Talk:WikiClassics User Group

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Logos[edit]

Proposals[edit]

This is a knowledge project, therefore, I believe that the logo has to be an Athena, or an owl. I just put in a couple of Athenas, but if you do not like either, we can choose another one. --FocalPoint (talk) 18:34, 28 September 2018 (UTC)[reply]

@FocalPoint: I've added two owls of Athena as possible candidates. However, the logo has to be recogniseable, so maybe the capitel or Oedipus with the Sphinx are better. But we have time to discuss. Thank you for your ideas, --Epìdosis 06:42, 29 September 2018 (UTC)[reply]
Yes, i have to make a logo so it must be something simple. And if possible not too much Roman or Greek. I will prepare some candidates asap.--Alexmar983 (talk) 00:42, 5 October 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Components of a possible future project logos:

We will suggest a contest to vote a possible logo.

I moved the thread here as a future activity.--Alexmar983 (talk) 13:29, 27 December 2018 (UTC)[reply]
I have five possible candidates to upload.--Alexmar983 (talk) 01:42, 21 January 2019 (UTC)[reply]

User:FocalPoint WMF really would like us to pick an original logo as soon as we register as a new UG or we are stuck with the basic model, that's the rumor. So I could only create these logos so far in brief amount of time... do you have any decent additional svg file you would like me to use? Than we can vote and pick one.--Alexmar983 (talk) 00:30, 22 January 2019 (UTC)[reply]

I would skip the idea of the theatre because it's very similar to "WikiLovesParliaments" as a concept, that would be confusing. --Alexmar983 (talk) 09:47, 22 January 2019 (UTC)[reply]
The mix between Wikimedia and the Classics in my opinion can be only be one symbol: the Owl. The ancient Greek symbol of wisdom. That's what we are looking for here. Marcus Cyron (talk) 23:55, 22 January 2019 (UTC)[reply]
Marcus Cyron do you have a svg to create a logo? I am veeeeery busy right now so if you can find what you want me to use, I can create that version much faster.--Alexmar983 (talk) 21:49, 23 January 2019 (UTC)[reply]
Sadly not and I'm so what unable to do such things ;). But as far as I see do we have no preassure here?! Marcus Cyron (talk) 21:51, 23 January 2019 (UTC)[reply]
Aparently we do, we either stuck with the generic logo or register with a clear one. I think it's too rigid and logo should be kept as a choice after the first events, when the group is getting solid but it seems that brand recognition is becoming everything, so... this is not urgent per se but it's a necessary step, a funnel. If we don't do this but we want our logo (which IMHo we should have), we can't submit a final application fr a while.--Alexmar983 (talk) 22:13, 23 January 2019 (UTC)[reply]
little help requested--Alexmar983 (talk) 00:01, 24 January 2019 (UTC)[reply]

I must note that an owl is the logo of The Wikipedia Library. Yes, different colours, but it shows that it is too generic. I would stick with the ionic capital or the temple icon (which in fact is a classical building and not necessarily a temple). 🏛️ -Geraki TL 11:01, 24 January 2019 (UTC)[reply]

@Geraki: You are right about The Wikipedia Library. However, maybe the temple icon is too similar to Unesco logo. I would suggest the vase with the meander. --Epìdosis 15:40, 24 January 2019 (UTC)[reply]
put "classical building" in the caption, but it does not change the fact that it's probably not the best icon. I skipped the "theatre option" because of its similarlity to an existing logo fo WikiParliament, I was going to dismiss also the "temple" one but it was a simple copy and paste in the end so I did it anyway. BTW the logo of the Wikimedia Library UG is quite different from the Miverva's owl, the latter one has round big eye and there is no computer mouse in the mouth, but I do agree that it's not nice to share the same animal. it might be however quite different so it's interesting to see a final rendering. My favourite is in any case not the owl but the vase too, the ionic capital is IMHO a little bit odd.--Alexmar983 (talk) 15:52, 24 January 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Maybe there's something possible with an iconig image as this. It's ancient art, it's visualizied ancient literature and it's what we do here - writing about this all. -- Marcus Cyron (talk) 03:48, 25 January 2019 (UTC)[reply]

