Talk:Ohio Wikimedians User Group

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Seeking volunteers to join several of the movement’s committees

Each year, typically from October through December, several of the movement’s committees seek new volunteers.

Read more about the committees on their Meta-wiki pages:

• Affiliations Committee (AffCom)
• Ombuds commission (OC)
• Case Review Committee (CRC)

Applications for the committees open on October 30, 2025. Applications for the Affiliations Committee, Ombuds commission and the Case Review Committee close on December 11, 2025. Learn how to apply by visiting the appointment page on Meta-wiki. Post to the talk page or email cstwikimedia.org with any questions you may have.

For the Committee Support team,

- MKaur (WMF) 14:10, 30 October 2025 (UTC)

Call for Applications for WikiDebates from Wikimedia Affiliates

Dear Wikimedia Affiliates,

The Core Organising Team for WikiDebates is pleased to invite interested Wikimedia affiliates to apply to participate in the upcoming WikiDebates.

• About WikiDebates

WikiDebates is a collaborative knowledge-engagement initiative designed to strengthen critical reasoning, public discourse, and community participation across the Wikimedia movement. The program uses structured debate as a tool to deepen understanding of open knowledge, digital citizenship, and the role of Wikimedia projects in shaping informed societies.

• Program Objectives
  • Promote constructive dialogue on themes connected to free knowledge and public information.
  • Strengthen community members' capacity in research, argument development, and public speaking.
  • Encourage cross-affiliate collaboration and relationship building.
  • Highlight shared movement values such as openness, verifiability, diversity, and community governance.

• Who Can Apply
  • Recognised Wikimedia User Groups, Chapters, and Thematic Affiliates.
  • Affiliates must have an active community and be able to field a small team (2–3 participants) to represent them.
  • Teams may include new and experienced contributors; no previous debate experience is required.

• Expected Participation
  • Attend a virtual orientation and training session.
  • Participate in scheduled debate rounds between affiliates.
  • Demonstrate respect, collaboration, and adherence to friendly space policies throughout the program.

• Support Provided
  • Orientation and training resources on debate structure and research.
  • Coaching sessions and topic guides.
  • Publicity and movement-level visibility for participating affiliates.

• How to Apply

Interested affiliates should complete the application form.

• Please provide:
  • Affiliate name and contact details.
  • Names of proposed team members (3–5 participants).
  • A short statement (150–200 words) on why your affiliate wishes to participate.
  • Any preferred support needs or time-zone constraints.

Application Deadline: 30 November 2025 Notification of Selected Affiliates: 15 December 2025

We welcome your participation in building a vibrant, informed, and collaborative knowledge community through WikiDebates.

For inquiries, please contact: WikiDebates.Global[at]gmail.com

'Sincerely,
: Suyash Dwivedi (💬) 09:30, 17 November 2025 (UTC)

The Core Organizing Team, WikiDebates

Affiliations Committee News (July-December 2025)

AffCom at Wikimania 2025 in Nairobi, Kenya

Affiliate Recognition and Derecognition: Recognition of Wikimedia Georgia: recognized & announced September 2025

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 Wikimania

This newsletter is best translated into additional languages on Meta-wiki. Please help translate to your language

read this newsletter in full • subscribe/unsubscribe

MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 11:11, 26 January 2026 (UTC)

CANCUS hub support

@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)