Dear fellow committed Wikimedians and Chapter enthusiasts,
Last weekend a number of Wikimedia Chapters Association Council
members, two trustees from the WMF board and some welcome guests,
worked together to review in detail the current progress of the
association and feedback given by the WMF board.[1][2]
A total of nine Council members took part with several being able to
join using video conferencing and etherpad. There were a number of
firm recommendations, along with a series of immediate actions. The
meeting minutes will be issued later this week and everyone can
preview all the notes taken during the meeting.[3][4] The meeting was
fully open and the Council will continue to use open public
communication channels, in preference to closed lists or meetings,
recognizing recent community feedback on how best to meet our shared
values of openness and transparency.
As the Council chair, I can summarize these points as follows, and
will be happy to refine and discuss these with an open dialogue on
meta[4]:
1) A small set of action teams have been agreed with a focus on
external deliverables including chapter peer reviews, providing advice
and analysing chapter practices. The time-frame is *three months* for
key deliverables and all are expected to be part of the Milan
conference in April.[3][6]
2) The recruitment of a Secretary General is parked until such a time
as the council is confident of securing a budget and there is a strong
consensus on the immediate necessity of such a role or its equivalent.
Legally incorporating the Association will also be similarly parked,
as the driving factor would have been the need to employ staff.
3) The previously planned elections for Wikimedia Chapters Association
Council Chair will be brought forward one month, to starting this
week. A separate note/email will explain the process of one week
calling for nomination statements, questions and a similar time for
the council vote.
Thank you to those who have engaged already with feedback and those
that were available to take part in the meeting last weekend. For
those Council members and interested Wikimedians who were unable to
take part, I welcome your feedback on this pragmatic way forward as
early as possible, and I encourage you to lend a hand with the action
teams, as they will benefit your chapter directly.
A special thanks to Wikimedia UK for offering to host the London
meeting, including Richard Nevell's support with practical logistics
all weekend, including much needed coffee and sandwiches. I look
forward to seeing many Chapters helping the action teams and future
activities of the Association, with suggestions and practical offers
of staff support. :-)
Links
1.
http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Talk:Wikimedia_Chapters_Association#WMF_Boar…
2.
http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Chapters_Association/Meetings/2013…
3.
http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Chapters_Association/Meetings/2013…
4.
http://etherpad.wikimedia.org/ep/pad/view/WCA/latest
5.
http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Talk:Wikimedia_Chapters_Association
6.
http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Conference_2013
Thank you,
Fae
--
Ashley Van Haeften (Fae) faewik(a)gmail.com
Chapters Association Council Chair
http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/WCA
Guide to email tags:
http://j.mp/mfae