Affiliations Committee/Extension of the pause on new affiliate recognition
Dear Wikimedia community,
Building on the Wikimedia Foundation’s recent update about extending the feedback period for the Recognition and Funding for Movement Organizations proposal, the Affiliations Committee (AffCom) is extending the pause on new affiliate recognition until the affiliate recognition and funding model is further clarified.
The pause on new affiliate recognition began in August 2025 and was extended earlier this year from 31 March to 1 September to allow time for a comprehensive review of the affiliate recognition system and the broader ecosystem of Wikimedia organizations. During this period, the Wikimedia Foundation published the Future Affiliate Landscape proposal in March and the Recognition and Funding for Movement Organizations proposal in July. The parts of the latter proposal related to affiliation are open for feedback until 30 September.
The current proposal is an opportunity for affiliates and community members to have a voice in a more comprehensive, standardized approach to affiliations. This is a chance to refresh and renew our shared understanding of the key purpose of affiliates and other movement groups.
While the Foundation is collecting feedback, AffCom has decided that it is not yet the right time to resume reviewing new affiliate recognition applications. We want to ensure that, when we restart recognition, we do so under a clarified and community-informed model, rather than onboarding new affiliates under criteria that are in the process of being revised. Restarting sooner may create additional work and shift expectations for applicants and for those supporting the recognition process. The pause on new affiliate recognition will therefore remain in place.
Since updating affiliate recognition is not solely within AffCom’s purview, we will provide an update on the status of the process and the recognition pause by mid-January 2027 at the latest. Once a decision has been made about the proposal, AffCom will share an update on when the pause will be lifted, along with updated recognition processes and criteria, and guidance for prospective and existing affiliates on recognition, governance, and support under the new model.
We also recognize that some groups have been in contact with AffCom during the pause or were already in the recognition pipeline before it began, and we are committed to supporting them through it by staying in touch, working through next steps together, and keeping them informed as the model evolves.
While we understand that this extended pause is challenging, our goal is to provide a more stable and transparent framework for affiliate recognition in the long term.
If your group was planning to apply for recognition but held off because of the pause, we would also like to hear from you. Please reach out so we know of your interest and can keep you updated as things progress.
Thank you for your feedback throughout this consultation, and for your ongoing work building and sustaining Wikimedia affiliates around the world.
On behalf of the Affiliations Committee (AffCom),