Same here!
TL:DR – This might not be a great idea, because it’s not what User Groups were designed
for. And shouldn’t the WMF Board be thinking more broadly than this sort of fiddling round
the edges?
Chris
Sent from Mail for Windows 10
From: Lane Rasberry
Sent: 07 December 2018 17:13
To: Wikimedia Mailing List
Cc: wikimediaannounce-l(a)lists.wikimedia.org
Subject: Re: [Wikimedia-l] Proposed changes to the Wikimedia Foundation Bylaws
Hello,
I posted some comments and questions to the talk page.
<
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Talk:Wikimedia_Foundation_bylaws/December_2…
I would appreciate anyone else jumping in to comment, fill in information
gaps, or advance the conversation in any way.
Thanks -
On Fri, Dec 7, 2018 at 10:46 AM María Sefidari <msefidari(a)wikimedia.org
wrote:
> Dear all,
> The Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees
is considering amending the
> Wikimedia Foundation Bylaws. Nataliia Tymkiv, Chair of the Board Governance
> Committee, is leading this process. She has posted the proposed changes on
> Meta for discussion
> <
>
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_bylaws/December_2018_-…
>
> prior to our vote on them during the Board
meeting scheduled for January
> 23, 2019. We invite you to comment on the proposal's talk page. As usual in
> these cases, two weeks are provided for community comment, from December 7
> to December 21.
> By making the proposed changes to the
Bylaws, the Board intends to achieve
> three goals:
> *1. Include User Groups in the trustee
selection process*
> Though User Groups have existed as a model
of affiliation within the
> Wikimedia movement for a number of years, they have not been included
> together with Chapters and Thematic Organizations as participants in
> selecting Wikimedia Foundation trustees. There are now over 100 recognized
> User Groups, many of which represent emerging communities within the
> Wikimedia movement. The Board believes that the perspectives of User Groups
> combined with those of Chapters and Thematic Organizations will lead to the
> selection of the best trustee candidates.
> The Board acknowledges that the ongoing
Wikimedia movement strategy process
> may result in changes to many aspects of the Wikimedia movement, including
> the structure of movement affiliates. As a result, any changes we make now
> to the Foundation Bylaws regarding the role of affiliates in the trustee
> selection process may need to be modified again in the future, in turn
> requiring additional amendments to the Bylaws. However, the Board did not
> want to delay providing User Groups with a voice in the upcoming 2019
> trustee selection process.
> *2. Raise term limits for trustees from two
to three consecutive terms*
> Term limits for trustees were added to the
Bylaws in 2015. At the time,
> there was a desire on the Board to bring in new voices and specific
> skill-sets needed for the growth and development of Wikimedia projects. The
> changes made at that time have resulted in some notable successes in that
> regard. The Board remains committed to seeking out new voices, and
> providing the community with ample opportunities to promote such voices as
> candidates for the Board.
> As the Wikimedia movement and the Wikimedia
Foundation think forward
> further to the future, the Board will need to oversee the Foundation in
> setting, following through on, and achieving longer-term goals. The Board
> believes it will be better able to fulfill its role if it allows for the
> potential of a longer time on the Board for individual trustees who bring
> essential expertise and insight to the Board. The possibility of serving
> one additional term on the Board also reduces the amount of time the Board
> and Foundation staff spend on trustee recruitment and onboarding. Raising
> the maximum number of consecutive terms a trustee may serve from two to
> three terms achieves these goals, and is also consistent with the practice
> of many other boards. Raising the maximum number of terms that can be
> served consecutively does not change the fact that the community, including
> affiliates, will continue to be able to determine every three years whether
> or not to re-elect currently serving trustees or whether to elect new
> candidates - just as is the case now.
> *3. Reaffirm the Board’s commitment to
diversity*
> The Wikimedia movement is global, built on
a vision of reaching every
> single human being and working toward a strategic goal of knowledge equity
> for all. The Board believes that it can best serve the Wikimedia Foundation
> and the movement by reflecting a wide range of human experiences. We want
> to underscore and codify this belief in the Bylaws by adding express
> language affirming our commitment to diversity and inclusion of all voices,
> throughout our communities - new, older and emerging.
> Kind regards,
> María Sefidari
> Chair, Wikimedia Foundation Board
> _______________________________________________
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--
Lane Rasberry
user:bluerasberry on Wikipedia
206.801.0814
lane(a)bluerasberry.com
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