Dear Wikimedians,
As you may be aware, the Wikimedia Foundation has started elections[1] for
community seats on the Board of Trustees. While previously there were three
community seats on the Board, with the expansion of the Board to sixteen
seats last year, community seats have been increased to eight, four of
which are up for election this year.
In the last fifteen years of the Board's history, there were only a few
candidates from the South Asian region who participated in the elections,
and hardly anyone from the community had a chance to serve on the Board.
While there are several reasons for this, this time, the Board and WMF are
very keen on encouraging and providing support to potential candidates from
historically underrepresented regions. This is a good chance to change the
historical problem of representation from the South Asian region in
high-level governance structures.
Ten days after the call for candidates began, there aren't any candidates
from South Asia yet[2], there are still 10 days left! I would like to ask
community members to encourage other community members, whom you think
would be potential candidates for the Board. While the final decision is
completely up to the person, it can be helpful to make sure that they are
aware of the election and the call for candidates.
Let me know if you need any information or support.
Best
--
Krishna Chaitanya Velaga (he/him)
Board Governance Facilitator, Wikimedia Foundation
[1] https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_elections/2021
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_elections/2021/Candida…>
[2]
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_elections/2021/Candida…
Dear Indic Wikimedians,
As you may be aware, the Wikimedia Foundation has started elections[1] for
community seats on the Board of Trustees. While previously there were three
community seats on the Board, with the expansion of the Board to sixteen
seats last year, community seats have been increased to eight, four of
which are up for election this year.
In the last fifteen years of the Board's history, there were only a few
candidates from the South Asian region who participated in the elections,
and hardly anyone from the community had a chance to serve on the Board.
While there are several reasons for this, this time, the Board and WMF are
very keen on encouraging and providing support to potential candidates from
historically underrepresented regions. This is a good chance to change the
historical problem of representation from the South Asian region in
high-level governance structures.
Ten days after the call for candidates began, there aren't any candidates
from South Asia yet[1], there are still 10 days left! I would like to ask
community members to encourage other community members, whom you think
would be potential candidates for the Board. While the final decision is
completely up to the person, it can be helpful to make sure that they are
aware of the election and the call for candidates.
Let me know if you need any information or support.
Best
--
Krishna Chaitanya Velaga (he/him)
Board Governance Facilitator, Wikimedia Foundation
[1] https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_elections/2021
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_elections/2021/Candida…>
[2]
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_elections/2021/Candida…
Hello everyone / Sat Sri Akal / Namaskar / Adaab,
The third session of Stay safe, stay connected will take place on *Sunday,
20 June 2021 *at *7:00 pm to 8:30 pm IST*. In this session, we are inviting
Wikimedians from neighbourhood countries to participate. Wikimedians from
*Bangladesh*, *India*, *Nepal*, *Pakistan*, *Sri Lanka* etc. are expected
to participate.
For more details, feel free to see the event page here:
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Stay_safe,_stay_connected#Session_III
In this neighbourhood community solidarity session, the participants can—
1. share about the projects and exciting events they are doing in the
countries;
2. learn what is going on in other regions in the neighbourhood;
3. possibly think or discuss past cross-border collaboration or
collaborative projects;
4. possibly discuss any point of tension among the Wikimedia projects;
(Please read more on Diff:
https://diff.wikimedia.org/2021/06/08/stay-safe-stay-connected-session-iii-…
)
*Asaf Bartov *will be the facilitator of this meeting. The session will be
hosted on Zoom. Please fill this short form, if you are interested to
attend the talk: https://forms.gle/e85k84tX4oroKkjx7
You may alternatively send an email to wmwm(a)cis-india.org if you have
trouble filling the Google form or if you have any query.
P.S. Feel free to speak in your native language during the call. That's
cool. We'll try to translate.
Regards
Satdeep
Dear Wikimedians,
As part of its ongoing program
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/COVID-19_support_for_Wikimedians/India> to
support Wikimedians in India during the COVID 19 pandemic, CIS-A2K has
organised 'Awareness/orientation session on Mental health and pandemic.
This online session is open to all Wikimedians in India to understand more
about mental health concerns that are prevalent at the present time, due to
pandemic-related anxiety, stress and trauma. This interactive session would
ideally aim to:
- create awareness and sensitisation about mental health in general
- deliberate on the variety of issues faced by people at this particular
time
- demystify/address any misgivings/stigma related to mental health
issues and counselling/therapy/treatment
- and encourage people to avail counselling services in case they feel
the need for the same.
The details of the session are as follows -
- Date: Saturday, 12 June 2021
- Time: 4 to 6 pm (IST)
- Expert: Dr. Anand Nadkarni, Psychiatrist and founder of IPH
- More about Dr. Anand Nadkarni - http://iphpune.org/wp/about-me/- LinkedIn
profile -
https://www.linkedin.com/in/anand-nadkarni-41a290129/?originalSubdomain=in-
Videos on Avahan channel - https://www.youtube.com/c/AVAHANIPH/videos
- Link: To be shared soon.
We kindly request you to book your time slot for this important session and
promote the event in your communities as well.
Stay safe, with best wishes,
Subodh
On behalf of A2K team,
Centre for Internet & Society - Access to Knowledge Programme
Hello all,
The 2021 Board of Trustees election[1] is coming soon. Candidates from the
community are needed to fill the available seats.
The Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees oversees the Wikimedia
Foundation's operations. Community trustees and appointed trustees make up
the Board of Trustees. Each trustee serves a three-year term. The Wikimedia
community has the opportunity to vote for community trustees.
