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Latest comment: 11 days ago by MediaWiki message delivery in topic Affiliations Committee News (July-December 2025)

Feedback invited on proposed requirements for affiliates & user groups recognition changes

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You can find this message translated into additional languages on Meta-wiki. Please help translate to your language

Dear Wikimedia Affiliates,

Following up on the development of Wikimedia Foundation Affiliates Strategy, we would like to invite you to give feedback on requirements for affiliates & user groups recognition changes. You can find the details of the proposed changes in this message from Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees liaisons to the Affiliations Committee, as well as the ways to give your feedback.

We have also reached out to your contact persons via the emails provided.

Best regards,

Xeno (WMF) (talk) 14:40, 9 February 2024 (UTC)Reply

Notification of upcoming reporting due date

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Greetings Bodhisattwa, Jayantanth,

This is a notification to bring to your attention that your organization reporting date is coming up in 27 day(s). Wikimedia Affiliates are required to submit an annual activity report covering the entirety of the 12-month agreement period in order to prompt review for a renewal. Reports must be written in English, posted to meta via the Wikimedia Affiliates Data Portal.

This page is used to track how organizations and groups are meeting reporting requirements described in their agreements with the Wikimedia Foundation (e.g. chapter agreements, thematic organization agreements, user group agreements). It is the central place where affiliates can add reports about their activities, share their plans, and even news or social media channels with the wider movement. When new reports are available, organizations and groups should add them to this page to keep their columns up to date.

As noted on the meta Reports page, your organization’s 2024 annual reporting will be due in 2024-03-15. Please be sure to:

  • Post your 2024 annual reporting to the meta via the Wikimedia Affiliates Data Portal as soon as possible to return to compliance with your user group agreement.
  • Check that your group’s page is also up to date with past report links for historical record-keeping, and
  • Please send an email to Wikimedia-l in order to share with a movement-wide audience.

If you have any questions or need any further guidance, please don’t hesitate to reach out to wadportal(_AT_)wikimedia.org.

Best regards,

Wikimedia Affiliates Data Portal

--User:DNdubane_(WMF) 16:25, 16 February 2024 (UTC)Reply

The full draft of the Wikimedia Movement Charter will soon be shared

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You can find this message translated into additional languages on Meta-wiki. Please help translate to your language

Hi there,

The Movement Charter Drafting Committee is happy to announce that the full draft of the Movement Charter will be published on April 2nd, 2024. This will kick off the community engagement period from April 2nd to April 22nd.

The Movement Charter is a proposed document to define roles and responsibilities for all the members and entities of the Wikimedia Movement, including to lay out a new Global Council for movement governance.

Everyone in the Wikimedia Movement is invited to share opinions on the full version of the Charter draft – this is the last chance to offer feedback before the Charter draft is updated for the ratification vote in June 2024.

How to share your feedback?

Read the Committee's latest updates for more information.

On behalf of the MCDC,

RamzyM (WMF) 13:58, 28 March 2024 (UTC)Reply

The full Movement Charter draft awaits your review on Meta

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You can find this message translated into additional languages on Meta-wiki. Please help translate to your language

Hi everyone,

The full draft of the Movement Charter has been published on Meta for your review.

Why should you care?

The Charter is important as it will be an essential document for the implementation of the 2030 strategy recommendations. Participating in the Charter discussions means that you ensure that your voice is heard and your interests are represented in shaping the future of the Movement.

Community Engagement – April 2nd to April 30th, 2024

The Movement Charter Drafting Committee (MCDC) cordially invites everyone in the Wikimedia movement to share feedback on the full draft of the Movement Charter.

Let your voice be heard by sharing your feedback it in any language on the Movement Charter talk pages, attend a community drop-in session, or email movementcharter@wikimedia.org.

Please read the Committee's latest updates for more information.

Thank you.

On behalf of the MCDC,

RamzyM (WMF) 13:07, 3 April 2024 (UTC)Reply

Affiliations Committee News (January-March 2024)

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Group photo of the 2023 EduWiki Conference in Belgrade, organized by Wikipedia & Education User Group

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.

read this newsletter in fullsubscribe/unsubscribe

MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 12:55, 18 April 2024 (UTC)Reply

Board of Trustees selection call for candidates

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Hello all,

The call for candidates for the 2024 Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees selection is now open from May 8, 2024 - May 29, 2024 at 23:59 UTC. The Board of Trustees oversees the Wikimedia Foundation's work, and each Trustee serves a three-year term. This is a volunteer position.

This year, the Wikimedia community will vote to fill four (4) seats on the Foundation Board in August 2024. You can see the timeline of the full selection process here.

Traits

Wikimedia is a global movement and seeks candidates from the broader community. Ideal candidates are thoughtful, respectful, community-oriented and align with the Wikimedia Foundation mission. Candidates should think about what experiences and perspectives they will bring to the Board.

