The Affiliates Committee comprises volunteers selected for their enthusiasm and their skills in community organising, cross-cultural communication, reviewing bylaws, and providing governance advice for emerging organisations. There are currently ten voting members with terms of two years each; the terms are arranged so that half of the seats are up for election every year.
Voting members of the Committee are helped by an unspecified number of non-voting advisers, either appointed by the Board of Trustees (known as Board liaisons) or by the Committee itself. Advisers provide the Committee with on-the-ground experience, language skills, and governance advice, and are able to take part in discussions on an internal wiki and a non-public mailing list.
Certain Wikimedia Foundation staff members are also actively present on the Affiliations Committee's non-public mailing list and internal wiki acting as liaisons and providing insight and advice when needed. They are not formal members of the committee, and are present at the request of the Wikimedia Foundation and with permission from voting members of the committee.
If you'd like to be a voting member of the Committee, please leave a note on the talk page, and you'll be notified when seats become available. The next selection is scheduled for the mid of 2021, with new members joining the Committee in July, 2021. New members and advisers may be added by the end of 2021, as well.
