
28 September 2020.
On behalf of the Wikipedia 20 team, Samir Elsharbaty
[1] Wikipedia 20 meta page: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia_20
[2] Survey link: https://wikimedia.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_4GyxYcdRSSM5M8J
[3] Privacy statement:
https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia_20_Community_Feedback_Surve…
[4] Rapid grants page on meta:
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Grants:Project/Rapid
[5] Conference grants page on meta:
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Grants:Conference
Samir Elsharbaty (he/him)
Brand Associate
Wikimedia Foundation <https://wikimediafoundation.org/>
Dear all,
I would like to share with you some updates on Wikimedia Foundation Board
governance, concerning board composition, annual planning, and more.
The past few weeks and months have been difficult for many of us as
COVID-19 changes our schedules and lives, but we are being really true to
the vision of “the world in which every single human being can freely share
in the sum of all knowledge”—on the whole the visits to Wikimedia projects
have increased by more than 30% over the past month. It is impressive that
the volunteer communities continue to produce the information that informs
everyone through graphs and data seen by millions and careful synthesis of
the medical and administrative facts. Wikimedia volunteers’ work is present
in top stories on the novel coronavirus. We volunteers do this despite the
need to tend to home chores, take care of kids and the elderly, probably
feeling depressed or fearing for our jobs, economy, health and the lives of
relatives and friends all over the world.
In these circumstances, it may seem odd to be hearing about board
governance updates, but those are still important, for the long-term
thriving of our movement. I joined the Board because I wanted to explore
ways of improving understanding between the Foundation and the communities,
and to help the trustees provide what was needed to our communities. No
Board will ever do this perfectly, and I know, as do we all, that there
have been occasions in the long years of the movement on which the Board
had not supported the Foundation and communities in the ways we all hoped
and needed. We as Board members want to play our part in building a
Wikimedia that will sustain our mission far into the future. Please forgive
the length of this message—it is a lot of things to share in one letter.
== Designing a better Board for Wikimedia ==
One of the most significant initiatives the Board worked on collectively
over the last year was to run an official Board governance review. In large
part this review was a response to direct requests for clarification from
the community over several years. I will explain a few of the
recommendations that came from this review, and the changes we are making
based on these recommendations.
In early 2019, the Foundation Board Chair and Executive Director
commissioned Board Veritas (named Taylor Strategic Partnerships at the
time) to review how the Board might more effectively support the goals of
the Wikimedia Foundation and the Wikimedia movement. Board Veritas was
chosen because of their expertise in the governance of U.S. nonprofits with
global operations and internationally diverse boards, as well as their
background in developing strategic comparisons with other not-for-profit
boards.
The resulting recommendations [1] centered on increasing the Board’s
effectiveness in fulfilling its governance responsibilities, including
improving the process for selecting Board members; developing greater
clarity around Board roles, responsibilities and accountabilities; better
leveraging the talents and skills of trustees in service to the
Foundation’s mission and strategic goals; improving trust and interactions
between the Board, the ED/CEO, and staff; and strengthening strategy and
program oversight.
The Board began taking steps to respond to the recommendations right away,
at a special meeting in July 2019 [2]. At that meeting, we lengthened the
terms of Board officer and committee chair positions from one year to three
years, and we tasked the Board Governance Committee with the preparation of
proposals for how to implement additional changes.
We will have more to share in the near future when the Board will be
engaging broadly on the outcomes, but the first big planned change is
expanding the number of seats on the Board, from 10 to 16. This includes
increasing the current number of seats sourced from the wider Wikimedia
community (including affiliates) by three, for a total of eight
community-sourced seats. The majority of the Board and I feel that this
overall growth is necessary for us to increase our capacity to meet the
governance needs of the Foundation—and better reflect the growing and
diverse communities we serve with the increased number of voices from
community sources.
== Community-selected Board seats ==
The voting process to select nominees for three Community-selected Board
seats was intended to open candidate submissions soon. In normal
circumstances this selection process occurs every three years and would run
this month. However, we feel that the widespread global impact from the
ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting strain on resources make it
unwise and unreasonable to continue the voting process on its planned
timeline:
The selection process requires extensive effort from community members (to
read proposals, ask questions, be engaged and informed, and of course
vote); candidates (to write statements and engage with community
questions); the Elections Committee (to run the process, including
responding to questions and engaging across languages); Foundation staff
(to support the Elections Committee in running the process and coordinating
the work across all stakeholders); and the Board (to make high-level
decisions and follow the process, also across languages). Given the public
health crisis and the many extraordinary demands on every person’s time and
attention, we believe we can not expect or require the level of sustained
effort and engagement needed to hold a successful trustee selection.
