[Wikimedia-l] Question: How do we define lobbying?

[Fae]

In a workshop in the Milan conference, there was a break-out
discussion led by Iolanda (WMIT) on lobbying. There is a lot of
interest in finding ways of supporting change in copyright legislation
and open knowledge access in as many countries as possible.

One of the interesting features of the WMF agreement when providing
funds under the FDC process is that this money should not be used for
lobbying. During the coffee break I had a quick chat with Garfield
(the WMF CFO) about a possible clarification. My understanding from
that chat was that if there were valid reasons for lobbying in support
of our cause, this should be a separate grant for traceability
reasons, it is not intended to imply a blanket ban, but traceability
is needed to satisfy the IRS. If a chapter has separate income from
the WMF, then there is no concern as this is a matter for the
individual chapter board and membership to worry about.

I think this is a useful clarification, and this ought to be followed
up as an action from our workshop.

I would welcome any comments from the wider community on what sorts of
lobbying as a movement that we definitely want to support, encourage
and possibly provide funds for, and if we could come to a clearer
definition of what lobbying is (such as political protest) and things
we do as a community that is not quite lobbying, even though it may
relate to government legislation (such as publishing a white paper
with our summary of the benefits of changes in copyright law).

Cheers,
Fae
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