A new Wikifact project could be a resource for real-time collaborative fact checking. It could serve as a fact-checking resource for the editors of Wikinews and Wikipedia articles. It could also serve as a fact-checking resource for a broader set of end-users. Through an API, end-users could perform real-time fact checking via Wikifact while authoring or reviewing documents.
I have created a project proposal here: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikifact . I hope to improve it as discussion unfolds.
Best regards,
Adam Sobieski
Hi all,
It gives me great pleasure to (finally) share with you the evaluation
report of the *Techstorm* 2019*. Though the Techstorm was organized in
November 2019, other priorities came to play for the organisational team
due to the global pandemic, but over the past festive season and after, we
finally found the time to finish up our evaluation report.
Please go to the pdf-file on Commons
<https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wiki_Techstorm_2019_evaluatie.pdf>
to read more about the vision behind the Techstorm, the goals of the event,
our metrics and, last but not least, our lessons learned.
A new Techstorm 2021 is in the Dutch chapters' annual plan, but if Covid
regulations will not permit these gatherings we will ask WMNL to include a
Techstorm in the annual plan 2022.
Keep techstorming every one!
Vriendelijke groet,
Ciell
* *Techstorming* is like brainstorming in a technical environment. The Wiki
Techstorm 2019 <https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Wiki_Techstorm> was held in
Amsterdam, the Netherlands, on the *22nd & 23rd of November 2019*.
Hi everyone,
Earlier today, I announced to my colleagues at the Wikimedia Foundation my
intention to step down as CEO later this spring. April 15th will be my last
day, marking my seven-year anniversary with the Foundation and the
movement. This was not an easy decision, but it is the right one. For now,
I want to share with you why I’m moving on, and what comes next. I’ll save
the customary email with deeper reflections, memories, and thanks for later
this spring!
In some ways, this was the easiest hard decision I’ve ever made. It’s never
exactly a good time to step away -- transitions always have some rough
edges -- but it’s always best to do so when the organization is strong, and
before you’ve overstayed your welcome. The movement is in a good, strong
place. Our communities are growing, our readership is too. Our 20th
birthday, the launch of our Universal Code of Conduct, and the movement
strategy recommendations are all milestone moments of solidity and
strength. I have great hopes and confidence in the upcoming plans for
strategy implementation, particularly the work on the movement charter and
interim global council. We are healthy and thriving.
While we will always have more work to do to become the Wikimedia that we
want to be, our movement and our organization is in a phase of renewal and
regeneration. We have deepened our practices of consultation,
collaboration, and inclusion that will be the foundation of the next decade
of our work. We have a deep and stable financial position that will help us
grow and protect us from any storm, and the trust in our projects has never
been higher. Our communities are poised to take on deeper responsibilities
of governance, accountability, and leadership, populating a rich,
representative, and leaderful movement for free knowledge.
The Foundation is also strong, and filled with passionate, values-aligned
leaders at every level of the organization, deeply committed to the work of
our movement and mission. Although we don’t always all perfectly agree on
absolutely everything, we are working more openly and cooperatively with
our movement than ever before. Collaborative strategic planning,
sustainable programs to support technical communities and tooling,
co-development and consultation on transformative new experiences welcoming
newcomers, cooperative partnerships on public health data, bibliographic
data, and human rights data -- all of these are signals of much great work
to come. Even difficult topics, such as brand and movement governance,
continue to bring people together in nothing less than feisty commitment.
Together, we have rich resources of brilliant people, deep passion, and
compassion. We are making progress on some of our greatest challenges, from
editor and readership growth, technical debt, representation and
participation, safety and knowledge equity. I am proud of what we’ve done
together and grateful for all the ways in which this movement has made my
life immeasurably richer: friendships that will last a lifetime,
intellectual curiosity and kinship, and so many memories of *so much
dancing*, from Accra to Berlin to Chandigarh.
As for me, I’m going to take a break, and a research fellowship, as a place
to think about what’s next. It’s hard to think about your future when
you’re fully in your present, and for the past seven years, I’ve been fully
present for this movement. But as I look around, I see global challenges
such as polarization, inequality, and climate change, as well as
opportunities for generational renewal and optimism. As a Wikimedian, I
lean toward optimism, and plan to apply myself in that direction!