It's not bad. I can ask for that too at the graphic Lab. In any case we will have a portfolio of logos that we can reuse for some presentation I guess... even for the subsections of our main page :D--Alexmar983 (talk) 12:27, 25 January 2019 (UTC)[reply]
I can definitely visually relate to this in terms of classical poetry. Gts-tg (talk) 03:31, 26 January 2019 (UTC)[reply]


Dear fellow WikiClassics members, I would like to also propose for consideration to think of the w:en:Pharos of Alexandria as a further, classics knowledge centric, candidate. One of the wonders of the ancient world, tied to both the Greek and Roman w:en:ecumene, and strongly connected with the one place of antiquity where love of knowledge was very highly appreciated and pursued more than anywhere else. Furthermore, on an additional symbolic level I suppose it also works as a beacon of knowledge. As to which material could be used, I can think of an either relative fidelity oriented representation (based on ancient contemporary approximations), or more modern reconstructions (and perhaps slightly more broadly identifiable) in the spirit of the classical tradition through the ages. In this context I'm listing below some materials that could potentially be of use in order to determine a minimally abstracted clipart shape.

As a complementary idea, an alternative reasoning would be that if the Wikipedia logo has the lettered globe, Wikimedia Meta logo has the gridlike globe, then within the same theme WikiClassics could have the respective ''globe'' of the classical world, Anaximander's map, which could easily be converted to a clipart symbol and further processed with the green colouring and with or without letters.

The above are just a set of simple additional ideas which may or may not lend themselves well for logo use or may not be easy to visually manifest into an aesthetically pleasing logo, but so far -and given that time is of essence so that we're not stuck with the basic logo- there is no shortage of good proposals as the ones already put forward by the other members are of high quality (out of which I have to say that I like the attic owl symbol most, due to its simplicity and instant linkage with knowledge -via it's association to Athena/Minerva-). Whatever the final selection will end up being, I am very happy to see the creation of this group and I am looking forward to further participating when my time allows in the near future; congratulations to Epidosis, Alexmar983, and Camelia for starting this, and cordial classical greetings (yep, Χαῖρε and Ave) to the other members that have signed up so far. Gts-tg (talk) 03:31, 26 January 2019 (UTC)[reply]

I really love both Gts-tg's ideas! I think that the Pharos will be easily associated by most people with knowledge and antiquities, but I like also the idea of a map showing the classical world--Sp!ros (talk) 14:06, 26 January 2019 (UTC)[reply]
they are nice idea but don't forget to ask maybe also someone in the illustration laboratories/projects of your local wikipedias for a little help. I don't have the time in these days to produce something complex.--Alexmar983 (talk) 14:18, 26 January 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Gts-tg's the Anaximander's map was easy to create and upload with the svg. Here it is.--Alexmar983 (talk) 20:52, 26 January 2019 (UTC) P.S. I have created a new commons category, can someone help me to do this on all svg files of the map? I am not sure I can use cat-a-lot correctly to add one and remove three categories at the same time, so I am doing it manually. Thank you!--Alexmar983 (talk) 20:55, 26 January 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Alexmar983 I've added a small variation with an encircling meander (above), it's only a small detail (water related too, so sort of ties in with replacing the sea) but I think it makes it stand out more and makes it more easily identifiable as to what it stands for thematically. Gts-tg (talk) 20:07, 27 January 2019 (UTC)[reply]
Also I was about to help with the category change (using cat-a-lot as well), but I think you've already gone through changing the files. Gts-tg (talk) 20:13, 27 January 2019 (UTC)[reply]

As a numismatist, here are a few proposals. More examples on my page (which I can upload here if someone likes some of them):

T8612 (talk) 15:06, 27 January 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Anaximander is a good idea, i like the first variant more than the second with a maeander. Also the idea with Alexandria is reasonable - but the lihthouse would not be my first choice. If we would chose an ancient building, it should be then a library. And the most famous is, I think, the one in Ephesos. Marcus Cyron (talk) 13:53, 28 January 2019 (UTC) PS depending the coins: the griffin has the same problem as the temple (Unesco) and the laurel (a lot uses) - it's already used in a prominent way, here for the German Archaeological Institute. -- Marcus Cyron (talk) 22:53, 28 January 2019 (UTC)[reply]

