Hello all,
Hope you all are doing well.
As you all may know the Open Community Call
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/South_Asia_Open_Community_Call> is a
community call for South Asian Wikimedia Community members, we are excited
to inform you that the *Nineteenth* Open Community Call will be happening
this month on *21 July 2024 *(*i.e. **Sunday*).
As announced in our previous Open Community Call, we have opened up the
space for collecting the agenda points for discussion/announcements along
with Moderator sign-up on the meta page (
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/South_Asia_Open_Community_Call).
Please add the following to your respective calendars and we look forward
to seeing you on the call.
[SAOCC] Open Community Call
Date: 21 July 2024
Time: 1800-1900 [6 pm to 7 pm] (IST)
Google Link: https://meet.google.com/ffs-izis-bow
Please join the General Chat telegram group <https://t.me/+X9RLByiOxpAyNDZl> to
share your ideas, thoughts, inputs, suggestions, or questions.
Alternatively, you can also leave us a message on the talk page
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Talk:South_Asia_Open_Community_Call>.
Look forward to connecting with you all,
Thank you!
Warm regards,
Nitesh & Nivas
Hey! If you are interested in joining these calls, click on this public link
<https://calendar.google.com/calendar/u/5?cid=Y182ZWY5ZGQwODA4OWI2ZTdiNGRkNm…>
and
add the “Open Community Call” to get meeting invitations directly to your
calendar so that you don't miss out on any of our future calls. If you are
interested in moderating one of these calls, you can sign up under the
Moderator
Sign-up
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/South_Asia_Open_Community_Call#Moderator_Si…>
section.
Hello,
This is a gentle reminder that the scholarship applications for the
Wikimedia Technology Summit (WTS) 2024 are now open! We invite Mediawiki
tech contributors, active Wikimedians in WikiTech, open-source volunteers,
and students to apply for a scholarship to attend the summit, which will be
held at IIIT Hyderabad, India, on October 4 & 5, 2024.
This year's summit is especially significant as we concentrate on enhancing
inclusivity through technology connected to Wikipedia and its related
projects. especially for low-resource languages and communities. It
provides a unique opportunity for collaboration and knowledge exchange,
bringing together developers, researchers, and community leaders committed
to technological innovations that can improve Wikimedia projects and serve
diverse user groups.
To promote a diverse and inclusive environment at the WIKIMEDIA TECHNOLOGY
SUMMIT 2024, we are offering scholarships in four distinct categories:
1. Wikimedia Tech: For Wikimedia Technology volunteers and developers based
in India. (Approximately 20 scholarships available)
2. WikiClub/Tech Members: For students actively participating in technical
or technological clubs or groups within their educational institutions.
(Approximately 20 scholarships available)
3. Active Wikipedians: For active Wikipedians who may not be technical
experts but have a strong understanding of the technical challenges faced
on Wikimedia projects. (Approximately 20 scholarships available)
4. Special Category: For members of the Open Source and FOSS communities
residing in India. (Approximately 10 scholarships available)
Scholarship Application:
To apply, please fill out the application form at:
https://forms.gle/BCKVgsdJK1ggXwaz9
The deadline for submissions is July 10, 2024, and applicants will be
notified of the decisions in July 2024.
For more information, please visit the WTS Meta Page
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/3rd_Wikimedia_Technology_Summit_(WTS_2024)>
: https://w.wiki/AHQG
We encourage you to apply for a scholarship to attend this valuable summit.
We look forward to supporting your participation in WTS 2024.
Best regards,
Krupal Kasyap
9014120442
wts.indicwiki(a)iiit.ac.in
On behalf of the WTS 2024 Committee
Dear Wikimedia Community,
We are thrilled to announce that some Movement Charter (MC) Ambassadors
from South Asia are collectively organising an Open Community Call
dedicated to reviewing the Movement Charter. Here are the links for the
final draft of the Movement Charter and Audio Charter.
Dedicated Meta Page for the call:
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/CIS-A2K/Events/Indic_Community_Monthly_Enga…
Movement Charter: https://meta.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/Movement_Charter
Movement Charter Audio:
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Movement_Charter-_English.ogg
This call is a crucial step in ensuring a comprehensive understanding of
the Charter as we approach the ratification process.
Call Details:
-
Date: June 28th, 2024
-
Purpose: Open discussion and clarification regarding the final draft of
the Movement Charter
-
Call details:
Movement Charter Review Discussion
Friday, 28 Jun · 6 – 7 PM
Google Meet joining info
Video call link: https://meet.google.com/pqi-gdfo-bjy
Why Participate? This Open Community Call is an invaluable opportunity for
us to contribute to the future of Wikimedia governance. By participating,
you can help ensure that the Movement Charter reflects the diverse
perspectives and needs of our global community.
