Dear Jayantilal,
The organizers of WikiConference India have already shared
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/WikiConference_India_2023/Discussions_and_F…>
more details about the event including staff engagement. Others invited you
<https://lists.wikimedia.org/hyperkitty/list/wikimediaindia-l@lists.wikimedi…>
to follow up on the talk page.
CIS also responded to your question
<https://lists.wikimedia.org/hyperkitty/list/wikimediaindia-l@lists.wikimedi…>
on the list. For your thoughts on their proposal, you can follow up on
the grant
page
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Grants:Programs/Wikimedia_Community_Fund/Ce…>.
Please note decisions about funding are made by the regional funding
committee
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Grants:Regions/South_Asia#Regional_Committee>
of volunteers and not by Wikimedia Foundation staff.
For your questions about hiring practices, you can read more here
<https://diff.wikimedia.org/2023/05/03/building-a-global-staff-community-at-…>.
If you have a question about existing projects, do feel free to contact
that project's leads.
Your latest question about scholarships combines affiliate staff and
contractors with Foundation staff and contractors. To clarify, staff and
contractors of the Foundation are not eligible for scholarships based on
their paid work.
Often though, staff and contractors of the Foundation come from the
community itself and actively contribute to community initiatives as
volunteers, and represent that work during different conferences.
Best regards,
*Belinda Mbambo*
Senior Manager: Global Movement Communications
Wikimedia Foundation <https://wikimediafoundation.org/>
---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Jayantilal Kothari <jayantilalkkd(a)gmail.com>
Date: Tue, Jun 13, 2023 at 3:58 PM
Subject: [Wikimediaindia-l] Request for Transparency Regarding WMF Staff in
India
Dear Maryana Iskander and Wikimedia Foundation,
I hope I am not disturbing you or have asked you to be in some place which
I should not have. Please note that my concerns are only in good faith and
not anything more. Earlier also WMF staff have asked community members to
respond on the mailing list and I have not done anything new. Why can't you
reply ? If you cannot reply then why you cannot atleast acknowledge.
Staff continues to take over community work. Some staff are on scholarship
to the Education Conference in Europe as volunteers, some for Wiki Loves
Monuments Team discussion, some CIS staff in Universal Code Committee etc.
Everything cannot be like they are doing in their individual capacity.
Please note WMF contractors also take salaries which are higher than the
average Indian salary. It is high time that a policy needs to come up on
this with community discussion. Many people have said the same on this
mailing list. Even if they are allowed, let there be a clear cut policy.
Everything cannot be done by saying what they are doing in their individual
capacity. If you cannot have volunteers who are only volunteers and not any
full time or contractor or with CIS then what is the point.
One more person who was a volunteer at Wiki Conference has now become CIS
staff. Job announcement came on 31st July 2022 and recruitment in May 2023.
So late but they do not care to reply back. I also wanted to ask them if
they will do hardware support in their grant but they did not reply. They
have a budget of 1 Crore, 75 Lakhs, 82 Thousand and 4 Hundred. This is too
much. If they do not want to give hardware then they should atleast talk to
the community and share a plan.
I will repeat from what I had said before, "This message is a reminder
about the necessity of listening when the community needs to be heard, not
just when it's convenient. It's a plea for transparency and
accountability—cornerstones of our community and the Wikimedia movement.”
On Thu, 18 May 2023 at 2:51 AM, effe iets anders <effeietsanders(a)gmail.com>
wrote:
> Hi Jayantilal,
>
> as I'm reading this, mostly as an outsider from a different community who
> has great appreciation for everything that has been accomplished in various
> communities in India, I can feel the tension. This is unfortunately nothing
> new, and it's an ongoing balance that has to be struck between helping out
> as a staff member on one hand, and not undercutting the community to
> organize itself on the other. This is a challenge, even with the best of
> intentions. This only gets harder when there is a (real or perceived)
> struggle for influence/power. I have come to understand that India is an
> even more complex situation, due to the influence of CIS.
>
> I noticed that the WCI organizers have put forward
> https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/WikiConference_India_2023/Discussions_and_F… in
> response to this thread. It might be beneficial for the conversation to try
> and follow up with this attempt to conversation, and see how far you get
> with regards to the transparency that you seek. If you can achieve this
> without the intervention of Maryana, this is probably more advantageous for
> everyone involved. That does not mean you have to agree with what is
> desirable, but at least you would be able to work from a common base of
> facts/information.
>
> If there are aspects on that page that are possibly misleading from your
> point of view, or simply information that is missing, you might be
> interested in bringing this up on the talkpage.
>
> Just a thought,
>
> Lodewijk
>
> On Wed, May 17, 2023 at 2:04 PM Jayantilal Kothari <
> jayantilalkkd(a)gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> Dear Maryana,
>>
>> Your Listening Tour has been a commendable initiative to understand the
>> voice of the community. However, the essence of listening lies in its
>> responsiveness.
