Hello all!
The Wikimedia Foundation Board has unanimously approved the changes to the Bylaws [1] during the last Board meeting on January 30, 2019. This will be covered in the minutes, and the resolution will be published in short order.
This change allows the participation of User Groups [2] in the Affiliate-selected Board seats (ASBS) 2019 process [3]. The discussion about this process should start as soon as possible in order to have these two seats selected by Wikimania. This is why we are sending this letter now, before the resolution is published.
There are now over 100 recognized User Groups, covering over 50 countries, several languages and topics, many of whom represent new and emergent communities within the Wikimedia movement. The Board believes that the added perspectives of the User Groups, combined with the voices of Chapters and Thematic Organizations, will lead to a richer collection of guidance for our movement. The conversation about how User Groups may participate in this process has been on for years, it is not a new topic [4].
Once the facilitators of the Selection process are appointed by the affiliates, they should work with María Sefidari, who has been chosen by the Board as the Board liaison for the ASBS process.
Given the potential complexity of organizing a process that now will include over a hundred user groups, the Wikimedia Foundation is offering its support to set up infrastructure and help with communications if requested by the affiliates.
A page for translation can be found at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Affiliate-selected_Board_seats/2019/Wikimedi...
On behalf of the Board
antanana / Nataliia Tymkiv
Chair of the Board Governance Committee
[1] https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_bylaws/December_2018_-_...
[2] https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_user_groups
[3] https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Affiliate-selected_Board_seats/2019
[4] https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_bylaws/January_2014_-_A...
*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!*
Antanana and the board,
I find it sad and disappointing that after such a long conversation on the talk page, there wasn't any comment on the talk page or in this statement about the problem of double voting by many UG's members. Did the board even discuss that or we just wasted our time giving feedback on it?
Ensuring equality in voting is the basis for every democracy and is trampled here completely without any comment from the board about how to ensure it.
*Itzik Edri* Chairperson itzik@wikimedia.org.il +972-54-5878078
On Tue, Feb 19, 2019 at 5:18 PM Nataliia Tymkiv ntymkiv@wikimedia.org wrote:
Hello all!
The Wikimedia Foundation Board has unanimously approved the changes to the Bylaws [1] during the last Board meeting on January 30, 2019. This will be covered in the minutes, and the resolution will be published in short order.
This change allows the participation of User Groups [2] in the Affiliate-selected Board seats (ASBS) 2019 process [3]. The discussion about this process should start as soon as possible in order to have these two seats selected by Wikimania. This is why we are sending this letter now, before the resolution is published.
There are now over 100 recognized User Groups, covering over 50 countries, several languages and topics, many of whom represent new and emergent communities within the Wikimedia movement. The Board believes that the added perspectives of the User Groups, combined with the voices of Chapters and Thematic Organizations, will lead to a richer collection of guidance for our movement. The conversation about how User Groups may participate in this process has been on for years, it is not a new topic [4].
Once the facilitators of the Selection process are appointed by the affiliates, they should work with María Sefidari, who has been chosen by the Board as the Board liaison for the ASBS process.
Given the potential complexity of organizing a process that now will include over a hundred user groups, the Wikimedia Foundation is offering its support to set up infrastructure and help with communications if requested by the affiliates.
A page for translation can be found at:
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Affiliate-selected_Board_seats/2019/Wikimedi...
On behalf of the Board
antanana / Nataliia Tymkiv
Chair of the Board Governance Committee
[1]
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_bylaws/December_2018_-_...
[2] https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_user_groups
[3] https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Affiliate-selected_Board_seats/2019
[4]
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_bylaws/January_2014_-_A...
*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!* _______________________________________________ Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines and https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia-l New messages to: Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, mailto:wikimedia-l-request@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe
In fact, I did not participate in the discussion page on meta about that, because I guessed that my opinion would not be taken in account, neither discussed, and now it seems that, sadly, I was right in that thought.