The Board would like to find perspectives and voices that are essential but underrepresented in our movement. Accordingly, all candidates will be asked to include statements in their application that speak to their experiences in the world and in the movement and share how those experiences have equipped them to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Trustees commitment

Trustees serve a three year term and can serve up to three consecutive terms. The expectation is that Trustees serve on at least one of the Board’s committees. The time commitment is about 150 hours per year, excluding travel. This time is not evenly spread throughout the year. The time is concentrated around meetings.

Trustees requirements

English is the language of business for the Board. Candidates must be fluent in written and spoken English. Previous experience serving on a collective decision-making body, especially Boards or committees, and significant experience in Wikimedia (or equivalent) movement building and organizing are expected from candidates.

Apply

Candidates from all projects and communities who meet the criteria to become a Wikimedia Trustee are welcome to apply. Could you - or someone you know - be a good fit to join the Wikimedia Foundation's Board of Trustees? Encourage them to run for election. Candidates can find information and submit their nomination on the candidate application page. If you want to learn more about the role of Trustees or have questions, refer to this candidate resources page.

Community questions for candidates

All community members, including affiliates, are invited to submit questions for the Board of Trustees candidates to answer. From the list of questions, the Election Committee selects 5 questions for candidates to answer, which the candidates are expected to answer. The selected questions may be a combination of what’s been submitted from the community, if they’re alike or related. Questions can be submitted between May 8 - June 12 at 23:59 UTC. Learn more about how to submit your questions on this Meta-wiki page.

Best regards,

The Elections Committee and Board Selection Working Group

MPossoupe_(WMF) 18:33, 8 May 2024 (UTC)Reply

Feedback invited on Procedure for Sibling Project Lifecycle

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You can find this message translated into additional languages on Meta-wiki. Please help translate to your language

Dear Wikimedia Affiliates,

The Community Affairs Committee (CAC) of the Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees invites you to give feedback on a draft Procedure for Sibling Project Lifecycle. Affiliates play important roles in the Movement, working with communities and external partners, and thus they bring valuable perspectives to the table. We warmly welcome you to the conversations. In addition, please share information about this with your affiliate membership, and any project communities your affiliate works with or supports. You can also help translate the procedure into more languages so that people can join the discussions in their language.

This draft Procedure outlines proposed steps and requirements for opening and closing Wikimedia Sibling Projects. It aims to ensure any newly approved projects are set up for success. This is separate from the procedures for opening or closing language versions of projects, which is handled by the Language Committee. It is also separate from the closing projects policy.

You can find the details of the proposal on this page, as well as the ways to give your feedback from today until the end of the day on June 23, 2024, anywhere on Earth.

We have also reached out to your contact persons via the emails provided.

On behalf of the CAC,

RamzyM (WMF) 16:08, 21 May 2024 (UTC)Reply

The final text of the Wikimedia Movement Charter is now on Meta

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You can find this message translated into additional languages on Meta-wiki. Please help translate to your language

Hi everyone,

The final text of the Wikimedia Movement Charter is now up on Meta in more than 20 languages for your reading.

What is the Wikimedia Movement Charter?

The Wikimedia Movement Charter is a proposed document to define roles and responsibilities for all the members and entities of the Wikimedia movement, including the creation of a new body – the Global Council – for movement governance.

Join the Wikimedia Movement Charter “Launch Party”

Join the “Launch Party” on June 20, 2024 at 14.00-15.00 UTC (your local time). During this call, we will celebrate the release of the final Charter and present the content of the Charter. Join and learn about the Charter before casting your vote.

Movement Charter ratification vote

Voting will commence on SecurePoll on June 25, 2024 at 00:01 UTC and will conclude on July 9, 2024 at 23:59 UTC. You can read more about the voting process, eligibility criteria, and other details on Meta.

If you have any questions, please leave a comment on the Meta talk page or email the MCDC at mcdc@wikimedia.org.

On behalf of the MCDC,

RamzyM (WMF) 08:43, 11 June 2024 (UTC)Reply

Wikimedia Foundation Affiliates Strategy: Affiliate health criteria and changes to User Group recognition process

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This communication has been adapted from the original message.

Dear all,

We would like to thank all of you who shared feedback with us during this phase of the Wikimedia Foundation Affiliates Strategy process that started in November 2022, both on- and off-wiki. You can read the report from the first phase here.

Since that point, AffCom has been working with the Board of Trustees, Foundation staff, affiliates, and wider community members to enable them to provide appropriate guidance to affiliates regarding what it means to be an active and healthy Wikimedia organisation. As a result of those conversations, the committee has voted to adopt the following 10 criteria for affiliates, grouped into four main areas:

  • Goal delivery
  • Organisational Development
    • Good governance & communication
    • Financial & legal compliance
    • Affiliate health & resilience
  • Leadership & Inclusion
    • Diverse, skilled, and accountable leadership
    • Diversity balance (especially gender)
    • Universal Code of Conduct compliance)
  • Engagement & Collaboration
    • Internal (membership) engagement
    • Community connection
    • Partnerships & collaboration

You are encouraged to read more details about each of these criteria here, including guidance on how each can be met. All criteria will be tracked for all affiliates, except for the criteria around financial and legal compliance, which only apply to those affiliates receiving funds and/or that are incorporated.