>>
>> Over ten days ago, we raised concerns that unfortunately remain
>> unaddressed. This isn't a single person sentiment but a collective voice
>> from the Indian Wikimedia community, a voice that has grown stronger since
>> the recent Wiki Conference India.
>>
>> We're concerned about the WMF India staff's involvement in community-led
>> events, notably the Wiki Conference India. While their participation is
>> welcome, there's a growing perception of encroachment on community-led
>> initiatives. The community's autonomy is being compromised, and several
>> experienced community members have voiced this concern on the public
>> mailing list.
>>
>> Furthermore, we've observed that the WMF India Staff is assisting
>> community members in crafting emails and guiding them on how to handle this
>> mailing list situation. As a community, we believe in the ability of our
>> members to speak for themselves. Currently, it appears that only those on
>> the WMF payroll—either through grant salary/contract or through WMF-funded
>> CIS salary—are speaking on behalf of Wiki Conference India, seemingly under
>> the guidance of WMF Staff India. We urge WMF India Staff to step back and
>> allow the community to voice their concerns independently. Check the Wiki
>> Conference India Team on Meta. Most of them are drawing salaries from WMF
>> or CIS or have been previous employees in the last 5 years. Very few are
>> people who have always been volunteers. Many of them have also not written
>> WMF against their name because they say they did this conference as
>> volunteers. Was there no volunteer to come forward and organize? This means
>> WMF staff have not been able to grow the community.
>>
>> We wish to understand the roles, responsibilities, and contributions of
>> the WMF India staff who actively participated in the Wiki Conference India.
>> Being paid by funds raised through volunteer-built platforms like
>> Wikipedia, their active participation in community spaces calls for higher
>> accountability.
>>
>> WMF has spent so much money on Strategy 2030 but the India Conference had
>> no session on it why? India is not important or what? Sunday there was a
>> session on Strategy 2030 but it was removed without telling participants.
>> Why?
>>
>> We would like to clarify that this is not a request for personal
>> information—since the identities of these staff members are already
>> publicly known—but a call for professional transparency, as we seek to
>> understand their specific roles and contributions. If these staff members
>> were comfortable taking to the stage and receiving credit at the
>> conference, they should be equally comfortable sharing the scope and impact
>> of their work with the community that they serve. Their willingness to be
>> in the public eye during the conference should extend to their professional
>> commitments and achievements. We're keen to know about the partnerships
>> they've formed over the past few years that have benefited Indian
>> communities, the initiatives the communications team has launched beyond
>> financial incentives for Instagram users, the community projects undertaken
>> by other staff members, negative response on fundraising and the hiring
>> practices aimed at empowering local user groups.
>>
>> Considering the nature of these questions, we're interested in
>> understanding your strategy for obtaining an unbiased picture of the
>> situation. If the primary sources of feedback are the WMF India staff or
>> their superiors, it might be influenced by the very concern we raise.
>>
>> This message is a reminder about the necessity of listening when the
>> community needs to be heard, not just when it's convenient. It's a plea for
>> transparency and accountability—cornerstones of our community and the
>> Wikimedia movement.
>>
>> We understand that you might be busy, but we would appreciate at least an
>> acknowledgment of this email, assuring us that our concerns have been heard
>> and will be addressed.
>>
>> We look forward to your acknowledgment and response.
>>
>> On Sun, 14 May 2023 at 3:52 AM, Shyamal Bagchi <discard.media3(a)gmail.com>
>> wrote:
>>
>>> My emails are also being censored.
>>> Why is this happening and who is doing it ?
>>>
>>>
>>> On Tue, 9 May 2023 at 00:51, Wiki Prasad <wiki_prasad(a)mail.com> wrote:
>>>
>>>> i say same thing, my email not posted. it is censored.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> *Sent:* Monday, May 08, 2023 at 4:48 AM
>>>> *From:* "Jayantilal Kothari" <jayantilalkkd(a)gmail.com>
>>>> *To:* "Wikimedia India Community list" <
>>>> wikimediaindia-l(a)lists.wikimedia.org>, miskander(a)wikimedia.org
>>>> *Subject:* [Wikimediaindia-l] Request for Transparency Regarding WMF
>>>> Staff in India
>>>> Hello WCI 2023 Organizing team,
>>>>
>>>> First of all, thank you for hosting the event. I appreciate your
>>>> willingness to engage in discussions and provide clarifications on concerns
>>>> related to the conference. However, I would like to remind you that this
>>>> email thread is specifically addressed to the Wikimedia Foundation and
>>>> Maryana Iskander.
>>>>
>>>> I am curious if the Maryana/WMF has requested your team or given
>>>> authorization for you to justify or defend their actions in this matter. As
>>>> this thread focuses on WMF's actions and decisions in relation to the
>>>> Indian community, it is crucial to maintain separate discussions for
>>>> separate issues to ensure productive and organized conversations. I kindly
>>>> request that you start a separate email thread or Meta-Wiki discussion for
>>>> addressing concerns related to the conference itself.
