I think it's important to recognise the shift in emphasis that has occurred since the foundation of Wikimedia UK. It was, of course, created as a non-profit company and only later gained charity status. This is perhaps obvious in the way the the articles reflect the earlier - dare I say simpler? - view that members took of the the purpose of WMUK, and of the function of its Board of Directors.

The Articles of Association https://wikimedia.org.uk/wiki/Articles_of_Association contain important guidance on how WMUK is actually constituted. and in the current situation, three articles are particularly relevant:

15.3 Any meeting of Directors at which a quorum is present at the time the relevant decision is made may exercise all the powers exercisable by the Directors.

20.9 The Directors shall appoint a Director to chair their meetings and may at any time revoke such appointment

20.11 The person appointed to chair meetings of the Directors shall have no functions or powers except those conferred by these articles or delegated to him or her by the Directors.

Taken together, it should be clear that the Chair serves at the will of the Board, which of course includes both elected and co-opted directors. Personally, I don't think it makes any difference whether the Chair is elected or co-opted. The choice is wholly controlled by the directors, and they are responsible to the membership, either directly or indirectly (in the case of co-options or replacements).

It should be equally clear, I hope, that any functions that the Chair exercises can only be those that the Board choses to assign to them. Although custom and practice have devolved numerous extra functions to the Chair, these cannot be inherent in the officer of Chair, and could be recalled by the Board at any time.

Similarly, the appointment of Chair can be revoked at any time. Taken with the prior point, I feel that this gives sufficient safeguards against any appointment that turns out to be problematical.

My only concern at present is that the Chair traditionally has represented the Chapter to the wider Wikimedia Movement, and I do hope that whoever is appointed will be able to play an active part in the international networks that have evolved over the years since we first proposed a Chapters Association.

I would also like to see the membership have a greater voice in the direction of WMUK, but I feel that can only be done by long-serving members putting themselves forward for election to the Board, and I sincerely hope that some will feel able to do so. If not, we may find ourselves in the position of having only one regular, long-term Wikipedia editor on the Board after the AGM.

-- 

Doug


On 25 May 2021 at 19:09 Fæ <faewik@gmail.com> wrote:

Happy to accept your reading of the Articles*, which would mean that the Chair of the Charity would be a "co-opted trustee" under the current Article definitions.

Having an unelected Chair for the first time in the history of the charity does not seem likely to be perceived by the majority of members as the best way of giving members a meaningful vote on who represents them in their charity.

*  https://wikimedia.org.uk/wiki/Articles_of_Association

Fae


On Tue, 25 May 2021 at 18:38, Joseph Seddon < josephseddon@gmail.com> wrote:
This does not require any amendment.

Thanks,
Seddon

On Tue, May 25, 2021 at 6:14 PM Fæ < faewik@gmail.com> wrote:
Could you confirm this is the first time that the Chair of Wikimedia UK has been externally recruited rather than the role filled after being elected by the charity members as a trustee?

Has the process for searching for "role" trustees and electing them changed, and the charity's articles been amended and published accordingly?

Thanks,
Fae

On Tue, 25 May 2021 at 16:52, Lucy Crompton-Reid < lucy.crompton-reid@wikimedia.org.uk> wrote:
Dear all

Our excellent Chair of Trustees, Nick Poole, will be stepping down at the AGM in July after six years as a trustee (which is the maximum term) and just over a year as Chair. We are therefore recruiting for a new Chair, and are advertising the role externally as well as promoting the opportunity amongst our existing trustees, committee members, volunteers and wider networks. 

Please do consider whether this might be the right opportunity for you. If so, do feel free to contact our Communications and Governance Co-ordinator Katie on katie.crampton@wikimedia.org.uk to arrange an informal conversation about the role. If not, we would be very grateful if you could help us to promote the role by circulating it amongst your own networks. Katie will be promoting the opportunity on social media so if you follow us there, please do share/retweet etc. 

The ideal candidate might come from a wide range of professional backgrounds but will have a good understanding of charity governance, the skills and experience to run productive meetings, and a collegiate, collaborative approach in keeping with the ethos of the Wikimedia movement. They will also bring a strong commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion and understand how important this is to an organisation like Wikimedia UK. It goes without saying that they will need to be passionate about open knowledge and understand the importance and value of Wikipedia and the other Wikimedia projects. 

To see the role description and/or download the recruitment pack, please go here:


The deadline is Sunday 6th June and interviews are likely to be on 14th June. 

Thanks and best wishes
Lucy

--

Lucy Crompton-Reid

Chief Executive




Wikimedia UK is the national chapter for the global Wikimedia open knowledge movement. 

Wikimedia UK is a Registered Charity No.1144513.Company Limited by Guarantee registered in England and Wales, Registered No. 6741827.

Registered Office Ground Floor, Europoint, 5 - 11 Lavington Street, London SE1 0NZ. 




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WMUK: https://wikimedia.org.uk


--
_______________________________________________
Wikimedia UK mailing list
wikimediauk-l@wikimedia.org
https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediauk-l
WMUK: https://wikimedia.org.uk
_______________________________________________
Wikimedia UK mailing list
wikimediauk-l@wikimedia.org
https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediauk-l
WMUK: https://wikimedia.org.uk

_______________________________________________
Wikimedia UK mailing list
wikimediauk-l@wikimedia.org
https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediauk-l
WMUK: https://wikimedia.org.uk