More in general, I am still waiting for a reply from the illustration workshop for a much simpler task... so it's hard to get such complex shapes at the moment.--Alexmar983 (talk) 11:38, 29 January 2019 (UTC)[reply]
Marcus Cyron, FocalPoint... you asked for the Minerva's owl, could you please leave a comment on on commons? I am not really into such symbol, so maybe what you asked is what they prepared and it's fine for you. Thank you.--Alexmar983 (talk) 22:22, 30 January 2019 (UTC)[reply]

The pharos one was done thanks to a svg flag of Alexandria.--Alexmar983 (talk) 14:56, 2 February 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks! It looks great!--Sp!ros (talk) 20:55, 3 February 2019 (UTC)[reply]

The logo of the IAG can be converted to a svg but you should have some idea about is copyright and how to change it for a logo...--Alexmar983 (talk) 14:58, 2 February 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Vote[edit]

As soon as we have enough candidates, we will decide how to vote.

I am thinking that maybe we "expert" could decide the best two or three options based on above discussion (pro and cons seem quite clear) and than we vote, but maybe we put the link to the final choice on the meta main page this time? This way we can select the best recognizable logo for a general audience and show the project a little bit more around. But it's just an idea, It's just brainstorming.

About the vote, another option is a ranking system, where all users order their options from best to last. I can later compute the ranking and average them similarly to what we do for Wiki Loves Monuments on the Montage tool. This way we can select the most voted options for a run-off. That final vote we can show around and open to everyone.--Alexmar983 (talk) 15:05, 27 January 2019 (UTC)[reply]

My Top 3 under the actual: 3, 4, 6. Marcus Cyron (talk) 22:48, 28 January 2019 (UTC)[reply]
Complete gallery of proposals

We thank User:Habitator terrae who created the last owl logo and User:Epìdosis for the gallery.

We can now vote, we have enough options (8 ideas, 10 variants) for a balanced output. I suggest we all give a ranking of the images, maybe top 3 or just rank 10 points to 1 point all of them, than we make a sum. Once that step is concluded and we have a ranking, we could make a final choice between the two most voted ones. I suggest to open the very final second round vote to all wikimedians, linking it from the main page on meta. This way we are sure to select an image more people can relate to, and show around our new group as a welcoming and open platform.--Alexmar983 (talk) 14:04, 4 February 2019 (UTC)[reply]

please vote when you have time for the selection of the logo.--Alexmar983 (talk) 21:12, 7 February 2019 (UTC)[reply]

@Eunostos, T8612, and Renato de carvalho ferreira: please if you can, vote your best 3 options for the logo.--Alexmar983 (talk) 20:04, 8 February 2019 (UTC)--Alexmar983 (talk) 20:04, 8 February 2019 (UTC)[reply]

My ranking is: 7, 8, 3. --Sp!ros (talk) 20:53, 4 February 2019 (UTC)[reply]
My ranking is: 7, 8, 2. --Epìdosis 08:10, 5 February 2019 (UTC)[reply]
8, 3, 2 - Marcus Cyron (talk) 12:57, 5 February 2019 (UTC)[reply]
8, 2, 4 - Sir Henry (talk) 08:07, 6 February 2019 (UTC)[reply]
8, 6A, 7 - Gts-tg (talk) 20:12, 6 February 2019 (UTC)[reply]
2, 6A, 3 --Alexmar983 (talk) 21:35, 6 February 2019 (UTC)[reply]
8 --FocalPoint (talk) 21:14, 7 February 2019 (UTC)[reply]
3, 8, 2 —DerHexer (Talk) 23:26, 7 February 2019 (UTC)[reply]
1A, 4, 5 --Romulanus (talk) 00:36, 8 February 2019 (UTC)[reply]
2, 3, 5.. --SurdusVII 09:53, 8 February 2019 (UTC)[reply]
2, 8, 3 --Ilbuonme (talk) 19:24, 8 February 2019 (UTC)[reply]
5, 8, 3. --Eunostos (talk) 22:08, 8 February 2019 (UTC)[reply]
5, 3, 2.--Geraki TL 15:05, 11 February 2019 (UTC)[reply]
2, 7, 8 --Saintfevrier (talk) 23:30, 13 February 2019 (UTC)[reply]
(out of time) 4, 1A, 3, I was sure to have voted time ago. 6A and 7 are very nice but are hardly identifiable at first sight. I exclude 8 (too similar to Wiki Library) and 5 (remembers the UNESCO logo). --Camelia (talk) 08:28, 22 February 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Top 2[edit]