>>>>
>>>> Let's give the WMF the opportunity to address the concerns raised here
>>>> directly. Thank you for your understanding, and once again, congratulations
>>>> on organizing a successful event.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> On Sun, 7 May 2023 at 10:59 PM, Andreas Kolbe <jayen466(a)gmail.com>
>>>> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> Dear Bodhisattwa,
>>>>>
>>>>> Thank you for your reply.
>>>>>
>>>>> While Wiki[p/m]edia started out as a pure volunteer project, it has
>>>>> long occupied a sometimes uneasy position between some of the biggest and
>>>>> most valuable companies on earth, who use our free content to make money,
>>>>> and volunteers working for love. This makes culture clashes of some sort or
>>>>> another inevitable. I don't have a solution.
>>>>>
>>>>> I also suspect that you have a point with the "white guilt". What this
>>>>> means, of course, is that people are still not "seen".
>>>>>
>>>>> If you ever feel like writing an op-ed or report about these matters
>>>>> for the Wikipedia Signpost
>>>>> <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Wikipedia_Signpost>, please
>>>>> feel free to send me a mail or just drop into our Newsroom
>>>>> <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia_talk:Wikipedia_Signpost/Newsroom>.
>>>>> The Signpost hardly ever has content about India, let alone content written
>>>>> by Indian contributors. (The issue due to be published in a few hours' time
>>>>> is a rare exception.) It would be great to see that change.
>>>>>
>>>>> Best,
>>>>> Andreas
>>>>> (User:Jayen466)
>>>>>
>>>>> On Thu, May 4, 2023 at 6:55 PM Bodhisattwa <
>>>>> bodhisattwa.rgkmc(a)gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>> Hi Andreas,
>>>>>>
>>>>>> There is no denial that money is needed in our region to run programs
>>>>>> but there should always be a critical debate, if we are asking too much
>>>>>> amount and for the right cause. I can't talk about others but I come from a
>>>>>> cross-border language community which has always shown high regards to the
>>>>>> value of donation money and expressed concerns in the past, whenever it has
>>>>>> felt that money asked in a grant proposal is out of proportionate. So,
>>>>>> whenever a grant proposal comes from my language community or from the two
>>>>>> affiliates of the region, we brainstorm for days, if not months, to
>>>>>> understand if there remains any small chance to waste the valuable
>>>>>> resources which are to be entrusted upon us. For example, questions
>>>>>> naturally arises in our community that if we really need to or have the
>>>>>> luxury to spend this huge amount of around 10 million INR just for a 3-days
>>>>>> conference to meet and greet each other after a long time or could that
>>>>>> amount of money be invested on local affiliates and communities so that
>>>>>> they can sustain themselves and provide quality output for the next decade.
>>>>>> There has always been this debate and the people who talked about the
>>>>>> second option are quietly moving away from the movement as they were not
>>>>>> heard properly or were targeted for their critical analysis. We strongly
>>>>>> feel that throwing unnecessary amount of money to whatever proposal comes
>>>>>> over from the region is detrimental to the community dynamics as these
>>>>>> money spoils people in the communities, brings more mistrusts and
>>>>>> corruption and changes the motivation to contribute to the open knowledge
>>>>>> movement. Also, huge amount of money does not necessarily translate to
>>>>>> delivery of high quality output all the time, good results can come from
>>>>>> limited resources too, even with zero budget, if they are planned properly;
>>>>>> there are numerous success stories in our movement of those, which are
>>>>>> rarely acknowledged or celebrated.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> What we feel that there might be some 'white guilt' working in the
>>>>>> background to reverse colonial sins from the past in the regions which
>>>>>> might drive people from the west to approve more money in Africa and Asia
>>>>>> without consideration of local inputs. Any voices against these western
>>>>>> perspectives to flood local communities with huge amount of unnecessary
>>>>>> money are marked as counter-productive, ignored, silenced and bypassed with
>>>>>> different regulatory measures imposed upon the community until people stop
>>>>>> criticising and get fed up of being ignored. For example, personally, I
>>>>>> have developed apathy nowadays regarding whatever is happening around grant
>>>>>> process western to our state border of West Bengal until they directly
>>>>>> affects us and prefer to remain silent during their community review
>>>>>> process.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> By the way, I have no objection hiring WMF staffs from the region. In
>>>>>> fact, a number of staffs and contractors from the region are and were
>>>>>> highly respected for their support and understanding of the local
>>>>>> communities. But all are not beds of roses. There are multiple evidences of
>>>>>> opacities, ignorance, agenda pushing, bossing around, corporate mentality,
>>>>>> hijacking of community plans and projects etc. among staffs, which builds
>>>>>> walls of mistrusts separating them with the volunteers rather than breaking
>>>>>> them. I can't disagree to what Jayantilal implied in his statement. So, to
>>>>>> me, staffs are always welcome, but if they have no intention to listen and
>>>>>> support for community needs, then we frankly don't need them around our
>>>>>> communities to push their own agenda, we can manage ourselves.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Regards,
>>>>>> Bodhisattwa
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> On Thu, May 4, 2023, 18:30 Andreas Kolbe <jayen466(a)gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Hi Bodhisattwa and all,
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> You raise an interesting point – that the influx of money appears to
>>>>>>> have a demotivating effect on Indian volunteers. This has also come up in
>>>>>>> discussion elsewhere.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Now I have been one of those who have urged the WMF to spend more
>>>>>>> money in India. I have always felt that actual spending on the ground has
>>>>>>> not matched the Foundation's fundraising messages about how money is
>>>>>>> urgently needed to build capacity in Indian and African languages. And I
>>>>>>> have argued that hiring staff in India, e.g., makes more sense than hiring
>>>>>>> staff in the US, where salary expectations may run to hundreds of thousands
>>>>>>> of dollars per year.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> How would you resolve these competing considerations?