Staff and AffCom are working on streamlining affiliate reporting requirements, and responding to feedback raised during the community feedback period about the reporting burden. The new requirements of data collected in reports would be useful also for different Foundation teams and departments, and allow for the creation of detailed regional or global reports that demonstrate affiliate health and impact.

In July 2024, AffCom will work to finalise the implementation plans for the changes to the affiliate requirements and application process. In August 2024, updates will be made to Meta-wiki and other supporting platforms.

You can follow the process here.

The insights from the 2023 process also included recognising a need to strengthen AffCom processes for evaluating potential User Groups’ furtherance of shared movement goals, sustainability, and general ability to be healthy and active movement participants. AffCom has adopted a revised process for User Group recognition, and will be pausing new User Group recognitions until September 2024.

No immediate changes are happening, except the pause of considering new User Group recognitions until September, for applications received after today, June 12, 2024. Once more detailed implementation plans are developed, there will be an update here and on the relevant Meta pages with the next steps after Wikimania.

To provide your feedback, please leave a comment on the main talk page on Meta.

Alternatively, you can join AffCom's open office hours on June 19 at 14:00 UTC or request a conversation as a part of Talking:2024. You can use the Let’s Talk to sign up for a time to speak with us.

Looking forward to your feedback!

Best regards,

Nat, Mike & Lorenzo

Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees Liaisons to the Affiliations Committee

Sunday June 23 Strategic Wikimedia Affiliates Network meeting (WMF BoT statement on Movement Charter ratification)

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A group of SWANs heading to the meeting

Hello everyone!

The Strategic Wikimedia Affiliates Network (SWAN) is a developing forum for all Wikimedia movement affiliates to share ideas about current developments in the Wikimedia Movement. It expands on the model of the All-Affiliates Brand Meeting to help lay some of the groundwork for further Wikimedia 2030 strategy process work.

At this meeting we will focus on the recent statement by the WMF Board of Trustees liaisons statement on the Movement Charter in which the liaisons stated that they will be recommending the Board of Trustees not to ratify the final draft of the Movement Charter. The community and affiliate votes on the ratification are supposed to start on Tuesday, 25 June. This meeting offers a venue to discuss the situation and formulate the "next steps".

This month, we are meeting on Sunday, June 23, and you are all invited to RSVP here.

UTC meeting times are and

Nadzik (talk) 16:30, 22 June 2024 (UTC)Reply

Affiliations Committee News (April-June 2024)

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AffCom group photo at Wikimedia Summit 2024 in Berlin, Germany

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.

read this newsletter in fullsubscribe/unsubscribe

MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 16:20, 15 July 2024 (UTC)Reply

Sunday July 28 Strategic Wikimedia Affiliates Network meeting (Results of Movement Charter ratification)

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SWANs gathering for a conversation

Hello everyone!

The Strategic Wikimedia Affiliates Network (SWAN) is a developing forum for all Wikimedia movement affiliates to share ideas about current developments in the Wikimedia Movement. It expands on the model of the All-Affiliates Brand Meeting to help lay some of the groundwork for further Wikimedia 2030 strategy process work.

At this meeting we will focus on the results of the Movement Charter ratification. We will also discuss the aftermath of the Board of Trustees' decision to veto the Movement Charter, including their recent proposals. We will also cover updates about upcoming Wikimania 2024.

This month, we are meeting on Sunday, July 28, and you are all invited to RSVP here.

UTC meeting times are and

Nadzik (talk) 19:55, 18 July 2024 (UTC)Reply

Digitization of Bengali cultural texts from outside West Bengal within India - Phase 2 (ID: 22731934)

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Behar Herald 16-02-1943

সুধী, উইমিডিয়ান আমি তন্ময় বীর এই শিরোনামে Digitization of Bengali cultural texts from outside West Bengal within India - Phase 2 (ID: 22731934) GLAM এর জন্য আবেদন করেছি। এটি বাংলা সাংস্কৃতিক টেক্সট ডিজিটাইজেশনের এটা দ্বিতীয় পর্ব। প্রথম পর্বে বিহার হেরাল্ড পত্রিকার ২৭ হাজার পাতার ডিজিটাইজেশন সফলভাবে সম্পন্ন হয়েছে। প্রস্তাবিত পর্বে শিলং এর বঙ্গীয় সাহিত্য পরিষদের মুখপত্র ‘কর্মশালা’র কর্মশালা ২১.৪বর্ষ সমস্ত সংখ্যা, অধ্যাপক তপোধীর ভট্টাচার্যের ২০ টি মূল্যবান প্রবন্ধের বই আক্রান্ত বাঙালি এবং ‘বিহার হেরাল্ড’এর বাকি ৮খণ্ড, সব মিলিয়ে প্রায় ২০ হাজার পাতা জিজিটাইজ এবং আপলোড করা হবে। আপনাদের অবগতি ও মূল্যবান মন্তব্য/ পরামর্শ ও সমর্থন প্রার্থনীয়।