We do not want to delay the trustee selection process any longer than we
have to, and we will continue to evaluate whether it is appropriate to
proceed based on the best information available to us. It takes time to
plan and run the selection, so once the postponed process can resume we
will still need to work out the best timing for it. It does not currently
seem likely that the process will resume before August 2020, but we are
committed to completing it before the end of June 2021.
In order to ensure sustained community representation on the Board, we are
extending the terms of the three community-selected trustees currently
occupying those seats (María, Dariusz, and James) for up to a year until we
are all ready to run the postponed process. I would like to thank them for
their service to our communities and dedication to our shared mission.
Note: The selection process is mandated by the Bylaws to happen every three
years according to a schedule and process set by the Board of Trustees. The
process last occurred in 2017, so if we determine that it is best to
postpone the process past 2020, this will require a modification of the
Bylaws. The necessary modification of the Bylaws will be part of
forthcoming recommendations as we learn more about when we can all dedicate
the necessary time to the selection process.
== Wikimedia Foundation Annual Plan timeline ==
The Wikimedia Foundation Annual Plan would normally be completed in April
and posted for your feedback in May. This year, the Board has provisionally
approved an extended and revised timeline for annual planning in order for
us to remain sensitive to global economic conditions and revenue
projections.
We are also adjusting the timelines and expectations for our affiliates
during this time. Our affiliates and user groups hold a lot of in-person
events and are transitioning some of their work online and having to
postpone or cancel some events entirely. We are all having to rethink the
next year and recognize that the adjustment is going to take time. This
pandemic is a changing situation and will affect parts of the globe
differently over time. We need to remain flexible during this time of
uncertainty.
There will be future updates on annual plan progress from the Foundation,
but we wanted to let you know as soon as we could that the usual timelines
are postponed.
== Board meeting minutes & resolutions ==
Some of you have asked for minutes and resolutions from our recent
meetings, as we are behind in publishing these notes. I apologize that we
fell behind in this; once we were behind, it became harder to catch up, and
we have only now been able to read and approve them all. The minutes were
posted and you will find them on the Wikimedia Foundation Governance Wiki
[3]. I shall update on this thread when they are all up.
Voting online to approve the minutes is not always possible, so we are
approving them during our meetings. The timeline of the expected publishing
of the minutes was too ambitious, and this would need to change. Amanda
Keton, our General Counsel and Secretary of the Board, will see to adopting
the practices needed and having support in place to help us review more
quickly.
== To recap ==
* In early 2019, the Foundation Board Chair and Executive Director hired
Board Veritas to conduct a Board Governance Review, and we are sharing the
resulting recommendations [1].
* We are planning to expand the number of seats on the Board, from 10 to
16. This includes increasing the current number of seats sourced from the
wider Wikimedia community (including affiliates) by three, for a total of
eight community-sourced seats. This change will require changing the
Bylaws, especially regarding the selection pathway for the additional
seats. We plan to present the Board’s vision and hold a community
discussion as part of the process for the Bylaws change.
* We are postponing the trustee selection process by up to a year because
of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic by up to a year, the resulting strain on
resources, and the added burden to our communities. And we shall be
modifying the Bylaws to allow for this revised timeline in the selection
process, if needed.
* We are approving an extended timeline for the Wikimedia Foundation Annual
Plan.
* And we are posting the remaining backlog of trustee meeting minutes and
resolutions. After they are all up, I shall update on this thread.
As these are a lot of topics to talk about, please post your
thoughts/comments on the talk page of my message on Meta:
https://meta.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wikimedia_Foundation_Board_not…
. It would be easier to have a structured discussion there, rather than
dozens of emails in this thread. Depending on interest and our shared
situation we might hold a video “town hall” to discuss more details of some
of these plans with you all.
Also we are currently working on an update to our 2016 statement on
community culture in order to reinforce our commitment to safety on our
projects. We look forward to sharing it with you in May.
Please take care of yourselves.
[1]
https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Board_Veritas_Governance_Recomme…
[2] https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Minutes/2019-7-10
[3] https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Meetings
Best regards,
antanana / Nataliia Tymkiv
NOTICE: You may have received this message outside of your normal working
hours/days, as I usually can work more as a volunteer during weekend. You
should not feel obligated to answer it during your days off. Thank you in
advance!