How do you want to convert the ranking in numbers? first=3 votes, second=2 votes, third=1 vote? --Alexmar983 (talk) 19:28, 9 February 2019 (UTC)[reply]

sounds good to me--Sp!ros (talk) 19:52, 9 February 2019 (UTC)[reply]
OK. --Epìdosis 19:59, 9 February 2019 (UTC)[reply]
1A:0+0+3= 3
1B:0+0= 0
2: 0+1+1+2+3+1+3+3+1+3= 18
3: 1+0+2+1+3+2+1+1+2= 13
4: 0+0+1+2= 3
5: 0+0+1+1+3+3= 8
6: 0+0= 0
6A:0+0+2+2= 4
7: 3+3+1+2= 9
8: 2+2+3+3+3+3+2+2+2+1= 23

--Sp!ros (talk) 08:44, 13 February 2019 (UTC)[reply]

I updated the sums to include the last votes. The top three are numbers 8 (owl), 2 (amphora), and 3 (ionic column).--Sp!ros (talk) 06:58, 14 February 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Thank you. So the ranking seems quite stable, few more votes might not affect it. We can wait to see if the second or third place change for some days, and than we complete the selection.--Alexmar983 (talk) 23:10, 14 February 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Final choice[edit]

I suggest, as I said, to take the firt two most voted options and let everybody vote (we want the logo to be clear for everyone). Everybody can vote just one of the two options and the vote is linked by the meta main page.--Alexmar983 (talk) 23:10, 14 February 2019 (UTC)[reply]

The rules are: we start on 2019-02-17 UTC 00:00 and we end on 2019-03-03 UTC 00:00 (after 14 days). Do you agree?--Alexmar983 (talk) 23:10, 14 February 2019 (UTC)[reply]

this a draft of the table.--Alexmar983 (talk) 23:10, 14 February 2019 (UTC) we start tomorrow at midnight. I will insert a notice in Template:Main Page/WM News, as I said.--Alexmar983 (talk) 09:52, 16 February 2019 (UTC)[reply]

This is the proposed announcement.--Alexmar983 (talk) 14:29, 16 February 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Feb 17 – Mar 3: final choice for the logo of WikiClassics user group. We value your feedback. voting is running until 3 March 2019, 00:00 (UTC)

Run-off[edit]

The final vote to decide the logo starts on 2019-02-17 UTC 00:00 and ends on 2019-03-03 UTC 00:00

Each user can cast just one vote
Amphora Owl of Minerva
Supported by:
  1. Alexmar983 (talk) 00:13, 17 February 2019 (UTC)[reply]
  2. Epìdosis 17:01, 17 February 2019 (UTC)[reply]
  3. Novak Watchmen (talk) 21:56, 17 February 2019 (UTC)[reply]
  4. --Romulanus (talk) 18:59, 18 February 2019 (UTC)[reply]
  5. --Rashid Jorvee (talk) 04:28, 20 February 2019 (UTC)[reply]
  6. Camelia (talk) 08:28, 22 February 2019 (UTC)[reply]
  7. SurdusVII 10:48, 22 February 2019 (UTC)[reply]
  8. Taketa (talk) 15:56, 22 February 2019 (UTC)[reply]
  9. Alan (talk) 21:42, 22 February 2019 (UTC)[reply]
  10. Ilbuonme (talk) 20:18, 23 February 2019 (UTC)[reply]
  11. -- Carbidfischer (talk) 17:29, 1 March 2019 (UTC)[reply]
  12. 4nn1l2 (talk) 18:21, 1 March 2019 (UTC)[reply]
  13. --h-stt !? 22:02, 1 March 2019 (UTC)[reply]
  14. ...

Supported by:

  1. T8612 (talk) 12:22, 17 February 2019 (UTC)[reply]
  2. Sp!ros (talk) 18:25, 17 February 2019 (UTC)[reply]
  3. Joalpe (talk) 11:43, 20 February 2019 (UTC)[reply]
  4. Sir Henry (talk) 19:02, 20 February 2019 (UTC)[reply]
  5. FocalPoint (talk) 06:35, 22 February 2019 (UTC)[reply]
  6. DerHexer (Talk) 21:16, 22 February 2019 (UTC)[reply]
  7. -- (and I work in the field of ancient ceramics ;)). Marcus Cyron (talk) 10:54, 23 February 2019 (UTC)[reply]
  8. Gts-tg (talk) 20:02, 23 February 2019 (UTC)[reply]
  9. --Hartmann Linge (talk) 08:22, 1 March 2019 (UTC)[reply]
  10. ...


