Dear everyone,

We are happy to share that Houcemeddine Turki, Wojciech Pędzich, Linar Khalitov and Mardetanha are new members who have been appointed to the Affiliations Committee.

Here are Houcemeddine Turki, Wojciech Pędzich, Linar Khalitov and Mohsen in their own words:

1. Houcemeddine Turki:
   I am Houcemeddine Turki. I speak Tunisian Arabic as a native language. However, I am keen on other varieties of Arabic including Modern Standard Arabic, Algerian Arabic, Libyan Arabic, Egyptian Arabic and North Levantine Arabic. I speak French and English as an upper-intermediate user (CEFR B2) and Italian as an elementary user (CEFR A2) and I am a beginner in German and Maltese (CEFR A1). So, I consider myself as a polyglot. In my real life, I am a medical student and a research assistant in Biomedical Data Science, Computational Linguistics, Library and Information Science and Semantic Web at University of Sfax, Tunisia. As a Wikimedia volunteer, I have been a Wikipedian between 2009 and 2019 before shifting all my interest to Wikidata. I am mainly interested in developing tools and efficient methods to ameliorate reference support and data quality of Wikimedia projects and in ameliorating the coverage of regional and scholarly topics in Wikipedia and in sister projects.

2. Wojciech Pędzich:
   I feel I can enrich the AffCom with my experience as Wikimedia Polska's functionary and the functionary of the Wikimedia projects. I have a background in English and in organisational management, with my M. Sc. on content creation limitations on Wikipedia; I have also made a failed attempt at a Ph. D. in leadership in open collaboration projects. I am also a translator, including of Wikimedia and open collaboration-related books.

3. Linar Khalitov:
   I am a long-term Wikimedian mainly active in Russian Wikipedia and Commons. I started contributing in 2007, and during that time, I have been in different roles: sysop and bureaucrat in ru.wiki, OTRS member, sysop on Commons (still keep the status), ombudsman, member of IEG and PEG (still hold position), Wikimedia RU member (still there). I am also an active bot owner with more than 1 mln edits on the bot account.

I am based in Kazan, Russia, have a financial degree and have practically finished my EMBA in London Business School (graduation in July 2021). I know English, Russian and Tatar languages (though my English is better despite being a Tatar native). I have a full-time executive job in Russia. Still, I am sure that I will be available enough as my MBA finishes, and my grant committee participation will be over soon, too, due to the relaunch of the grant approach by WMF.

I believe in the mission of Wikimedia movement and have always tried to help and participate in promoting knowledge. I am sure that there is much work to do as even in my region (European part of Russia) most people still don't understand how Wikimedia projects operate, what benefits they provide and how others can contribute. I think that chapters are the way of promoting Wikimedia values around the globe and want to dedicate my experience and knowledge in helping chapters to build sustainable models. 

4. Mardetanha:
   Having joined wikimedia in 2005, I have been more serious about contributing in 2007. Since then, I have been full time Wikimedian, actively involved in many projects and in different languages, and been an administrator for many, including Meta and Commons. After graduating, I worked in a different field, but I have a background in engineering. Currently, I'm living in Zanjan, Iran. Farsi and Azerbaijani are my native languages. Additionally, I know English well, have extensive knowledge of Turkish, and I am familiar with many Iranian language. My belief has always been that affiliates are the heart of our movement, so the stronger the affiliates, the greater the movement overall, In light of this, I feel compelled to join AffCom and strengthen the movement. 

Please join me in welcoming the newly-appointed members of AffCom.