_______________________________________________Dear all,
I have not been writing to the list for a while, so please bear with me: this will be a long one.
== March Board Meeting ==
The Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees met in New York City over March 22-24. This was the first time the Board met in person since 2020 because of the pandemic, and the first time many of us had ever met in person. It is good to know that with the lifting of all Covid-19 related travel restrictions with Foundation Grant funding we are going to have more offline community events now.
So, the Board’s official meeting was on March 23. During this session, the Board approved the December 8, 2021 meeting minutes [1], the updated Community Affairs Committee charter [2] to align with the other Board Committee charters, and approved the updated Conflict of Interest Policy [3].
The Board also approved a temporary reassignment of Esra’a Al Shafei’s roles as Board Vice Chair and Product and Technology Committee Chair, and a permanent reassigning of Esra’a’s positions as Elections Committee Liaison and a member of the Board Selection Task Force [4].
Occasionally, Trustees need to step away from Board work to focus on professional or other concerns. The Board feels it is important to accommodate these requests when possible. Esra’a Al Shafei had requested a brief sabbatical and returned to her full responsibilities on June 1, 2022. It also helped to shift responsibilities a bit, and give more visibility and experience to trustees who joined recently, which is overall good for planning roles succession on the board.
The Board also discussed governance issues and checked its progress against the 2019 governance review [5]. We have made progress on some of the items in the governance review, and we also discussed areas where we can continue to improve, such as Board operational processes and communication about Board activities. The Board also met with Maryana and other Foundation staff to review the Foundation’s Values and Guiding Principles, as part of Maryana’s priorities to elucidate values for the Wikimedia Foundation. Conversations about this are ongoing, and you might expect to hear more on this by the end of the year.
This was also an opportunity for the Board Committees to meet in person, as their meetings are usually happening online. In order to make communication about outcomes of the board meeting clearer, we have decided to have separate committees reporting to the movement about their spheres of responsibility. For example, Dariusz, as the chair of the Governance Committee, has already sent a letter on 2022 Trustee Selection and renewal of my appointment to the Board of Trustees [6]. The Board of Trustees has formally concluded [7] the work of the Funds Dissemination Committee (FDC) with gratitude and appreciation for all of the dedication of its members over the years. More on the Diff from Shani as the chair of the Community Affairs Committee (CAC) [8].
I want to thank the Foundation’s Galleries, Libraries, Archives and Museums (GLAM) team, especially Ben Vershbow and Fiona Romeo, for their work on planning a Learning Day visit to New Museum with some of our largest GLAM partners in New York City, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art and Rhizome, on March 22. During this meeting, the Trustees learned more about GLAM work done by volunteers and challenges they face. We also met with several community leaders, including Eliza Myrie and Jina Valentine (Black Lunch Table), Kira Wisniewski (Art + Feminism), Sherry Antoine (AfroCROWD), and Andrew Lih. Thank you to all the participants - you made our first Learning Day visit a success; it was a nice way to kick off the Board meeting.
I also want to use this opportunity to thank Victoria, Rosie, and Lorenzo, for fully engaging with their new transitioning roles and responsibilities.
== June 23 Board meeting ==
The Board’s next meeting will be online today, on June 23, and the main topic on the agenda will be the Annual Plan [9]. Also there would be discussion on working capital reserve policy, and updates about the Universal Code of Conduct (UCoC). Two Movement Charter Drafting Committee (MCDC) members will join the meeting as visitors [10]. After the meeting itself the Board will have a Q&A session with the Foundation staff. The outcomes of this meeting will be shared to the list in the coming weeks.
The Board plans to meet again in September in Berlin in conjunction with the Wikimedia Summit. I hope to see some of you there as well.
[1] https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Resolution:Minutes_December_8,_2022
[2] https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Community_Affairs_Committee_Charter
[3] https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Conflict_of_interest_policy
[4] https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Resolution:Adjusting_Board_Roles,_March_2022
[6] https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Resolution:2022_Trustee_Selection, https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Resolution:Renewing_Nataliia_Tymkiv%E2%80%99s_Appointment_to_the_Board_of_Trustees,_2022
[7] https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Resolution:Dissolving_the_Funds_Dissemination_Committee
[8] https://diff.wikimedia.org/2022/06/23/thanking-the-members-of-the-funds-dissemination-committee/ [9]
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_Annual_Plan/2022-2023/draft
[10] https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Resolution:Inviting_visitors_to_a_Board_of_Trustees_meeting_(2015)Best regards,
antanana / Nataliia TymkivChair, Wikimedia Foundation Board of TrusteesNOTICE: 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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