*What’s next*
- We announced this planned transition publicly on our communications
channels during a Foundation all-staff meeting today.
- A Board Transition Committee composed of Dariusz Jemielniak, who is
chair of HR Committee, Tanya Capuano, who is chair of the Audit Committee,
Raju Narisetti, and María Sefidari as Board Chair, will launch the search
for a new CEO. They’ll work closely with the executive Transition Team on
organizational operations, and with the broader board on an open candidate
call. The Board is working with the goal of onboarding a new CEO by Q2 of
the 2021-2022 fiscal year.
- We’ve been working on succession planning for the CEO role since 2019
as a matter of best practice, and the organization is well-prepared for a
thoughtful search for the next phase of our mission. The Board has decided
to work with Kathleen Yazbak of Viewcrest Advisors[1] for the executive
search: I’ve worked closely with Kathleen on a number of occasions, and she
is a true Wikimedian at heart.
- I’ll be drawing back from day-to-day operational work to transition
interim responsibilities starting February 8th. A C-level Transition Team
of Jaime Villagomez, Amanda Keton, and Robyn Arville, our two board
officers and chief people leader, will take up key responsibilities and
decision making around planning, community, and people, and work closely
with the broader C-team and VP leadership cohort.
- I’ll spend the next three months supporting the Foundation in readying
itself for a transition. I’ll spend February preparing with this group and
other organizational and community leaders on movement strategy and
institutional knowledge transfer, sharing lessons learned, and supporting
the organization in developing the next year’s strategic plan.
- I look forward to celebrating with you in March and April!
I'll be around for a bit, so feel free to reach out, and after that, I'll
see you on the wikis!
Cheers,
Katherine
[1] https://viewcrestadvisors.com/
--
Katherine Maher (she/her)
CEO
Wikimedia Foundation <https://wikimediafoundation.org/>
Hi Chris,
Thanks for offering your feedback on the process and expressing your
confusion. Please feel free to use the talk page you feel is most
appropriate.
If you have feedback in general about the process or general topics
relating to the Call for Feedback, I would suggest using the Call for
Feedback the talk page. [1] If you have feedback relating to the specific
ideas discussed within the Board, please use the related pages linked from
the Call for Feedback page. [2]
Please let me know if I did not answer your question.
Best,
Jackie
[1]
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Talk:Wikimedia_Foundation_Board_of_Trustees…
[2]
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_Board_of_Trustees/Call…
--
*Jackie Koerner*
*she/her*
Communication Facilitator, Board Governance
*English language communities and Meta*
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 3 Feb 2021 21:29:32 +0000
From: Chris Keating <chriskeatingwiki(a)gmail.com>
To: Wikimedia Mailing List <wikimedia-l(a)lists.wikimedia.org>
Subject: Re: [Wikimedia-l] Call for Feedback: Community Board seats
and February 2 office hours
Message-ID:
<CAFche1ptru-+6SwsLiPC1z4DdWjPePMBGX3CXNgoMcb4XGunSA(a)mail.gmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"
I have to say the more I look at the 'options' we are asked to feed back
on, the more confused I get.
So far as I can see there are options relating to:
1) whether there should be elections a) to the Board itself, b) to a
"selection committee" that will nominate Board members, or c) not at all
2) if there is a 'selection committee', should it review candidates a)
before an election or b) after an election; c) should the selection itself
be c) appointed or d) elected
3) if there is an election, what voting system should it use and should
seats be reserved for particular groups (using quotas).
For what it's worth, my personal view is that anything other than having
community-selected Board members elected by the community is going to be a
disaster. But I'm not entirely sure which one of the many talk pages that
feedback should go on.
Thanks,
Chris
On Mon, Feb 1, 2021 at 8:01 PM Jackie Koerner <jkoerner-ctr(a)wikimedia.org>
wrote:
> Hello all,
>
> I am reaching out because the Call for Feedback for the
> community-and-affiliate board seats officially began today and runs
through
> March 14. [1] We are offering multiple channels for questions and
feedback.
> With the help of a team of community facilitators, we are organizing
> multiple conversations with multiple groups in multiple languages.
