Dear Wikimedia Community,
The Community Affairs Committee (CAC) [1] of the Wikimedia Foundation Board
of Trustees assigned the Sister Projects Task Force (SPTF)[2] to update and
implement a procedure for assessing the lifecycle of Sister Projects — wiki
projects supported by Wikimedia Foundation (WMF)[3].
A vision of relevant, accessible, and impactful free knowledge has always
guided the Wikimedia Movement. As the ecosystem of Wikimedia projects
continues to evolve, it is crucial that we periodically review existing
projects to ensure they still align with our goals and community capacity.
Despite their noble intent, some projects may no longer effectively serve
their original purpose. Reviewing such projects is not about giving up—it’s
about responsible stewardship of shared resources. Volunteer time, staff
support, infrastructure, and community attention are finite, and the
non-technical costs tend to grow significantly as our ecosystem has entered
a different age of the internet than the one we were founded in. Supporting
inactive projects or projects that didn’t meet our ambitions can
unintentionally divert these resources from areas with more potential
impact.
Moreover, maintaining projects that no longer reflect the quality and
reliability of the Wikimedia name stands for, involves a reputational risk.
An abandoned or less reliable project affects trust in the Wikimedia
movement.
Lastly, failing to sunset or reimagine projects that are no longer working
can make it much harder to start new ones. When the community feels bound
to every past decision—no matter how outdated—we risk stagnation. A healthy
ecosystem must allow for evolution, adaptation, and, when necessary,
letting go. If we create the expectation that every project must exist
indefinitely, we limit our ability to experiment and innovate.
Because of this, SPTF reviewed two requests concerning the lifecycle of the
Sister Projects to work through and demonstrate the review process. We
chose Wikispore as a case study for a possible new Sister Project opening
and Wikinews as a case study for a review of an existing project.
Preliminary findings were discussed with the CAC, and a community
consultation on both proposals was recommended.
== Wikispore ==
The application to consider Wikispore as a new Sister Project was submitted
in 2019 [4]. SPTF decided to review this request in more depth because,
rather than being concentrated on a specific topic, as most of the
proposals for the new Sister Projects are, Wikispore has the potential to
nurture multiple start-up Sister Projects.
After careful consideration [5], the SPTF has decided not to recommend
Wikispore as a Wikimedia Sister Project. Considering the current activity
level, the current arrangement allows better flexibility and
experimentation while WMF provides core infrastructural support.
We acknowledge the initiative's potential and seek community input on what
would constitute a sufficient level of activity and engagement to
reconsider its status in the future.
As part of the process, we shared the decision with the Wikispore community
and invited one of its leaders, Pharos, to an SPTF meeting.
Currently, we especially invite feedback on measurable criteria indicating
the project's readiness, such as contributor numbers, content volume, and
sustained community support. This would clarify the criteria sufficient for
opening a new Sister Project, including possible future Wikispore
re-application. However, the numbers will always be a guide because any
number can be gamed.
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Public_consultation_about_Wikispore
== Wikinews ==
We chose to review Wikinews among existing Sister Projects because it is
the one for which we have observed the highest level of concern in multiple
ways.
Since the SPTF was convened in 2023, its members have asked for the
community's opinions during conferences and community calls about Sister
Projects that did not fulfil their promise in the Wikimedia movement [7, 8,
9]. Wikinews was the leading candidate for an evaluation because people
from multiple language communities proposed it. Additionally, by most
measures, it is the least active Sister Project, with the greatest drop in
activity over the years.
While the Language Committee routinely opens and closes language versions
of the Sister Projects in small languages, there has never been a valid
proposal to close Wikipedia in major languages or any project in English.
This is not true for Wikinews, where there was a proposal to close English
Wikinews, which gained some traction but did not result in any action [6;
see also Section 5 from 9], as well as a draft proposal to close all
languages of Wikinews (see on the relevant meta discussion page).
Initial metrics compiled by WMF staff also support the community's concerns
about Wikinews (see on the relevant meta discussion page).
Based on this report, SPTF recommends a community reevaluation of Wikinews.
We conclude that its current structure and activity levels are the lowest
among the existing sister projects. SPTF also recommends pausing the
opening of new language editions while the consultation runs.
SPTF brings this analysis to a discussion and welcomes discussions of
alternative outcomes, including potential restructuring efforts or
integration with other Wikimedia initiatives.
