Wonder if I missed any response to this mail (or there wasnt any?)
I agree with most of the points raised in the mail. For me, it is vital that the new
energies (whatever their motivations be) should be aligned without overlaps and
duplications. And they should be within the same ambit of participatoriness (which does
not always result in an efficient or easy process) should be followed. I would most
certainly call for wider deliberation and reflection before such "drastic"
measures.
Regards,
Prashanth
On 15-Nov-2011, at 4:46 PM, Hari Prasad Nadig wrote:
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 10:41 AM, Hisham <hmundol(a)wikimedia.org> wrote:
cross-posting to foundation-l & internal-l from India Community list; apologies if
you've read this already.
hisham
Begin forwarded message:
From: Hisham <hmundol(a)wikimedia.org>
Subject: Wikimedia India Program Trust
Date: November 11, 2011 9:55:00 AM GMT+05:30
To: Wikimedia India Community list <wikimediaindia-l(a)lists.wikimedia.org>
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_Progr…
As always, do reach out if you have any comments or questions.
Warm Regards,
hisham
--
Hari Prasad Nadig
http://hpnadig.net
Twitter:
http://twitter.com/hpnadig
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http://flickr.com/hpnadig
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