[Wikimedia-l] [Wikimedia Announcements] The Affiliations Committee needs you!

[Bence Damokos]

Dear all,

The Affiliations Committee [1], the committee that is responsible for
guiding volunteers in establishing Chapters, User Groups and Thematic
Organizations ("affiliates" in short) and approving them when they are
ready is looking for about 6 new members.

The main focus of AffCom is to guide groups of volunteers in forming
affiliates. We make sure that the group is large enough to be viable
(and advise them on how to get bigger), review bylaws for compliance
with the requirements and best practices, and advise the Board of the
Wikimedia Foundation on issues connected to Chapters, Thematic
Organizations and User Groups.

This requires communication with volunteers all over the World,
negotiating skills and cultural sensitivity and the ability to
understand legal texts. We try to get a healthy mix of different skill
sets in our members.

Key skills/experience that we are looking for in candidate members,
are typically:

* Excitement by the challenge of helping to empower groups of
volunteers worldwide
* Willingness to work in a sometimes bureaucratic, sometimes political process
* 4 hours per week availability[2]
* International orientation
* Very good communication skills in English
* Ability to work and communicate with other cultures
* Strong understanding of the structure and work of affiliates and the WMF
* Communication skills in other languages are a major plus
* Experience with or in an active affiliate is a major plus

With the help of the Affiliations Committee, 2012 has been an exciting
year of transformation for the movement with the introduction of new
types of affiliation. This means that the workload of the Committee
has increased and diversified and help is wanted! Currently many
applications to become a Chapter, Thematic Organization or User Group
are in the pipeline and can use your attention and dedication!

You can send your applications with your name, contact data (e-mail,
wiki username), experience and motivation to join to the AffCom email
address, affcom AT lists DOT wikimedia DOT org by January 12, 2013.
You will get a confirmation that your application came through.

Members are usually selected every twelve months for staggered two
year terms. The applications will be considered by the current members
and outgoing members and Committee advisers, who are not seeking
re-selection.

Since I will be a candidate for re-selection myself, this process will
be managed by another committee member, Lodewijk Gelauff. I hope for
many suitable applications. If you have any questions, please don't
hesitate to email me or Lodewijk[3] privately. We are happy to chat or
have a phone call with anyone about our work, if this helps them
decide to apply.

Please distribute this call among your networks, and do apply if you
are interested.


Best regards,
Bence Damokos
Chair,
Affiliations Committee



 [1]: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Affiliations_Committee (please
follow the links and familiarize yourself with our work)
 [2]: Our member standards of participation are at:
http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Affiliations_Committee/Resolutions/Standard_of_participation_%E2%80%93_September_2012
[3]: http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:EmailUser/Effeietsanders

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