তন্ময় বীর (talk) 20:06, 5 August 2024 (UTC)Reply

This project's target is to digitize items under four heads which are briefly mentioned below. All are related to Bangla language, literature and culture outside of the state of West Bengal but within India. These documents are not archived properly and are not easy accessible. Some will not be available even in future due to their dire poor condition. So this project has a multi-level significance from different aspects. These documents will also provide huge authentic references in the context of South-Asian socio-cultural perspective and provide citation support to different Wikimedia projects. It also related to under-represented minority community work of Bengali people living outside their native land of West Bengal.

  1. Approximately 10,000 more pages of Behar Herald, which are recently found in the library of Bihar Bengali Association after the previous project completion Project page. The importance of the Behar herald has been stated in details In the earlier project proposal from last year. Bihar Bengali Association, owner institution of the newspaper has agree to extend the mutual collaboration.
  2. All available issues contains approximately 4000 pages of Karmashala (কর্মশালা), an official Bengali bulletin cum magazine of Bangiya Sahitya Parisad, Shillong, Meghalaya, published since 1991. Bangiya Sahitya Parisad is one of the oldest Bengali association in Meghalaya which started its journey in 1937.
  3. Approximately 5,000 pages of 20 books written by Prof. Tapodhir Bhattacharjee. He is the Ex. Vice-Chancellor of Assam University and has written many remarkable theoretical and analytical essay books in Bengali and English languages. It is his great generosity that he has agreed to relicense his books under Creative Commons license and for digitization and upload to Wikimedia sites for transcription and proofreading.

Dr. Bir (talk) 20:06, 5 August 2024 (UTC)Reply

Affiliations Committee News (July-September 2024)

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AffCom session at Wikimania 2024

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.

read this newsletter in fullsubscribe/unsubscribe

MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 15:53, 7 October 2024 (UTC)Reply

(Initial Review) Notification of Affiliate Expiration - Renewal pending submission of reporting

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Greetings Bodhisattwa, Jayantanth,

This is a notification to bring to your attention that your organization is currently past due on its required annual reporting. Wikimedia Affiliates are required to submit an annual activity report covering the entirety of the 12-month agreement period in order to prompt review for a renewal. Reports must be written in English, posted to meta via the Wikimedia Affiliates Data Portal.

This page is used to track how organizations and groups are meeting reporting requirements described in their agreements with the Wikimedia Foundation (e.g. chapter agreements, thematic organization agreements, user group agreements). It is the central place where affiliates can add reports about their activities, share their plans, and even news or social media channels with the wider movement. When new reports are available, organizations and groups should add them to this page to keep their columns up to date.

As noted on the meta Reports page, your organization’s 2024 annual reporting became past due in 2024-03-15. Please be sure to:

  • Post your 2024 annual reporting to the meta via the Wikimedia Affiliates Data Portal as soon as possible to return to compliance with your user group agreement.
  • Check that your group’s page is also up to date with past report links for historical record-keeping, and
  • Please send an email to Wikimedia-l in order to share with a movement-wide audience.

If you have any questions or need any further guidance, please don’t hesitate to reach out to wadportal(_AT_)wikimedia.org.

Best regards,

Wikimedia Affiliates Data Portal

--User:RamzyM (WMF) 20:18, 3 January 2025 (UTC)Reply

(First Reminder) Notification of Affiliate Expiration - Renewal pending submission of reporting

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Greetings Bodhisattwa, Jayantanth,

This is a notification to bring to your attention that your organization is currently past due on its required annual reporting. Wikimedia Affiliates are required to submit an annual activity report covering the entirety of the 12-month agreement period in order to prompt review for a renewal. Reports must be written in English, posted to meta via the Wikimedia Affiliates Data Portal.

This page is used to track how organizations and groups are meeting reporting requirements described in their agreements with the Wikimedia Foundation (e.g. chapter agreements, thematic organization agreements, user group agreements). It is the central place where affiliates can add reports about their activities, share their plans, and even news or social media channels with the wider movement. When new reports are available, organizations and groups should add them to this page to keep their columns up to date.

