Dear Friends from the Indian Wikimedian Community,

An important election of community volunteers to the Board of Trustess was announced by the Wikimedia Fondation on MetaWiki in mid-June. You can access more details about this election here:

https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_elections/2021 

This was also announced on this list on 25 June by Krishna Chaitanya Velaga here:

https://lists.wikimedia.org/hyperkitty/list/wikimediaindia-l@lists.wikimedia.org/thread/JL5LBAQX4J22OK6GWO7WGYZK73VSNVTJ/  

The forthcoming Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees Community Election 2021 is a great opportunity for our Indian Wikimedian community. The Board of Trustees is the highest forum that governs the Foundation. It decides the course of action to be taken for the present and the future. It allocates resources and decides what are the priorities.

Four seats are up for election this time, and represents a great opportunity for our community to get one or more of our representatives elected.

India is likely the world’s largest user of Wikimedia Projects among nations. The Indian Community is one of the world’s most diverse, large communities in Wikimedia with 96 projects in 27 languages. However, the Indian Community has no representation in the Board even today.

The Indian Wikimedian Community can ensure their voice is heard in the WMF simply by voting for a member of our Community to this post. We can ensure that our concerns and matters that are important to us are discussed and that we also get equitable access to resources and priority for our cause.

I would like to inform you that I am now a candidate in the forthcoming election for Community volunteer seats of the WikiMedia Foundation’s Board of Trustees. 

I am an active member of Indian English language and Marathi language Wikimedian communities. I have been an active online editor since 25 March 2006, and became an offline activist of the Pune Wikimedian Community in January 2011. Since then, I have been deeply involved in conducting training sessions in the culture of Wikimedia and basic editing skills in many cities over many years. I have also mentored many young Wikimedians and informally advised CIS-A2K, Chapter, etc.

You can access more details on my candidacy page on MetaWiki here:

https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_elections/2021/Candidates/Ashwin_Baindur 

My vision for Wikimedia Movement is:

“an equitable, sustainable, safe, inclusive, accessible Wikimedia movement that presents the knowledge of the world to all parts of humanity in a manner best suited to the needs of the many communities.”

I have remained an unpaid volunteer because I believe that being a paid employee or consultant of WMF would cause a conflict of interest with my values. I believe this is an essential requisite for being a member of the Board of Trustees as well.

Based on my Wikimedia experience with the Indian community, both online and offline, my real life-experience, and my independence from the Foundation and its affiliates, I feel confident of representing the Global South faithfully, of which the Indian Community is a very important part.

In this election, besides me, we have a number of other good candidates standing for election as well. I urge you all to visit the site links given above and learn as much as you can about the election and these candidates, so that you make an informed choice. The election is on 4 August 2021 so there is adequate time for you to do this.

You are most welcome to contact me here for any queries or information at this email address:

ashlin.wikimedian@gmail.com

Sincerely,

Ashwin Baindur, User:AshLin