El 2019-02-19 17:25, Itzik - Wikimedia Israel escribió:
Antanana and the board,
I find it sad and disappointing that after such a long conversation on the talk page, there wasn't any comment on the talk page or in this statement about the problem of double voting by many UG's members. Did the board even discuss that or we just wasted our time giving feedback on it?
Ensuring equality in voting is the basis for every democracy and is trampled here completely without any comment from the board about how to ensure it.
*Itzik Edri* Chairperson itzik@wikimedia.org.il +972-54-5878078
On Tue, Feb 19, 2019 at 5:18 PM Nataliia Tymkiv ntymkiv@wikimedia.org wrote:
Hello all!
The Wikimedia Foundation Board has unanimously approved the changes to the Bylaws [1] during the last Board meeting on January 30, 2019. This will be covered in the minutes, and the resolution will be published in short order.
This change allows the participation of User Groups [2] in the Affiliate-selected Board seats (ASBS) 2019 process [3]. The discussion about this process should start as soon as possible in order to have these two seats selected by Wikimania. This is why we are sending this letter now, before the resolution is published.
There are now over 100 recognized User Groups, covering over 50 countries, several languages and topics, many of whom represent new and emergent communities within the Wikimedia movement. The Board believes that the added perspectives of the User Groups, combined with the voices of Chapters and Thematic Organizations, will lead to a richer collection of guidance for our movement. The conversation about how User Groups may participate in this process has been on for years, it is not a new topic [4].
Once the facilitators of the Selection process are appointed by the affiliates, they should work with María Sefidari, who has been chosen by the Board as the Board liaison for the ASBS process.
Given the potential complexity of organizing a process that now will include over a hundred user groups, the Wikimedia Foundation is offering its support to set up infrastructure and help with communications if requested by the affiliates.
A page for translation can be found at:
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Affiliate-selected_Board_seats/2019/Wikimedi...
On behalf of the Board
antanana / Nataliia Tymkiv
Chair of the Board Governance Committee
[1]
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_bylaws/December_2018_-_...
[2] https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_user_groups
[3] https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Affiliate-selected_Board_seats/2019
[4]
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_bylaws/January_2014_-_A...
*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!* _______________________________________________ Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines and https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia-l New messages to: Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, mailto:wikimedia-l-request@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe
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As for process.. While I appreciate that this time, the change was at least announced before the vote, and that some board members at least engaged in some conversation - I have yet to see how this was taken into consideration by the board as a whole. It feels like the board already made up its mind.
What is surprising me most, is that it took a month for this announcement to be made - especially considering a time sensitive process being impacted by this decision. Or did I miss a more timely announcement elsewhere?
Best, Lodewijk
On Wed, Feb 20, 2019 at 3:19 AM Santiago Navarro < santiagonavarro@wikimedia.es> wrote:
In fact, I did not participate in the discussion page on meta about that, because I guessed that my opinion would not be taken in account, neither discussed, and now it seems that, sadly, I was right in that thought.
El 2019-02-19 17:25, Itzik - Wikimedia Israel escribió:
Antanana and the board,
I find it sad and disappointing that after such a long conversation on the talk page, there wasn't any comment on the talk page or in this statement about the problem of double voting by many UG's members. Did the board even discuss that or we just wasted our time giving feedback on it?
Ensuring equality in voting is the basis for every democracy and is trampled here completely without any comment from the board about how to ensure it.
*Itzik Edri* Chairperson itzik@wikimedia.org.il +972-54-5878078
On Tue, Feb 19, 2019 at 5:18 PM Nataliia Tymkiv ntymkiv@wikimedia.org wrote:
Hello all!
The Wikimedia Foundation Board has unanimously approved the changes to the Bylaws [1] during the last Board meeting on January 30, 2019. This will be covered in the minutes, and the resolution will be published in short order.