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Regards,
>>>>>>> Andreas (Jayen466)
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> On Thu, May 4, 2023 at 3:21 AM Bodhisattwa <
>>>>>>> bodhisattwa.rgkmc(a)gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> Hi,
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> Coincidentally, just yesterday afternoon, when we were having a
>>>>>>>> meeting in Kolkata with volunteers from West Bengal and Bangladesh, these
>>>>>>>> concerns came up among other things. We were wondering about the visible
>>>>>>>> impact of the increasing number of WMF staffs in India to improve our
>>>>>>>> editing and reading experiences, significant partnership development or
>>>>>>>> strengthening the communities in the last few years and if they have any
>>>>>>>> impact at all in our language community to make our life easier as
>>>>>>>> volunteers.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> Anyway, if the volunteer communities or team of organizers are not
>>>>>>>> strong and vigilant enough, there is always a chance to get something
>>>>>>>> hijacked by staffs. This is not new; it has happened before a number of
>>>>>>>> times and it will happen a lot more in the future. This could not be
>>>>>>>> avoided as I feel the spirit of volunteerism in the Indian communities is
>>>>>>>> much much weaker than the past and dying, if not already dead in some of
>>>>>>>> the cases. In the last few years, I have seen long term trusted community
>>>>>>>> members from all over the country leave the movement frustrated, heart
>>>>>>>> broken and exhausted, including from my language community. Increasing flow
>>>>>>>> of unnecessary money are rapidly changing the motivation of volunteers with
>>>>>>>> a strange notion prevailing nowadays that money is the solution of all
>>>>>>>> problems in the region. Community oversight and long discussions on meta
>>>>>>>> talk pages about any huge amount of grant proposals are now a thing of the
>>>>>>>> past. But who cares?
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> Unlike the previous wiki conferences, the wider Indian community
>>>>>>>> did not get the invitation and space to actively take part in the decision
>>>>>>>> making process from the very start of planning this conference which led to
>>>>>>>> giving room to WMF staffs, who took over. Without community vigilance, a 3
>>>>>>>> days conference asked and spent 3 times more donation money than the last
>>>>>>>> one and has set up precedences of many unwanted things which would burden
>>>>>>>> future community programs and events in India. It's not at all surprising
>>>>>>>> that even though no one was stopped, but a very few number of volunteers
>>>>>>>> from my language community actually applied and participated in the
>>>>>>>> conference, even being one of the most active community in the region.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> Regards,
>>>>>>>> Bodhisattwa
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> On Thu, May 4, 2023, 00:53 Subhashish <psubhashish(a)gmail.com>
>>>>>>>> wrote:
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> I find this email better worded than the other one in this list a
>>>>>>>>> few days back which was also about different issues.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> Some of these issues, though I'm not personally aware of,
>>>>>>>>> certainly need to be addressed by WMF.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> Thank you for upholding the importance of the community by saying
>>>>>>>>> -- "I am okay with WMF staff being paid, but it should not undermine unpaid
>>>>>>>>> volunteers and the movement's ethos." Can't agree more.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> While I see public listing of WMF staff and contractors both
>>>>>>>>> on-wiki [1] and the Foundation's official site, WMF staff in India might
>>>>>>>>> mean staff and contractors who are hired both for long-term and short-term
>>>>>>>>> and part-time roles. It could also mean those who play global roles (say,
>>>>>>>>> engineering staffers) but reside in India and don't necessarily interface
>>>>>>>>> only with the India-based community. Their participation in a national
>>>>>>>>> level event could be an one-off thing.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> But those nuances apart, the volunteer and staff dynamics
>>>>>>>>> certainly is a topic worth discussing.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> A worse social phenomenon in India is a foreigner being treated
>>>>>>>>> with more dignity than a local. The intersectionality of caste, gender,
>>>>>>>>> fluency in English, intergenerational privilege and many other social
>>>>>>>>> factors play a role. I still think this is not a standalone issue and
>>>>>>>>> should be discussed (and investigated if needed) keeping in mind the
>>>>>>>>> intersectionality.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> 1.