How You Can Get Involved:
-
Spread the Word: Share this announcement with your networks and
community channels.
-
Engage in Discussions: Facilitate and participate in discussions about
the Charter within your communities.
-
Register for the Call: Encourage your community members to join the
call. To stay updated please register yourself here :
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/CIS-A2K/Events/Indic_Community_Monthly_Enga…
Together, let's ensure that our collective voice shapes the future of the
Wikimedia movement.
For any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out.
Regards,
Nitesh
On behalf of the Strategic Group
Hello everyone!
I am writing to inform you about a job opportunity in a Wikimedia funded
project for the role of communications and community coordinator. For
context, the project 'Enhancing Indic Oral Culture on Wikimedia projects
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Grants:Programs/Wikimedia_Community_Fund/Ge…>'
aims to innovate in the field of oral culture documentation in the South
Asian region. Apart from training citizen archivists to document oral
culture and its application on various Wikimedia projects, this project
will also focus on exploring reuse of the documented content and
collaboration with similarly inclined institutions.
It is a part-time, hybrid (mostly remote) position for applicants within
India. Excellent communication skills and familiarity with the Wikimedia
movement and projects is desirable in applicants.
Please find more details in the PDF attached to this email. Request you to
also share with prospective applicants in your network.
Thanks and regards,
Amrit Sufi
Greetings all,
This email is a reminder that we are hosting our South Asia Open Community
Call <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/South_Asia_Open_Community_Call> today
(19 May 2024), from 6:00 pm to 7:00 pm, IST. The agenda of the call is
available on the meta page and etherpad as well The details for the call
are as follows:
*South Asia Open Community Call:*
*Time:* 6:00 pm to 7:00 pm, IST (90 mins)
*Date: *23 June 2024
*Google Meet Link:* https://meet.google.com/ffs-izis-bow
*Etherpad link:* https://etherpad.wikimedia.org/p/South_Asia_Community_Call
*Metapage: *https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/South_Asia_Open_Community_Call
Please feel free to reach out to us if you have any questions. Looking
forward to meeting you all soon!
Warm regards,
Nitesh and Nivas
Hello all,
Hope you all are doing well.
As you all may know the Open Community Call
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/South_Asia_Open_Community_Call> is a
community call for South Asian Wikimedia Community members, we are excited
to inform you that the *Eighteenth* Open Community Call will be happening
this month on coming *Sunday *(*i.e. **23 June 2024*).
As announced in our previous Open Community Call, we have opened up the
space for collecting the agenda points for discussion/announcements along
with Moderator sign-up on the meta page (
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/South_Asia_Open_Community_Call).
Please add the following to your respective calendars and we look forward
to seeing you on the call.
[SAOCC] Open Community Call
Date: 23 June 2024
Time: 1800-1900 [6 pm to 7 pm] (IST)
Google Link: https://meet.google.com/ffs-izis-bow
Please join the General Chat telegram group <https://t.me/+X9RLByiOxpAyNDZl> to
share your ideas, thoughts, inputs, suggestions, or questions.
Alternatively, you can also leave us a message on the talk page
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Talk:South_Asia_Open_Community_Call>.
Look forward to connecting with you all,
Thank you!
Warm regards,
Nitesh & Nivas
Hey! If you are interested in joining these calls, click on this public link
<https://calendar.google.com/calendar/u/5?cid=Y182ZWY5ZGQwODA4OWI2ZTdiNGRkNm…>
and
add the “Open Community Call” to get meeting invitations directly to your
calendar so that you don't miss out on any of our future calls. If you are
interested in moderating one of these calls, you can sign up under the
Moderator
Sign-up
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/South_Asia_Open_Community_Call#Moderator_Si…>
section.
Dear all,
I am writing on behalf of the Community Affairs Committee of the Wikimedia
Foundation Board of Trustees [1] to invite you to join live calls on June 9
to give feedback on the draft Procedure for Sibling Project Lifecycle [2].
Your feedback is also welcomed on Meta until the end of the day on June 23,
2024 (anywhere on Earth). This is a long read; thank you in advance for
your attention to its details.
== Terminology: what are “Sibling Projects”? ==
The term “Sister Project” has historically been used to describe all the
publicly available wikis (“Wikimedia Projects”) operated by the Wikimedia
Foundation, including Wikipedia, Wikimedia Commons, Wikidata, and others
[2]. Some community members have also used the term “Sister Project” in the
context of language versions of the same wiki, such as English Wikipedia,
Bengali Wikipedia, etc., or Vietnamese Wikisource, Catalan Wikisource, etc.