Options mentioned so far (which might be applied to just low-activity
languages or all languages) include but are not limited to:
*Restructure how Wikinews works and is linked to other current events
efforts on the projects,
*Merge content of Wikinews into the relevant language Wikipedias, possibly
in a new namespace,
*Merge content into compartibly licensed external projects,
*Archive Wikinews projects.
Your insights and perspectives are invaluable in shaping the future of
these projects. We encourage all interested community members to share
their thoughts on the relevant discussion pages or through other designated
feedback channels.
Public consultation about Wikinews - Meta
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Public_consultation_about_Wikinews>
== Feedback and next steps ==
We’d be grateful if you want to take part in a conversation on the future
of these projects and the review process. We are setting up two different
project pages:
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Public_consultation_about_Wikispore and Public
consultation about Wikinews - Meta
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Public_consultation_about_Wikinews>.
Please participate between 27/06/25 and 27/07/25, after which we will
summarize the discussion to move forward. You can write in your own
language.
I will also host a community conversation 16th July Wednesday 11.00 UTC and
17th July Thursday 17.00 UTC (I'll send the call links later) and will be
around at Wikimania for more discussions - unfortunately, SPTF application
for a workshop was rejected, but I'll try to set a meetup.
Kind regards,
Victoria
—
1) Wikimedia Foundation Community Affairs Committee - Meta
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_Community_Affairs_Comm…>
2) Wikimedia Foundation Community Affairs Committee/Sister Projects Task
Force - Meta
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_Community_Affairs_Comm…>
3) Wikimedia projects - Meta
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_projects>4) Wikispore - Meta
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikispore>
5) WikiSpore - Google Docs
<https://docs.google.com/document/d/1foUeLwY6Y7SSXchrbt9F4or6x-gP5Phcgwag87m…>
6) Proposals for closing projects/Closure of English Wikinews - Meta
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Proposals_for_closing_projects/Closure_of_E…>
7)
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:WCNA_2024._Sister_Projects_-_openin…
8)
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_Community_Affairs_Comm…
9)
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/WikiConvention_francophone/2024/Programme/Q…
10)
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1yxf7dZOZDG5ZblADi3872UvnLQXd1fX63pGS354…
--
Kind regards, Victoria
Victoria Doronina
<https://wikimediafoundation.org/profile/dr-victoria-doronina/> (she/her)
Trustee
Sister Projects Taskforce Lead
Wikimedia Foundation <https://wikimediafoundation.org/>
"Imagine a world in which every single human being can freely share in the
sum of all knowledge. Please help us make it a reality."
This message will be translated into other languages on Meta-wiki
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Wikimedia_Foundation_Chi…>
العربية • español • français • português • Deutsch• 中文
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Wikimedia_Foundation_Chi…>
You can help with more languages
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Wikimedia_Foundation_Chi…>
Hi everyone,
Since joining the Foundation I have tried to regularly write to you
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Wikimedia_Foundation_Chi…>
here and elsewhere, and I wanted to share a few updates since my last
letter. In October 2023
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Wikimedia_Foundation_Com…>,
I reflected that we were in a period of compounded challenges across the
world with escalating wars, conflict, and climate reminding us each week
that global volatility and uncertainty was on the rise. That feels even
more true now. My instinct then was to ask us to make more time to talk to
each other and to try and pull closer together. This feels even more needed
now.
I noted that the return of in-person gatherings has been essential for a
subset of our volunteers, providing spaces for reconnecting, recharging and
working through difficult issues together in the same room. Foundation
leadership has also been working harder to share organizational news and
have individualized conversations on-wiki and in other digital forums. Our
goal has been to put more effort and intentionality into communicating the
right information, at the right time, and in the right way, even knowing
that we can never meet everyone's expectations.
Most importantly, we had to keep talking to each other – formally and
informally – throughout the year. This was the basis of an open invitation
to Talking: 2024
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Wikimedia_Foundation_Com…>,
an effort designed to listen intently to what is on your minds now, to
share progress at the Foundation, and to also reflect on the needs for
multi-year strategic plans. (A reminder that our priorities for long-range
planning
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_Community_Affairs_Comm…...>,
informed by movement strategy, are Wikimedia’s financial model,
product/technology needs, and roles/responsibilities.)