>>>>>>>>> https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Wikimedia_Foundation_staff
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> Subha
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> On Wed, May 3, 2023, 11:09 PM Jayantilal Kothari <
>>>>>>>>> jayantilalkkd(a)gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> Dear Maryana Iskander and Wikimedia Foundation,
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> I hope this email finds you well. I am writing to request more
>>>>>>>>>> transparency about the roles and responsibilities of WMF staff in India. I
>>>>>>>>>> am assuming good faith and believe that any issues arising are
>>>>>>>>>> unintentional; however, these occurrences seem to be negatively impacting
>>>>>>>>>> the overall movement.
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> It has come to my attention that WMF allocates a relatively small
>>>>>>>>>> amount of funds to the Indian community. This implies that a significant
>>>>>>>>>> portion of donor money is spent on staff, making it crucial to ensure that
>>>>>>>>>> donors and the Wiki community are aware of how the funds are being utilized
>>>>>>>>>> and the impact generated.
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> Firstly, I have noticed that WMF hires non-community staff
>>>>>>>>>> members who may be initially unfamiliar with the Wikimedia community and
>>>>>>>>>> movement in general. This is not an issue as long as newly recruited staff
>>>>>>>>>> members are willing to work collaboratively with the community, rather than
>>>>>>>>>> competing with them. Unfortunately, there have been instances where this
>>>>>>>>>> has not been the case, such as WMF India staff paying Instagram users
>>>>>>>>>> without consulting the community, and the recent WikiConference India,
>>>>>>>>>> where WMF staff overshadowed volunteer committees and took over volunteer
>>>>>>>>>> roles during conference planning.
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> Initially, I thought that privacy concerns might be the reason
>>>>>>>>>> behind the lack of transparency. However, during the recent conference, I
>>>>>>>>>> observed that such staff members were comfortable being on stage and being
>>>>>>>>>> identified as WMF Staff amongst friends from the industry whom they invited
>>>>>>>>>> to the conference. It appears that more people from the industry are aware
>>>>>>>>>> of WMF India staff's existence than the community itself. Some staff
>>>>>>>>>> members were keen to take credit for the entire movement and even
>>>>>>>>>> conference planning in front of the volunteer community and friends from
>>>>>>>>>> the industry. It might help and advance the careers of WMF India staff by
>>>>>>>>>> showcasing WikiConference India on their resumes, but the main purpose of
>>>>>>>>>> such community events is to give a chance to community leadership and to
>>>>>>>>>> celebrate unpaid community members. I am okay with WMF staff being paid,
>>>>>>>>>> but it should not undermine unpaid volunteers and the movement's ethos.
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> The Wiki community looks up to WMF staff for support, but now
>>>>>>>>>> there is a fear that WMF staff may hijack community programs and stages,
>>>>>>>>>> with WikiConference India being a recent example.
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> There seems to be a lot of mystery surrounding the roles and
>>>>>>>>>> responsibilities of WMF India staff members and their interactions with
>>>>>>>>>> volunteer communities. The Wiki community is dedicated to the mission and
>>>>>>>>>> will continue to thrive even without WMF staff. I believe it is crucial for
>>>>>>>>>> WMF to publicly share the roles, responsibilities, and outcomes of the WMF
>>>>>>>>>> India staff over the last few years. This transparency will enable
>>>>>>>>>> community members and donors to appreciate the efforts of WMF India staff,
>>>>>>>>>> as currently, the impact of their work remains unknown.
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> I kindly request that WMF provides a list of all WMF India staff
>>>>>>>>>> members and their achievements, so we can celebrate their accomplishments
>>>>>>>>>> and collaborate with them more effectively.
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> Looking forward to your response.
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> With Regards,
>>>>>>>>>> Jayantilal
>>>>>>>>>> --
>>>>>>>>>> Regards,
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> Jayantilal
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> Sent from my iPhone
>>>>>>>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>>>>>>>> Wikimediaindia-l mailing list --
>>>>>>>>>> wikimediaindia-l(a)lists.wikimedia.org
>>>>>>>>>> To unsubscribe send an email to
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>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>>>>>>> Wikimediaindia-l mailing list --
>>>>>>>>> wikimediaindia-l(a)lists.wikimedia.org
>>>>>>>>> To unsubscribe send an email to
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>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> _______________________________________________
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>>>>>>>
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>>>>>>
>>>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>>>> Wikimediaindia-l mailing list -- wikimediaindia-l(a)lists.wikimedia.org
>>>>>> To unsubscribe send an email to
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>>>>>
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>>>>
>>>> --
>>>> Regards,
>>>>
>>>> Jayantilal
>>>>
>>>> Sent from my iPhone
>>>> _______________________________________________ Wikimediaindia-l
>>>> mailing list -- wikimediaindia-l(a)lists.wikimedia.org To unsubscribe
>>>> send an email to wikimediaindia-l-leave(a)lists.wikimedia.org To
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>>>
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>>
>> --
>> Regards,
>>
>> Jayantilal
>>
>> Sent from my iPhone
>> _______________________________________________
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>
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--
Regards,
Jayantilal
Sent from my iPhone
*Belinda Mbambo*
Senior Manager: Global Movement Communications
Wikimedia Foundation <https://wikimediafoundation.org/>
Hello all,
The Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees believes that Wikimedia
affiliates are a key and integral part of the Wikimedia movement, and
affiliates’ success is vital to the Wikimedia movement’s success. To that
end, it is crucial to develop a clear vision regarding the affiliates,
making it possible to assess whether the Foundation’s investment in,
collaboration with, and policy towards affiliates is promoting the right
goals. The Board will be embarking on building a Wikimedia Foundation
Affiliates Strategy in collaboration with the Affiliations Committee (AffCom),
the affiliates, and the broader communities. This strategy will help guide
the Foundation’s immediate work in supporting affiliates for the next few
years.
