Welcome Maryana
I am pleased to hear about your joining us and I would like to send my
thanks to the board and the transition committee.
We have indeed a lot of expectations and hope. I look forward to have
the opportunity to discuss with you during the Listening Tour ;)
Florence / Anthere
Le 14/09/2021 à 17:35, Maryana Iskander a écrit :
Dear All,
Thank you for this opportunity to introduce myself to you.
When I read the job position [1] for the next leader of Wikimedia
Foundation, I noticed that it opened with a seemingly simple
statement: “Knowledge belongs to all of us.” Does it, really? It’s a
striking statement. In an increasingly unequal and polarizing world,
one in which almost nothing belongs to all of us, the idea that
knowledge /must /belong to all is enough to capture anyone’s attention
and imagination – certainly mine.
My story is shaped by a twin belief that knowledge can also set us
free. Shortly after I was born in Cairo, Egypt, my parents left for
the United States. During my time at university, graduate school, and
law school, I was consistently pulled towards some of society’s
toughest issues – women’s rights, civil rights, and the rights of
prisoners. I was equally pulled by the need to be effective in making
change – seeking out leadership positions and raising my hand and
voice to change the institutions of power, not just protest against
them. I learned that the opportunity to make meaningful impact often
sits ‘in-between’ traditional spheres: in-between research and
teaching at Rice University, in-between healthcare delivery and
advocacy at Planned Parenthood, and in-between government and the
private sector at Harambee Youth Employment Accelerator. My time at
all of these organisations required listening to and learning from
many diverse stakeholders – including volunteers – and using my
position of leadership to champion often unheard voices.
In 2012, I followed my heart to South Africa and its very complicated
society – a legacy of apartheid perpetuating deep inequality despite
the resilience of communities full of potential and hope, and a
country with one of the highest youth unemployment rates in the world.
A new organisation had just been formed with a big vision to close
this opportunity gap. I signed up, first as an unpaid volunteer, and
then for many years as the CEO. My job has been to cultivate a common
space of trust for the collective assets of the society – from
government, the private sector, civil society, and millions of young
people – to work in a coalition to tackle one of the most daunting
challenges of our time. To do this, we relied on an inclusive,
multi-channel platform that leverages all forms of technology as a way
to serve communities still riddled by a basic lack of access. Our
successes came from the power of connection, partnership, and a
collective belief that young people are the solution, not the problem.
As I began my tenth year, I felt it was time to make space for new
leaders.
Why am I joining the Wikimedia Foundation at this moment? There are
many reasons: (1) this collective of projects is growing what is
perhaps the most important commons infrastructure of our modern world.
I am excited to add my time and talents to this vision. What will it
take to create – not just imagine – a world in which every single
human being can freely share in the sum of all knowledge? (2) I have
experienced first-hand that distributed leadership models can usually
achieve more than any group of people can do on their own. I am eager
to support processes that will make this even more true for our
movement; and (3) I am drawn to working with people of integrity and
commitment, who also appreciate humor and joy. I can already see that
I will meet new colleagues like this from all over the world.
My former colleagues will say that I believe progress is enabled by
culture: one that is founded on accountability, diversity and
inclusion in all its forms, and a way of working led by values. It has
informed an organisational humility in working with others and a
relentless focus on getting things done the right way – while doing
the right thing.
During the recruitment process, I met with a leading academic in the
United States named Rebecca. She told me a story of her primary school
teacher asking the students to raise their hands if they did not have
an encyclopedia at home. She was one of those students, and it made
her feel, for the first time, that maybe she didn’t have equal access
to the resources needed for her education. The work of this
collective community, should we achieve our vision, will make it
unnecessary for a teacher to ever ask that question again. I then
returned to South Africa and spoke to another Rebecca. This young
woman grew up in a rural area where it was a struggle to afford text
messaging, never mind any meaningful access to the digital world. She,
too, did not have equal access to the resources she needed. Despite
their starkly different circumstances, I believe that each Rebecca can
find her own point of entry into our vision and impact as we look
ahead to 2030.
*/What have been my prior experiences with the wikiverse?/*
I have had two past interactions with the people behind Wikipedia, in
addition to being a reader and admirer.
First, I attended a conference in 2019 where I met a volunteer editor
on English Wikipedia. The next year, he reached out to me to say that
Wikipedia was looking to increase its articles about notable women,
and he would write an article about me [2] in line with Wikipedia’s
editing values. He eventually did this with the help of another editor
from “Women in Red.”
Second, on World Teachers Day in October 2019, my current
organisation, Harambee Youth Employment Accelerator, participated in
an AfroCuration event hosted by WikiAfrica Education. It was aimed at
generating new historical content on Wikipedia related to the themes
of democracy, freedom, and constitution-making. The goal was to
support students and teachers to create articles in indigenous
languages about individuals who contributed to South Africa’s
remarkable Constitution.
I look forward to beginning my own editing and volunteer journey as
well as my professional path in the movement.
*/What are three things I want to learn from you?/*
My first job is to listen and seek to understand.
Even before I officially join the Wikimedia Foundation in January
2022, I would like to hear from anyone who is interested in sharing
directly with me. Later this month, I will send more information
about a focused ‘listening tour’ that will take place ahead of my
formal start date. It will consist of online and offline engagements
across Wiki communities, as well as with Foundation staff and other
stakeholders.
