Dear Wikimedians, Dear members of the Movement Charter Drafting Committee,
Today I am excited to share a document with you that I hope will help level up the global conversations about Movement Governance to be well informed and solution-oriented.
Our team at Wikimedia Deutschland developed two scenarios for a future movement governance model. Both scenarios are built upon the “ensure equity in decision-making” recommendation and describe a future global council. In Scenario 1, this council advises the WMF Board of Trustees. In Scenario 2, the Council is a General Assembly that governs the movement. Scenario 2 over time would likely result in the formation of an international organization, and a gradual redistribution of tasks among affiliates, WMF and the new entity.
As a basis for this paper, our team conducted a review of international organizations and their governance models. We found that these operate predominantly as international membership organizations as described in Scenario 2.
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Deutschland/The_Future_of_Wikimedi...
These scenarios are not the ultimate wisdom. Our intention is for this conversation to become more concrete, and most importantly, begin it by agreeing on where the journey will go – before starting to collect content for the charter. So we encourage the members of the MCDC to review the scenarios, discuss, add to or adjust them, and then – before they start drafting – determine which one they will base their work on.
The Movement Strategy team at WMDE is happy to engage in conversations about these and possible other scenarios that can help further inform and enrich the transformation towards a more equitable movement. The value base and language of the charter will shape the movement for decades to come. One thing is especially important to note: While many questions will arise from these conversations, no one in particular is currently able to immediately have answers – not WMDE, not the WMF, not any other body. Answers will come step by step through the sensemaking of the MCDC and its consultations with the movement, and finding each answer will take time.
Kind regards, Nicole