As noted on the meta Reports page, your organization’s 2024 annual reporting became past due in 2024-03-15. Please be sure to:

  • Post your 2024 annual reporting to the meta via the Wikimedia Affiliates Data Portal as soon as possible to return to compliance with your user group agreement.
  • Check that your group’s page is also up to date with past report links for historical record-keeping, and
  • Please send an email to Wikimedia-l in order to share with a movement-wide audience.

If you have any questions or need any further guidance, please don’t hesitate to reach out to wadportal(_AT_)wikimedia.org.

Best regards,

Wikimedia Affiliates Data Portal

--User:RamzyM (WMF) 20:19, 3 January 2025 (UTC)Reply

(Second Reminder) Notification of Affiliate Expiration - Renewal pending submission of reporting

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Greetings Bodhisattwa, Jayantanth,

This is a notification to bring to your attention that your organization is currently past due on its required annual reporting. Wikimedia Affiliates are required to submit an annual activity report covering the entirety of the 12-month agreement period in order to prompt review for a renewal. Reports must be written in English, posted to meta via the Wikimedia Affiliates Data Portal.

This page is used to track how organizations and groups are meeting reporting requirements described in their agreements with the Wikimedia Foundation (e.g. chapter agreements, thematic organization agreements, user group agreements). It is the central place where affiliates can add reports about their activities, share their plans, and even news or social media channels with the wider movement. When new reports are available, organizations and groups should add them to this page to keep their columns up to date.

As noted on the meta Reports page, your organization’s 2024 annual reporting became past due in 2024-03-15. Please be sure to:

  • Post your 2024 annual reporting to the meta via the Wikimedia Affiliates Data Portal as soon as possible to return to compliance with your user group agreement.
  • Check that your group’s page is also up to date with past report links for historical record-keeping, and
  • Please send an email to Wikimedia-l in order to share with a movement-wide audience.

If you have any questions or need any further guidance, please don’t hesitate to reach out to wadportal(_AT_)wikimedia.org.

Best regards,

Wikimedia Affiliates Data Portal

--User:RamzyM (WMF) 20:20, 3 January 2025 (UTC)Reply

(Second Reminder) Notification of Affiliate Expiration - Renewal pending submission of reporting

[edit]

Greetings Bodhisattwa, Jayantanth,

This is a notification to bring to your attention that your organization is currently past due on its required annual reporting. Wikimedia Affiliates are required to submit an annual activity report covering the entirety of the 12-month agreement period in order to prompt review for a renewal. Reports must be written in English, posted to meta via the Wikimedia Affiliates Data Portal.

This page is used to track how organizations and groups are meeting reporting requirements described in their agreements with the Wikimedia Foundation (e.g. chapter agreements, thematic organization agreements, user group agreements). It is the central place where affiliates can add reports about their activities, share their plans, and even news or social media channels with the wider movement. When new reports are available, organizations and groups should add them to this page to keep their columns up to date.

As noted on the meta Reports page, your organization’s 2024 annual reporting became past due in 2024-03-15. Please be sure to:

  • Post your 2024 annual reporting to the meta via the Wikimedia Affiliates Data Portal as soon as possible to return to compliance with your user group agreement.
  • Check that your group’s page is also up to date with past report links for historical record-keeping, and
  • Please send an email to Wikimedia-l in order to share with a movement-wide audience.

If you have any questions or need any further guidance, please don’t hesitate to reach out to wadportal(_AT_)wikimedia.org.

Best regards,

Wikimedia Affiliates Data Portal

--User:RamzyM (WMF) 20:20, 3 January 2025 (UTC)Reply

(Third Reminder) Notification of Affiliate Expiration - Renewal pending submission of reporting

[edit]

Greetings Bodhisattwa, Jayantanth,

This is a notification to bring to your attention that your organization is currently past due on its required annual reporting. Wikimedia Affiliates are required to submit an annual activity report covering the entirety of the 12-month agreement period in order to prompt review for a renewal. Reports must be written in English, posted to meta via the Wikimedia Affiliates Data Portal.

This page is used to track how organizations and groups are meeting reporting requirements described in their agreements with the Wikimedia Foundation (e.g. chapter agreements, thematic organization agreements, user group agreements). It is the central place where affiliates can add reports about their activities, share their plans, and even news or social media channels with the wider movement. When new reports are available, organizations and groups should add them to this page to keep their columns up to date.

As noted on the meta Reports page, your organization’s 2024 annual reporting became past due in 2024-03-15. Please be sure to:

  • Post your 2024 annual reporting to the meta via the Wikimedia Affiliates Data Portal as soon as possible to return to compliance with your user group agreement.
  • Check that your group’s page is also up to date with past report links for historical record-keeping, and
  • Please send an email to Wikimedia-l in order to share with a movement-wide audience.

If you have any questions or need any further guidance, please don’t hesitate to reach out to wadportal(_AT_)wikimedia.org.

