Talk:Ohio Wikimedians User Group
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Affiliations Committee News (July-December 2025)
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Recognition Status Report: Updates of affiliate applications
AffCom Conflict Intervention: Updates on conflict intervention cases
AffCom Movement Contribution: AffCom at WikiConference North America
AffCom Administration: AffCom and EDs Discuss Affiliate Ecosystem
AffCom Events: AffCom at WikimaniaThis newsletter is best translated into additional languages on Meta-wiki. Please help translate to your language
MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 11:11, 26 January 2026 (UTC)
CANCUS hub support
[edit]@Ohio Wikimedians User Group members: Hi all! There is currently an ongoing effort to create a Hub for the Canada, Caribbean, and the US (CANCUS). If you're not familiar with Wikimedia Hubs, they're "a type of support structure to enable a common space for coordinating activities and identifying and advocating for the needs of the communities and organizations they serve." There are both geographic hubs (CEE, ESEAP) as well as thematic (Education, Language Diversity, etc.).
A grant proposal has been prepared here by staff and volunteers from Wikimedia Canada, Wikimedia NYC, Wikimedia DC, and Virginia. The grant has gone through its first round of WMF review, and an updated strategic plan and timeline has been prepared. The draft plan is not quite public yet as the details are being ironed out, but it was shared with me, and I've been asked to see if Ohio Wikimedians would endorse the Hub. For anyone interested, please review the grant proposal here as well as my summarization of the key points from the draft plan:
- Vision: "Develop an inclusive and self-sustaining regional ecosystem that supports the movement in the U.S., Canada, and the Caribbean in its efforts to increase the number of new editors in the region, and retain the long-term commitment of our existing contributor base."
- Mission: "The CANCUS Hub will unify regional efforts, help bridge content gaps through targeted community engagement and training, and provide a stable and streamlined path for diverse voices to join the projects."
Strategic goals:
- Inclusive Ecosystem Growth: Expand participation by targeting under-resourced communities across the Caribbean, U.S., and Canada, growing new contributor pipelines, regional events, and high-priority content.
- Knowledge and Leadership Convergence: Centralize training, resources, and digital safety support to build skills, share knowledge across regions, and develop future movement leaders.
- Organizational Governance: Strengthen governance by mentoring groups, improving administrative capacity, and supporting WMF's rapid grant decision-making for North America.
Governance model:
- Led by a 7-member, publicly elected Steering Committee representing the Caribbean, Indigenous communities, the U.S., and Canada. Wikimedia Canada will serve as fiscal sponsor, with daily operations run by a Canada-based Administrative Manager and a U.S.-based Programs Manager, as well as a future Caribbean staff role.
Timeline:
- Spring–Summer 2026: Hire two part-time staff (May start), recruit and form the Steering Committee by mid-June, and hold an initial strategy retreat. Conduct a needs assessment at Wikimania in July and begin leading monthly regional calls and early engagement efforts in western Canada and Indigenous communities.
- Fall 2026: Publicly launch the Hub in August, host an in-person workshop at WikiConference North America in September, and run regional trainings in October (digital safety) and November (advanced user workshops), alongside ongoing Caribbean outreach.
- Winter–Spring 2027: Evaluate progress in December, then run training series from January–March on grants, conflict resolution, and digital tools, plus a first-year achievements call.
- April 2027: Complete the first-year evaluation and plan next steps based on funding.
The ask is whether Ohio Wikimedians will endorse the creation of this Hub. IMO, I think we should sign on. The United States has many little pockets of Wikimedia affiliates and activity, and quite desparately needs some sort of higher-level body to provide support for both those individual affiliates, as well as filling in the gaps in areas where there isn't active support or organizing. One of the key points above is that the Hub would also assist in WMF's rapid grant funding for North America, which I think is a positive development for our community to have more say in what gets funded. ~SuperHamster Talk Contribs 19:56, 26 February 2026 (UTC)
Discover CapX: New Design, Features, and Ways to Connect
[edit]Hello Ohio Wikimedians User Group!
My name is Amanda Jurno and I’m writing to you on behalf of the Capacity Exchange (CapX) team. We would like to invite you and your community to start using the CapX tool.
CapX is a platform designed for Wikimedians around the world to connect through skills and collaboration. It offers a simple and user-friendly way to find and engage with people who can offer specific expertise, helping make collaboration across the movement more efficient and accessible.
If you’d like a clearer sense of where we’re headed, you can read more about our Vision and Purpose here'. We’ve also prepared a simple visualisation of how CapX works. Additional documentation, FAQs, tutorials, and how-to videos are available on our Meta-Wiki page. The more your community joins CapX, the clearer your view becomes of how capacity-building is growing across your region via the CapX's Data Analytics dashboard.
If you experience any difficulties using the tool, you can consult our User Guide, which includes step-by-step tutorials and short videos explaining each feature. To get in touch with the CapX team, share feedback, or suggest improvements, feel free to email us at capx
wmnobrasil.org. For quick questions and updates, you can also join our Telegram channel.
We would be delighted to have Ohio Wikimedians User Group join CapX’s growing network. Creating your organization profile only takes a few minutes and helps other affiliates discover your expertise, initiatives, and potential areas for collaboration. Here is what we need from you before you can start.
Finally, we invite you to subscribe to our newsletter channel to receive regular updates about CapX and the Capacity Exchange project - click here to subscribe.
We hope to see you exchanging soon!
Sincerely, AJurno (WMB) (talk) 02:01, 31 March 2026 (UTC)
Affiliations Committee News (January-March 2026)
[edit]You can find this newsletter translated into additional languages on Meta-wiki. Please help translate to your language
Quarterly newsletter sharing news and events about the work of Wikimedia's Affiliations Committee.
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Affiliate Recognition and Derecognition: This past quarter, AffCom recognized no new Affiliates due to the pause in recognizing new affiliates.
AffCom Conflict Intervention: AffCom is currently addressing eight ongoing affiliate conflict cases received in previous quarters.
Affiliate Recognition Pause Extension: The Wikimedia Foundation, together with the AffCom, has extended the pause on new affiliate recognition until September 1, 2026.
New Affiliate Model Development Efforts: The Affiliations Committee held collaborative meetings with the Global Resource Distribution Committee (GRDC) to explore the development of a new affiliations model.
Towards a Healthy Ecosystem of Wikimedia Organizations: Two major pilot initiatives were launched to address long-standing questions about the roles of movement organizations and the future of resource allocation.