Re: [Wikimedia ZA] [Wikimedia South Africa Chapter] Co-writing and endorsement of the strategic direction

Hi Douglas and all, I hope you are all well. I'm excited to reconnect with the South African community during next month's Wikimania in Montreal. Cape Town Wikimania is not too far away either. I’m reaching out because, as we finish the last cycle of the Movement Strategy process, I wanted to let you know what is coming in the next few weeks and what I will humbly ask from you. This will be a busy time for all of us, and I want to make sure the voice of your organization continues to be heard and represented. After all the activity of the past few months, the time has now come to summarize what we have learned and discussed, and create a document that we can agree on as a movement. A small team is leading the writing process, in partnership with contributors. The process is very much one of co-creation, similar to how we write Wikipedia articles. My goal isn’t just for you to agree with the final text, but also to co-author it so that you can see a strategic direction that you believe in when the process is over. *In the next few days, I will point you to an early and incomplete draft.* I hope that you can review it and share your thoughts. There will also be a broad review in August that is open to the entire community, but I want to make sure you see it early and that you know you can contact me about it if you had any questions. By the end of August, we will hopefully agree on the text. Whether you edit the page directly on Meta, comment on the talk page, or prefer to send your thoughts to me in private, I want to encourage your organization to participate in this process before the draft is finalized at the end of the month. When the text is finalized at the end of August, I will ask for Wikimedia South Africa's signature on it. The goal is for all of us to show our agreement and support for this shared direction by endorsing the document together. Other groups, including the Wikimedia Foundation, will be encouraged to sign it. This is why it is very important that you take time to read the document, discuss it within your organization, and ask questions; I want to make sure that you know you have an open line of communication through me into the strategy team if you want it. I hope you find a way to participate in this process. As always, please do not hesitate to reach out to me if you have any questions about the process or how to make your voice heard. *Please also take a look at this document for more details and information:* Endorsement process FAQ <https://docs.google.com/document/d/1E3G0WvhmXmDjC2PZGMoxWNaroqjDvp91y3xEBQQMNvw/edit#heading=h.4dtdizjyyytd>. Looking forward to your thoughts and feedback. Thanks, Jack