@Ilbuonme, Saintfevrier, and Ijon: @SurdusVII, DerHexer, and Geraki: @Camelia.boban, FocalPoint, and Tursclan: @Christelle Molinié and Mizardellorsa: @Eunostos and Renato de carvalho ferreira: please vote...--Alexmar983 (talk) 19:26, 21 February 2019 (UTC)[reply]

I suggest a smaller size of the amphora. --Camelia (talk) 08:28, 22 February 2019 (UTC)[reply]
Didn't I already reduce it weeks ago? BTW no problem per se.--Alexmar983 (talk) 11:34, 22 February 2019 (UTC)[reply]
Also, I am having second thoughts... thuis might become a very close race if i change my vote :D--Alexmar983 (talk) 11:34, 22 February 2019 (UTC)[reply]
I think the owl is already used too much by organisations related to knowledge, like schools and libraries. The amphora is less used and is more specific for classics. -- Sincerely, Taketa (talk) 16:00, 22 February 2019 (UTC)[reply]
Well the vase gives more an idea also of archeology, the owl looks to me sometimes even more Greek (although there is a meander pattern on the vase), I personally never saw the wol on other organization, but maybe if think carefully I recall some owls here and there. In the end, we could have written also some pros and cons before starting this final vote, my bad. Good news is that people can still change theri votes and debate, we have enough days.--Alexmar983 (talk) 16:15, 22 February 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Due to the very close vote, maybe we could postpone the deadline just to be sure we have a decent majority? Also, can you inform your local projects maybe? Even if some users are not members here, I'd value their advice.--Alexmar983 (talk) 21:15, 28 February 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Now the vote has clearly shifted so we don't need to wait more days, there is a clear winner. We started on a midnight of Sunday so it should be closed but if you want we can keep it going few more days. i will make good use of the other logos in any case, there are very good.--Alexmar983 (talk) 17:07, 3 March 2019 (UTC)[reply]
Please don't wait for my vote. I don't care very much about logos and other visual items. Ijon (talk) 20:10, 3 March 2019 (UTC)[reply]

I would like to have an archive, so we can archive those discussions, that not longer nesseccarry. Takes so much of this site, so other discussions vanish. Marcus Cyron (talk) 17:59, 6 March 2019 (UTC)[reply]

I wamted to archive this one but it is not yet the moment. I have to add another section.--Alexmar983 (talk) 13:28, 12 March 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Final adjustement[edit]

I suppose I have to prepare some version with the final wording of our UG. Maybe "WikiClassics" in black and user group smaller in light gray. I will look at the other logos, please let me know if you have any direct advice.--Alexmar983 (talk) 13:28, 12 March 2019 (UTC)[reply]

We have a small issue, in c:Category:SVG_Wikimedia_user_groups_logos there at least two different styles of writing based on the distance of the letters and the shape of the "A", I am not sure which one is better to use. Also, letters are encoded as shapes on my adobe so I cannot simply type a text: I have to recreate the text manually. This is not a big deal but I used one style of letters and than looking for a "C" I could only find logos with the other style, with slightly broader fonts. I write to the office, maybe they can fix it, i'll let you know.--Alexmar983 (talk) 17:36, 14 March 2019 (UTC)[reply]

@Ilbuonme, Saintfevrier, and Ijon: @SurdusVII, DerHexer, and Geraki: @Camelia.boban, FocalPoint, and Tursclan: @Romulanus, Christelle Molinié, and Mizardellorsa: @Marcus Cyron, Epìdosis, and Prof.Lippold: @DarwIn, DerMaxdorfer, and 4nn1l2: @Taketa, T8616, and Eunostos: @Sp!ros and Gts-tg: (missing anyone?) a quick update. I am still not 100% sure about the right style of the writing in the final composite logo, I have not an answer from the office yet (but it's the week end), maybe the legal team will say the vase icon is fine but maybe they still have to validate the final combination. I told you few days ago that I was not sure about the font and I had to collect the letters from previous logos. However this page says that the standard font is Montserrat, so maybe I can just use that one for a robust proposal.