So far, Wikimedia Foundation Trustees, executives, and staff have hosted
130 conversations
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_Community_Affairs_Comm…>
on-wiki, with individuals, and in small groups. These conversations have
stretched across all regions of the world. We have learned from
prolific community
members to recent newcomers, from technical volunteers to stewards, event
organizers, and affiliate leaders. Since these discussions were intended to
improve deliberations at the Board’s strategic planning retreat next week,
here is a summary of some of the feedback I've heard so far!
Continue focusing the Foundation on supporting product/technology needs. As
early as my first letter to you in January 2022,
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Wikimedia_Foundation_Chi…>
I understood that the central role of the Wikimedia Foundation is in
enabling our projects, which is core to every aspect of our movement's
mission. This was reinforced in most of the Talking:2024 conversations that
we hosted over the last five months – from the need for the Foundation to
remain focused on upgrading technical infrastructure to supporting
volunteer needs for tool maintenance and metrics. Our annual planning
continues to center the Foundation’s product and technology priorities. More
deliberate conversations are taking place at the Foundation about what a
multi-generational view of Wikimedia projects requires of us all. For me,
this remains perhaps the most critical topic for our strategic efforts as
we make tangible and practical a mission
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Mission> that calls for
our work to continue in perpetuity.
Recent discussions on this mailing list remind me that we can’t get to
everything fast enough, but we continue to move more in the right
direction. Chief Product & Technology Officer Selena Deckelmann recently
shared
<https://diff.wikimedia.org/2024/02/20/thinking-about-annual-planning-in-the…>
that: “In the last couple of months, we shipped changes that enabled a
better backbone for PageTriage
<https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Extension:PageTriage>, and worked closely
with volunteer developers to ensure future sustainability. Going forward,
we have a number of initiatives ranging from projects like Edit Check
<https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Edit_check>, Discussion Tools
<https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Extension:DiscussionTools>, Dark mode
<https://diff.wikimedia.org/2023/11/24/dark-mode-is-coming/>, Patrolling on
Android <https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Apps/Team/Android>, Watchlist
on iOS <https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Apps/Team/iOS>,
Automoderator <https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Moderator_Tools/Automoderator>,
Community Configuration
<https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Growth/Community_configuration>, the Wikimedia
Commons Upload Wizard
<https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Commons:Upload_Wizard>, and others.
We've resolved over 600 volunteer-reported issues in Phabricator in the
last 6 months, and we're using research methods that solicit prototypes
directly from volunteers
<https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Reading/Web/Accessibility_for_reading/Commun…>
for informing typography decision making. And we're learning not just the
basics of font size and spacing, we're also getting important information
about context, devices and cultural aspects of the use of Wikipedia which
are vital for helping make our software easier to use as how people use and
access it changes (and it has changed a lot over 20 years!).” She has
also already
published draft objectives for the product and tech teams, and your input
and on-wiki comments are always welcome
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Wikimedia_Foundation_Ann…>
.
‘Human-led, tech-enabled’ means that the humans still lead. While tech
featured prominently in most of these conversations, there remains no doubt
that Wikimedia is a human-led movement (“It’s all about people.”). This led
to exploring even more solutions that can address a familiar dilemma about
how to balance the needs of existing editors with initiatives to welcome
newcomers (“It’s always the war between ‘we need to protect the existing
content’ and ‘do we care about new users with a tolerance for errors.’”).
While some shared wonderful stories of their own journeys (“I wanna say
that the Newcomer tools have been a really great project and very glad to
see that energy was expensed there”), there was vocal urgency about the
sustainability of the projects for generations to come (“We are sending
away people who could be helpful to the projects”). In this regard, several
discussions highlighted the value of the Universal Code of Conduct
<https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Policy:Universal_Code_of_Conduct>
as a “game changer” in signaling to all communities that they are actively
invited and welcomed to safely contribute to the mission of free knowledge,
while still acknowledging there is more to do (“It’s probably a good thing,
but I don’t know if it will solve what I have faced.”). I learned in my
initial listening tour that we have to make all contributions count
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_Chief_Executive_Office…>,
and all contributors feel welcomed. I found that the Talking:2024
conversations deepened my own understanding of the peer support and
mentorship needed for volunteers to thrive as active community members.
(One example are these reflections
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Clovermoss/Editor_reflections> where
140 other editors participated).
