Hisham,
There has been much discussion on this already, but this does sound like some *serious* development to someone like me who has been a long time volunteer from India. And perhaps to several other long time contributors from here too, who seem to be staying away from adding their opinion here for a reason.
Thinking back about the time years back when many of us were used to spending our personal earnings to organize small scale outreach programs here, things have surely changed now and much of the development in last couple of years has been, to say the least, *overwhelming*.
India is now getting to see well funded conferences, the funds are now flowing in for new programs that seem to be keen in quickly 'inducing' a community that otherwise would have taken its own time growing in an organic way.
While all this focus on India and the sudden inflow of funds is all quite amazing, this new development seems to indicate that the chapter, which has the potential to better represent the community doesn't get to be at the center stage anymore.
When the Chapter was formed, a major decision involved choosing between the open, more democratic legal model of a 'society' and slightly locked-in model of a 'trust'. The Chapter chose the 'society' model which presented more democratic setup despite the paperwork, hassles and the delay it presented. Although Bishaka did mention on an earlier email about the trust, there was nothing much to indicate why specifically the India programs office needs to be registered as a trust.
A serious concern in this context is that in a trust, the trustees needn't change. Although new trustees can be elected, the control remains with the initial set of trustees on board. The assets of the trust will be governed by this closed set of trustees who are not subject to elections or restricted to any fixed term unlike the model the chapter is built on.
It is rather disturbing and surprising to see none of the volunteers from the community actually voicing their concerns about this. There sure was a huge discussion when the legal model of chapter was in question. I should note here that Wikimedia India Chapter could have started operating earlier than it did had we gone for the 'trust' model, as this one presented lesser hassles with respect to paperwork. I should also admit that I was one of the people who objected strongly to the idea of going for a 'trust' and instead voted for the 'society' model when the chapter was being formed.
Although I'm no longer part of the chapter now, it is quite disturbing for me to see the efforts put into chapter being pulled to a certain possibility of being sidelined and undermined, if not fully forced to shut its office.
Like Ray expressed in an earlier email, it starts to give an impression that somewhere we have lost our way. These two organizations would compete, create more confusion than that exists now. It would surely make people alienated. And above all - the community faces the risk of being dried out with tons of chemical fertilizers that are being thrown in powered by huge funds to pacify the growth. The rapidly spewed 'community' can vanish or evaporate with just the same pace. The land could get barren. More than the numbers, it will be the quality (which in turn retains the interest of people contributing to it) that would sustain the projects. And if we continue like this, there might be a time when nothing would grow even with the best of the funds thrown in.
Cheers,
On Fri, Nov 11, 2011 at 9:55 AM, Hisham hmundol@wikimedia.org wrote:
Hi Folks,
I'm writing to share an update with you on certain developments of relevance to the Wikimedia movement in India. ****
*Announcement of Wikimedia India Program Trust*
For some time, efforts have gone into creating an organization that would provide an appropriate structure to support Wikimedia program activities in India. Aspects such as the current regulatory framework (regarding funding, taxation, etc.) as well as the legal protection for the India team have been considered to determine this structure. In this context, a host of options (e.g. subsidiary, branch, Section 25) were evaluated and a determination was made towards an independent non-profit public trust. Legal advice has been taken at every stage in this decision. ****
A new entity, the “Wikimedia India Program Trust”, has now been formed and registered (in Delhi.) This will be the organization that will eventually drive India programs and house the team in India.****
*Why an Independent Public Trust?*
The Trust will provide an effective vehicle within India to marshal resources to support programs and partner with local institutions. The objective of the Trust is to promote the objectives of the Wikimedia movement and work closely with the Wikimedia community on various projects with an India focus. It is important to understand that the Trust will not have any editorial control over content on any of the Wikimedia projects. The Trust is a not for profit organization.****
*Introduction of Trustees*
Trustees have been identified based upon their support for Wikimedia movement's principles and plans in addition to having reputations for good governance and management.****
Sunil Abraham and Rahul Matthan have been requested to be the initial Trustees. Both are friends of Wikipedia and have extensive experience.***
Sunil is Executive Director of the Centre for Internet & Society (CIS), is a long term advocate of free software and IP reform and has been supporting the Wikimedia community and movement for some time now.****
Rahul is a partner and heads the technology practice at Trilegal. He brings deep expertise and relationships that will be valuable for the Trust.
These initial Trustees will serve for a term of three years at the maximum. All additional or subsequent Trustees will serve on rotation in accordance with a trustee selection plan that will be prepared.****
Trustees will not be compensated for their services.****
*Governance, Funding, Financial Standards & Communications of the Trust*
The Trust will be governed by Trustees who will provide oversight and guidance regarding the operations and governance of the Trust.****
Since the Trust is an independent organization, it will require funding for its operations which is in compliance with the legal and regulatory framework in India. It will seek funding from private donors within India as well as external sources.****
The Trust has the support of the Wikimedia Foundation which is a United States based non-profit foundation. However, in India all non-profit organizations need to be in existence for 3 years before they can receive funding from sources outside India. In the interim, they can apply for prior-permission under the FCRA regulations to help expedite the process. As a result, the Trust will shortly be applying for approval to receive funds from the Wikimedia Foundation in the future.****
As a Trust, we are required to have an independent external auditor. We have appointed KPMG. KPMG is experienced in auditing non-profit companies and are also auditors for the Wikimedia Foundation.****
Annually, the Trust will publicly disclose it's independently audited financial statements. ****
The Trust will publish a monthly newsletter outlining its current activities and future plans. This will commence in December 2011.****
*Operations of the Trust*
The trust deed under which the Trust must operate clearly states that the purpose of the Trust is to independently promote the growth of volunteer activities within India in support of effective and unrestricted dissemination of free knowledge to the public.****
I will serve as the Executive Director of the Trust. Once it is possible, additional employees will be brought on to the Trust****
The Trust will eventually have an office in Delhi.****
In the interim, I have personally secured temporary office space to facilitate establishing the Trust and its mission. It is located at Top Floor, G-15, Hauz Khas, New Delhi - 110 016. It's a couple of minutes walk away from IIT Flyover and Hauz Khas Metro. Do drop in! It's a small but cozy place and we'd love to have you over!****
*Conclusion*
We continue to make progress in setting up program activities to support the growth of Wikimedia in India. We have a long way to go, but are glad that we are starting to build a solid foundation.****
The following link is for FAQs on this (and related) topics: http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/FAQ_India_Programs/FAQ_Wikimedia_India_Progra... As always, do reach out if you have any comments or questions.
Warm Regards,
hisham
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