The problem is that I use an old Adobe on a MAC, so I am not sure how to import a google font (which is something I have heard once it could be done on a Windows) so does any of you have a good graphics tool with the Monserrat font to do it? We just need to put the logo, write "WikiClassics"/"user group" below and than save in svg. I am trying to find a solution but if anyone can help directly, (s)he is welcome.--Alexmar983 (talk) 21:00, 17 March 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Good news, due to a HUGE luck a friend of mine with a good Adobe was free right now. These two are possible versions. if you open them you can't read as font, they are svg files, but if your adobe or other program has the Moserrat font you can try new versions yourselves too.--Alexmar983 (talk) 22:33, 17 March 2019 (UTC)[reply]

I prefer the black version because the other line is already grey. Best, —DerHexer (Talk) 22:58, 17 March 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Same opinion as DerHexer, I prefer the black one as well.--- Darwin Ahoy! 01:08, 18 March 2019 (UTC)[reply]

it looks like I prepared the classical "dummy" second choice nobody really likes :D. If you are interested please take a look to this related conversation. Revising the naming policy I have discovered the WikiXxxx format is not standardized in the examples (despite the fact it exists). I hope this is no specific issue but so far nobody told so in any emal with WMF, I guess is just a not fully updated list of common occurances.--Alexmar983 (talk) 01:54, 18 March 2019 (UTC)[reply]
As DerHexer, the black version looks better in my opinion. --DerMaxdorfer (talk) 02:18, 18 March 2019 (UTC)[reply]
Hi, sorry for not checking this page very often and for not being very active in the discussion. I'm activating the updates via email, so I should be more active from now on. I am probably missing something: wasn't the original name "WikiClassics" (with a final 's')? I read "WikiClassic" (no final 's') in the logo. Again, sorry for probably missing something obvious already mentioned in the discussion. As for the color, the black one is fine for me too. --Ilbuonme (talk) 07:58, 18 March 2019 (UTC)[reply]
I prefer the grey color.. --SurdusVII 11:30, 18 March 2019 (UTC)[reply]
you are right is with an "s". I will correct it, sorry but it was already I miracle I had the right cobination of software. I hope people who did this sort of logo already or manage them daily can fix this easily, for them it take one minute... i am trying to do my best.--Alexmar983 (talk) 12:49, 18 March 2019 (UTC)[reply]
I prefer the black one. --Epìdosis 12:51, 18 March 2019 (UTC)[reply]
I prefer the grey one (and yes, good thing someone pointed out the final "s":-) Good job, Alexmar983! --Saintfevrier (talk) 20:40, 20 March 2019 (UTC)[reply]
my friend with adobe had a family emergency, as long as it is resolved, I can upload a new version.--Alexmar983 (talk) 21:21, 20 March 2019 (UTC)[reply]
I prefer the black version. --Romulanus (talk) 11:07, 22 March 2019 (UTC)[reply]

I have updated the minor corrections. I think we will propose as a final first choice the uniform black version, it looks to me slightly preferred.--Alexmar983 (talk) 18:12, 22 March 2019 (UTC)[reply]

FYI, I have sent the final mail for a legal evaluation yesterday evening. I used the version with the uniform black writing. Crossed finger.--Alexmar983 (talk) 16:06, 24 March 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Hi, the legal team replied that our logo is fine, since we did not modify the Wikimedia house mark. At this point, we miss only the final recognition from AffCom. Good job everyone--Alexmar983 (talk) 08:48, 3 April 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Translation of the week[edit]

Hi y'all. One of the proposal I'd like to introduce is a brief selections of articles worth to be translated in more languages. Simple missing and multifaceted but not too long articles, perfect to be suggested for Translation of the week/Translation candidates. We could make a list and add one per month to the suggestions page. What do you think?--Alexmar983 (talk) 01:08, 16 December 2018 (UTC)[reply]

I agree, lots of en.wiki very good articles would need to be translated in other languages. --Epìdosis 08:13, 19 December 2018 (UTC)[reply]
Good articles could be proposed for a trans wiki activity such as writing weeks. "Translation of the week" aims at compact articles, with enough sources and possible future red links. So the very very good ones are not 100% fitting.--Alexmar983 (talk) 00:15, 20 December 2018 (UTC)[reply]