Finally, our human-led values came up in several conversations about
Wikimedia’s role in shaping the next generation of artificial intelligence,
a topic of ongoing discussion in the world
<https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/18/magazine/wikipedia-ai-chatgpt.html?unloc…>,
in our communities <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Talk:Future_Audiences>,
and at the Foundation. This is complemented by ongoing discussions about
the role of AI-generated content on our platform by various project
communities.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia_talk:Large_language_model_policy)>
A recent effort to contribute to a shared research agenda on AI
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Artificial_intelligence/…>can
be found here – including the need for more research to understand human
motivation to contribute to the knowledge commons – it was created by a
small group working in the open who rushed to publish a ‘bad first draft’
that will benefit from more input.
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Talk:Artificial_intellig…>
Can our financial model provide more certainty, and also force difficult
trade-offs? In my last letter,
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Wikimedia_Foundation_Com…>
I shared that future projections indicate that, for a range of reasons,
fundraising online and through banners may not continue to grow at the same
rate as in past years. We have several long-term initiatives underway to
help mitigate this risk and also diversify our revenue streams, including
the Wikimedia Endowment
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Wikimedia_Endowment>
and Wikimedia Enterprise
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Wikimedia_Enterprise>.
Over the past two years, we have slowed the rate of growth
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Wikimedia_Foundation_Ann…>
for the Foundation itself, while increasing financial resources
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Wikimedia_Foundation_Ann…>
that support other movement entities. The Talking:2024 conversations
provided a space for movement entities to share a need for multi-year
financial certainty in their support from the Foundation, which we will
take into our planning for next year. Other conversations highlighted the
need to continue prioritizing limited resources and being more explicit
about trade-offs (“[We must] use the money we have as wisely as we can”).
These discussions have already improved the thinking for the Foundation’s
current and upcoming planning cycles.
<https://diff.wikimedia.org/2024/01/31/progress-on-the-plan-how-the-wikimedi…>
Movement roles need more clarity. The task of defining a Movement Charter
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Movement_Charter> came
up in several conversations with contributors of all kinds. These ranged
from reflections about movement strategy recommendations and principles
(“Will it always be first come, first served in this movement?”) to
questions about the purpose of different structures (“What decisions do we
need the global council to make? Why are decisions moving from one center
to another?” “We are taking a hammer to solve this issue when they are
simple screws.”). Unsurprisingly, there were varying perspectives (“The
editing community in many regions doesn’t see an immediate benefit in
affiliates, hubs, or other governance structures.” “The community still
feels unheard by the Foundation.” “The good work that affiliates do in
certain regions is commendable, especially where those affiliates are
deeply engaged with the community.”)
And a deep recognition of the complex task at hand (“The community is so
huge and it’s hard to tie everyone together.” “How do we make change in the
movement in a way that is understandable and doesn’t scare people.” “There
has to be control and risk management with empowering the community,
inviting everyone, and trying to grow while protecting what we have
meticulously built over the past 23 years.”).
Considering the investment of time and resources going into the charter, we
need to make sure that this effort will provide us all with clearer
strategic direction on what is needed to serve the future needs of our
movement, and meet the expectations of a rapidly changing world around us.
The Wikimedia Foundation recently shared these questions
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Talk:Movement_Charter#Wikimedia_Foundation_…>
with the Movement Charter Drafting Committee to identify areas of key focus
and concern. We will continue to review and comment on new drafts as they
are produced in the weeks and months ahead. The Board of Trustees will
dedicate time at its next Open Conversation with Trustees on March 21
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_Community_Affairs_Comm…>
to talk more about this process and the Foundation’s hopes for a Movement
Charter.
+++
Talking: 2024 kicked off a useful check-in to hear how we are collectively
doing, and it continues. Your voice and contributions would help add to the
feedback we have already received—whether that is on-wiki, in 1:1
conversations, in small groups, in person. What we learn will continue to
inform the Foundation's long-term planning. Please consider joining a
conversation
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Wikimedia_Foundation_Com…'s_talk>
.
For me, each conversation has been a reminder that what drives this
movement is the people. We remain at a pivotal moment, where the world
needs Wikipedia and the Wikimedia projects more than ever. As one of you
shared, “I feel like there is a way because we have made a way, an
experience of community that connects people across the world.”
As always, I welcome your feedback either on my talk page
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/User_talk:MIskander-WMF>
or emailing me directly at miskander(a)wikimedia.org.