In order to ensure that there is continuity and institutional memory during
this process, there will be a delay of the elections for AffCom until after
the strategy is complete, and the terms of the current AffCom members will
be prolonged (in a separate resolution) to December 31, 2023. While the
strategy is under development, AffCom will continue its current
responsibilities, in addition to collaborating on the Wikimedia Foundation
Affiliates Strategy.
Once the Wikimedia Foundation Affiliates Strategy is ready, there would be
clarity on what is expected from the Wikimedia Foundation for supporting
affiliates, and what is expected from affiliates.
As the weeks progress in the new calendar year, a plan of the process will
be released, including opportunities for communities and affiliates to
engage. You can find some FAQs below to assist further understanding of the
Wikimedia Foundation Affiliates Strategy.
Best regards,
Nat & Shani
Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees Liaisons to the Affiliations
Committee
== FAQs ==
1. What are Wikimedia movement affiliates? What is AffCom?
Wikimedia movement affiliates are "independent and formally recognised"
groups of people intended to organise and engage in activities to support
and contribute to the Wikimedia movement [1]. Currently there are three
active models for affiliates: chapters, thematic organisations, and user
groups. The Affiliations Committee (AffCom) advises and makes
recommendations regarding the recognition and existence of Wikimedia
movement affiliates.
2. How is the work with affiliates at the Wikimedia Foundation organised
now?
As of now, processes are fragmented across different teams at the Wikimedia
Foundation, and some decision making regarding affiliates is happening at
different levels. A unified and consistent process is beneficial to all
parties, hence the start of the work on the Wikimedia Foundation Affiliates
Strategy.
3. What is the Wikimedia Foundation Affiliates Strategy? Is this an update
of some existing document or something brand new?
Until now there has not been any unified vision regarding how the work
around affiliates should happen, as there was no affiliate-specific
strategy developed before. The Wikimedia Foundation Affiliates Strategy is
to be a blueprint that will guide the Foundation’s immediate work with
affiliates. This strategy will be in place to inform and guide the
Wikimedia Foundation budget and support to affiliates, until some kind of
Movement-wide Affiliates Strategy is developed.
4. Why do we need a Wikimedia Foundation Affiliates Strategy?
The Affiliates are a key part of the Wikimedia movement as mentioned in the
Wikimedia Foundation mission, and their success is integral to the success
of the whole Wikimedia Movement. As the affiliate ecosystem has grown in
size and complexity, it is increasingly important to review existing
approaches and ensure that the focus is on the right areas. The Wikimedia
Foundation Affiliates Strategy will help to strengthen and advance the work
of the affiliates.The Wikimedia Foundation Affiliates Strategy will take
into account Wikimedia 2030 Movement Strategy recommendations
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Movement_Strategy/Recommendations>.
The Strategy will direct Foundation attention to the needs of affiliates
and focus resources on those needs towards impact by affiliates.
5. Does the decision of developing the Wikimedia Foundation Affiliates
Strategy change the role of AffCom?
There are no immediate changes in the role of AffCom, which is continuing
doing its job. However, the Wikimedia Foundation Affiliates Strategy will
direct the future work of the Wikimedia Foundation in support of the
affiliates, which could result in revising the role and scope of AffCom.
6. Why are the AffCom Elections delayed?
Traditionally, AffCom had elections at least once every year to select (not
elect) and appoint members who will serve in AffCom for a period of two
years. This year AffCom elections will not be held. Instead, the elections
will be delayed as AffCom is a key input for the Board in developing the
Wikimedia Foundation Affiliates Strategy, and adding the burden of
selecting and on-boarding new members will encumber the committee and make
it difficult for it to discharge its regular duties as well as collaborate
on the strategy. If the number of voting members falls below five (per
the AffCom
Charter <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Affiliations_Committee_Charter>),
elections will nonetheless be held.
7. Will the Movement Charter also have an "Affiliates Strategy" and/or
define affiliate roles?