This change allows the participation of User Groups [2] in the Affiliate-selected Board seats (ASBS) 2019 process [3]. The discussion about this process should start as soon as possible in order to have these two seats selected by Wikimania. This is why we are sending this letter now, before the resolution is published.
There are now over 100 recognized User Groups, covering over 50 countries, several languages and topics, many of whom represent new and emergent communities within the Wikimedia movement. The Board believes that the added perspectives of the User Groups, combined with the voices of Chapters and Thematic Organizations, will lead to a richer collection of guidance for our movement. The conversation about how User Groups may participate in this process has been on for years, it is not a new topic [4].
Once the facilitators of the Selection process are appointed by the affiliates, they should work with María Sefidari, who has been chosen by the Board as the Board liaison for the ASBS process.
Given the potential complexity of organizing a process that now will include over a hundred user groups, the Wikimedia Foundation is offering its support to set up infrastructure and help with communications if requested by the affiliates.
A page for translation can be found at:
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Affiliate-selected_Board_seats/2019/Wikimedi...
On behalf of the Board
antanana / Nataliia Tymkiv
Chair of the Board Governance Committee
[1]
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_bylaws/December_2018_-_...
[2] https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_user_groups
[3] https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Affiliate-selected_Board_seats/2019
[4]
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_bylaws/January_2014_-_A...
*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!* _______________________________________________ Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines and https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia-l New messages to: Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, mailto:wikimedia-l-request@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe
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-- Santiago Navarro Sanz Presidente Wikimedia España www.wikimedia.es
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No, you aren't missing anything. The timeline is strange.
As Antanana wrote, *"The conversation about how User Groups may participate in this process has been on for years, it is not a new topic [4]." * So if it isn't a new proposal, why the board jumped to do this change so close to the election instead of a year or so before? On the other hand, if this issue is old enough, so why do the change now, instead of holding the elections and then conduct (without pressure) a REAL discussion and DEEP thinking about how to involve UGs while maintaining equal elections.
*Itzik Edri* Chairperson itzik@wikimedia.org.il +972-54-5878078
On Wed, Feb 20, 2019 at 8:01 PM effe iets anders effeietsanders@gmail.com wrote:
As for process.. While I appreciate that this time, the change was at least announced before the vote, and that some board members at least engaged in some conversation - I have yet to see how this was taken into consideration by the board as a whole. It feels like the board already made up its mind.
What is surprising me most, is that it took a month for this announcement to be made - especially considering a time sensitive process being impacted by this decision. Or did I miss a more timely announcement elsewhere?
Best, Lodewijk
On Wed, Feb 20, 2019 at 3:19 AM Santiago Navarro < santiagonavarro@wikimedia.es> wrote:
In fact, I did not participate in the discussion page on meta about that, because I guessed that my opinion would not be taken in account, neither discussed, and now it seems that, sadly, I was right in that thought.
El 2019-02-19 17:25, Itzik - Wikimedia Israel escribió:
Antanana and the board,
I find it sad and disappointing that after such a long conversation on the talk page, there wasn't any comment on the talk page or in this statement about the problem of double voting by many UG's members. Did the board even discuss that or we just wasted our time giving feedback on it?
Ensuring equality in voting is the basis for every democracy and is trampled here completely without any comment from the board about how to ensure it.
*Itzik Edri* Chairperson itzik@wikimedia.org.il +972-54-5878078
On Tue, Feb 19, 2019 at 5:18 PM Nataliia Tymkiv <ntymkiv@wikimedia.org
wrote:
Hello all!
The Wikimedia Foundation Board has unanimously approved the changes to the Bylaws [1] during the last Board meeting on January 30, 2019. This will be covered in the minutes, and the resolution will be published in short order.
This change allows the participation of User Groups [2] in the Affiliate-selected Board seats (ASBS) 2019 process [3]. The discussion about this process should start as soon as possible in order to have these two seats selected by Wikimania. This is why we are sending this letter now, before the resolution is published.