Hi
The US seems to me like an increasingly unsafe and unstable place to
store data and servers from a privacy- and political perspective.
Do you have any plans to replicate or move the servers to datacenters in
Europe or elsewhere to protect the community from the risks
introduced by the american political system?
See https:// youtu.be/mUQ56Tf22pg and
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Forum#Strong_Preservation_of_Wiki….
Cheers
so9q
Hi all,
I hope this email finds you well.
I'm reaching out to let you know that the Research team [1] at the
Wikimedia Foundation has been working on developing a taxonomy of
knowledge gaps for the Wikimedia projects. We now have the first draft
of the taxonomy ready and we're seeking your input to improve it.
==Why are we contacting you?==
The taxonomy of knowledge gaps aims to be a high level representation
and grouping of the different knowledge gaps Wikimedia projects face
today. Each of you, whether you are a volunteer editor, patroller,
organizer, affiliate, etc. have valuable on the ground knowledge of
the different types of knowledge gaps. We believe it's important to
hear from you before we finalize the taxonomy.
==Material==
The material you may need to review is listed at
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Research:Knowledge_Gaps_Index/Taxonomy#Lear…!
. I will list them below as well, for archive completeness:
* A summary of the taxonomy and motivation:
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_Knowledge_Gaps_Taxonomy_Summary…
* Full paper: https://arxiv.org/abs/2008.12314
* A video presentation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pP3uXA9bfvU or
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Knowledge_Gaps_Taxonomy.mp4.webm
(same video on two platforms)
==Feedback==
Please provide your feedback by answering the 6 questions posted at
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Research_talk:Knowledge_Gaps_Index/Taxonomy…
.
We're collecting feedback until 2020-09-30.
==Talk with us==
If you have questions about the taxonomy and you'd like to talk with
us in a synchronous set-up, we invite you to join us in the upcoming
Research Showcase
https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Research/Showcase#September_2020
. We will have a very short presentation about it and will leave 15-20
min for any questions you may have. We are also happy to set up more
time to answer your questions if there is demand for it.
==Disclaimer==
As you're going through the material we have shared with you, you will
see imperfections and rooms for improvement. I acknowledge that they
exist and they may be numerous. We could spend another month and
improve the documents. We made the call to not let perfect be the
enemy of good. Please keep that in mind, assume good faith, and ask
questions if any part of what you read is not clear to you. We're here
to engage and answer your questions, and ultimately learn about your
perspective.
Thank you!
Leila, on behalf of
Martin Gerlach, Research Scientist, WMF
Isaac Johnson, Research Scientist, WMF
Miriam Redi, Senior Research Scientist, WMF
Leila Zia, Head of Research, WMF
[1] https://research.wikimedia.org/team.html
Hi everyone,
Happy to follow up on our communication from two weeks ago [1] with updates
about Movement Strategy.
Conversations are under way on what initiatives from the recommendations
should be prioritized for implementation in 2021, and how to prepare for
upcoming global discussions. We are happy to update you with guidance for
hosting prioritization events, different ways to let us know your
priorities, and what will come next.
The recommendations and their changes and actions or “initiatives” are
available in different formats and in multiple languages [2]. There are 10
recommendations and close to 50 recommended initiatives. The aim of
prioritization is to understand what people and organizations in the
movement feel are significant actions we need to take in 2021, and to map
out opportunities for collaboration to bring movement strategy to life.
Prioritization should be at the level groups, affiliates, and communities -
local and relevant. To learn more about how to organize your event, please
consult:
-
The guidance for prioritization [3], and
-
Share your results - directly on Meta [4], by email, or by filling out a
survey [5] before the end of October.
We will come together in November to discuss the priorities that emerge
from the discussions and co-create an 18-month implementation plan for
2021. More information about November’s global events will be shared soon. For
now and until the end of October, organize locally and share the results of
your prioritization discussions.
Please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us if you have any questions or
comments, strategy2030(a)wikimedia.org. We will also be hosting office hours
to answer any questions, Thursday October 1 at 14.00 UTC [6].
On behalf of the Support Team,
Kaarel
[1] Our last post from Sept. 18:
https://lists.wikimedia.org/pipermail/wikimedia-l/2020-September/095656.html
[2] Movement Strategy recommendations in a variety of formats and
languages:
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Strategy/Wikimedia_movement/2018-20/Recomme…
?