While it is reasonable to expect that the Movement Charter will have
prescriptions on affiliates and their recognition, and some of these
responsibilities might shift to the Global Council once it is formed, it is
currently unknown how this will unfold, and it will bear consequences only
in years to come. Accordingly, this work is worth doing now so that the
available resources are having the impact needed and are best serving the
current Wikimedia movement and the affiliate ecosystem in the interim.
8. Is AffCom being asked to propose a Wikimedia Foundation Affiliates
Strategy?
No, AffCom is not expected to propose a Wikimedia Foundation Affiliates
Strategy. AffCom has been invited by the Board to collaborate and give an
expert opinion. While the Affiliations Committee is an advising committee
to the Board, the Board is responsible for this strategy and will lead the
community and affiliate conversations around it.
9. What is the timeline for this project?
The target is to have a draft of the Wikimedia Foundation Affiliates
Strategy for the Board’s approval at Wikimania 2023 (August 2023).
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation#Affiliates
Hello everyone,
TLDR; Wikimedia is participating in the Outreachy Round 27 internship
program <https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Outreachy/Round_27 > [1].
Outreachy's goal is to support people from groups underrepresented in the
technology industry. Interns will work remotely with mentors from our
community. We are seeking mentors to propose projects that Outreachy
interns can work on during their internship. If you have some ideas for coding
or non-coding (design, documentation, translation, outreach, research)
projects, share them by Sept. 29, 2023 at 4 pm UTC here as a subtask of
this parent task: <https://phabricator.wikimedia.org/T343871 > [2]
Program Timeline
As a mentor, you engage potential candidates in the application period
between October–November (winter round) and help them make small
contributions to your project. You work more closely with the accepted
candidates during the internship period between December–March (winter
round).
Important dates are:
-
Aug. 22, 2023 at 4pm UTC - Live Q&A for Outreachy mentors
<https://www.youtube.com/@outreachyinternships>
-
September 29, 2023 at 4pm UTC - Project submission deadline
<https://www.outreachy.org/communities/cfp/wikimedia/>
Guidelines for Crafting Project Proposals
* Follow this task description template when you propose a project in
Phabricator: <
https://phabricator.wikimedia.org/tag/outreach-programs-projects> [3]. You
can also use this workboard to pick an idea if you don't have one already.
Add #Outreachy (Round 27) tag.
* Project should require an experienced developer ~15 days and a newcomer
~3 months to complete.
* Each project should have at least two mentors, including one with a
technical background.
* Ideally, the project has no tight deadlines, a moderate learning curve,
and fewer dependencies on Wikimedia's core infrastructure. Projects
addressing the needs of a language community are most welcome.
Learn more about the roles and responsibilities of mentors on
MediaWiki.org: <https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Outreachy/Mentors> [4][5]
Cheers,
Onyinye & Sheila (Wikimedia Org Admins for Outreachy Round 27)
[1] https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Outreachy/Round_27
[2] https://phabricator.wikimedia.org/T343871
[3] https://phabricator.wikimedia.org/tag/outreach-programs-projects/
[4] https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Outreachy/Mentors
[ 5] https://www.outreachy.org/mentor/mentor-faq
Dear Wikimedians,
We're thrilled to announce the plan to host the EduWiki Conference 2024 – a
significant step in our journey, expanding our reach and inclusivity. This
move represents our commitment to ensuring global representation and
overcoming barriers, building on our learnings from past conferences.
We're seeking your voice to ensure a diverse and enriching experience for
all attendees! [image: 🌟]
We introduce the Community Engagement Survey for EduWiki Conference 2024
<https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSd3rykNznns2a56trSBbiMLivSAQOhYRD6…>.
Your insights are invaluable in shaping the agenda, sessions, and the
overall conference vibe. Be it your personal experiences, educational
discussions, or innovative session ideas – we're eager to know.
[image: 🔗] Please fill out the survey here: [Community Engagement
Survey-EduWiki Conference 2024
<https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSd3rykNznns2a56trSBbiMLivSAQOhYRD6…>
]
Why contribute?
-
Influence the Program: Help us design an event that resonates with the
community's needs and celebrates our shared successes.
-
Strengthen the Community: Your feedback ensures we embrace the diverse
perspectives and aspirations of our global community.
-
Global Collaboration: This conference offers a chance to bring together
voices from all corners of the world, fostering unity and mutual
understanding.
Your privacy is of utmost importance. Know that your responses will be
shared exclusively with the Wikipedia & Education User Group board members.
Though some aggregate statistics may be shared, your personal information
will remain confidential.
Your insights are our guiding light. Let's come together to craft an
unforgettable EduWiki 2024!
Warm regards,
*Bukola James* <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Bukky658>
*Wikipedia + Education User Group*
Greeting Wikimedians,
The CfA WiR community is sending a warm shout-out to budding Wikimedians
and thrilled to announce a specially curated session to enhance their wiki
skills.