There are now over 100 recognized User Groups, covering over 50 countries, several languages and topics, many of whom represent new and emergent communities within the Wikimedia movement. The Board believes that the added perspectives of the User Groups, combined with the voices of Chapters and Thematic Organizations, will lead to a richer collection of guidance for our movement. The conversation about how User Groups may participate in this process has been on for years, it is not a new topic [4].
Once the facilitators of the Selection process are appointed by the affiliates, they should work with María Sefidari, who has been chosen by the Board as the Board liaison for the ASBS process.
Given the potential complexity of organizing a process that now will include over a hundred user groups, the Wikimedia Foundation is offering its support to set up infrastructure and help with communications if requested by the affiliates.
A page for translation can be found at:
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Affiliate-selected_Board_seats/2019/Wikimedi...
On behalf of the Board
antanana / Nataliia Tymkiv
Chair of the Board Governance Committee
[1]
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_bylaws/December_2018_-_...
[2] https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_user_groups
[3] https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Affiliate-selected_Board_seats/2019
[4]
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_bylaws/January_2014_-_A...
*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!* _______________________________________________ Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines and https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia-l New messages to: Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l
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-- Santiago Navarro Sanz Presidente Wikimedia España www.wikimedia.es
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În joi, 21 feb. 2019 la 16:59, Itzik - Wikimedia Israel itzik@wikimedia.org.il a scris:
No, you aren't missing anything. The timeline is strange.
As Antanana wrote, *"The conversation about how User Groups may participate in this process has been on for years, it is not a new topic [4]." * So if it isn't a new proposal, why the board jumped to do this change so close to the election instead of a year or so before? On the other hand, if this issue is old enough, so why do the change now, instead of holding the elections and then conduct (without pressure) a REAL discussion and DEEP thinking about how to involve UGs while maintaining equal elections.
Actually, the timeline (give or take a couple of weeks) seems quite well chosen to force a timely discussion. Realistically speaking, if a wiki-discussion has lagged for years, it would have also lagged until the next round of elections, in 3 years. Also, having a solution in place for the current election does not prevent another round of discussions afterwards, based on the then-existing experience.
I understand that the chapters have concerns regarding their ability to have a say in the board, but the fact that there has been a lack in new chapters in recent years has given them an unfair advantage over other organizations in the ecosystem. Most of the objections on the talk page focused on how the UGs will double vote, skew the elections etc. without considering that many user groups have established internal policies and decision-taking procedures on par with smaller chapters. I urge all of the chapter representatives to give up the fearmongering and work with the interested parties to make this dialogue a showcase of openness and collaboration "à la Wikimedia".
Strainu (for himself)
*Itzik Edri* Chairperson itzik@wikimedia.org.il +972-54-5878078
On Wed, Feb 20, 2019 at 8:01 PM effe iets anders effeietsanders@gmail.com wrote:
As for process.. While I appreciate that this time, the change was at least announced before the vote, and that some board members at least engaged in some conversation - I have yet to see how this was taken into consideration by the board as a whole. It feels like the board already made up its mind.
What is surprising me most, is that it took a month for this announcement to be made - especially considering a time sensitive process being impacted by this decision. Or did I miss a more timely announcement elsewhere?
Best, Lodewijk
On Wed, Feb 20, 2019 at 3:19 AM Santiago Navarro < santiagonavarro@wikimedia.es> wrote:
In fact, I did not participate in the discussion page on meta about that, because I guessed that my opinion would not be taken in account, neither discussed, and now it seems that, sadly, I was right in that thought.
El 2019-02-19 17:25, Itzik - Wikimedia Israel escribió:
Antanana and the board,
I find it sad and disappointing that after such a long conversation on the talk page, there wasn't any comment on the talk page or in this statement about the problem of double voting by many UG's members. Did the board even discuss that or we just wasted our time giving feedback on it?
Ensuring equality in voting is the basis for every democracy and is trampled here completely without any comment from the board about how to ensure it.