Maryana
Maryana Iskander, Wikimedia Foundation CEO
Jogi Asad Rajpar
Sindhi Wikipedia community/ Wikimedia Sindh.
Thari Mirwah, Khairpur, Sindh, Pakistan Thari Mirwah - 66150
February 19, 2025
To,
Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA)
F-5/1, PTA Headquarters, Islamabad
Email:
Subject: Request to Unblock Access to Wikimedia Commons in Pakistan
Dear Sir/Madam,
I am writing to formally request the unblocking of *Wikimedia Commons* (
https://commons.wikimedia.org) in Pakistan. Wikimedia Commons is a globally
recognized platform that hosts freely licensed educational media files,
including images, videos, and audio recordings, which are widely used for
academic, cultural, and informational purposes.
It has come to my attention that Wikimedia Commons is currently
inaccessible or partially blocked in Pakistan, which is causing significant
inconvenience for students, researchers, educators, journalists, and
digital content creators. This restriction limits access to a vast
repository of freely available knowledge and historical documentation that
is beneficial for Pakistan’s educational and cultural institutions.
Additionally, I am organizing *Wiki Loves Folklore*, an international
photography competition that aims to document and share the rich folk
culture of various countries, including Pakistan. This competition provides
a platform for Pakistani participants to share photographs showcasing
Pakistan’s diverse traditions, folk heritage, and cultural expressions with
the global community. However, due to the restriction on Wikimedia Commons,
participants from Pakistan are facing significant difficulties in uploading
their photographs and contributing to this global initiative.
Wikimedia Commons is a non-commercial and non-political platform that
serves as a crucial resource for academic and cultural documentation. Its
restriction negatively impacts the ability of Pakistani users to contribute
and benefit from free knowledge.
I kindly urge you to review this matter and restore access to Wikimedia
Commons in Pakistan. If the blocking was implemented due to specific
content-related concerns, I request that only the relevant content be
reviewed rather than restricting the entire website.
Please confirm receipt of this request and provide an update on any actions
taken. I appreciate your time and consideration in ensuring Pakistan’s
digital community has access to essential global knowledge resources.
I'm providing the following link to Wiki Loves Folklore 2025 in Pakistan
photography contest link and other related links.
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Commons:Wiki_Loves_Folklore_2025_in_Paki…https://www.google.com/search?q=wiki+Loves+Folklore+2025+in+Pakistan&oq=wik…
Request on Wikimedia Phabricator
Commons can't provide a secure connection / can't be reached in Pakistan.
Link 👇
https://phabricator.wikimedia.org/T329264https://phabricator.wikimedia.org/T329264https://lists.wikimedia.org/hyperkitty/list/wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org…
I'm looking forward to hearing from you soon.
Sincerely,
Jogi Asad Rajpar
Phone 📱: +923152067927
Hello all,
The call for candidates for the 2025 Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees
selection is now open from June 17, 2025 - July 2, 2025 at 11:59 UTC. The
Board of Trustees oversees the Wikimedia Foundation's work, and each
Trustee serves a three-year term
<https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Legal:Bylaws#(B)_Term.>. This is a
volunteer position.
This year, the Wikimedia community will vote starting in August and ending
in September 2025 to fill two (2) seats on the Foundation Board. You can
see the timeline of the full selection process here
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Wikimedia_Foundation_ele…>
.
*Traits*
Wikimedia is a global movement and seeks candidates from the broader
community. Ideal candidates are thoughtful, respectful, community-oriented
and align with the Wikimedia Foundation mission. The Board is looking for
candidates with experience guiding organizational strategy, navigating
change, and driving long-term strategic objectives. Candidates should think
about what experiences and perspectives they will bring to the Board.
The Board would like to find perspectives and voices that are essential but
underrepresented in our movement. Accordingly, all candidates will be asked
to include statements in their application that speak to their experiences
in the world, the perspectives they bring to the movement and share how
these help them to include those not already here.
*Time Commitment for Trustees*
Trustees serve a three year term and can serve up to three consecutive terms
<https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Bylaws#(B)_Term.>. The expectation
is that Trustees serve on at least one of the Board’s committees
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Wikimedia_committees#Boa…>.
The time commitment is about 150 hours per year, excluding travel. This
time is not evenly spread throughout the year. The time is concentrated
around meetings.