I draft a table like this

What we could do is to also fix the wikidata item. The week increases the number of language editions but not the quality of the wikidata items.--Alexmar983 (talk) 20:14, 21 December 2018 (UTC)[reply]

More than german and english is nothing what I speak good enough. And with the german Wikipedia we would start making trouble. It's usually not the way we work there and - I only talk abouth the german Wikipedia (!) - I think we have a standard that's often not bad and our authors are by faar not enough, but enough not to need to do it in that way. Also the most of us have their own special focus.
But I like the idea of international translation. And I would do this more on Wikidata. Every week 100 data sets we try to fill as goos as we can in all our possible languages. Would be in one yeas 5000 good data objects. And from those data sets, the way to an article maybe is also easier to go. Marcus Cyron (talk) 13:58, 28 January 2019 (UTC)[reply]
Look, it does not really matter if a language edition is left behind on this aspect, as long as there are other ways to involve them. We come from very different backgrounds, if we select only activities that fit every platforms, we are not left with many options. For example there are "global moth" with sitenotice that work on some platforms but not on itwikipedia and i would support them in any case. The writing week option is more efficient on nlwikipedia but again not on other ones. the #1Lib1ref initiative is weak on itwiki, and the gender-gaps events when we will do them will overperform in frwiki and itwiki probably. in the end, there are all acceptable means, IMHO. Your idea is fine, we can develop that too. Please notice that we probably need existing infrastructure and communication channels as a first step, building something relatively new is demanding. We have to look closer what medicine UG and militaria UG also do. --Alexmar983 (talk) 15:55, 28 January 2019 (UTC)[reply]
I would do the Spanish translations from English. I've done it before (for instance Justianiano (general) Germano (primo de Justiniano)). I have also done translations from Italian (Agripina la Mayor) and French (Hatti). On the other hand, I don't understand German very well (Lucio Antistio Rústico). The only downside is that I usually take a long time to do the translations because I'm always on short notice. I'd prefer the translation of the month :D. For example, I'm going to start this week with the proposal (d:Q12292389) to see how long it takes. On the other hand, I agree to rationalize and complete the Wikidata items, creating thematic blocks (States, cities, people, objects...) and establishing which properties must have, which properties must not have and which are optional. --Romulanus (talk) 18:58, 18 February 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Who we are, what we do[edit]

I think, this group is a very good idea, I thought for already a longer time to start something like this. My suggestion would be not only to enter our names, but also to give a little more about who we are, what we do, what we can do, what work areas we have, what projects. So you can do a lot of targeted work. For example, I've been working on a large ceramic project on ancient ceramics, potters, vase painters, workshops and producers for quite some time (for example, the almost complete Corpus Vasorum Antiquorum Germany is a scholarship from Wikimedia Deutschland). But otherwise much would be possible. For example, we have an excellent list of Roman consuls in the WP, which has been kept up to date by several authors for years and thus reaches far beyond all printed works. Our project on the Roman Limes is also first class. Less well are our articles on ancient literature, with a few exceptions. So our article situation is quite good at ancient philosophy. On the German-speaking Wikisource, we have an outstanding project for the development of Pauly-Wissowa, inclouding a list of authors that you will find nowhere else.

There is a lot to do. For example, to sort the almost complete picture stock on Wikimedia Commons, not least with regard to the reorganization through the introduction of Structured Commons. Also the linking with Wikidata is actually not good enough. Here, the idea of ​​a meaningful structure would even be necessary. -- Marcus Cyron (talk) 00:32, 23 January 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Marcus Cyron fine with me, I reorganize the page to insert more details. Not today because I am following another wikibusiness, but asap.--Alexmar983 (talk) 14:47, 23 January 2019 (UTC)[reply]
@Marcus Cyron: Hi! I have just reorganized the section in a table with a cell for interests, it's a really good idea. I agree: there is really a lot to do ... this is why @Alexmar983: and I decided to found this group. Each project has its excellences (and in my opinion de.wiki is one of the best-quality projects for classical antiquity) and one of the purposes of this group is to share our different experiences in different languages, in order to raise the quality of all our projects, expecially Commons (Structured Commons is welcome!) and Wikidata (I've worked a lot on interlinks on Wikidata in many topics, among them classical antiquity in different projects), which we all share; here we can coordinate our efforces. In the next days (I hope!) we will send a message to all the WikiProjects listed in the table, in order to reach all the users interested in classical antiquity. Then we can start a really interesting brainstorming! Bye, --Epìdosis 21:30, 23 January 2019 (UTC)[reply]
If you both need help with organizing thing - please asked me. I'm willing to help here as good as I can. Marcus Cyron (talk) 21:33, 23 January 2019 (UTC)[reply]

OTRS and copyright[edit]

Hi, maybe it si strange to think about that now, but it is no harm to start the conversation and let it evolve for few months.