*Itzik Edri* Chairperson itzik@wikimedia.org.il +972-54-5878078
On Tue, Feb 19, 2019 at 5:18 PM Nataliia Tymkiv <ntymkiv@wikimedia.org
wrote:
Hello all!
The Wikimedia Foundation Board has unanimously approved the changes to the Bylaws [1] during the last Board meeting on January 30, 2019. This will be covered in the minutes, and the resolution will be published in short order.
This change allows the participation of User Groups [2] in the Affiliate-selected Board seats (ASBS) 2019 process [3]. The discussion about this process should start as soon as possible in order to have these two seats selected by Wikimania. This is why we are sending this letter now, before the resolution is published.
There are now over 100 recognized User Groups, covering over 50 countries, several languages and topics, many of whom represent new and emergent communities within the Wikimedia movement. The Board believes that the added perspectives of the User Groups, combined with the voices of Chapters and Thematic Organizations, will lead to a richer collection of guidance for our movement. The conversation about how User Groups may participate in this process has been on for years, it is not a new topic [4].
Once the facilitators of the Selection process are appointed by the affiliates, they should work with María Sefidari, who has been chosen by the Board as the Board liaison for the ASBS process.
Given the potential complexity of organizing a process that now will include over a hundred user groups, the Wikimedia Foundation is offering its support to set up infrastructure and help with communications if requested by the affiliates.
A page for translation can be found at:
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Affiliate-selected_Board_seats/2019/Wikimedi...
On behalf of the Board
antanana / Nataliia Tymkiv
Chair of the Board Governance Committee
[1]
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_bylaws/December_2018_-_...
[2] https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_user_groups
[3] https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Affiliate-selected_Board_seats/2019
[4]
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_bylaws/January_2014_-_A...
*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!* _______________________________________________ Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines and https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia-l New messages to: Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l
,
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-- Santiago Navarro Sanz Presidente Wikimedia España www.wikimedia.es
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The way I'm making sense of the timeline is:
Last summer the Board remembered that the ASBS was coming up (in among all their conversations about the strategy). Probably in July they discussed it for the first time and they asked AffCom to look at a way of including User Groups. At the November meeting they looked at AffCom's recommendation and decided not to accept it 'as is' but to leave the door open to other solutions. They then started the formal community consultation. At the January meeting they adopted the still very open proposals they'd consulted on.
Personally I would have preferred the Board to consult in public back in July rather than just consulting AffCom at that point, then we might be 3 months in advance. And I expressed my reservations about this change, so did many other people. But it's the job of any board to make decisions, and in this case it seems they felt there were good reasons for going ahead in spite of the objections raised - and to be fair the voices on the Meta page were a relatively narrow slice of the overall Wikimedia community.
To those who still have concerns, there is plenty of space to still design a process that meets them.
And if this issue makes people have wider thoughts about the role of affiliates and the WMF, please hold onto them, because there is much more movement strategy thinking coming up in the run up to the Wikimedia Summit, and the strategy process is probably going to work on a scale that makes this issue seem insignificant.
Thanks,
Chris
On Thu, Feb 21, 2019 at 8:05 PM Strainu strainu10@gmail.com wrote:
În joi, 21 feb. 2019 la 16:59, Itzik - Wikimedia Israel itzik@wikimedia.org.il a scris:
No, you aren't missing anything. The timeline is strange.
As Antanana wrote, *"The conversation about how User Groups may
participate
in this process has been on for years, it is not a new topic [4]." * So if it isn't a new proposal, why the board jumped to do this change so close to the election instead of a year or so before? On the other hand, if this issue is old enough, so why do the change now, instead of holding the elections and then conduct (without pressure) a
REAL
discussion and DEEP thinking about how to involve UGs while maintaining equal elections.
Actually, the timeline (give or take a couple of weeks) seems quite well chosen to force a timely discussion. Realistically speaking, if a wiki-discussion has lagged for years, it would have also lagged until the next round of elections, in 3 years. Also, having a solution in place for the current election does not prevent another round of discussions afterwards, based on the then-existing experience.
