Affiliations Committee/Candidates/2025/Soni

Soni (Soni)

Soni (talk • meta edits • global user summary • CA)

Preferred name	Soni
What languages do you speak, and at what fluency level? (Please include your English proficiency.)	English-N Hindi-N Bengali-2 Please note that significant parts of this page are identical to my 2024 candidacy for AffCom. I still share most of the core beliefs that made me apply last year.
What region(s) of the world do you have experience with, and what kind of experience do you have? (“Experience” can mean you have lived or worked there or are currently living or working there; you’re familiar with the culture and language; etc.)	South Asia. I have lived in India all my life. I have some experience with other cultures, and have frequently collaborated with colleagues from around the world. However, my experiences are deeply rooted in the culture of South Asia.
What Wikimedia project(s) do you actively edit? And in what language(s)?	I edit the English Wikipedia. I’m involved in movement wide and overall community and meta, but primarily focused from EnWiki perspective.
What affiliate(s) are you actively involved with? In what capacity are you involved? Do you serve in a leadership role or have you in the past?	I used to be an active member of Wikimedia India when it existed. I am also active with West Bengal Wikimedians User Group. My primary affiliation would be to a user group for English Wikipedians in South Asia, or a pan-India group. Neither currently exist, but I’m keen on having both be created. We’ve self organised the English Wikipedians from India into an active community, but have not yet applied for formal recognition.
Have you served on any committees (movement-related or otherwise)? And what was your role on the committee(s)?	For WikiConference India 2016, I was involved in the Sponsorship and Program sub teams. I was working with other community members in decision making. For WikiConference India 2026, I worked in the City Selections Group , and will be in the Communications Team and the Core Organising Team. We continue to discuss and plan every aspect of the conference. Outside Wikimedia, I have organised half a dozen national level events during my academics and in my personal capacity. I frequently led teams of upto 50 individuals while we conducted a large scale event. I do not have specific committee experience in the movement, but I consistently collaborate with different teams on consensus based outcomes.
Please describe any experience you have with conflict resolution and/or consensus building.	Over my 13 years in the movement, I've often dealt with conflicts. My approach to these situations is to start with mutual respect and guide conversations via clear expectations and boundaries. I've also mentored and stood by many contributors through difficult conversations, offering required support, advice, and institutional knowledge along the way. Over the last year, I’ve been involved in movement wide planning, and often bring news from across the different projects back my communities by writing for The Signpost. I have been covering pertinent issues such as the recent Board of Trustees election. I have been involved in multiple larger scale consensus building in the Wikimedia movement. I helped create the Drafts namespace, which introduced a special space for newcomers to contribute without the pressure of immediate publication. It was eventually adopted by other projects and had tangible impacts on the English Wikipedia over the next few years. My biggest impact in large scale consensus building was to help reform the English Wikipedia Adminship process. This required a massive project-wide change, and has tangibly improved the culture of adminship. I helped implement Administrator Recall which has increased overall accountability for the role. My approach is built around understanding Wikimedia policies, guidelines and core principles deeply; and translating them in the most clear cut manner to everyone involved. I believe in the transforming power of a well designed process.
In your ideal world, what does the affiliate model and ecosystem look like?	In my ideal world, affiliates do not exist separately and distinctly from the rest of the movement ecosystem. There continues to be missed opportunities and strife caused by insufficient understanding of what affiliates do, as well as how the project communities support the movement. I'm a fan of the recent changes introduced by AffCom to the affiliate process. In my 2024 candidacy, I highlighted how many affiliates have pages that are stale for years, so am hopeful for increased transparency and accountability now. However, communication is still arcane and not easy to understand for most people involved in the affiliate ecosystem. Similarly, a lot of communication is centralised and depends on users following the AffCom processes. I believe there’s room to meet communities where they already exist. I would emphasise greater connectivity and intermingling between the different groups. Most editors are just not aware of resources already built by others, and how to best amplify their own impact. This would also increase trust between the groups. In my ideal world, we do not need an ‘affiliate ecosystem’ because it’d be deeply integrated with the ‘movement ecosystem’.
In your ideal world, what are AffCom’s roles and responsibilities in relation to the movement and affiliates?	In my ideal world, AffCom focuses significantly on the affiliates that are already thriving and how to replicate their overall impact in other projects. There are significant resources to be shared and best practices to be learnt for the different regional groups. Affcom could provide significant guidance and facilitate local collaboration. AffCom could serve as the first point of contact for various stakeholders in the movement and beyond. With the many different groups, hubs, and affiliates, both insiders and outsiders can get confused about who to approach. Collaborations often involve multiple groups, so it would be helpful to have one clear, volunteer-driven body that is easy to reach and well-connected, cutting through the complexity and red tape. Excessive waste needs to be checked, and bodies that are no longer functional should not receive further resources. AffCom is the body best suited to evaluate the overall impact of various affiliates, chapters and user groups. The recognition and derecognition of various bodies brings much needed accountability. Overall, I’d like AffCom’s role to be much more geared towards supporting the rest of the movement, acting as a bridge for everyone else.
What role within AffCom are you most interested in: advisory or voting member?	I have a preference for voting member but am not opposed to an advisory role. My primary motivation for applying is to make sure my communities, especially South Asia are well represented. I believe I can bring the most impact as a voting member.