Still, other community members have interpreted “Sister Projects” as
synonymous with “WikiProjects”, such as English:Wikipedia:WikiProject
Military history or Wikidata:WikiProject sum of all paintings.
To address the confusion and to disambiguate the terms, a working term -
“Sibling Projects” - will be used to distinguish separate content projects
(wikis) from language variants of the same content project. Under this
naming scheme, Wikipedia, Wikisource and Wikidata are “Sibling Projects”.
Thus, the French Wikisource and Polish Wikisource would be “language
versions (French and Polish) of the same Sibling Project (Wikisource)”.
This is a working terminology, and it might change.
== Context ==
Historically, when Wikimedia Siblings started to be added to Wikipedia,
there was a surge of new projects, sometimes with and sometimes without
strategic or clear goals. At that time, the Wikimedia Foundation Board was
approving new Sibling projects (for example, Wikivoyage [3], Abstract
Wikipedia [4]). There is a separate committee (Language Committee) that
makes decisions on whether a new language version (subdomain) of existing
Wikimedia projects can be opened [5]. Still, there was nothing for other
“kinds of Wikimedia projects”. Since 2021, the responsibility to “address
new (...) site applications, including creating a formalized procedure,
from application to approval/disapproval” is the mandate of the Community
Affairs Committee (CAC), a Wikimedia Foundation Board Committee [6].
In the last 10 years, the Wikimedia Foundation Board has become cautious
about opening new Sibling Projects because of a lack of clear strategy
around approval, maintenance, and closure, a lack of understanding of their
impact, and questions around their sustainability in light of the
Foundation's mostly flat budget [7]. In addition, the technical work
necessary to maintain different Sibling Projects has often stretched the
Wikimedia Foundation’s capacity.
A little over a year ago, CAC created a Task Force [8] to help the
Wikimedia Foundation develop a direction on if, how, what, and when to
invest in the opening of new Sibling Projects, in order “to make sure that
any newly approved project is set up for success, and has the resources it
needs to function well” [9]. The Foundation needs to understand better what
services it would need to commit to this process while taking into account
the organization's limited capacity and budget. This task has to be
addressed in cooperation with the Product & Technology Department of the
Wikimedia Foundation, led by the Chief Product & Technology Officer, Selena
Deckelmann.
=== Assessment ===
To make space for the inflow of innovative ideas while maintaining and
continuing support for the existing Sibling Projects, it is important to
establish a clear process for the Sibling Projects’ lifecycle.
The application evaluation process preceding “opening a new Sibling
Project” will require considerable time as well as financial and human
resources, which needs quantification. An assessment of the needed
investment in the technology could be significant depending on the scope of
the proposed project (for example, Wikifunctions [10] needs very different
resources than a new project that uses standard mediawiki installations),
especially in cases of possible maintenance of the project in perpetuity.
Evaluating a new application to validate the concept, its impact on the
existing Wikimedia technical ecosystem, the human and financial resourcing
implications, and future maintenance costs will be time-consuming and might
need considerably more staff.
At the same time, an evaluation of the existing Sibling Projects needs to
occur as not all are meeting their potential with promoting the Movement's
mission. We need to develop an evaluation process for a Sibling Project's
success and sustainability. We also need clearly defined approaches for
splitting, merging, sunsetting, and/or possibly adopting Sibling Projects
by different organizations.
== How to provide feedback ==
Your feedback is warmly welcome. The feedback can be given from today until
the end of the day on June 23, 2024 (anywhere on Earth). We hope that a
fairly long feedback period will allow for rich discussions without feeling
rushed. There are several ways that you can provide feedback:
-
Review the page here, on Meta [2] and leave comments on the talk page.
-
Join open calls (June 9 at 02:00 to 03:00 UTC and June 9 at 16:00 to
17:00 UTC) [12]
-
Request a conversation as a part of Talking:2024
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_Community_Affairs_Comm…>
by using the Wikimedia Foundation Community Affairs Committee/Talking:
2024#Let’s Talk|Let’s Talk
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_Community_Affairs_Comm…'s_talk>
feature to sign up for a time to speak with me and other trustees about
this topic.