I understand that the chapters have concerns regarding their ability to have a say in the board, but the fact that there has been a lack in new chapters in recent years has given them an unfair advantage over other organizations in the ecosystem. Most of the objections on the talk page focused on how the UGs will double vote, skew the elections etc. without considering that many user groups have established internal policies and decision-taking procedures on par with smaller chapters. I urge all of the chapter representatives to give up the fearmongering and work with the interested parties to make this dialogue a showcase of openness and collaboration "à la Wikimedia".
Strainu (for himself)
*Itzik Edri* Chairperson itzik@wikimedia.org.il +972-54-5878078
On Wed, Feb 20, 2019 at 8:01 PM effe iets anders <
effeietsanders@gmail.com>
wrote:
As for process.. While I appreciate that this time, the change was at
least
announced before the vote, and that some board members at least
engaged in
some conversation - I have yet to see how this was taken into
consideration
by the board as a whole. It feels like the board already made up its
mind.
What is surprising me most, is that it took a month for this
announcement
to be made - especially considering a time sensitive process being
impacted
by this decision. Or did I miss a more timely announcement elsewhere?
Best, Lodewijk
On Wed, Feb 20, 2019 at 3:19 AM Santiago Navarro < santiagonavarro@wikimedia.es> wrote:
In fact, I did not participate in the discussion page on meta about that, because I guessed that my opinion would not be taken in
account,
neither discussed, and now it seems that, sadly, I was right in that thought.
El 2019-02-19 17:25, Itzik - Wikimedia Israel escribió:
Antanana and the board,
I find it sad and disappointing that after such a long
conversation on
the talk page, there wasn't any comment on the talk page or in this statement about the problem of double voting by many UG's members. Did the
board
even discuss that or we just wasted our time giving feedback on it?
Ensuring equality in voting is the basis for every democracy and is trampled here completely without any comment from the board about
how
to ensure it.
*Itzik Edri* Chairperson itzik@wikimedia.org.il +972-54-5878078
On Tue, Feb 19, 2019 at 5:18 PM Nataliia Tymkiv <
ntymkiv@wikimedia.org
wrote:
Hello all!
The Wikimedia Foundation Board has unanimously approved the
changes to
the Bylaws [1] during the last Board meeting on January 30, 2019. This will be covered in the minutes, and the resolution will be published in
short
order.
This change allows the participation of User Groups [2] in the Affiliate-selected Board seats (ASBS) 2019 process [3]. The discussion about this process should start as soon as possible in order to
have
these two seats selected by Wikimania. This is why we are sending this letter now, before the resolution is published.
There are now over 100 recognized User Groups, covering over 50 countries, several languages and topics, many of whom represent new and
emergent
communities within the Wikimedia movement. The Board believes
that the
added perspectives of the User Groups, combined with the voices of Chapters and Thematic Organizations, will lead to a richer collection of guidance for our movement. The conversation about how User Groups may participate in this process has been on for years, it is not a new topic [4].
Once the facilitators of the Selection process are appointed by
the
affiliates, they should work with María Sefidari, who has been
chosen
by the Board as the Board liaison for the ASBS process.
Given the potential complexity of organizing a process that now
will
include over a hundred user groups, the Wikimedia Foundation is offering its support to set up infrastructure and help with communications
if
requested by the affiliates.
A page for translation can be found at:
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Affiliate-selected_Board_seats/2019/Wikimedi...
On behalf of the Board
antanana / Nataliia Tymkiv
Chair of the Board Governance Committee
[1]
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_bylaws/December_2018_-_...
[2] https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_user_groups
[3]
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Affiliate-selected_Board_seats/2019
[4]
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_bylaws/January_2014_-_A...
