Hubs/Implementation/Hub Research in West Africa/Interview 4

This page is part of the Implementation Report for West Africa Regional Hubs. It regards specifically Interview 4.

Background

• Date: September 21, 2022
• Duration: 1 hour
• Profile: Wikipedia Editor - User Group Leader (active online and offline)
• Region: West Africa
• Gender: Man
• Interview language: English

Questions and answers

1. What is the mindset for the establishment of the movement strategy and regional and thematic hubs?

As I mentioned in my introduction, I have also been working with one of the proposed hubs for the Wikimedia Language Diversity Hub. My mindset for the establishment of the movement strategy and regional and thematic hubs I feel is one of the ways we can use to further engage communities, especially communities that are working on different projects. With affiliates and thematic organisations, we know they are already working to serve a particular group of people from different locations and different countries. For affiliates we know we can have multiple affiliates in a particular country but when it comes to hubs I feel there is going to be a bridge between the community and the affiliates. It is also going to be an opportunity for the affiliates and other communities or organisations that are working on Wikimedia projects to get closer to each other. For example a hub in West Africa will be an opportunity for West African Affiliates to meet on different levels instead of everyone working for their individual communities or countries. So if you ask me my mindset is that I am thinking it is an opportunity for us to connect more affiliates together to work on different projects. This is how I feel about hubs generally.

2. I have seen that you dwell largely on regional hubs and in some way ignoring the thematic hubs. Are you saying your mindset is more inclined to regional hubs rather than thematic hubs?

That is where I get my understanding about the hubs. I am generally not well versed in hubs but because of my relationship with the language diversity hub, I have a lot of understanding about the regional hubs than the thematic hubs so you are right, I have not yet explored how a thematic hub will look like but for regional hubs, I have an understanding of how they work and how they seek to bridge the gap between affiliates and communities.

3. What role will politics play in the establishment of the movement strategy in relation with the regional hubs?

In terms of politics I feel like there should be a consensus on how hubs should look and how they operate. For example if one particular group or affiliate is setting up a hub there should be a discussion with other communities that are working in that particular location so they can have a consensus and an understanding of how the hubs will operate. In terms of politics I feel there should be representation of members from all communities and affiliates involved. There should be an agreement and understanding and there should be an acceptance from all representatives to be able to operate in the specific region. Other than that, there will be some problems. If others are unable to understand, they might feel like they are not involved and they might feel like the hub is not for them or the hub belongs to a specific group. However, if at the initial stage all communities and affiliates have an understanding of how hubs will serve them then it will be much clearer and much understood and they will be able to work together.

4. What do you understand by the recommendations of the regional and thematic hubs?

In one of the sessions I joined during the Wikimedia Summit in Berlin, we discussed hubs and how hubs should look, and it was interesting to know that most of us do not have a clear definition of what a hub is. The Movement Charter Drafting Committee were very interested in learning from the representatives of the hubs and to understand how they define hubs based on their own perspective. For instance if you are working on hubs research in West Africa it means your focus area will be on communities in West Africa so how do you define a hub in that regard? So for me, my understanding of it is that they are just going to be more or less not formalised, not affiliate organisations, not non-profit but a place where people come to discuss things and be sources of solutions to challenges in the region. For instance, if you are doing a language project and you have challenges like writing language specific grants, then a hub Language Diversity hub should be a place for you to meet experts who understand how a language project works and the kind of solutions they can provide to you. So for West Africa, if communities have specific needs and they are not sure how to go about it I think the hubs should be a place where they can meet with experts and experienced Wikimedians and a lot of people who are good in putting together those specific projects in the region. For me, hubs are supposed to be solution providers or places where people find answers to their problems.

5. How would you define a hub in simple terms per your experience?

To me a hub is like a community with people from different backgrounds and skill sets and experiences where affiliates and communities can leverage their experiences to expand their scope

6. But with this explanation, where we have experienced people, we have the human resource that will help the course of the movement strategy, how do you want a hub to look like? Is it in the form of a physical structure? Can you give us a narrative?

To me, a hub doesn't necessarily have to be like an organisation like a formal organisation. A hub, depending on its scope of work can be just a community without any physical presence; a hub doesn't necessarily have to have a board of directors. A hub can have committee members, a hub should operate in a way that everybody understands or agrees to. Everything that is going to be done by a hub should be agreed by the committee or the hub leaders or coordinators. There shouldn't be one individual giving directives, there shouldn't be a particular group of individuals, making a decision for the hub. A hub should be a collective group of experts or experienced Wikimedians who deliberate and decide on things based on consensus. Basically, a hub should not be a physical organisation with a formal set up like an organisation to be effective. As long as there is consensus like voting on topics of interest and initiatives and making selections based on the inputs on all community members and leaders. That is how a hub should operate.

