Dear Maryana Iskander and Wikimedia Foundation,
I hope this email finds you well. I am writing to request more transparency about the roles and responsibilities of WMF staff in India. I am assuming good faith and believe that any issues arising are unintentional; however, these occurrences seem to be negatively impacting the overall movement.
It has come to my attention that WMF allocates a relatively small amount of funds to the Indian community. This implies that a significant portion of donor money is spent on staff, making it crucial to ensure that donors and the Wiki community are aware of how the funds are being utilized and the impact generated.
Firstly, I have noticed that WMF hires non-community staff members who may be initially unfamiliar with the Wikimedia community and movement in general. This is not an issue as long as newly recruited staff members are willing to work collaboratively with the community, rather than competing with them. Unfortunately, there have been instances where this has not been the case, such as WMF India staff paying Instagram users without consulting the community, and the recent WikiConference India, where WMF staff overshadowed volunteer committees and took over volunteer roles during conference planning.
Initially, I thought that privacy concerns might be the reason behind the lack of transparency. However, during the recent conference, I observed that such staff members were comfortable being on stage and being identified as WMF Staff amongst friends from the industry whom they invited to the conference. It appears that more people from the industry are aware of WMF India staff's existence than the community itself. Some staff members were keen to take credit for the entire movement and even conference planning in front of the volunteer community and friends from the industry. It might help and advance the careers of WMF India staff by showcasing WikiConference India on their resumes, but the main purpose of such community events is to give a chance to community leadership and to celebrate unpaid community members. I am okay with WMF staff being paid, but it should not undermine unpaid volunteers and the movement's ethos.
The Wiki community looks up to WMF staff for support, but now there is a fear that WMF staff may hijack community programs and stages, with WikiConference India being a recent example.
There seems to be a lot of mystery surrounding the roles and responsibilities of WMF India staff members and their interactions with volunteer communities. The Wiki community is dedicated to the mission and will continue to thrive even without WMF staff. I believe it is crucial for WMF to publicly share the roles, responsibilities, and outcomes of the WMF India staff over the last few years. This transparency will enable community members and donors to appreciate the efforts of WMF India staff, as currently, the impact of their work remains unknown.
I kindly request that WMF provides a list of all WMF India staff members and their achievements, so we can celebrate their accomplishments and collaborate with them more effectively.
Looking forward to your response.
With Regards,
Jayantilal