I am writing as a follow up to this note sent last month (also pasted below) to share that the Board's Governance Committee met this month to explore co-created approaches for a “mapping exercise” – the intent is to provide more visibility into the areas of a movement charter where there is broad agreement, as well as areas of disagreement or divergence.
We reaffirmed that the Wikimedia Foundation remains committed to a future charter for our movement, with a goal of responsibly shifting more accountability and decision-making to representative councils and volunteer-led bodies. We also discussed the need for a charter to not only speak to movement roles and responsibilities, but also help us navigate an increasingly complex external environment and to understand what the world needs from the Wikimedia movement.
Having reviewed the comments submitted during the movement charter ratification vote, our proposal is to ask for help and co-creation in the mapping of these five substantive tracks:
(1) External Context. Identify the relevant technological, social, regulatory and other external trends that a movement charter would assist the Wikimedia movement to better address. To help us look outward and strategically contextualize conversations in response to what the world needs from a movement charter to guide the Wikimedia movement.
(2) Purpose. Clearly and concisely list key problems a charter can help solve and, as a result, clarify the core purpose of a movement charter. This is a core component of the mapping exercise, and is intended to create a shared understanding and common ground for more functional and purpose-oriented conversations and actions.
(3) Agreement/Disagreement in Prior Processes. Analyze content produced by movement stakeholders to map perspectives and positions that identify areas of agreement and disagreement. This includes prior charter text produced by MCDC, affiliate position papers, individual contributor contributions, etc. In order to have a map of agreements, disagreements, and varying perspectives to inform and guide future conversations, decisions, and actions.
(4) Foundation Proposals. Identify specific proposals to address prior concerns raised by the Wikimedia Foundation, along with processes for refinement and feedback. To ensure greater alignment to guide the movement towards future-, solution- and action-oriented next steps.
(5) Comparison Charters. Examine charter or charter-like documents (if they exist) from open source communities, technology organizations, international NGOs, volunteer-led social movements, etc. to understand how others have tackled this type of exercise and identify relevant lessons for the Wikimedia movement. Understand how technology-oriented social movements in particular have tackled this task. This will build on the work done previously by the Movement Charter Drafting Committee.
Next Steps
If you have views on these topics, or whether others should be considered, we invite your voice here on-wiki. We also remain in an active dialogue with people and groups who have expressed an interest to remain involved in this conversation (e.g. affiliates, interested contributors, MCDC members, others), and will use regional conferences and other in-person events for additional engagement. Our hope is to collect initial feedback on these mapping topics by January 2025.
Finally, this mapping effort will remain closely aligned to – and learn from – the three pilot experiments laid out in the Board’s July resolution and the prior version of the movement charter related to grants distribution, product/technology, and the affiliate ecosystem.
You can engage on any of these topics in multiple ways: using the on-wiki mechanisms above; requesting a meeting with Foundation leadership or Trustees through Talking:2024 or on this talk page or by joining an upcoming Conversation with Trustees.
This email is also co-signed by Board Chair Nat Tymkiv and CEO Maryana Iskander as we all continue shaping a path forward.
Dariusz Jemielniak
Chair, Governance Committee
Nataliia Tymkiv
Chair, Board of Trustees
Maryana Iskander
CEO, Wikimedia Foundation.
---------- Forwarded message ---------
Date: Thu, Aug 22, 2024 at 11:01 AM
Subject: Some next steps on a movement charter
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Hi again - I wrote three weeks ago about where I thought we were heading as a movement. You can read this letter below and also on Meta. It focused on the many challenges I see facing us in the world, and the opportunities we have to respond. I also shared hopes for constructive discussions at Wikimania that might clarify some next steps in developing a charter for the Wikimedia movement.
Thank you to all who are engaging with me, the Wikimedia Foundation staff, and Trustees, with a spirit of generosity, openness, and collective problem-solving. I acknowledge the difficult feedback we received about how the Foundation’s actions in the charter process may have eroded some trust. It will be hard to get everything right going forward, but we intend to approach next steps with more clarity about the Foundation’s obligations, limitations, and what changes we believe are possible under what conditions.
While the Board of Trustees outlined reasons for not ratifying this version of a charter, they also asked for help with this open proposal to co-create three realistic, time-bound experiments related to grants distribution, product/technology, and the affiliate ecosystem (some of the areas identified for a future Global Council). On-wiki feedback and sessions hosted at Wikimania have already improved the design of these experiments, and more input is needed.
Also, a consensus emerged from the helpful comments that were submitted through the ratification vote, on-wiki input, and constructive conversations during Wikimania sessions, that a “mapping exercise” could provide visibility into the areas of the charter where there is broad agreement, as well as areas of disagreement or divergence. The Board of Trustees tasked its Governance Committee to work on this mapping with other stakeholders who wish to remain engaged (e.g., affiliates, interested contributors, former members of the Movement Charter Drafting Committee) – input on how to design this exercise over the coming weeks is welcomed here. A summary of this mapping exercise will be published when it is completed. The intent is to find a practical path forward over the next several months.
The Wikimedia Foundation remains committed to a charter for our movement, with a goal of responsibly shifting more accountability and decision-making to representative councils and volunteer-led bodies. The 2030 movement strategy guides the Foundation’s work, and has been explicitly and repeatedly stated in the annual plan and budget. How we achieve many of the recommendations – including that of equity in decision-making – is where I believe people have differences of opinion and approach. Yet, to make difficult decisions together, we must come together and agree on our shared roles and responsibilities.
As I wrote below, the world needs the Wikimedia projects now more than ever, and at a time when we are experiencing rapid changes in how knowledge is being created, curated, and transmitted. As usual, we must face into many complex social, technical, regulatory and financial trends that require us to adapt swiftly. Finding the opportunities in these changes needs us all.
This email is also co-signed by Board Chair Nat Tymkiv and Governance Committee Chair Dariusz Jemielniak as we all work on finding a collective path forward. You can always contact me at
miskander@wikimedia.org or on my talk page or by signing up for a conversation with Foundation leaders and Trustees at Talking: 2024. The Board of Trustees will watch this page for ongoing input and questions, and I will also provide regular updates here and elsewhere.
Maryana Iskander
CEO, Wikimedia Foundation
Nataliia Tymkiv
Chair, Board of Trustees
Dariusz Jemielniak
Chair, Governance Committee.