Wikimedia contributors will vote to fill four seats on the Board in 2021.
This is an opportunity to improve the representation, diversity, and
expertise of the Board as a team.
For potential candidates:
- *Traits:* Wikimedia is a global movement and seeks candidates from the
broader community. Candidates should think about what experiences and
perspectives they will bring to the Board. Ideal candidates align with the
Wikimedia mission and are thoughtful, respectful, and community-oriented.
The Board would like to find perspectives and voices that are
under-represented and essential for our movement. They should bring what
Wikimedia needs from a new Trustee.
- *Commitment: *Trustees serve a three-year term and can serve up to
three consecutive terms. The time commitment is about 150 hours per year,
excluding travel. This time is not evenly spread throughout the year. The
time is concentrated around meetings. The expectation is that Trustees
serve on at least one of the Board’s committees.
- *Requirements*[2]: English is the language of business for the Board.
Candidates need a basic understanding of English, but support and training
are part of onboarding. Candidate applications will be translated into
several languages to reach a broad audience of voters.
- *Apply*[3]: Candidates from all projects and communities who meet the
needs of Wikimedia Trustee are welcome. If you know someone who could be a
good trustee, encourage them to run for election. Candidates can find
information and submit their nomination on the Apply to be a Candidate page.
- *Resources*[4]: A toolkit has been developed for community members who
are considering submitting their candidacy for the Wikimedia Foundation
Board of Trustees, and who want to better understand what to expect and how
to prepare for the role.
Thank you for your support,
The Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees
[1]
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Wikimedia_Foundation_ele…
[2]
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Wikimedia_Foundation_ele…
[3]
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_elections/2021/Apply_t…
[4]
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_elections/Candidate_Re…
--
Krishna Chaitanya Velaga (he/him)
Board Governance Facilitator, Wikimedia Foundation
Hello,
The second session of Stay Safe Stay connected Stay Connected, a
lightweight interaction zone for the Wikimedians in India, will take place
on Saturday 5 June 2021 at 5 pm to 6:30 pm IST (11:30 am to 1:00 pm UTC).
Please see the event page here:
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Stay_safe,_stay_connected#Session_II
This will be a Wikisource community fraternity meeting where Wikisource
editors can meet and talk to each other. We may speak about the ongoing and
upcoming Wikisource projects, share interesting news and updates around
Wikisource.
Wikisource editors from all around India are expected to be attending the
call. User:VIGNERON, French Wikisource editor, and User:Samwilson, from
English Wikisource, will be attending. If you are a Wikisource editor or
enthusiast, please join this Wikisource community call.
Please fill this short form, if you are interested to attend:
https://forms.gle/e85k84tX4oroKkjx7
For any query, please email wmwm(a)cis-india.org
Stay safe, stay connected.
Regards,
Jayanta
Note:
1) The session will be hosted on Zoom and this session will be recorded.
2) Please feel free to speak in your native language during the call.
That's cool. We'll try to translate.
3) In the open session or during discussion, you may speak about your/your
community's Wikisource work. If you want to show any page/project keep the
link handy.
Dear Wikimedians,
As part of its ongoing program to support Wikimedians in India during the
COVID-19 pandemic, CIS-A2K will provide support with access to counselling
services to community members, in order to address mental health concerns
resulting from the stress and anxiety of coping with the pandemic The A2K
team has collaborated with the Institute of Psychological Health
<https://www.healthymind.org/> to provide the counselling support.
A2K would endeavour to provide support under this component of the
programme as follows :
1) Awareness/Orientation Session on Mental Health and the Pandemic
This session will be organised online and will be open to all Wikimedians
in India looking to understand more about mental health concerns that are
prevalent at the present time, due to pandemic-related anxiety, stress and
trauma. The details of the session will be announced here shortly, with a
link to a separate event page.
2) *Individual *Counselling Sessions
Interested Wikimedians who wish to apply for this support may fill out
this application
form. <https://forms.gle/WXLj2cR4jie6r1pc6>
For more details of this programme, please visit this meta page -
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/COVID-19_support_for_Wikimedians/India/COVI…
With best wishes,
Subodh Kulkarni
On behalf of A2K team,
Centre for Internet & Society - Access to Knowledge Programme
Hello all,
We hope that you are doing well. We wanted to inform you that A2K is going
to initiate an internet support program for the Wikimedians in India from 1
June 2021. This will continue till 31 August 2021. It will be a part of
Project Tiger, this time we are starting with the internet support, writing
contest and other things that will follow afterwards. Currently in this
first phase applications for the Internet will be accepted.
An event page has been started, you can visit the link:
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Internet_support_for_Wikimedians_in_India
You may also see the FAQ section:
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Internet_support_for_Wikimedians_in_India#F…
For reviewing the applications, there will be a committee that will make
decisions for the applications. After the committee's response, support
will be provided. For more information please visit the event page (linked
above). The criteria and application procedure is set up already. Please go
through the page and apply if you find you are eligible for applying.
Please also share this information with your community.
Stay safe, stay connected,
Thanks & Regards,
Nitesh Gill
Hi all
An article by Andreas Kolbe on WMF fundraising practices has been published
recently. I think this is worth reading as the same false and negative
impressions mentioned here were widely circulated among Indian netizens
during the last India Fundraising campaign as WMF "begged" for money for
"survival".
https://www.dailydot.com/debug/wikipedia-endownemnt-fundraising/
Regards,
Bodhisattwa