Best regards,

Wikimedia Affiliates Data Portal

--User:RamzyM (WMF) 23:19, 3 January 2025 (UTC)Reply

Invitation to Participate in the Wikimedia SAARC Conference Community Engagement Survey

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Dear Community Members,

I hope this message finds you well. Please excuse the use of English; we encourage translations into your local languages to ensure inclusivity.

We are conducting a Community Engagement Survey to assess the sentiments, needs, and interests of South Asian Wikimedia communities in organizing the inaugural Wikimedia SAARC Regional Conference, proposed to be held in Kathmandu, Nepal.

This initiative aims to bring together participants from eight nations to collaborate towards shared goals. Your insights will play a vital role in shaping the event's focus, identifying priorities, and guiding the strategic planning for this landmark conference.

Survey Link: https://forms.gle/en8qSuCvaSxQVD7K6

We kindly request you to dedicate a few moments to complete the survey. Your feedback will significantly contribute to ensuring this conference addresses the community's needs and aspirations.

Deadline to Submit the Survey: 20 January 2025

Your participation is crucial in shaping the future of the Wikimedia SAARC community and fostering regional collaboration. Thank you for your time and valuable input.

Warm regards,
Biplab Anand

Affiliations Committee News (October-December 2024)

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AffCom at its Strategic Retreat in Frankfurt

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.

Affiliates Strategy Update: Notes from the 2024 AffCom strategic retreat

Affiliate Recognition and Derecognition: User group application pause lifted

Affiliate Activities and Compliance Report: Activities reports around the world

AffCom Conflict Intervention: Updates on conflict intervention cases

AffCom Movement Contribution: AffCom engagement at WikiIndaba

AffCom Administration: Mari Avetisyan appointed new AffCom secretary
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MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 03:03, 5 February 2025 (UTC)Reply

Affiliations Committee News (January-March 2025)

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Wikimedia Brasil, the latest chapter to be recognized by AffCom

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.

Affiliate Recognition and Derecognition: Recognition of Wikimedia Brasil and four user groups

Affiliate Activities and Compliance Report: Activities reports around the world

AffCom Conflict Intervention: Updates on conflict intervention cases

AffCom Movement Contribution: AffCom engagement at Wikimedia+Libraries and Wikisource conferences

AffCom Administration: Welcoming new AffCom voting and advisory members

Upcoming AffCom Events: AffCom at ESEAP Strategy Summit
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MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 01:28, 26 April 2025 (UTC)Reply

Join the 6th Wikipedia Pages Wanting Photos Campaign – 2025 Edition

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Dear Wikimedia affiliate,

We invite your community to participate in the 6th edition of the Wikipedia Pages Wanting Photos Campaign, a global campaign taking place from July 1 to August 31, 2025.

Participants will choose among Wikipedia pages without photos, then add a suitable photo from among the many thousands of photos in the Wikimedia Commons, especially those uploaded from thematic contests (Wiki Loves Africa, Wiki Loves Earth, Wiki Loves Folklore, Wiki Loves Monuments, etc.) over the years.

More than 60 Wikimedia affiliates have participated since the campaign was launched in 2020 and have added images to more than 400,000 Wikipedia articles in over 245 Wikipedia languages. Thanks to the volunteer contributors!

We now invite your affiliate to organize and lead the campaign within your community. As a local organizer, you may:

  • Encourage individual members to take part by adding images to Wikipedia articles.
  • Host edit-a-thons focused on improving visual content.
  • Organize training workshops to teach contributors how to correctly integrate images into Wikipedia.

These activities will help build local capacity and increase visual content across Wikipedia.

Please note that for participants to be eligible to participate in the campaign, they need to have registered an account for at least a year before the official start date of the contest. That is, for the 2025 edition, they must have registered an account on or before July 1, 2025. The account can be from any Wikimedia project wikis.

The organizing team is looking for a contact person to coordinate WPWP participation at the Wikimedia user group or chapter level (geographically or thematically) or for a language Wikipedia.

We would be glad for you to sign up directly at WPWP Participating Communities.

With kind regards,

User:Reading Beans On behalf of the Wikipedia Pages Wanting Photos campaign 2025. MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 10:03, 15 May 2025 (UTC)Reply

Announcing the South Asia Newsletter – Get Involved

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Please help translate to your language

Hello Wikimedians of South Asia! 👋

We’re excited to launch the planning phase for the South Asia Newsletter – a bi-monthly, community-driven publication that brings news, updates, and original stories from across our vibrant region, to one page!

We’re looking for passionate contributors to join us in shaping this initiative:

  • Editors/Reviewers – Craft and curate impactful content
  • Technical Contributors – Build and maintain templates, modules, and other magic on meta.
  • Community Representatives – Represent your Wikimedia Affiliate or community

If you're excited to contribute and help build a strong regional voice, we’d love to have you on board!

👉 Express your interest though this link.

