Finance meeting 2012/etherpad WMFINMEET2012
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See: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Talk:Finance_meeting_2012#Unofficial_collaborative_statement Finance meeting 2012 [8] - event organized in Paris the 17, 18 and 19 of February 2012. == Outline == * (a short sentence expressing hope and friendship) * (a factual description of the kind of interactions and general topics covered) ** new terms / subjects defined / announced [3] ** FDC ** payment processing ** accountability ** entitlement ** chapters council * (a forward-looking paragraph on next steps) * (a note of thanks for WMFR, Christophe and Sebastien, and the participants) Outcomes / Results: * Trust and understanding * make ourselves heard / listened to each other * The Chapters Council[2] - first considered being the "worst case scenario" for this meeting if it doesn't work out to come to agreement, now considered reflecting "hope" * Board Members are friendly human beings, too * hard path ahead, but a common direction? * Everybody is now better equipped to make an informed decision * Ideas on FDC[4]/acountability * discussion about GAC[9] == Text == In the weekend of 17-19 February 2012, 39[1] delegates of 19 movement organizations, 18 chapters and Amical (30)[5] (mostly board representatives), Board of Trustees of the Wikimedia Foundation (5)[6], and Wikimedia Foundation staff (4)[7], convened in Paris to discuss fundraising and funds dissemination[4], hosted and facilitated by Wikimédia France. Despite considerable tension surrounding the issues in question, the entire meeting maintained a friendly, collegial atmosphere of collaboration, shared purpose, and mutual respect. We are encouraged and inspired by this, and consider it a strong indication of the possibility of finding agreed answers to these large questions of funds, accountability and governance. Participants agreed they felt they are being heard and acknowledged by everyone else, and a significant amount of trust was regained. Most of the meeting saw participants working in parallel small groups of 6-7 persons, discussing issues of trust, accountability, strategy, entitlement, funds dissemination, and committee models[3]. Additionally, there was a Q&A session with the WMF Trustees present, as well as one with Sue Gardner and one with representatives of the chapters present. One central topic was the proposed Funds Dissemination Committee, which would be in charge of advising the WMF on larger grants, such as annual operating grants of chapters and other movement organizations. Discussion was exploratory, focusing mainly on exchanging ideas, and dicussing possible issues, based also on experiences with the current Grants Advisory Committee. ===Chapters council=== An informal discussion was held about the Wikimedia Chapters Council (WMCC)[2], a body which should be created as a forum for Wikimedia Chapters and Partner Organisations for exchange of ideas and experiences, self-governance, the setting of accountability standards, and peer review. Similar ideas have been discussed throughout the last several years and the last time it was brought up again and drafted on Meta Wiki was after the Haifa letter, when chapters felt they would need a body for speaking with one voice. The idea soon was abandoned again because of other duties chapters representatives had to deal with (program plans, fundraising, negotiations etc.). [NOTE: I would delete this paragraph, because it focuses on the past rather than results / the future] <--Hmm, I think it's important to note that little priority is given to this because of short term needs. Also it is important to acknowlege the work that has been done, though it may not have been effective (due to those short-term needs, I suppose) The Financial Meeting in Paris offered a platform to bring the topic up again and to get chapters into the boat. While the last attempt to discuss the WMCC was a defensive reaction towards the Wikimedia Foundation it is today perceived as a tool to improve the collaboration between chapters and set up rules of governance, accountability and peer-reviews among the chapters themselves, making pressure in these directions by Wikimedia Foundation bodies unneccessary. Wikimedia Deutschland is willing to fund an employee to facilitate the process of designing and setting up the Council. The goal is to come to results during the Wikimedia Conference in Berlin[10]. Until then the chapter representatives will revert to their boards and discuss the idea and come up with a mandate so decisions can be made during the Berlin meeting. Anticipating the next global gathering -- the Wikimedia Conference in Berlin at the end of March -- we commit to further work towards consensus on possible models for the Chapters Council, the Funds Dissemination Committee, and agreed standards of governance and accountability, to inform the decision-making by the board of trustees and the creation of the Chapters Council. <--For models see link [2] below ===Ending notes=== We thank Wikimedia France for its generous support and hosting of this meeting, and in particular to Sébastien (Seb35) and Christophe, who oversaw logistics and who stepped in to facilitate the meeting at the last minute. -- The Participants of the Paris Finance Meeting 2012 == References == [0] http://etherpad.wikimedia.org/WMFINMEET2012 [1] https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Finance_meeting_2012#Participants [2] http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_chapters_council [3] http://etherpad.wikimedia.org/finmeet12 [4] http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fundraising_and_Funds_Dissemination/draft_Board_resolution [5] Participating organisations: Argentina (Patricio Lorente), Austria (Reiner Strubert, Manuel Schneider), Switzerland (Ilario Valdelli, Rupert Thurner), Chile (Daniel Bravo), Czech Republic (Michal Reiter, Danny B.), Germany (Pavel Richter, Sebastian Moleski, Delphine Ménard), Spain (María Sefidari, Marcos Tallés), France (Seb35 (organizer), Schiste (organizer), Thierry Coudray, Florence Devouard), Hungary (Bence Damokos), Indonesia (Siska Doviana), Italy (Frieda Brioschi), Macedonia (Kiril Simeonovski, Brest), Mexico (Iván Martínez), Netherlands (Siebrand Mazeland, Paul Becherer), Poland (Polimerek), Serbia (Dungodung), United Kingdom (Mike Peel, Chris Keating), South Africa (Charlene Foster), Amical (Joan R. Gomà) [6] Participating trustees: Phoebe Ayers, Stu West, Matt Halprin, Jan-Bart de Vreede (aka "duh", "vre" or "jab"), Arne Klempert [7] Participating Wikimedia Foundation staff members: Geoff Brigham, Asaf Bartov, Garfield Byrd, Sue Gardner [8] http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Finance_meeting_2012 [9] http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/GAC [10] http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Conference_2012 [11] http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Movement_roles/affiliations ==Links== http://wikistu.org/2012/02/fundraising-letter-comments/