*Requirements to be a Trustee*
English is the language of business for the Board. Candidates must be
fluent in written and spoken English. Previous experience serving on a
collective decision-making body, especially Boards or committees, and
significant experience in Wikimedia (or equivalent) movement building and
organizing are expected from candidates. You can review the candidate
guidelines here.
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Wikimedia_Foundation_ele…>
*How to Apply*
Candidates from all projects and communities who meet the criteria to
become a Wikimedia Trustee are welcome to apply. Could you - or someone you
know - be a good fit to join the Wikimedia Foundation's Board of Trustees?
Encourage them to run for election. Candidates can find information and
submit their nomination on the candidate application
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Wikimedia_Foundation_ele…> page.
If you want to learn more about the role of Trustees or have questions,
refer to this candidate resources
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Wikimedia_Foundation_ele…>
page.
*Community questions for candidates*
The questions for the Board of Trustees candidates to answer have been
published as part of the candidate application. From the list of questions
submitted by the community, the Election Committee selected 5 questions
which the candidates are required to answer. Learn more about the community
questions on this Meta-wiki page
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Wikimedia_Foundation_ele…>
.
Best regards,
Abhishek Suryawanshi
On behalf of the Elections Committee and the Governance Committee
Hello everyone,
I'm excited to invite you to the 30th edition of the DCW Conversation Hour,
featuring Suyash Dwivedi, a dedicated editor and community builder. He is
also the Vice Chair of the Affiliations Committee (AffCom) and is actively
associated with the Commons Wikimedia User Group and Hindi Wikimedians User
Group. In this session, we'll explore what makes a Wikimedia affiliate
healthy and sustainable, encompassing governance, inclusivity, programmatic
impact, and community engagement. Drawing from his extensive experience,
Suyash will also highlight the unique challenges emerging communities face
and share ideas for building stronger, more resilient Wikimedia affiliates.
The conversation hour is scheduled for Sunday, 29 June 2025, at 14:30 UTC
( 8:00 pm IST).
For more details, please visit the event page on our website:
https://dcwwiki.org/dc-nh
The link for registration for the event is:
https://w.wiki/ER$z <https://w.wiki/DjXX>
I'm excited to see you participate. Please bring along your questions!
Kind regards,
Ariba
Deoband Community Wikimedia
Hi all,
We’d like to share a minor update to our privacy policies. Following
personnel changes, we’re removing the name of our former point of contact
serving the European Economic Area and the UK for questions and requests
related to personal data. We will continue to be reachable with the same
contact information at EUrepresentative.Wikimedia(a)twobirds.com and
UKrepresentative.Wikimedia(a)twobirds.com.
Privacy Policies updated:
Wikimedia Foundation Privacy Policy
<https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Policy:Privacy_policy#Contact_Us>
Wikimedia Foundation Donor Privacy Policy
<https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Policy:Donor_privacy_policy#Contact_Us>
Best,
Aki on behalf of the Legal team
--
Aki Nakanishi (she/her)
Lead Privacy Program Manager
Wikimedia Foundation
Dear Wikimedians,
We hope this email finds you well. We invite you to join the next episode
of WikiAfrica Hour "Voices of the Future: Youth Rising in the Wikimedia
Movement”
We are very excited to discuss this topic with the episode guests and your
joining is very valuable.
What can you expect from the episode?
What does youth empowerment really look like in the Wikimedia movement?
In this powerful episode of WikiAfrica Hour, we chat with young Wikimedians
who are leading campaigns, building communities, and shaping the future of
Open knowledge.
Our guests share their journeys, proudest achievements, and what it takes
to thrive as young leaders in the movement. We dive into the challenges
they face, how they’re using Wikimedia to build skills, and what true youth
inclusion should look like by 2030.
From AI and TikTok to leadership and mentorship, this episode is a
must-watch for anyone passionate about the future of Wikimedia.
Join us as we explore how youth aren’t just the future—they’re the now.
Watch, share, and be inspired.
Who are the guest speakers?
-
Ferdinando Traversa
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Ferdi2005> President
of Wikimedia Italy.
-
Ndahiro Derrick Alter
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Ndahiro_derrick> a Rwandan
advocate for peace, open knowledge, gender equality, and youth engagement
in governance. He is the founder of Open Source Knowledge Rwanda (Wikimedia
Rwanda).