📌 *What’s on the Agenda?*
- Customising your Wiki Userpage
- Customising Wiki page
- Categorisation on Wiki
- Mastering Infoboxes & Enhancing Articles with Short Description
📆 *Date: starting 08 September 2023*
🎙 *Meet the Maestros*
- Popoola James: The Beacon of Open Future Africa
- Iwuala Lucy: Steering the helm at Igbo Wiki Fan Club, Alvan
- Rhoda James: The creative force behind Wikimedia Nigeria User Group
- Daniel Obiokeke: The brainpower founding Space Bar Africa
📝 *Registration is Just a Click Away!*
Secure your spot here
<https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScPOQ3Rg18Rd3v8VQkyavjHT2EJe216PYZ…>
[
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScPOQ3Rg18Rd3v8VQkyavjHT2EJe216PYZ…
]
Come, let’s make Wikipedia more vibrant, one edit at a time. We can’t wait
to see you there!
Warm regards,
Bukola James
Community Coordinator
Code for Africa WiR initiatives
*---P.S. Share with friends and colleagues who might benefit. Let’s grow
our Wiki community together!*
Hi everyone,
I am one of the Central Notice banner admins that create our banners on the
Wikimedia projects that inform you about for instance the Wikimedia Sound
logo contest, Wikimania or at the moment the consultation round for the
Movement Charter drafts.
As you may not be aware, for these kinds of global banners where we ask for
community members to help with the availability of languages (the "[Help
with translations!]" text at the bottom), all incoming translated messages
need to be manually set to live by a Steward, CN admin, or Meta translation
admin - and we don't have too many of these.
From my own experience, this can be a long and intensive process because I
don't speak all of our languages and Google and Yandex don't know several
of them either.
With 60-80 translations per global banner, it is a lot of work to check
sentence by sentence if the proposed text (and also the corrections that
may come in at a later moment) makes sense. To make this process easier and
more equitable for both sides (CN admins/stewards and community members) I
created this feature request on Phabricator
<https://phabricator.wikimedia.org/T341414>, to hopefully put more power to
the community in this process.
If you have additional thoughts on this, please add them to the request on
Phabricator.
Best,
Ciell
Hello everyone,
The African Knowledge Initiative
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Africa_Knowledge_Initiat…>
(AKI),
seeks to leverage the Wikimedia tools and platforms to breed innovative
solutions to bridging the content gap on global digital knowledge networks.
This year Open Foundation West Africa’s <http://ofwafrica.org/> annual
writing contest the Africa Wiki Challenge was used as an avenue to help
achieve AKI’s goal.
The campaign was named the Africa Day Campaign
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Africa_Day_Campaign_2023> and themed "Africa
Free Continent Trade" to align with the Africa Union Day 2023 theme.
From the Campaign's Program Dashboard
<https://outreachdashboard.wmflabs.org/campaigns/africa_day_campaign_2023/ov…>,
we tracked a total of 20 Programs, with 473 editors, from 13 countries
contributing to 4000 articles
After months of intense and rigorous reviews by the Africa Day Contest
Jury, we are elated to announce the winners of the Africa Day Campaign 2023.
Congratulations to the winners of the campaign.
Winners
Winner- User:Muhammed Idriss Criteria from Nigeria- 502 new articles in
Hausa Wikipedia
2nd Winner - User:Gwanki from Nigeria- 183 new articles in Hausa Wikipedia
3rd Winner- User:Charbel1719 Benin - 75 new articles in French Wikipedia
Top Female Contributor- User:Mercyjamb123 - 66 new articles in Igbo
Wikipedia
We are super grateful to our international jury team who worked
effortlessly to ensure that the winners were identified.
International Jury
User: Azogbonon - Benin
User: Yaw Tuba - Ghana
User: Anani A. George- Ghana
User: Bile_rene - Cameroon
User: Justine Msechu -Tanzania
User: Memoriesghana -Ghana
User: Kwaku Berko- Ghana
To all our partners, local organizers, and editors, we appreciate your
efforts in making this campaign a success.
Kind Regards,
Eugene Masiku
--
Eugene Makafui Masiku,
Communications Officer
Open Foundation West Africa
Hi all,
I'm following up on this message about the Community Resilience and
Sustainability Conversation Hour happening in August.
You are invited to the quarterly Conversation hour led by Maggie Dennis,
Vice President of Community Resilience and Sustainability on 31 August at
17:00 UTC <https://zonestamp.toolforge.org/1693501212>.
Maggie and others from the team will discuss Trust and Safety, the
Universal Code of Conduct, Committee Support, and Human Rights.
If you are a Wikimedian in good standing (not Foundation or community
banned), write to let us know you will be attending the conversation and
share your questions. More information about attending this conversation
hour
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Community_Resilience_and_Sustainability/Con…>
and notes from previous conversation hours can be found on Meta-wiki
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:CR%26S_meetings>.
Best,
--
Jackie Koerner (she/her) Communication Specialist, Community Resilience and
Sustainability Location: Midwestern US (UTC-5)
Wikimedia Foundation <https://wikimediafoundation.org/>