Dear Wikimedia Affiliates and Wikimedia Foundation representatives, 

I am delighted to share that the Wikimedia Summit[1] is going to take place on September 9-11, 2022. It will be a hybrid event with both on-site (Berlin) and remote participation. Wikimedia Deutschland is hosting the event in close collaboration and with the financial support of the Wikimedia Foundation. 

== What to expect at the Wikimedia Summit ==

The Wikimedia Summit is the place for Affiliates and the Wikimedia Foundation to come together to discuss and shape the future of the Wikimedia Movement. The 2022 event will be designed around the implementation of the 2030 Movement Strategy[2]. It will be a platform to advance the governance reform of the Wikimedia Movement, aligned with the ongoing drafting process of the Movement Charter[3]. It will also be a place to connect better the global, regional, and local implementation of Movement Strategy programmatic initiatives. The event will serve as a working meeting with room for facilitated discussions and decisions. It will also provide space for connecting, celebrating, learning, and planning for the future.

Any in-person part of a future event will have to deal with the fact that international travel – including travel to Germany – has become even more difficult or even impossible due to stricter health and visa regulations. On top of that, there is an extremely high demand for conference venues, hotels, and flights in September, which makes things less flexible on our side. 

The Wikimedia Summit 2022 will be a hybrid event with limited capacity on-site in Berlin. The organizing team will make every effort to create an inclusive, productive experience for both online and offline participants. 

== Apply now to participate in the Summit! ==

This year, all Affiliate representatives will go through a short application process to develop the list of attendees in a fair and transparent way. Each Affiliate is eligible to participate, if they are compliant on reporting[4], and recognized by the Wikimedia Foundation before 31 March 2021. In order to assign the limited on-site slots, each Affiliate’s engagement and interest in Movement Strategy work will be considered. 

Each Affiliate can send one representative. Affiliates with a full-time, paid Executive Director[5] get an additional seat for that person. 

In order to be able to pull the event off under these difficult circumstances, your support and responsiveness is essential, as there will be no exceptions to these deadlines. 

Representatives of the Wikimedia Foundation (Board, staff, committees) will go through a separate process for application and travel. 

== Timeline and process ==

1. Application period: April 4-17

For each eligible Affiliate, one representative participant can fill out the application form[6]. Aside from questions around previous and future engagement in Movement Strategy, some personal information, including possible travel restrictions (visa, vaccination) to Germany is needed. 

2. Selection process: April 17-29

Applications will be reviewed by the Movement Strategy & Global Relations team at WMDE as well as members of the Movement Strategy & Governance team at the WMF and we will seek advice from additional members of our movement. Answers provided will be published on Meta to create an overview of Movement Strategy engagement, to indicate opportunities for exchange and partnerships, and to create transparency in the application process. The final invitation list will be announced on 29 April after a thorough review of all applications. 

3. Registration period: May 2-13

In order to start as soon as possible with the travel management and the design of our event program around the needs of the participants, the registration window is very narrow. Please stick to the deadlines to make sure the planning of the event can run smoothly; and already familiarize yourself with the requirements for visa[7] applications as well as the COVID-19 restriction[8] for entry into Germany. 

4. Travel management: May 15 - June 1

All Affiliate representative travel will be centrally managed via WMDE and funded by the Wikimedia Foundation. Due to the complexity of creating the hybrid event, increasing travel costs and overall restrictions and limitations, exceptions or extensions to the deadlines cannot be made. Although some of you might be eager to resume internal travels, extra wishes, extensions, or detours on travel bookings cannot be fulfilled this time. 

== Questions? ==

You can read more about this process and its criteria on Meta[9]. Please also use the talk pages to leave your questions or comments, or reach out to the organizing team at wmsummit@wikimedia.de.  

Interested Affiliates are invited to join one of our Questions & Answers sessions via zoom:  

1. Wednesday, April 6, 7:00 UTC

2. Thursday, April 7, 17:00 UTC

Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82082867062
Meeting ID: 820 8286 7062

Kind regards,

Nicole 

[1] https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Summit_2022  

[2] http://2030.wikimedia.org 

[3] https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Movement_Charter/Drafting_Committee 

[4] https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Affiliates_Data_Portal/Reports 

[5] https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Executive_Directors_Group 

[6] https://wikimedia.sslsurvey.de/Application_Wikimedia_Summit_2022

[7] https://www.auswaertiges-amt.de/en/visa-service/-/231148 

[8] https://www.auswaertiges-amt.de/en/visa-service/EinreiseUndAufenthalt