Please share this with your affiliate members.. Let’s build this together! 💬

This message was sent with MediaWiki message delivery (talk) by Gnoeee (talk) at 15:39, 6 June 2025 (UTC)Reply

Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees 2025 - Call for Candidates

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Hello all,

The call for candidates for the 2025 Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees selection is now open from June 17, 2025 - July 2, 2025 at 11:59 UTC. The Board of Trustees oversees the Wikimedia Foundation's work, and each Trustee serves a three-year term. This is a volunteer position.

This year, the Wikimedia community will vote starting in August and ending in September 2025 to fill two (2) seats on the Foundation Board. You can see the timeline of the full selection process here.

Traits

Wikimedia is a global movement and seeks candidates from the broader community. Ideal candidates are thoughtful, respectful, community-oriented and align with the Wikimedia Foundation mission. The Board is looking for candidates with experience guiding organizational strategy, navigating change, and driving long-term strategic objectives. Candidates should think about what experiences and perspectives they will bring to the Board.

The Board would like to find perspectives and voices that are essential but underrepresented in our movement. Accordingly, all candidates will be asked to include statements in their application that speak to their experiences in the world, the perspectives they bring to the movement and share how these help them to include those not already here.

Time Commitment for Trustees

Trustees serve a three year term and can serve up to three consecutive terms. The expectation is that Trustees serve on at least one of the Board’s committees. The time commitment is about 150 hours per year, excluding travel. This time is not evenly spread throughout the year. The time is concentrated around meetings.

Requirements to be a Trustee

English is the language of business for the Board. Candidates must be fluent in written and spoken English. Previous experience serving on a collective decision-making body, especially Boards or committees, and significant experience in Wikimedia (or equivalent) movement building and organizing are expected from candidates. You can review the candidate guidelines here.

How to Apply

Candidates from all projects and communities who meet the criteria to become a Wikimedia Trustee are welcome to apply. Could you - or someone you know - be a good fit to join the Wikimedia Foundation's Board of Trustees? Encourage them to run for election. Candidates can find information and submit their nomination on the candidate application page. If you want to learn more about the role of Trustees or have questions, refer to this candidate resources page.

Community questions for candidates

The questions for the Board of Trustees candidates to answer have been published as part of the candidate application. From the list of questions submitted by the community, the Election Committee selected 5 questions which the candidates are required to answer. Learn more about the community questions on this Meta-wiki page.

Best regards,

The Elections Committee and the Governance Committee

MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 14:02, 26 June 2025 (UTC)Reply

2025 Board of Trustees selection process – Candidate shortlisting process

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The candidates application period for the Wikimedia Foundation 2025 Board of Trustees selection was closed on July 9, 2025. The Elections Committee has announced the list of 12 (twelve) eligible candidates.


A shortlisting process will be conducted to produce 6 (six) final candidates that will be voted on by the wider community. Representatives of Wikimedia movement affiliates that are currently compliant with their reporting obligations (list of all Affiliates currently compliant) has been notified to participate in the shortlisting process based on the candidates’ alignment with the requirements and desired criteria for candidates. The process is open from now until Monday, July 28, 2025 at 23:59 UTC.


After the shortlisting process concludes, the 6 (six) candidates who receive the highest number of votes will be announced by the Elections Committee on Wikimedia-l and Meta-wiki, but without publicly mentioning their ranking. As mentioned on the Meta page, the results of this shortlisting process will be shared after the election closes, to avoid influencing the vote.


On behalf of the Elections Committee and the Governance Committee,


MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 18:16, 15 July 2025 (UTC)Reply

Affiliations Committee News (April-June 2025)

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AffCom session at the ESEAP Strategy Summit 2025 in Manila, the Philippines

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.

Affiliate Recognition and Derecognition: Recognition of Wikimedia Aotearoa New Zealand and Assamese Wikimedia Community User Group

Affiliate Activities and Compliance Report: Activities reports around the world

AffCom Conflict Intervention: Updates on conflict intervention cases

AffCom Movement Contribution: AffCom engagement at the ESEAP Strategy Summit

AffCom Administration: Results of the AffCom officers election

Upcoming AffCom Events: Meet AffCom at Wikimania
read this newsletter in fullsubscribe/unsubscribe

MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 06:26, 5 August 2025 (UTC)Reply

Invitation to Collaborate: Wiki Science Competition 2025 India

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Dear user group members,

We are happy to share that, for the first time, India will be hosting the Wiki Science Competition 2025 (WSC 2025). This is a wonderful opportunity to highlight India’s scientific achievements, stories, and contributions on a global stage.

Your support is essential for the success of this campaign. To ensure transparency and collaboration, we kindly request communities to:

Start or join a discussion about this campaign within your community (on your local talk page, mailing list, or any suitable forum).

Nominate your community representative (Single Point of Contact (SPOC)) from your community who can coordinate with the WSC India organizing team, encourage participation, and facilitate communication.

