Indeed, the proposed changes do not seem to be an improvement at all, for
the reasons stated in the talk page.
Paulo
Chris Keating <chriskeatingwiki(a)gmail.com> escreveu no dia sábado,
8/12/2018 à(s) 09:46:
Same here!
TL:DR – This might not be a great idea, because it’s not what User Groups
were designed for. And shouldn’t the WMF Board be thinking more broadly
than this sort of fiddling round the edges?
Chris
Sent from Mail for Windows 10
From: Lane Rasberry
Sent: 07 December 2018 17:13
To: Wikimedia Mailing List
Cc: wikimediaannounce-l(a)lists.wikimedia.org
Subject: Re: [Wikimedia-l] Proposed changes to the Wikimedia Foundation
Bylaws
Hello,
I posted some comments and questions to the talk page.
<
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Talk:Wikimedia_Foundation_bylaws/December_2…
I would appreciate anyone else jumping in to comment, fill in information
gaps, or advance the conversation in any way.
Thanks -
On Fri, Dec 7, 2018 at 10:46 AM María Sefidari <msefidari(a)wikimedia.org>
wrote:
> Dear all,
> The Wikimedia Foundation Board of
Trustees is considering amending the
> Wikimedia Foundation Bylaws. Nataliia Tymkiv, Chair of the Board
Governance
Committee, is leading this process. She has
posted the proposed changes
on
> Meta for discussion
> <
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_bylaws/December_2018_-…
>
> prior to our vote on them during
the Board meeting scheduled for January
> 23, 2019. We invite you to comment on the proposal's talk page. As usual
in
these cases, two weeks are provided for community
comment, from December
7
> to December 21.
> By making the proposed changes to the
Bylaws, the Board intends to
achieve
> three goals:
> *1. Include User Groups in the
trustee selection process*
> Though User Groups have existed as a
model of affiliation within the
> Wikimedia movement for a number of years, they have not been included
> together with Chapters and Thematic Organizations as participants in
> selecting Wikimedia Foundation trustees. There are now over 100
recognized
User Groups, many of which represent emerging
communities within the
Wikimedia movement. The Board believes that the perspectives of User
Groups
combined with those of Chapters and Thematic
Organizations will lead to
the
> selection of the best trustee candidates.
> The Board acknowledges that the
ongoing Wikimedia movement strategy
process
may result in changes to many aspects of the
Wikimedia movement,
including
the structure of movement affiliates. As a
result, any changes we make
now
> to the Foundation Bylaws regarding the role of affiliates in the trustee
> selection process may need to be modified again in the future, in turn
> requiring additional amendments to the Bylaws. However, the Board did not
> want to delay providing User Groups with a voice in the upcoming 2019
> trustee selection process.
> *2. Raise term limits for trustees
from two to three consecutive terms*
> Term limits for trustees were added
to the Bylaws in 2015. At the time,
> there was a desire on the Board to bring in new voices and specific
> skill-sets needed for the growth and development of Wikimedia projects.
The
changes made at that time have resulted in some
notable successes in that
regard. The Board remains committed to seeking out new voices, and
providing the community with ample opportunities to promote such voices
as
> candidates for the Board.
> As the Wikimedia movement and the
Wikimedia Foundation think forward
> further to the future, the Board will need to oversee the Foundation in
> setting, following through on, and achieving longer-term goals. The Board
> believes it will be better able to fulfill its role if it allows for the
> potential of a longer time on the Board for individual trustees who bring
> essential expertise and insight to the Board. The possibility of serving
> one additional term on the Board also reduces the amount of time the
Board
and Foundation staff spend on trustee recruitment
and onboarding. Raising
the maximum number of consecutive terms a trustee may serve from two to
three terms achieves these goals, and is also consistent with the
practice
of many other boards. Raising the maximum number
of terms that can be
served consecutively does not change the fact that the community,
including
affiliates, will continue to be able to determine
every three years
whether
> or not to re-elect currently serving trustees or whether to elect new
> candidates - just as is the case now.
> *3. Reaffirm the Board’s commitment
to diversity*
> The Wikimedia movement is global,
built on a vision of reaching every
> single human being and working toward a strategic goal of knowledge
equity
for all. The Board believes that it can best
serve the Wikimedia
Foundation
and the movement by reflecting a wide range of
human experiences. We want
to underscore and codify this belief in the Bylaws by adding express
language affirming our commitment to diversity and inclusion of all
voices,
> throughout our communities - new, older and emerging.
> Kind regards,
> María Sefidari
> Chair, Wikimedia Foundation Board
> _______________________________________________
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--
Lane Rasberry
user:bluerasberry on Wikipedia
206.801.0814
lane(a)bluerasberry.com
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