7. You think there is no reason for establishing a hub with physical infrastructure?

Yes I think so because we already have thematic organisations and many affiliate organisations. We have other organisations that are not affiliates but are Wikimedia mission aligned. So with all these in the community, the hub committee members or committees or leaders or however we call them, should be members of these different sets of organisations, so why will a hub need a physical office? How do you differentiate that between a mission aligned organisation, a chapter, or an affiliate? A hub should not be set-up like an affiliate where there will be specific requirements needed to set it up. It should be a situation where communities come together to agree or decide on something for themselves.

8. With all these, what are some of the benefits that we will accrue from these hubs

A hub will bring all the communities within the region together. The hub will bring all affiliates within a particular region together to be able to embark on initiatives. Hubs will provide solutions and support for affiliates; technical support and capacity building. Since hubs will constitute experienced members of the Wikimedia region, hubs will be able to provide these kinds of support.

9. How do these benefits contribute to the Movement Strategy?

These benefits contribute to the movement strategy in different ways. I see a lot of benefits connecting to the ten recommendations. For instance in skills development. This will help community members grow. Generally they directly work to help meet the needs that the recommendations seek to alleviate.

10. What about the contribution of the hubs to community affiliates?

Yes communities can benefit from the hubs by helping some communities gain recognition or usergroup status.

11. What are some of the challenges that a hub can solve?

If periodic meetups are held by the hubs, there is going to be a lot of communication and collaboration among communities. This will help bridge the gap amongst communities.

12. What are some of the challenges that are associated with the implementation of a hub?

If people do not feel welcome, they will not embrace the establishment of the hub. The communities will have to be informed and involved in the creation of the hub. If there is no clarity on the vision and mission of the hub, communities may disagree on how hubs should look like.

If there is enough communication between hubs and communities then this problem can be mitigated. This could be one of the biggest challenges there could be misunderstanding as to who will have the biggest share? Say especially if the hub is founded by a particular community. Since it will not have a physical location for hubs to operate, there could be challenges with accessing resources or how resources could be maintained.

The other challenge could be how they will receive funds. If there are going to be other ways to receive funds. If hubs are limited to a particular threshold they may not be able to support communities within their jurisdiction.

13. How can we manage these problems?

The foundation should be able to provide funding alternatives for hus. Hubs should not only be limited to strategy grants.

To avoid disagreements, a hub should be able to draft a policy that all communities are expected to abide by. This policy or by-laws should be created through the collective efforts of members of the hub committee which has all recognised affiliates represented. All stakeholders must understand the policies and agree to abide by it.

14. You mentioned that lack of resources could be a challenge for hubs. Do you think Hubs absolving grant committees and becoming independent financiers of affiliates in their region/jurisdiction could be a sustainable resolve?

Yes, this will be a very good resolution if that is possible. For a hub that is supposed to serve the West African sub-region then they will need a lot of resources to discharge their duties. If hubs can absolve grant committees, it will be easier for community members and affiliate groups to receive grants. It will speed up the process and remove the limitations on the amount they can have.

15. Do you think hubs should replace grant committees or do you think hubs and grant committees can exist if hubs are made independent financiers of affiliates?

This is dicey because grant committees are stratified into specific regions and if hubs are not segmented in that manner then it will be difficult for hubs to replace grant committees. If they are not structured as the grants team there could be overlaps.

Hubs could take some of the responsibility of the grant team should both parties exist together.

16. Have you occasionally had discussions on the movement strategy recommendations with the Dagbani community?

We have received grants in the past to organise meetings to discuss recommendations and how they feel about the recommendations. We also had in-person workshops during the Wikimania summit to sensitise community members (Dagbani Community) on what some of the movement members are doing in terms of implementing these strategies. We also have these conversations to try to understand the perspectives of our community members on the recommendations.

17. Do you think that hubs will solve all challenges the movement community members experience or do you think it is supposed to solve all the challenges?

There is no way hubs can solve all the challenges, however, there will be a big improvement. Maybe it could over time but I don't think so. They are going to empower communities and support communities to grow. In this way, they are very useful but they can’t solve all the problems.

Key Takeaways - Interview 2

• The regional and thematic hub is going to be an opportunity for the affiliates and other communities or organisations that are working on Wikimedia projects to get closer to each other.
• It should be a place where volunteers or organizers can meet with experts and experienced Wikimedians and a lot of people who are good in putting together specific projects in the region.
• It should be diverse
• It should not be a physical organisation with a formal set up like an organisation to be effective. As long as there is consensus like voting on topics of interest and initiatives and making selections based on the inputs on all community members and leaders.
• It will bring all the communities within the region together.
• It should help some communities to gain recognition or usergroup status.
• It should be able to draft a policy that all communities are expected to abide by in order to avoid disagreements.
• This policy or by-laws should be created through the collective efforts of members of the hub committee which has all recognised affiliates represented.
• It will be easier for community members and affiliate groups to acquire funding if hubs can absolve grant committees.
• It will empower communities and support communities to grow.