I know that we are many communities with many different opinions. I
will of course first ask you what you think: about our vision,
mission, impact, strategy, how we relate to the rest of the world, as
well as our current and future ways of working and achieving our
aspirations.
But I will also ask you to help me learn what you know from data, even
if it differs from what you think. I am curious about the spaces ‘in
between’ opinion and evidence – as messy or imperfect as they may be.
And finally, I want to learn what motivates you at a personal level to
contribute to your projects and participate in your communities.
Thank you for taking the time to read my message. I look forward to
hearing from you.
Maryana
P.S. If you would like to read a translation of this email or can help
to translate my email into other languages, please visit Meta [3]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
[1]
https://wikimediafoundation.org/about/jobs/our-2021-ceo-and-executive-direc…
<https://wikimediafoundation.org/about/jobs/our-2021-ceo-and-executive-director-search/#section-1>
[2]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maryana_Iskander
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maryana_Iskander>
[3]
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_Board_noticeboard/14_S…
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_Board_noticeboard/14_September_2021_-_Welcoming_the_new_Wikimedia_Foundation_CEO>
On Tue, Sep 14, 2021 at 5:31 PM Nataliia Tymkiv <ntymkiv(a)wikimedia.org
<mailto:ntymkiv@wikimedia.org>> wrote:
Dear all,
I am pleased to announce that the Wikimedia Foundation Board of
Trustees has appointed Maryana Iskander as the new CEO of the
Wikimedia Foundation [1] [2].
Since 2013, Maryana has served as the CEO of Harambee Youth
Employment Accelerator [3], a South African non-profit social
enterprise focused on building African solutions for the global
challenge of youth unemployment. Prior to this, she spent six
years as Chief Operating Officer of Planned Parenthood Federation
of America [4], a volunteer-led social movement focused on access
to women’s healthcare. Maryana has also worked in academia as the
Advisor to the President of Rice University [5], an international
research university based in the United States.
Her professional career has been motivated by breaking down
systemic barriers, creating opportunities for collaborative
solution-building, and community empowerment. She has a proven
track record for leading complex organisations shaped by shared
decision-making.
In looking for the next CEO, we on the Board convened a Transition
Committee [6], primarily to guide us in finding the right person
for this critical role and secondly to oversee the executive
Transition Team. The Transition Committee conducted a far-reaching
and competitive global search, receiving around 400
recommendations and speaking to about 50 potential candidates.
Throughout this selection process, Maryana impressed us as someone
who is deeply inspired by the Wikimedia vision and who embodies
the values of equity and community that inform all Wikimedia work.
She has extensive leadership experience working with volunteer-led
initiatives and building partnerships across public, private and
social sectors. Maryana also brings expertise in technology-led
innovation to accelerate meaningful social change. She does this
with a global perspective: Maryana was born in the Middle East,
educated in the United States and the United Kingdom, and has
spent the last decade living and working on the African continent.
Maryana joins the Wikimedia Foundation at a crucial time. The
movement is larger than ever, and it has never been more relevant
or more trusted. This is an inflection point, as decisions need to
be made to execute a shared vision for where the Movement wants to
be in 2030. We believe that Maryana is the right person to help
lead the Foundation at this moment.
As Maryana begins, her priorities will include supporting movement
efforts to implement the Wikimedia 2030 recommendations, such as
the development of a Movement Charter and the finalization of a
Universal Code of Conduct. She will continue the Foundation’s
focus on knowledge equity and exploring ways to address the gaps
in content and the diversity of contributors to Wikimedia
projects. She will be supported by the Board in this journey.
Maryana will officially start at the Wikimedia Foundation on
January 5, 2022, as she transitions from her current job. Until
then, the Foundation will continue to be led by the Transition
Team, with guidance from the Board. In my conversations with her,
I have seen that Maryana is a fan of direct communication and
excited to learn from the movement. In the coming weeks, she will
share ways to connect. Please join me in welcoming Maryana (CCed)
to the Foundation!
PS. For translations of this message, or to help translate it into
more languages, please visit Meta-Wiki [7]
_[1]
https://wikimediafoundation.org/news/2021/09/14/wikimedia-foundation-appoin…
<https://wikimediafoundation.org/news/2021/09/14/wikimedia-foundation-appoints-maryana-iskander-as-chief-executive-officer/>_
_[2]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maryana_Iskander
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maryana_Iskander>_
_[3]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harambee_Youth_Employment_Accelerator
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harambee_Youth_Employment_Accelerator>_
_[4]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planned_Parenthood
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planned_Parenthood>_
_[5]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rice_University
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rice_University>_
_[6]
https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Resolution:Creating_a_CEO_Transition_…
<https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Resolution:Creating_a_CEO_Transition_Committee_and_Transition_Team,_2021>_
_[7]
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_Board_noticeboard/14_S…
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_Board_noticeboard/14_September_2021_-_Welcoming_the_new_Wikimedia_Foundation_CEO>_
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_Board_noticeboard/14_September_2021_-_Welcoming_the_new_Wikimedia_Foundation_CEO>
Best regards,
antanana / Nataliia Tymkiv
Acting Chair, Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees
/NOTICE: You may have received this message outside of your normal
working hours/days, as I usually can work more as a volunteer
during weekend. You should not feel obligated to answer it during
your days off. Thank you in advance!/
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