Hello,
I am writing as a follow up to this note sent last month (also pasted
below) to share that the Board's Governance Committee met this month to
explore co-created approaches for a “mapping exercise” – the intent is to
provide more visibility into the areas of a movement charter where there is
broad agreement, as well as areas of disagreement or divergence.
We reaffirmed that the Wikimedia Foundation remains committed to a future
charter for our movement, with a goal of responsibly shifting more
accountability and decision-making to representative councils and
volunteer-led bodies. We also discussed the need for a charter to not only
speak to movement roles and responsibilities, but also help us navigate an
increasingly complex external environment and to understand what the world
needs from the Wikimedia movement.
Having reviewed the comments submitted during the movement charter
ratification vote, our proposal is to ask for help and co-creation in the
mapping of these five substantive tracks:
(1) External Context. Identify the relevant technological, social,
regulatory and other external trends that a movement charter would assist
the Wikimedia movement to better address. To help us look outward and
strategically contextualize conversations in response to what the world
needs from a movement charter to guide the Wikimedia movement.
(2) Purpose. Clearly and concisely list key problems a charter can help
solve and, as a result, clarify the core purpose of a movement charter.
This is a core component of the mapping exercise, and is intended to create
a shared understanding and common ground for more functional and
purpose-oriented conversations and actions.
(3) Agreement/Disagreement in Prior Processes. Analyze content produced by
movement stakeholders to map perspectives and positions that identify areas
of agreement and disagreement. This includes prior charter text produced by
MCDC, affiliate position papers, individual contributor contributions, etc.
In order to have a map of agreements, disagreements, and varying
perspectives to inform and guide future conversations, decisions, and
actions.
(4) Foundation Proposals. Identify specific proposals to address prior
concerns raised by the Wikimedia Foundation, along with processes for
refinement and feedback. To ensure greater alignment to guide the movement
towards future-, solution- and action-oriented next steps.
(5) Comparison Charters. Examine charter or charter-like documents (if they
exist) from open source communities, technology organizations,
international NGOs, volunteer-led social movements, etc. to understand how
others have tackled this type of exercise and identify relevant lessons for
the Wikimedia movement. Understand how technology-oriented social movements
in particular have tackled this task. This will build on the work done
previously by the Movement Charter Drafting Committee.
*Next Steps*
If you have views on these topics, or whether others should be considered,
we invite your voice here on-wiki. We also remain in an active dialogue
with people and groups who have expressed an interest to remain involved in
this conversation (e.g. affiliates, interested contributors, MCDC members,
others), and will use regional conferences and other in-person events for
additional engagement. Our hope is to collect initial feedback on these
mapping topics by January 2025.
Finally, this mapping effort will remain closely aligned to – and learn
from – the three pilot experiments laid out in the Board’s July resolution
and the prior version of the movement charter related to grants
distribution, product/technology, and the affiliate ecosystem.
You can engage on any of these topics in multiple ways: using the on-wiki
mechanisms above; requesting a meeting with Foundation leadership or
Trustees through Talking:2024 or on this talk page or by joining an
upcoming Conversation with Trustees.
This email is also co-signed by Board Chair Nat Tymkiv and CEO Maryana
Iskander as we all continue shaping a path forward.
Dariusz Jemielniak
Chair, Governance Committee
Nataliia Tymkiv
Chair, Board of Trustees
Maryana Iskander
CEO, Wikimedia Foundation.
---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Maryana Iskander <miskander(a)wikimedia.org>
Date: Thu, Aug 22, 2024 at 11:01 AM
Subject: Some next steps on a movement charter
To: Wikimedia Mailing List <wikimedia-l(a)lists.wikimedia.org>
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Hi again - I wrote three weeks ago about where I thought we were heading as
a movement. You can read this letter below and also on Meta. It focused on
the many challenges I see facing us in the world, and the opportunities we
have to respond. I also shared hopes for constructive discussions at
Wikimania that might clarify some next steps in developing a charter for
the Wikimedia movement.
Thank you to all who are engaging with me, the Wikimedia Foundation staff,
and Trustees, with a spirit of generosity, openness, and collective
problem-solving. I acknowledge the difficult feedback we received about how
the Foundation’s actions in the charter process may have eroded some trust.
It will be hard to get everything right going forward, but we intend to
approach next steps with more clarity about the Foundation’s obligations,
limitations, and what changes we believe are possible under what
conditions.
While the Board of Trustees outlined reasons for not ratifying this version
of a charter, they also asked for help with this open proposal to co-create
three realistic, time-bound experiments related to grants distribution,
product/technology, and the affiliate ecosystem (some of the areas
identified for a future Global Council). On-wiki feedback and sessions
hosted at Wikimania have already improved the design of these experiments,
and more input is needed.
Also, a consensus emerged from the helpful comments that were submitted
through the ratification vote, on-wiki input, and constructive
conversations during Wikimania sessions, that a “mapping exercise” could
provide visibility into the areas of the charter where there is broad
agreement, as well as areas of disagreement or divergence. The Board of
Trustees tasked its Governance Committee to work on this mapping with other
stakeholders who wish to remain engaged (e.g., affiliates, interested
contributors, former members of the Movement Charter Drafting Committee) –
input on how to design this exercise over the coming weeks is welcomed
here. A summary of this mapping exercise will be published when it is
completed. The intent is to find a practical path forward over the next
several months.
The Wikimedia Foundation remains committed to a charter for our movement,
with a goal of responsibly shifting more accountability and decision-making
to representative councils and volunteer-led bodies. The 2030 movement
strategy guides the Foundation’s work, and has been explicitly and
repeatedly stated in the annual plan and budget. How we achieve many of the
recommendations – including that of equity in decision-making – is where I
believe people have differences of opinion and approach. Yet, to make
difficult decisions together, we must come together and agree on our shared
roles and responsibilities.
As I wrote below, the world needs the Wikimedia projects now more than
ever, and at a time when we are experiencing rapid changes in how knowledge
is being created, curated, and transmitted. As usual, we must face into
many complex social, technical, regulatory and financial trends that
require us to adapt swiftly. Finding the opportunities in these changes
needs us all.
This email is also co-signed by Board Chair Nat Tymkiv and Governance
Committee Chair Dariusz Jemielniak as we all work on finding a collective
path forward. You can always contact me at miskander(a)wikimedia.org or on my
talk page or by signing up for a conversation with Foundation leaders and
Trustees at Talking: 2024. The Board of Trustees will watch this page for
ongoing input and questions, and I will also provide regular updates here
and elsewhere.
Maryana Iskander
CEO, Wikimedia Foundation
Nataliia Tymkiv
Chair, Board of Trustees
Dariusz Jemielniak
Chair, Governance Committee.
