Movement Strategy/Recommendations/Iteration 3/Community input/Ensure Equity in Decision-Making

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Community input

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Narrative of Change

Community input

Principles

Glossary

According to Wikimedians from different regions of the world, decision making is felt to be too centralized and in the hands of few groups/individuals. This situation affects diversity, resource allocation and naturally community growth in several regions. Currently many community members and affiliates feel that they are isolated from decision-making mechanisms for many reasons (lack of capacity, lack of information, lack of transparency, legal issues,etc.). By ensuring equity in decision making, local stakeholders will have their say in local and global matters, and everyone will feel more belonging to the movement.

Empower Affiliates and communities

  • Empower Affiliates to have a Legal representation when possible[1] - This brings more sources of funding, and thus capacity building and relevant activities can be done locally and independently.
  • Empower local affiliates to build local partnerships[2] with local partners instead of waiting for consequences of global partnerships at WMF level.
  • Build capacity for affiliates - especially marginalized and emerging groups, both online and offline.[3]
  • Enable affiliates to hire staff.[4]
  • Empower marginalized groups to hold their own activities (visibilize them) and allow them to participate in decision-making.[5]
  • Create clear paths for volunteers to get involved, access to interesting responsibilities,[6] and access to support[7] (human, technical, financial).

Enhance diversity, representation and inclusiveness in the movement, including at Wikimedia Foundation

  • Governing bodies in the movement should be representative of diversity.[8]
  • Diverse staff from across the world at WMF (including tech staff):[9]
    • No pay gap in our organizations
    • Inclusive language in official documents (bylaws, etc.)
  • There should be a new organism only for the community.[10]
  • Encourage and empower the use of local languages within the movement
    • Knowledge of English or any big languages should not be a barrier to access to power.[11]

Communicate and inform better about processes and opportunities

  • “Wikimedia Foundation should clarify its role as well as the other instances' and document/record videos to spread across the whole movement”.[12]
  • Decisions and processes should be transparent,[13] as well as accountability, so that community members know who took a given decision.[14]

Decision-making on funds and resources

  • “Resource allocation decision-making should be decentralized towards more regional or linguistic entities”.[15]
  • Make decisions on funds and grants on the local level.[16]
  • Only 2-3% of the bigger grants such as annual plan grants, project and conference grants are seen coming from emerging communities. The number of grants to emerging communities should be increased.[17]

Footnotes

  1. ↑ “Wikimedia should strive to have as much legal representation in as many countries as possible”. Arabic Speaking community, March - April 2019.
  2. ↑ “There should be more partnerships in local context”. Catalan Strategy Salon, August 2019.
  3. ↑ “We should organize training sessions for marginalized groups such as women, disabled people and youth.” Chad Strategy Salon, July 2019.
  4. ↑ “Have a minimum of paid staff in local communities, not everything can be done by volunteers”. Guinea Strategy Salon, June 2019.
  5. ↑ “Decision making process should be from the grassroot level.” Hindi Speaking Community, March - April 2019.
  6. ↑ “Give (back) true responsibilities to volunteer developers” Participant at WikiConvention Francophone - Brussels - September 2019.
  7. ↑ “Offer greater support (human and financial resources) to volunteer developers, such as assistance for databases, cooperation with staff, etc.” Hindi Speaking Community - June 2019.
  8. ↑ “In WMF board (or other boards or committees), not allow multiple people who have too similar profiles.”. Philippines Community members, May 2019.
  9. ↑ “Wikimedia Foundation should hire more people from all parts of the world.”. Portuguese Speaking Community, May 2019.
  10. ↑ “There should be a new organism only for the community”. Arabic Speaking Community, March - April 2019.
  11. ↑ “Linguistic associations like WikiFranca should be used to support « languages in contact » (for example African languages like Menka, Wolof...) not to stifle them”. French Speaking Community - July 2019.
  12. ↑ Spanish Speaking Community - May 2019.
  13. ↑ “small UGs feel they don't have the keys about the criteria used to judge their grants proposals, applications, or activity reports.” Guinea Strategy Salon - June 2019.
  14. ↑ “Decisions and processes in the Wikimedia Foundation should be more transparent (too opaque for now)” French Speaking Community - May 2019.
  15. ↑ French Speaking Community - July 2019.
  16. ↑ “We should create regional grant bodies to better allocate funds according to local contexts, even if it means that a larger part of our overall budget is spent for administrative purposes” Ivory Coast Strategy Salon - August 2019.
  17. ↑ “At least 50% of all funds should be given to the so-called “Global South”, and that self-generated funds should be given to the Movement for this purpose ("all money is movement money").” Wikimedia Deutschland Board of Trustees Meeting - August/September 2019.
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