De: Maor Malul
Enviado: 15 de julho de 2018 03:40
Para: Gonçalo Themudo; Joao Miguel Vasconcelos; Waldir Pimenta
Cc: Wikimedia Portugal; Affiliations Committee list
Assunto: Suspension of Wikimedia Portugal

 

July 15, 2018

 

To the members of Wikimedia Portugal,

 

This is to notify you and Wikimedia Portugal that the Wikimedia Foundation is officially suspending some of Wikimedia Portugal’s benefits in Wikimedia Foundation programs. We have  concerns with the Wikimedia Portugal's non-compliance with the Chapter Agreement dated February 1, 2011 and continued failure to fully remediate issues and community concerns despite multiple prior notices.

 

While Wikimedia Portugal is suspended, it 1) will not be eligible for new grants, 2) will not be eligible to participate in the Wikimedia Conference, and 3) will not be eligible as fiscal sponsor for community member scholarships.

 

To be in compliance with the Chapter Agreement, Wikimedia Portugal must address the following issues:

1. The Chapter has not supplied a written Financial Report in English at least once a year to the Foundation, within four months of each chapter year end (Chapter Agreement, Section 8.1). The Chapter has one outstanding Financial Report covering activities from January 2017 through December 2017, which should have been published by April 2018.
2. We have concerns that the Chapter engaged in activity that might negatively impact the work or image of the Wikimedia Foundation and the Wikimedia movement (Chapter Agreement, Section 6.2). There have been public reports of the Chapter's conflict happening publicly, risking a negative impact on other Wikimedians' work and reputation. Additionally, the Chapter's issues with properly calling a general assembly and selecting members of its board have undermined the legitimacy of the Chapter's work and ongoing activity and interfered with its ability to carry out its obligations under the chapter agreement.
3. The Chapter did not advise the Foundation of change in the bylaws or status of the Chapter (Chapter Agreement, Section 7.2).

The Wikimedia Foundation also has also received reports on the following issues:

 

• We have been told that the Chapter has organized General Assembly meetings that do not comply with the relevant portions of the Chapter's bylaws and applicable local laws. Wikimedia organizations are expected to fulfill all of their legal and organizational governance requirements. These reports do not give us confidence that the organization is effectively stewarding the trust and reputation of the Wikimedia movement. In particular, we have received concerning reports about the following meetings:
• IX General Assembly (held on December 14, 2017): We have been told that the call for the Chapter's assembly did not follow the guidelines of the Chapter's bylaws and the relevant portions of the Portuguese Civil Code. We have been told that the call was not sent to most of the members of the chapter; those who received the notice did so on the very day of the General Assembly and did not receive the required 7-days advance notice. Additionally, we have been told that the Board of the Chapter has not presented a plan of activities, ineligible people were allowed to vote at the meeting, and the minutes from the meeting were not properly recorded on the Chapter's website, available at:https://pt.wikimedia.org/wiki/Reuni%C3%B5es
• X General Assembly (held on April 15, 2018):  We have been told that the call for the assembly was sent to the members of the chapter via e-mail and not by post mail, as specified by the relevant portions of the Portuguese Civil Code.
• We have been told that the Assembly was held over IRC, which did not meet the relevant portion of the  Portuguese Civil Code.
• We have received reports that members of the Board of Wikimedia Portugal have sent each other legal threats, via e-mail and posted mail. Threatening legal action is not consistent with Wikimedia values of openness and collegiality. If there are disputes among members of the Board, we ask that they be resolved civilly and without invoking any behavior that would not reflect positively on the Wikimedia movement.
• There has been a lack of regular chapter programmatic activity. This lack of activity points to a lack of capacity to support the organization to achieve its goals and meet the basic compliance commitments that the organization has made to the Wikimedia movement.

For the reasons above, Wikimedia Portugal’s chapter benefits have been suspended.

 

At this time, for Wikimedia Portugal to comply with the Chapter Agreement, the chapter must undertake the following steps:

 

1. Submit an Action Plan. By August 15, 2018 the Chapter must submit an updated Action Plan to the Affiliations Committee and Wikimedia Foundation, including a timeline with dates for calling a new meeting and elections to ensure the Chapter has a valid Board by September 15, 2018. We ask that the chapter provide an explanation of how the Board was selected in a manner that meets the organization's bylaws, relevant local laws and regulations, and the Wikimedia Organizational Best Practices, available at: https://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Resolution:Organizational_best_practices.
2.  
3.  

2.              Submit a plan for active contributor involvement and improved chapter capacity. By October 15, 2018 the chapter must submit a plan, via email or posted online, demonstrating how the chapter meets the two specific chapter requirements listed below. If your chapter does not currently meet the requirements below, you may alternatively provide a plan and timeline for how you will correct these issues by October 15, 2018.

 

• Active Contributor Involvement. Chapters are expected to involve at least 20 active Wikimedia contributors (individuals with at least 300 contributions to a Wikimedia project under a registered account that has existed for at least 6 months and is in good community standing). We would like to see at least 20 active Wikimedians who are chapter members sign an on-wiki page to indicate their support of the chapter.

 

• Capacity. Chapters are expected to demonstrate capacity to meet future responsibilities and expectations (such as organizing programs and activities; recruiting volunteers and obtaining funding; maintaining compliance with legal obligations, chapter and grant agreements, and movement best practices; and so on). In your plan, we would like to see an an outline of how the chapter will support programmatic activities and reporting to avoid future compliance issues. The chapter's reports should meet the requirements in your Chapter Agreement as well as other applicable local regulations.

 

3.              Complete and submit the required overdue chapter financial reporting. By September 15, 2018 the chapter must post the required financial reports to its meta reports page:

• 2017 Financial report (to reflect all accounts and funds for the fiscal year January - December 2017)

 

If Wikimedia Portugal fails to address these issues by the dates described above, in accordance with terms of the Chapter Agreement, we will send a notice of revocation by October 30, 2018. for the Chapter Agreement and Wikimedia Portugal will cease to be a recognized Wikimedia chapter after termination of the Chapter Agreement on February 1, 2019. 

However, if Wikimedia Portugal fully and completely resolves the issues and requirements listed above and is otherwise in compliance with the Chapter Agreement and board resolution on organizational best practices, the suspension will be lifted.

 

We hope that you are able to complete the necessary actions to resolve these issues identified in this letter so that Wikimedia Portugal may be returned to good standing and continue as a recognized chapter. However, if you do not believe your organization is able, or willing, to meet these commitments, please consider the alternative option to reorganize your group as a less formal Wikimedia user group instead.   

Please reach out to your Affiliations Committee lead, Maor Malul via affcom@lists.wikimedia.org, or your Affiliations Committee Liaison, Jaime Anstee (janstee@wikimedia.org), if you have any questions, or if you would like to set a call time to communicate further about these issues or requirements.

 

On behalf of the Affiliations Committee,

 

Maor Malul

--
"Jülüjain wane mmakat ein kapülain tü alijunakalirua jee wayuukanairua junain ekerolaa alümüin supüshuwayale etijaanaka. Ayatashi waya junain."
Maor Malul
Socio, A.C. Wikimedia Venezuela | RIF J-40129321-2 | www.wikimedia.org.ve
Member, Wikimedia Israel | www.wikimedia.org.il
Member, Wikimedia Foundation Affiliations Committee
Phone: +972-52-4869915
Twitter: @maor_x

 

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