Kind regards,
Victoria Doronina, Task Force Lead
On behalf of the Community Affairs Committee of the Wikimedia Foundation
Board of Trustees
[1]
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_Community_Affairs_Comm…
[2]
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_Community_Affairs_Comm…
[3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Wikimedia_sister_projects
[4]
https://diff.wikimedia.org/2013/01/15/wikimedia-foundation-launches-wikivoy…
[5] https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Resolution:Abstract_Wikipedia
[6] https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Language_committee
[7]
https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Community_Affairs_Committee_Charter
[8]
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_Annual_Plan/2023-2024/…
[9]
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_Community_Affairs_Comm…
[10]
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Talk:Proposals_for_new_projects#From_the_Bo…
[11] https://www.wikifunctions.org/wiki/Wikifunctions:About
[12]
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Talk:Wikimedia_Foundation_Community_Affairs…
--
Kind regards, Victoria
Victoria Doronina
<https://wikimediafoundation.org/profile/dr-victoria-doronina/>
Trustee
Sister Projects Taskforce Lead
Wikimedia Foundation <https://wikimediafoundation.org/>
Imagine a world in which everyone can freely share in the sum of all
knowledge. Please help us make it a reality.
Dear all,
I would like to take the opportunity to inform you all about the upcoming
annual Wikimedia Foundation banner fundraising campaign in India.
The fundraising campaign will have two components.
1.
We will send emails to people who have previously donated from India.
The emails are scheduled to be sent between the 22nd of July to the 15th
of August.
2.
We will run banners for non-logged in users in India on English
Wikipedia itself. The banners will run from the 13th of August to the
10th of September.
Prior to this, we are planning to run some tests, so you might see banners
for 3-5 hours a couple of times before the campaign starts. This activity
will ensure that our technical infrastructure works.
I am also sharing with you a community collaboration page
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fundraising/WMF_India_fundraising_campaign>,
where we outline more details around the campaign, share some banner
examples, and give you space to engage with the fundraising campaign.
Generally, before and during the campaign, you can contact us:
-
On the talk page of the fundraising team
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Talk:Fundraising>
-
If you need to report a bug or technical issue, please create a
phabricator ticket
<https://phabricator.wikimedia.org/maniphest/task/edit/form/1/?template=1188…>
-
If you see a donor on a talk page, VRT
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Volunteer_Response_Team> or
social media having difficulties in donating, please refer them to donate
at wikimedia.org
Thanks you and regards,
Julia
--
*Julia Brungs*
Lead Community Relations Specialist
Wikimedia Foundation <https://wikimediafoundation.org/>
Hello Wikimedians,
Hope you are doing well!
We are excited to announce our upcoming Wiki Technical Training 2024
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/CIS-A2K/Events/Wiki_Technical_Training_2024>
event
on *22 and 23 June 2024*. The training aims to improve the technical
understanding of the contributors of Wikimedians who have experience in
contributing to language and theme projects and are interested in
contributing to technical spaces of Wikimedia by building and empowering
them with the essential skills needed to contribute effectively to
Wikimedia projects. The training program focuses on introducing technical
spaces besides a few tools that help contribute to Wikimedia projects
besides tracking community contributions.
We are inviting scholarship applications from all Indic Wiki project
contributors who are interested in technical spaces and are excited to
start their technical journey in the Wikimedia world. The scholarship
covers selected participants' travel, accommodation, food, and related
expenses. As this is a pilot event, the scholarship seats are limited in
number. Kindly apply on or before *4 June 2024* for timely consideration.
*Link to the scholarship form: *https://forms.gle/wfg6yZiF3GGH5MLX7
*Link to the event meta page: *Wiki Technical Training 2024 (Meta Wiki page)
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/CIS-A2K/Events/Wiki_Technical_Training_2024>
*Event Dates:* 22 and 23 June, 2024
*Location: *To Be Announced
*Last date to apply for the scholarship: *4 June 2024
If you have any questions or need assistance with the application, please
reach out to us at program(a)cis-india.org
Thank you!
Regards,
Nivas
(On behalf of the CIS-A2K team)
Dear Wikimedians,
We are pleased to announce that the scholarship application for the Wikimedia
Technology Summit (WTS) 2024
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/3rd_Wikimedia_Technology_Summit_(WTS_2024)> is
now open! We invite all Indic Wiki project Tech contributors, active
Wikimedians in WikiTech, and open-source volunteers to apply for a
scholarship to attend the summit, which will be held at IIIT Hyderabad,
India <https://www.iiit.ac.in/>, in October 2024.
Wikimedians residing in India are encouraged to apply for this opportunity
to join us at WTS 2024.
You can find more details about the scholarships, including eligibility
criteria and the application process, more details here
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/3rd_Wikimedia_Technology_Summit_(WTS_2024)>
To apply for a scholarship, please fill out the application form at
https://forms.gle/a9xZjwfbU1VzNghg7
The deadline for submissions is July 10, and applicants will be informed of
the decisions in July 2024.
We look forward to receiving your applications and hope to see you at WTS
2024!
Best regards,
Kasyap
wts.indicwiki(a)iiit.ac.in
On behalf of the WTS 2024 Scholarship Committee