*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!* _______________________________________________ Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines and https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia-l New messages to: Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe:
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-- Santiago Navarro Sanz Presidente Wikimedia España www.wikimedia.es
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Hello,
Chris Keating chriskeatingwiki@gmail.com escreveu no dia quinta, 21/02/2019 à(s) 21:43:
(...) be fair the voices on the Meta page were a relatively narrow slice of the overall Wikimedia community.
The so called "WMF gap" is a recurrent issue, and was the theme of a "working group proposal" (?) in a practical workshop at the recent Iberocoop meeting in Santiago, where some ideas to reduce it were put forward. It is very evident that there is an huge gap between the WMF and the communities in the projects - and often with the affiliates as well. I sincerely hope that the Strategy Work Groups would came up with some proposals to help reduce that, as IMO it is one of the greatest causes of conflict and mistrust with the WMF.
But in this particular case I doubt that more diversity of voices would have made any difference, since despite all the suggestions and apparent negotiation that took place there, not even a comma seems to have been changed in BoT's initial proposal, they approved it exactly as it was.
Best, Paulo
Hi,
I understand that, in face of this decision, something (the "movement"? the affiliates? who?) will have to come up with some process in some place (where?) to viabilize the inclusion of UGs in the Affiliate-selected Board seats (ASBS) 2019 process, which is expected to start in about 45 days.
What happens if no consensus is reached during that time frame? Will ASBS be pushed forward indefinitely until some consensus on the process is reached?
How do fluid entities like UGs without even a proper registry of its members will chose a representant? I believe at least that will have to be decided.
All this reminds-me of the infamous Paulo Coelho quote from "O Alquimista": "Quando alguém quer uma coisa, *todo o Universo* conspira para que possa realizá-la" - "When someone wants something, all the Universe conspires to make it happen". And also of another very well known Portuguese sayings: "pushing something forward with one's belly".
Best, Paulo - DarwIn Wikimedia Portugal
Nataliia Tymkiv ntymkiv@wikimedia.org escreveu no dia terça, 19/02/2019 à(s) 15:17:
Hello all!
The Wikimedia Foundation Board has unanimously approved the changes to the Bylaws [1] during the last Board meeting on January 30, 2019. This will be covered in the minutes, and the resolution will be published in short order.
This change allows the participation of User Groups [2] in the Affiliate-selected Board seats (ASBS) 2019 process [3]. The discussion about this process should start as soon as possible in order to have these two seats selected by Wikimania. This is why we are sending this letter now, before the resolution is published.
There are now over 100 recognized User Groups, covering over 50 countries, several languages and topics, many of whom represent new and emergent communities within the Wikimedia movement. The Board believes that the added perspectives of the User Groups, combined with the voices of Chapters and Thematic Organizations, will lead to a richer collection of guidance for our movement. The conversation about how User Groups may participate in this process has been on for years, it is not a new topic [4].
Once the facilitators of the Selection process are appointed by the affiliates, they should work with María Sefidari, who has been chosen by the Board as the Board liaison for the ASBS process.
Given the potential complexity of organizing a process that now will include over a hundred user groups, the Wikimedia Foundation is offering its support to set up infrastructure and help with communications if requested by the affiliates.
A page for translation can be found at:
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Affiliate-selected_Board_seats/2019/Wikimedi...
On behalf of the Board
antanana / Nataliia Tymkiv
Chair of the Board Governance Committee
[1]
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_bylaws/December_2018_-_...
[2] https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_user_groups
[3] https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Affiliate-selected_Board_seats/2019
[4]
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_bylaws/January_2014_-_A...
*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!* _______________________________________________ Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines and https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia-l New messages to: Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, mailto:wikimedia-l-request@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe
Hello,
If anyone wants to join the process of administering the election, then you have a chance!
Please note that the ultimate authority in this election is the consensus of voting organizations. No individual can speak for those organizations, and instead, volunteers like you can organize the election in consensus with other volunteer election organizers. By default, this election will happen as it has in the past, but if you have comments or changes, the election page is a wiki and you should participate.