[3] Prioritization events central page:
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Strategy/Wikimedia_movement/2018-20/Transit…
[4] Report your priorities on Meta:
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Strategy/Wikimedia_movement/2018-20/Transit…
[5] Report your priorities via this survey:
https://forms.gle/tsEvVJmLPsTrjuzd7
[6] Join our Office Hours on Thursday Oct. 1 @ 14.00 UTC
https://meet.google.com/ewx-jofx-kga
[7]
--
Kaarel Vaidla (he/him)
Movement Strategy <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Strategy/2030>
Wikimedia Foundation <https://wikimediafoundation.org/>
Hello all,
Please help pick a name for the new Wikimedia wiki project.
This project will be a wiki where the community can work together on a
library of functions.[1] The community can create new functions, read
about them, discuss them, and share them. Some of these functions will
be used to help create language-independent Wikipedia articles that
can be displayed in any language, as part of the Abstract Wikipedia
project. But functions will also be usable in many other situations.
There will be two rounds of voting, each followed by legal review of
candidates, with broad voting beginning on 29 September and 27
October. Our goal is to have a final project name selected on 8
December. If you would like to participate, then please learn more and
vote now at meta-wiki:
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Abstract_Wikipedia/Wiki_…
Thank you.
Nick / Quiddity
[1] https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Abstract_Wikipedia/Wiki_of_functions_naming…
--
Nick "Quiddity" Wilson (he/him)
Community Relations Specialist
Wikimedia Foundation
Dear Wikimedians,
This announcement is to increase awareness of a new addition to the
Wikimedia Foundation's office actions appeals process through the Interim
Trust & Safety Case Review Committee (CRC).[1][2] It includes a new way for
some editors who have sought sanction and some editors who have been
sanctioned by the Wikimedia Foundation to appeal.
Historically, some office actions have been appealable through the Trust &
Safety team. The Interim Trust & Safety Case Review Committee (CRC) was
created to provide community oversight of the appeals process. The CRC has
10 volunteer Wikimedia community members and will function until the
Universal Code of Conduct becomes effective in approximately mid-2021, when
we hope to have a more permanent process in place. As mentioned in the
CRC’s charter, the committee will be able to review office actions which
were closed by the Foundation with action or inaction, except statutory,
regulatory, employment, and legal cases as defined by Foundation
attorneys.[3]
The office actions policy is a set of guidelines and procedures regarding
official changes to or removals of content on the Wikimedia projects, or
actions against specific individuals, performed by Foundation staff members
and under the authority of the Wikimedia Foundation, upon receipt of one or
multiple complaints from the community or the public, or as required by
law. Complaints that may lead to enforcement of office actions may include,
but are not limited to, privacy violations, child protection, copyright
infringement or systematic harassment. All office actions are performed
pursuant to the Terms of Use.
Appeals of office actions may be submitted to the CRC by anyone involved in
the office action via email at appeals[at]wikimedia.org. Detailed
instructions on how to appeal may be found on the CRC’s meta page.[1] Some
office cases are not eligible for review. A Foundation attorney will check
each case where appeal is requested to determine its eligibility before
turning over the case files to the committee. For transparency, the
committee chair will be able to review those requests and will therefore
have insight into how many cases are eligible or not.
Please refer to the CRC’s page on meta.wikimedia.org for further
information. You are encouraged to inform your community about this new
appeals process. If you have questions for or about the committee, please
put them on the CRC talk page on Meta or email me at
bchoo-ctr[at]wikimedia.org.[4] The Meta talk page also contains questions
that have already been asked and answered. I will find answers to your
questions and post responses on the Meta talk page.
On behalf of the committee,
Brian Choo
Interim Case Review Committee Facilitator
[1] https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Trust_and_Safety/Case_Review_Committee
[2] https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Office_actions
[3]
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Trust_and_Safety/Case_Review_Committee/Char…
[4]
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Talk:Trust_and_Safety/Case_Review_Committee
--
Brian Choo
Interim Case Review Committee Facilitator
Wikimedia Foundation
Dear all,
It’s with regret that we have to inform you that due to the continued
global health situation (COVID-19), the meeting of the Wikimedia Summit 2021
and related side events in Berlin have been cancelled.
We optimistically look forward to safely reconvening in Berlin in 2022.
Best regards,
Abraham Taherivand, Executive Director Wikimedia Deutschland
Katherine Maher, Executive Director Wikimedia Foundation
--
Geschäftsführender Vorstand / Executive Director
Wikimedia Deutschland e.V. | Tempelhofer Ufer 23-24 | 10963 Berlin
Tel. (030) 219 158 26-0
http://wikimedia.de