Hi Gonçalo, It might also be useful to compare the new proposed Chapter
Agreement with a few existing Agreements from other chapters. Might give
you a better insight in the proposed changes and also provide you with some
alternative formulations. You can find ours here:
I will also ask the moderator on the session on bylaws during the Board
Member Training if he can pay some attention to the Chapter Agreement as
well.
Regards, Frans
*Frans Grijzenhout*, voorzitter / chair
+31 6 5333 9499
--
*Vereniging Wikimedia Nederland*
Mariaplaats 3 - 3511 LH Utrecht
Kamer van Koophandel 17189036
Op di 29 jan. 2019 om 14:22 schreef GoEthe.wiki <goethe.wiki(a)gmail.com>om>:
Hi,
Thank you all for the insightful and reassuring responses.
WMF agreed to extend our current chapter agreement for a couple of months
so that we have more time to go over the details and ask questions, and
discuss it with the membership of the chapter.
Cheers,
Gonçalo Themudo
*Presidente*
*Wikimedia Portugal*
*Email: *goethe.wiki(a)gmail.com
*Website: *http://pt.wikimedia.org <https://sites.google.com/view/themudo>
*Imagine um mundo onde cada ser humano pode partilhar livremente a soma de
todo o conhecimento, na sua própria língua.*
GoEthe.wiki <goethe.wiki(a)gmail.com> escreveu no dia segunda, 28/01/2019
à(s) 01:58:
(sorry for cross-posting, but since this is a
time sensitive issue, I
would like to get as many comments as possible)
Dear all,
Last 30 October, the Wikimedia Foundation (WMF) decided it needed more
time to evaluate the case of Wikimedia Portugal, it extended the
suspension
of Wikimedia Portugal, and said that they must
use the time that would
otherwise be the termination period for the Chapter Agreement between
Wikimedia Portugal and the Wikimedia Foundation, therefore giving notice
of
termination of the Chapter Agreement. WMF also
said that if Wikimedia
Portugal fully and completely resolved the issues described above and
otherwise remained compliant with its obligations as a chapter - which
happened, and the suspension was lifted - then WMF would sign a new
chapter
agreement with Wikimedia Portugal. The current
chapter agreement
therefore
terminates this 31 January. On 25 January WMF
sent us a new proposal of
Chapter Agreement for Wikimedia Portugal to sign. It can be seen here,
side
by side with the current Chapter Agreement
Wikimedia Portugal has with
the
WMF:
https://pt.wikimedia.org/wiki/Utilizador:Alchimista/Chapter_Agreement
This new proposal differs in many ways from the Chapter Agreement
currently in place, and from the ones other chapters have signed (at
least
the ones that are public) and we have several
questions about it, so we
would like to ask the Wikimedia Portugal associates, other affiliates and
the Wikimedia community in general to help us by clarifying some of these
questions and weigh in on the advantages and disadvantages of continuing
being a WMF affiliate under these changed conditions.
We have also accordingly asked from the WMF a two month extension of the
current Chapter Agreement, to allow for proper discussion of their
proposal.
Main concerns:
These are some of the main differences we found that are concerning us
(first in italic the current agreement, second in bold the new proposal)
-
“This Chapter is authorized to cover the geographic region of the
Portugal. The Foundation will not seek to create or authorize the
creation
of any additional chapter within this
geographic region. The
Foundation
will not engage with other local organizations
without consulting
with the
chapter.” (Current CA) disappears entirely,
and becomes “WMF hereby
recognizes Chapter as part of the Wikimedia movement supporting its
Focus
Area.” (i.e. Portugal)
-
Chapter shall do business as “Wikimedia Portugal, an independent
organization for Wikimedia volunteers in Portugal”, irrespective of
its
locally incorporated name. - this seems unique
among chapters, and in
our view conflicts with the possibility of affiliates including both
volunteers and professionals, as well as both Wikimedians and people
otherwise engaged and interested in programs, such as teachers,
librarians
and museologists. The tagline also seems
cumbersome, awkward and we
don’t
understand its purpose.
-
The Foundation agrees to support the activities of the Chapter and to
not engage in any activity that might negatively impact the work or
image
of the Chapter. (This disappears in the
current proposed agreement)
-
Exhibit B, 2. Approved use: Use of trademarks seems to be limited to
the geographic space of Portugal: “with respect to Chapter’s
activities in Portugal”. Does this mean that use in events, activities
and partnerships involving other countries (Wikimedia España, other
Iberocoop members, etc) requires a special authorization beforehand?
-
Exhibit B, 2. Approved use: “Promotion material that is not intended
for Wikimedia outreach activities or community-focused events as
defined in
the Wikimedia Trademark Policy (which may be
found at <
https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Trademark_policy >) are not
approved under this License and would require specific approval under
Section 3 below.” This one is a bit convoluted and even within our
group we have different understanding of what this means. Many of our
present and past activities include GLAM partnerships, photo
contests, and
conferences not in “WikiCon” style. By
following the link for the
Trademark
policy, it is not clear if these activities
are included in the
definition
of outreach or if section 4 of the Trademark
policy apply. This could
mean
that these activities need a bureaucratic
procedure defined as a
permission
in writing (by physical mail or by an email to
trademarks(a)wikimedia.org)
to use the Wikimedia Marks outside the scope
of this License (“
Additional
Use ”). Each such request must include: (1)
reference to this
agreement;
(2) attached samples of the proposed use; and
(3) the date(s) and
scope of
the proposed use. Bureaucratic procedures
increase enormously from the
current situation, without giving any apparent advantage over
non-affiliate
community members;
-
Use of the name and logo of Wikimedia Portugal in its fundraising
campaigns apparently must now be authorized beforehand (points 3.2
and 3.3
of the Trademark Policy
https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Trademark_policy )
-
Exhibit A, 5.4 Chapter governance reports: “Upon the request of WMF,
but no more than once per year, Chapter shall provide WMF with a
report
analyzing the effectiveness of Chapter’s
governance structures. The
report
shall be prepared by a firm external to
Chapter, and Chapter shall
provide
WMF with a copy of the report written in or
translated into English.”
In an organization with limited resources such as Wikimedia Portugal,
having to comply with such a request without providing the means to
realize
it would most probably dictate its end. We
would rather have it
explicitly
state what conditions would trigger such a
report, and that it would
not be
a financial burden;
-
Termination: “The term of this agreement is one year and is
automatically renewed unless notice is given three months in advance
by
either party.” (Current CA) becomes (7.1)
“This Agreement will
automatically renew for additional 1-year terms (“ Renewal Term ”),
unless
either party provides written notice of its
intent not to renew 30
days
prior to the end of the Term or Renewal Term.”
(7.2) “This Agreement
may be
terminated by either party without cause upon
60 days written notice
to the
other party.”
Thank you for your attention, and we appreciate any comment you might
have.
Best regards,
Gonçalo Themudo
*Presidente*
*Wikimedia Portugal*
*Email: *goethe.wiki(a)gmail.com
*Website: *http://pt.wikimedia.org <
https://sites.google.com/view/themudo>
*Imagine um mundo onde cada ser humano pode
partilhar livremente a soma
de
todo o conhecimento, na sua própria língua.*
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