-
Ahmad Ali Karim <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:EmpAhmadK>: External
Relations Ambassador, Wikimedia Community User Group Malaysia
Hosting them Shahen Araboghlian
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:ShahenWasHere>, a Beirut-born,
Yerevan-based Wikipedia editor for 10 years now. On Wiki, he's an admin on
Western Armenian Wiki, a member of different Wiki groups, and has
participated in a number of conferences and camps since 2015. Outside of
Wiki, he works for the TUMO Center for Creative Technologies' headquarters.
TUMO is a free-of-charge, after school program for teenagers who learn 14
different creative and tech skills all around the world.
In Focus section: Highlights from Wikimedia Youth Conference 2025
We will listen to some attendees of Wikimedia Youth Conference sharing
their experience and takeaways from the conference.
When and where will the episode take place?
Data: Wednesday 25th June
Time: 16:00 UTC
Join us LIVE on https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wPuU_M4SqY0
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iCsxAAD_1-o>.
You can also register in the event tool
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Event:WAH_Episode_47_-_Voices_of_the_Future…
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Event:WAH_Episode_46_-_Organize,_Lead,_Sust…>
Looking forward to seeing you!
--
*Donia*
WikiAfrica Hour Production Coordinator
& Wiki In Africa Tools Community Facilitator
Hi everyone,
The June 2025 Research Showcase will be live-streamed next Wednesday, June
18, at 9:30 AM PT / 16:30 UTC. Find your local time here
<https://zonestamp.toolforge.org/1750264200>. Our theme this month is *Ensuring
Content Integrity on Wikipedia*.
*We invite you to watch via the YouTube
stream: https://www.youtube.com/live/GgYh6zbrrss
<https://www.youtube.com/live/GgYh6zbrrss>.* As always, you can join the
conversation in the YouTube chat as soon as the showcase goes live.
Our presentations this month:
The Differential Effects of Page Protection on Wikipedia Article QualityBy
*Manoel Horta Ribeiro (Princeton University)*Wikipedia strives to be an
open platform where anyone can contribute, but that openness can sometimes
lead to conflicts or coordinated attempts to undermine article quality. To
address this, administrators use “page protection"—a tool that restricts
who can edit certain pages. But does this help the encyclopedia, or does it
do more harm than good? In this talk, I’ll present findings from a
large-scale, quasi-experimental study using over a decade of English
Wikipedia data. We focus on situations where editors requested page
protection and compare the outcomes for articles that were protected versus
similar ones that weren’t. Our results show that page protection has mixed
effects: it tends to benefit high-quality articles by preventing decline,
but it can hinder improvement in lower-quality ones. These insights reveal
how protection shapes Wikipedia content and help inform when it’s most
appropriate to restrict editing, and when it might be better to leave the
page open.
Seeing Like an AI: How LLMs Apply (and Misapply) Wikipedia Neutrality Norms
By
*Joshua Ashkinaze (University of Michigan)*Large language models (LLMs) are
trained on broad corpora and then used in communities with specialized
norms. Is providing LLMs with community rules enough for models to follow
these norms? We evaluate LLMs' capacity to detect (Task 1) and correct
(Task 2) biased Wikipedia edits according to Wikipedia's Neutral Point of
View (NPOV) policy. LLMs struggled with bias detection, achieving only 64%
accuracy on a balanced dataset. Models exhibited contrasting biases (some
under- and others over-predicted bias), suggesting distinct priors about
neutrality. LLMs performed better at generation, removing 79% of words
removed by Wikipedia editors. However, LLMs made additional changes beyond
Wikipedia editors' simpler neutralizations, resulting in high-recall but
low-precision editing. Interestingly, crowdworkers rated AI rewrites as
more neutral (70%) and fluent (61%) than Wikipedia-editor rewrites.
Qualitative analysis found LLMs sometimes applied NPOV more comprehensively
than Wikipedia editors but often made extraneous non-NPOV-related changes
(such as grammar). LLMs may apply rules in ways that resonate with the
public but diverge from community experts. While potentially effective for
generation, LLMs may reduce editor agency and increase moderation workload
(e.g., verifying additions). Even when rules are easy to articulate, having
LLMs apply them like community members may still be difficult.
Best,
Kinneret
--
Kinneret Gordon
Lead Research Community Officer
Wikimedia Foundation <https://wikimediafoundation.org/>
*Learn more about Wikimedia Research <https://research.wikimedia.org/>*