[Wikimedia-l] Declaring my candidacy

[Sebastian Moleski]

Dear chapter folks, WCA council members, and all other interested
Wikimedians,

The Wikimedia Chapters Association holds a promise: within the Wikimedia
universe, we draw our strength from our diversity, our different cultures
and experiences, our extraordinary dedication to create a better world
where everyone can access the sume of all knowledge. Through their many
different kinds of engagements and activities, local chapters have already
made a huge difference. With the founding of the chapters association, we
want to go one step further, ensuring that collaboration is not something
limited to our online or local projects, but easily expands across our
entire movement on a global scale.

Today, I'm declaring my candidacy for Secretary General of the Wikimedia
Chapters Association. After recent conversations with a number of people at
different chapters, I've decided to run for this position because I believe
that it would allow the chapters to make best use of my skills and
experiences. Last year, when I worked with four European chapters on
starting developing strategies for their organizations, I realized
first-hand what huge potential we have still left uncovered. Many chapters
excel in some areas while failing in others, rarely for lack of enthusiasm,
but mostly for lack of support, guidance, and advice. When discussion of a
council of chapters started again last year, I felt that it was one of the
most promising ways that could allow chapters to excel much more often than
to fail in the future.

The newly elected Secretary General will have a tremendous assignment
before him. With a rather short period of time, he will need to get a new
internaional organization off the ground and running that will effectively
support and assist chapters around the globe. Through my previous work,
both within the Wikimedia universe and professionally as a manager and
consultant, I think I am well-equipped to handle this difficult task.

If I am elected as Secretary General, I will make the following commitments:
# All WCA activities will be made in public to the extent that is legally
permissible. If the WCA wants to promote openness and accountability among
the chapters, it has to live these same values as well. I'm not a fan of
closed-subscription, private mailing lists, wikis, or chats and will
therefore do what I can to avoid using them within the WCA.
# Whenever the WCA engages in chapter development activities, it will
respect the diversity we have in our movement. There are no solutions that
work for everyone. While many chapters face similar challenges, the
solutions often differ taking note of differences in culture, community,
and local socio-political background.
# For the WCA to succeed, we need to be open and inviting to anyone who
wants to contribute. I commit to providing ample and novel opportunities to
engage with WCA so that everyone interested in chapter development can
participate. I also commit to regularly and comprehensively report on WCA
activities so that they can be scrutinized and improved by anone interested.

== Plans ==
Following the council meeting in Washington DC at Wikimania, I think the
following tasks need to be addressed:
# Finalizing the budget for 2012/2013.
# Negotiating financing of the budget with chapters and the Foundation.
# Getting the organization legally registered in a suitable jurisdiction.
# Setting up a chapters development programs in Europe, East Asia, and
South America.
# Setting up a working group to determine standards of accountability for
chapters.
# Setting up an actively supported platform for information sharing and
dissemination between the chapters.
# Actively inviting more chapters to join.

In all these tasks, close work with the members of the council will be
crucial for our success.

== Background ==
=== Wikimedia ===
* joined English Wikipedia in 2004, German Wikipedia in 2005 (admin from
2006 until 2011)
* joined Wikimedia Deutschland in 2006, board member since 2007, president
since 2009
* member of Chapters Committee
* conducted chapter development pilot project with Wikimedia Nederland,
Wikimedia Sverige, Wikimedia Česká republika and Wikimédia Magyarország in
2011

=== Professional ===
* Consultant for businesses and non-profit organizations (since 2007)
* CEO at NetService24 GmbH (Munich, Germany, 2009-2012)
* Interim Executive Director at Wikimedia Deutschland (Berlin, Germany,
2008-2009)
* Project Manager at Entriq Inc. (Essen, Germany and London, United
Kingdom, 2007-2009)
* Tech Lead at avario business solutions GmbH (Berlin, Germany, 2006-2007)

=== Education ===
Bachelor of Science in Economics from Texas Christian University, 2006

I am looking forward to this extraordinary opportunity to serve the
Wikimedia movement for the coming two years. As the role of Secretary
General requires independence and impartiality from any one chapter, I will
immediately resign my current position as president of Wikimedia
Deutschland, if elected.

I hope I have your support. I have copied this statement to Meta for
further discussion, questions, and criticism:
http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Chapters_Association/Secretary-General/Candidacy_sebmol

Best regards,

Sebastian Moleski