>
> On February 2 we have three options for office hours. [2]
>
> 2021-02-02 at 12:00 UTC
> 2021-02-02 at 18:00 UTC
> 2021-02-02 at 23:00 UTC
>
> Access links will be available 15 minutes before each session.
>
> Please let me know if you would like to schedule another time for your
> community or group to provide feedback.
>
> I look forward to hearing from you.
>
> Best,
>
> Jackie
>
> --
> *Jackie Koerner*
>
> *she/her*
> Communication Facilitator, Board Governance
> *English language communities and Meta*
>
> [1]
>
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_Board_of_Trustees/Call…
> [2]
>
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_Board_of_Trustees/Call…
> ___________________________
Hello all,
I am reaching out because the Call for Feedback for the
community-and-affiliate board seats officially began today and runs through
March 14. [1] We are offering multiple channels for questions and feedback.
With the help of a team of community facilitators, we are organizing
multiple conversations with multiple groups in multiple languages.
On February 2 we have three options for office hours. [2]
2021-02-02 at 12:00 UTC
2021-02-02 at 18:00 UTC
2021-02-02 at 23:00 UTC
Access links will be available 15 minutes before each session.
Please let me know if you would like to schedule another time for your
community or group to provide feedback.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Best,
Jackie
--
*Jackie Koerner*
*she/her*
Communication Facilitator, Board Governance
*English language communities and Meta*
[1]
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_Board_of_Trustees/Call…
[2]
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_Board_of_Trustees/Call…
Hello,
Wikimedia Wikimeet India 2021 will take place from 19 to 21 February 2021.
Here is some important information related to the event:
* A tentative schedule of the program is published:
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Wikimeet_India_2021/Program
* The participation is not restricted to a particular country, and all
Wikimedians are invited to join. There are sessions on different topics
such as Wikimedia Strategy, Growth, Technical etc. You might be interested
to have a look at the schedule.
* If you have not registered as a participant yet, please register to get
an invitation, The last date to register is 16 February 2021.
* Kindly share this information with those who might like to attend the
sessions.
Schedule:
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Wikimeet_India_2021/Program
Registration:
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Wikimeet_India_2021/Registration
Thanks
Tito Dutta
On behalf of Wikimedia Wikimeet and A2K team
Hi all,
Join the Research Team at the Wikimedia Foundation [1] for their monthly
Office hours next week on 2021-02-02 at 17:00-18:00 PM UTC (9am PT/6pm
CET).
To participate, join the video-call via this Wikimedia-meet link [2]. There
is no set agenda - feel free to add your item to the list of topics in the
etherpad [3] (You can do this after you join the meeting, too.), otherwise
you are welcome to also just hang out. More detailed information (e.g.
about how to attend) can be found here [4].
Through these office hours, we aim to make ourselves more available to
answer some of the research related questions that you as Wikimedia
volunteer editors, organizers, affiliates, staff, and researchers face in
your projects and initiatives. Some example cases we hope to be able to
support you in:
-
You have a specific research related question that you suspect you
should be able to answer with the publicly available data and you don’t
know how to find an answer for it, or you just need some more help with it.
For example, how can I compute the ratio of anonymous to registered editors
in my wiki?
-
You run into repetitive or very manual work as part of your Wikimedia
contributions and you wish to find out if there are ways to use machines to
improve your workflows. These types of conversations can sometimes be
harder to find an answer for during an office hour, however, discussing
them can help us understand your challenges better and we may find ways to
work with each other to support you in addressing it in the future.
-
You want to learn what the Research team at the Wikimedia Foundation
does and how we can potentially support you. Specifically for affiliates:
if you are interested in building relationships with the academic
institutions in your country, we would love to talk with you and learn
more. We have a series of programs that aim to expand the network of
Wikimedia researchers globally and we would love to collaborate with those
of you interested more closely in this space.
-
You want to talk with us about one of our existing programs [5].
Hope to see many of you,
Martin (WMF Research Team)
[1] https://research.wikimedia.org/team.html
[2] https://meet.wmcloud.org/ResearchOfficeHours
[3] https://etherpad.wikimedia.org/p/Research-Analytics-Office-hours
[4] https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Research/Office_hours
[5] https://research.wikimedia.org/projects.html
--
Martin Gerlach
Research Scientist
Wikimedia Foundation