Dear Tamil Wikimedians,
As you may be aware, the Wikimedia Foundation has started elections[1] for
community seats on the Board of Trustees. While previously there were three
community seats on the Board, with the expansion of the Board to sixteen
seats last year, community seats have been increased to eight, four of
which are up for election this year.
In the last fifteen years of the Board's history, there were only a few
candidates from the South Asian region who participated in the elections,
and hardly anyone from the community had a chance to serve on the Board.
While there are several reasons for this, this time, the Board and WMF are
very keen on encouraging and providing support to potential candidates from
historically underrepresented regions. This is a good chance to change the
historical problem of representation from the South Asian region in
high-level governance structures.
Ten days after the call for candidates began, there aren't any candidates
from South Asia yet[2], there are still 10 days left! I would like to ask
community members to encourage other community members, whom you think
would be potential candidates for the Board. While the final decision is
completely up to the person, it can be helpful to make sure that they are
aware of the election and the call for candidates.
Let me know if you need any information or support.
Best
--
Krishna Chaitanya Velaga (he/him)
Board Governance Facilitator, Wikimedia Foundation
[1] https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_elections/2021
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_elections/2021/Candida…>
[2]
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_elections/2021/Candida…
Hello all,
The 2021 Board of Trustees election[1] is coming soon. Candidates from the
community are needed to fill the available seats.
The Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees oversees the Wikimedia
Foundation's operations. Community trustees and appointed trustees make up
the Board of Trustees. Each trustee serves a three-year term. The Wikimedia
community has the opportunity to vote for community trustees.
Wikimedia contributors will vote to fill four seats on the Board in 2021.
This is an opportunity to improve the Board's representation, diversity,
and expertise as a team.
For potential candidates:
- *Traits:* Wikimedia is a global movement and seeks candidates from the
broader community. Candidates should think about what experiences and
perspectives they will bring to the Board. Ideal candidates align with the
Wikimedia mission and are thoughtful, respectful, and community-oriented.
The Board would like to find perspectives and voices that are
under-represented and essential for our movement. They should bring what
Wikimedia needs from a new Trustee.
- *Commitment: *Trustees serve a three-year term and can serve up to
three consecutive terms. The time commitment is about 150 hours per year,
excluding travel. This time is not evenly spread throughout the year. The
time is concentrated around meetings. The expectation is that Trustees
serve on at least one of the Board’s committees.
- *Requirements*[2]: English is the language of business for the Board.
Candidates need a basic understanding of English, but support and training
are part of onboarding. Candidate applications will be translated into
several languages to reach a broad audience of voters.
- *Apply*[3]: Candidates from all projects and communities who meet the
needs of Wikimedia Trustee are welcome. If you know someone who could be a
good trustee, encourage them to run for election. Candidates can find
information and submit their nomination on the Apply to be a Candidate page.
- *Resources*[4]: A toolkit has been developed for community members who
are considering submitting their candidacy for the Wikimedia Foundation
Board of Trustees, and who want to better understand what to expect and how
to prepare for the role.
Thank you for your support,
The Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees
[1]
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Wikimedia_Foundation_ele…
[2]
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Wikimedia_Foundation_ele…
[3]
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_elections/2021/Apply_t…
[4]
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_elections/Candidate_Re…
--
Krishna Chaitanya Velaga (he/him)
Board Governance Facilitator, Wikimedia Foundation
Dear Wikimedians,
As part of its ongoing program to support Wikimedians in India during the COVID-19 pandemic, CIS-A2K will provide support with access to counselling services to community members, in order to address mental health concerns resulting from the stress and anxiety of coping with the pandemic The A2K team has collaborated with the Institute of Psychological Health <https://www.healthymind.org/> to provide the counselling support. A2K would endeavour to provide support under this component of the programme as follows :
1) *Awareness/Orientation Session on Mental Health and the Pandemic. This session will be organised online and will be open to all Wikimedians in India looking to understand more about mental health concerns that are prevalent at the present time, due to pandemic-related anxiety, stress and trauma. The details of the session will be announced here shortly, with a link to a separate event page.
2) *Individual Counselling Sessions Interested Wikimedians who wish to apply for this support may fill out this application form. https://forms.gle/WXLj2cR4jie6r1pc6
For more details of this programme, please visit this meta page -
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/COVID-19_support_for_Wikimedians/India/COVI…
With best wishes,
Jayanta Nath
On behalf of A2K team,
Centre for Internet & Society - Access to Knowledge Programme
Dear Wikimedians,
As part of its ongoing program to support Wikimedians in India during the COVID 19 pandemic, CIS-A2K has organised 'Awareness/orientation session on Mental health and pandemic.
This online session is open to all Wikimedians in India to understand more about mental health concerns that are prevalent at the present time, due to pandemic-related anxiety, stress and trauma. This interactive session would ideally aim to:
create awareness and sensitisation about mental health in general
deliberate on the variety of issues faced by people at this particular time
demystify/address any misgivings/stigma related to mental health issues and counselling/therapy/treatment
and encourage people to avail counselling services in case they feel the need for the same.
The details of the session are as follows -
Date: Saturday, 12 June 2021
Time: 4 to 6 pm (IST)
Expert: Dr. Anand Nadkarni, Psychiatrist and founder of IPH
- More about Dr. Anand Nadkarni - http://iphpune.org/wp/about-me/
- LinkedIn profile - https://www.linkedin.com/in/anand-nadkarni-41a290129/?originalSubdomain=in
- Videos on Avahan channel - https://www.youtube.com/c/AVAHANIPH/videos
Registration link - https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJUkf-GgrzsiHNN88GTyKAwpSdP82FAI6lCi
We kindly request you to book your time slot for this important session, register on the above link and promote the event in your communities as well.
Stay safe, with best wishes,
Jayanta Nath
Hello all,
We hope that you are doing well. We wanted to inform you that A2K has started an internet support program for the Wikimedians in India from 1 June 2021. This will continue till 31 August 2021. It is a part of Project Tiger, this time we have begun with the internet support, writing contest and other things that will follow afterwards.
You can visit the event page ink: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Internet_support_for_Wikimedians_in_India
You may also see the FAQ section: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Internet_support_for_Wikimedians_in_India#F…
For reviewing the applications, there is a committee that will make decisions for the applications. After the committee's response, support will be provided. For more information please visit the event page (linked above). Before applying, please read the criteria and the application procedure. Please go through the page and apply if you find you are eligible for applying. Please also share this information with others as well.
Stay safe, stay connected,
Thanks & Regards,
Jayanta