See the 2019 election page here! THIS IS IT, POST HERE! https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Affiliate-selected_Board_seats/2019
Here is the FAQ from the 2016 page. Read it to get general information about how this election works, and help to update it to include user groups! https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Affiliate-selected_Board_seats_election_FAQ
Here is the general documentation page for these two seats! https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Affiliate-selected_Board_seats
You can be an election facilitator! You can run this election! Sign up and start posting here! https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Talk:Affiliate-selected_Board_seats/2019#201... !
Here is what needs to be done -
1. help confirm the schedule for calling for candidates, opening the vote, and ending the election 2. post all comments and criticism to the talk page, and also, answer other people's comments. Make requests of what you want to happen! 3. contact a chapter or user group and discuss the election 4. consider which candidates to nominate - nominations open soon 5. prepare election policy not only for this election but for reuse in future elections 6. encourage diversity and inclusion in all aspects of the election process
@Itzik and @Darwin - you are invited to bring your comments to the election's talk page. The best comments to bring are comments on behalf of a voting organization and which recommend a specific solution to problems raised. Bring your colleagues.
Thanks -
On Tue, Feb 19, 2019 at 11:50 AM Paulo Santos Perneta < paulosperneta@gmail.com> wrote:
Hi,
I understand that, in face of this decision, something (the "movement"? the affiliates? who?) will have to come up with some process in some place (where?) to viabilize the inclusion of UGs in the Affiliate-selected Board seats (ASBS) 2019 process, which is expected to start in about 45 days.
What happens if no consensus is reached during that time frame? Will ASBS be pushed forward indefinitely until some consensus on the process is reached?
How do fluid entities like UGs without even a proper registry of its members will chose a representant? I believe at least that will have to be decided.
All this reminds-me of the infamous Paulo Coelho quote from "O Alquimista": "Quando alguém quer uma coisa, *todo o Universo* conspira para que possa realizá-la" - "When someone wants something, all the Universe conspires to make it happen". And also of another very well known Portuguese sayings: "pushing something forward with one's belly".
Best, Paulo - DarwIn Wikimedia Portugal
Nataliia Tymkiv ntymkiv@wikimedia.org escreveu no dia terça, 19/02/2019 à(s) 15:17:
Hello all!
The Wikimedia Foundation Board has unanimously approved the changes to
the
Bylaws [1] during the last Board meeting on January 30, 2019. This will
be
covered in the minutes, and the resolution will be published in short order.
This change allows the participation of User Groups [2] in the Affiliate-selected Board seats (ASBS) 2019 process [3]. The discussion about this process should start as soon as possible in order to have
these
two seats selected by Wikimania. This is why we are sending this letter now, before the resolution is published.
There are now over 100 recognized User Groups, covering over 50
countries,
several languages and topics, many of whom represent new and emergent communities within the Wikimedia movement. The Board believes that the added perspectives of the User Groups, combined with the voices of
Chapters
and Thematic Organizations, will lead to a richer collection of guidance for our movement. The conversation about how User Groups may participate
in
this process has been on for years, it is not a new topic [4].
Once the facilitators of the Selection process are appointed by the affiliates, they should work with María Sefidari, who has been chosen by the Board as the Board liaison for the ASBS process.
Given the potential complexity of organizing a process that now will include over a hundred user groups, the Wikimedia Foundation is offering its support to set up infrastructure and help with communications if requested by the affiliates.
A page for translation can be found at:
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Affiliate-selected_Board_seats/2019/Wikimedi...
On behalf of the Board
antanana / Nataliia Tymkiv
Chair of the Board Governance Committee
[1]
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_bylaws/December_2018_-_...
[2] https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_user_groups
[3] https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Affiliate-selected_Board_seats/2019
[4]
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_bylaws/January_2014_-_A...
*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!* _______________________________________________ Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines and https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia-l New messages to: Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, mailto:wikimedia-l-request@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe
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