I agree with Lane.
Setting higher criteria is all well and good -- as is expecting boards to be cognizant of these expectations.
But we are dealing with volunteers doing a significant amount of free digital labor and organizing. To set a bar super high in that structure is a lot to expect of people contributing their T&E.
Both Lane and I are part of Wikimedia NYC, a very active chapter that somehow (I believe) manages to meet these criteria amidst almost exponential growth of activities. The administrative burden on both our leadership and membership is heavy, and I am grateful for everyone's pitch in / can do approach and willingness to contribute.
And no, the answer is not to do less events and have less support to institutional partners and various initiatives. That's not practical or good for anyone.
But it brings to mind a recent trip I made where I visited the Wikimedia Deutschland offices. Where there was a whole room (!) of 6 fully set up computers with I am assuming the same number of staff for Event planning alone -- all which I assume are paid positions. That really made me pause in shock. And feel like a bit of an idiot that our chapter does so much without that type of structural support.
So while I understand the idea of these criteria, to have the balance beam heavily weighted on requirements without attendant support is not a workable model.
- Erika Secretary, Wikimedia NYC -- but not speaking on behalf of anyone but myself
*Erika Herzog* Wikipedia *User:BrillLyle https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:BrillLyle*
On Fri, Aug 19, 2016 at 11:05 AM, Romaine Wiki romaine.wiki@gmail.com wrote:
The criteria are for those groups who want to apply for an official status at WMF. In general I think all chapters should try to meet with these criteria. If a chapter is not able to structurally full-fill these criteria, a different board is the solution to revive the chapter.
I personally think the criteria are a balanced set of guidelines to be followed.
It is important for the movement to share the experiences and the results. Much more should be shared through best practices, how to's, reports and newsletters, like https://outreach.wikimedia.org/wiki/GLAM/Newsletter for collaborations with various partner organisations.
Romaine
2016-08-19 16:51 GMT+02:00 Lane Rasberry lane@bluerasberry.com:
Hello,
Do these criteria apply to existing groups? Maybe I misunderstand, but from this proposal it sounds like new groups will be held to
significantly
higher standards than any currently recognized organizations. Is that the case?
yours,
On Fri, Aug 19, 2016 at 8:36 AM, Carlos M. Colina <
maorx@wikimedia.org.ve>
wrote:
Dear all,
On behalf of the Affiliations Committee, I would like to present some changes to the current chapter and thematic organisation criteria,
which we
will begin piloting as we officially reopen applications for chapter and thematic organization status. Until now, the criteria had not clearly defined what constitutes sufficient programmatic activity to justify chapter or thematic organisation status. To address this issue, we have
set
out three new criteria:
- Diversity of Activities: Chapters and thematic organisations are
expected to plan and conduct a variety of different programs and
events; to
balance online and offline projects; to strive for continuous
activity; and
to conduct programs and events at least once every two months. 2. Planning and Evaluation: Chapters and thematic organisations are expected to set specific goals and targets for programs, projects,
and
events before executing them; to measure the results of programs,
projects,
and events against those targets; and to report on those results to
the
Wikimedia Foundation and the wider Wikimedia movement. 3. External Partnerships: Chapters and thematic organisations are expected to engage in programmatic partnerships with external groups
and
organizations (for example, cultural, academic, or government
institutions,
and so on) to promote the Wikimedia movement and to add and improve
content
on Wikimedia projects.
In order to officially reopen the chapter and thematic organization recognition process, the Board of Trustees has instructed the
Affiliations
Committee to provisionally use these three new criteria for all new applicants. In addition, potential chapters and thematic organisations
will
continue to be assessed against the existing legal, governance, and viability criteria; more details, including the benefits and
limitations of
these affiliation models, are available on Meta.[1] [2]
Please note that the use of these three new criteria is a pilot; there will be opportunities to share feedback about the criteria, as well as other ways to help define the chapter and thematic organisation
affiliate
models, during the upcoming strategy consultation. The Affiliations Committee and the Board of Trustees will continue to evaluate results
and
feedback during the initial pilot period and consider potential
revisions
to the criteria before they are finalized.
Thank you, M.
1: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Affiliations_Committee/Chapt er_Summary_Matrix 2: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Affiliations_Committee/Thema tic_Organisation_Summary_Matrix -- "*Jülüjain wane mmakat* ein kapülain tü alijunakalirua jee wayuukanairua junain ekerolaa alümüin supüshuwayale etijaanaka. Ayatashi waya junain." Carlos M. Colina Socio, A.C. Wikimedia Venezuela | RIF J-40129321-2 |
www.wikimedia.org.ve
http://wikimedia.org.ve Chair, Wikimedia Foundation Affiliations Committee Phone: +972-52-4869915 Twitter: @maor_x
El logotipo y el nombre de Wikimedia, Wikimedia Venezuela http://wikimedia.org.ve/wiki/P%C3%A1gina_principal, Wikipedia, Wikimedia Commons, Wikimedia Incubator, Wiktionary y otros proyectos relacionados https://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Our_Projects son marcas registradas usadas bajo permiso expreso de su titular, la
Fundación
Wikimedia, Inc. http://www.wikimediafoundation.org, una organización sin fines de lucro. Otros nombres y marcas pertenecen a sus respectivos propietarios.
Asociación Civil Wikimedia Venezuela (Wikimedia Venezuela) | RIF.: J-40129321-2 | Los Teques, Estado Miranda. Venezuela _______________________________________________ Affiliates mailing list Affiliates@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/affiliates
-- Lane Rasberry user:bluerasberry on Wikipedia 206.801.0814 lane@bluerasberry.com
Affiliates mailing list Affiliates@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/affiliates
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