Please start a discussion, share the link to the discussion thread or provide us with an Etherpad/document that captures the outcome of your community’s conversation in support of your nominated candidate.

Please fill out this form : Apply Here

(PLEASE NOTE THAT THERE WILL BE A SECTION WHERE YOU NEED TO PROVIDE THE LINK OF YOUR COMMUNITY DISCUSSION.)

We kindly request communities to hold discussions and share the name of your representative by 5 October 2025 or before.

Together, let us run this campaign successfully and make India proud.

For more details, please see: Wiki Science Competition

If you have any questions, please contact us at: contact@wikisciencecompetition.in

Sincerely,

On behalf of the Organizing Team

Wiki Science Competition 2025 – India

-- Archies 2804 ✈️ (📬 Let’s connect) 07:31, 27 September 2025 (UTC)Reply

Seeking volunteers to join several of the movement’s committees

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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:

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 cst(_AT_)wikimedia.org with any questions you may have.

For the Committee Support team,


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

Announcing the GLAM India User Group - Get Involved!

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Hello there,

I hope this message finds you well. I am writing to share information about a recently initiated community effort, the GLAM India User Group, and to invite interested members of the West Bengal Wikimedians User Group to take part.

GLAM (Galleries, Libraries, Archives, and Museums) initiatives focus on collaboration between cultural and memory institutions and the Wikimedia community to improve the availability, quality, and sustainability of free knowledge on Wikimedia projects. In the Indian context, GLAM-related work has so far remained largely fragmented and localized. At the same time, there is a significant knowledge gap regarding Indian GLAM institutions, their collections, and related metadata across Wikimedia projects.

The GLAM India User Group has been started as a community led initiative to help unite and streamline GLAM efforts across India, encourage collaboration among contributors, and support more coordinated engagement with cultural institutions. Given India's rich cultural, archival, and linguistic heritage, participation from the West Bengal Wikimedians User Group would be very valuable and appreciable.

The user group is currently in its early stages of formation and is not yet affiliated with the Wikimedia Foundation (AffCom has currently paused the recognition of new User Groups, Chapters, and Thematic Organizations until March 31, 2026). Membership is open and free, and interested contributors are welcome to join by adding their username to the members list at GLAM India User Group/Members

We would be glad to collaborate with the West Bengal Wikimedians User Group on GLAM-related activities, documentation initiatives, and capacity-building efforts.

Thank you for your time and consideration. We look forward to the possibility of working together.

Best,
❯❯❯ Raydann(Talk)
Wikimedian-in-Residence
Central Library, IIT Delhi

Raydann (talk) 13:12, 15 December 2025 (UTC)Reply

Request to remove name from user group.

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Dear all,

Greetings to all the members of West Bengal Wikimedians. I wish everyone a very happy and prosperous new year.

I received a mail for compulsory attendance (either physical or online) on 21st of December for the Annual General Meeting of West Bengal Wikimedians. As a reply to that mail I mentioned that I'll not be in town for a field trip and will not be able to attend the AGM either way. My field trip dates were planned during October. I received the invitation mail on 11th December, just 10 days back of the scheduled date. As a Representative member of the community as per my attendance last year I was unaware of the date of this year's AGM until 11th December. No discussion was done here in the discussion page if every member was available on that particular date. After that I again received a mail on 23rd December stating that since I was not able to attend the AGM online or offline, I had been removed from being a Representative member to a General member.

As a wildlife photographer I remain out of town for the most of the year and have to do a lot of field work in such remote areas where mobile network is scarce or nil. It's not possible for me to follow the group chats every time (WhatsApp or Telegram). But whenever I get time and network, I duly try to access the Discussion page. But I never found any meetup or important discussion done here in the page officially. Therefore, as a result I was unaware of the date of the AGM and unfortunately will remain so as no discussion is done here.

With all due respect to the decision by the members of West Bengal Wikimedians, I hereby request the respective authority to kindly remove me even as a General member. I have been diligently contributing for years and shall keep on doing the same. Not having my name added as a member of West Bengal Wikimedians page (general or representation) will never affect my love and respect towards Wiki (all sections). I will keep on doing my work.

@Indrajitdas:, thanks a bunch for introducing me to Wiki commons and giving me the opportunity to work as a part of an excellent community.

Thanks & regards Tisha Mukherjee (talk) 09:02, 2 January 2026 (UTC)Reply

Request to remove name from user group.

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As per @Tisha Mukherjee:, being her husband I help her and keep away from town mostly hence unable to contribute to the West Bengal Wikimedians group in anyway. Remaining an inactive member don't make any sense to me so I would also request to remove my name from the group. If needs to be done by me please help me how to do it myself as I am not aware how to do it. Paramanu Sarkar (talk) 09:04, 2 January 2026 (UTC)Reply

Affiliations Committee News (July-December 2025)

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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

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