I start from this add to the goals list. One of the bottleneck in the wiki ecosystems is in some language groups the OTRS system for copyright permission, which might have not enough volunteers or be quite slow. Copyright issues are very important and related literacy is crucial, sometimes it takes some passages to understand the overall expertise of the operator processing the request.

So, I'd like to know if we have a OTRS expert among us 8current or previous volunteer). I am asking because that is something that will be very useful on the long term. I often help people to interface with OTRS but I am not a volunteer myself.--Alexmar983 (talk) 16:00, 28 January 2019 (UTC)[reply]

I'm not an expert, but I'm a Support team volunteer. @DerHexer: too. Marcus Cyron (talk) 20:33, 28 January 2019 (UTC)[reply]
Not an expert either but some more than 1,000 tickets closed. —DerHexer (Talk) 20:54, 28 January 2019 (UTC)[reply]
Good!--Alexmar983 (talk) 20:55, 28 January 2019 (UTC)[reply]
DerHexer and Marcus Cyron can you add it to the table? Thank you.--Alexmar983 (talk) 20:56, 28 January 2019 (UTC)[reply]


Oh, I am also an OTRS agent. -Geraki TL 15:11, 11 February 2019 (UTC)[reply]
Me too. Ijon (talk) 14:25, 13 February 2019 (UTC)[reply]

WikiSummit and Wikimania[edit]

In August this year the annual Wikimania will be held in Stockholm/Sweden. I think, it wold be a good idea, to plan a WikiClassics meetup there. Marcus Cyron (talk) 20:30, 29 January 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Of course. I am sorry that the area where my sister's family lives was not chosen as host town or I would have been for sure to there, but I was going to write about international meetings. Thanks to WikiDonne, since I am basically replacing User:Camelia.boban, I will be at Iberocoop:Iberoconf 2019 in Santiago and Wikimedia Summit 2019 in Berlin, so there will some preliminary informal meetings. Enough to take some pictures, I guess. Because of this activites I will skip WikiMania probably, but it's fine, of course the UG should gather. I want this UG to be active on that side as soon as possible.--Alexmar983 (talk) 19:16, 30 January 2019 (UTC)[reply]
Agree, we will organize something @ Wikimania. --Camelia (talk) 08:42, 31 January 2019 (UTC)[reply]
Not sure yet if I can attend Wikimania, but a good chance. If there is a meeting please let me know. -- Sincerely, Taketa (talk) 15:58, 22 February 2019 (UTC)[reply]

This year, Wikimedia Deutschland provides 6 "tandem scholarships" for a german and a foreign participant to Wikimania. Both should work in the same field and should also present this on the Wikimania. So there are the possibility to team up with a german author in the Classics and go for a tendem scholarship. For details @DerHexer: as MC knows all the answers. Candidates from the german sites could be for example @DerMaxdorfer:, @Einsamer Schütze:, @Mediatus:, @Hartmann Linge: Marcus Cyron (talk) 11:05, 23 February 2019 (UTC)[reply]

It's 3 tandem scholarships for 6 folks, though. ;-) —DerHexer (Talk) 12:30, 23 February 2019 (UTC)[reply]
DerHexer thank you for the info, I would really like to have a meeting already in Berlin. By that date, we will have the logo so i would like to start some social media tweet or post related to this event, too. I am happy if the German chapter can be inolved also for the future somehow. Some countries are too poor or weak/small, other chapters seem less interested in joining the activities at the moment, I would consider the possibility to have a full event also in the German world (besides in Italy) highly probbale in the not-so-distant future (maybe with some contacts from WMCh too). Like, we could ask for a grant or something. This is also another thing we should discuss on the long term. I have not spent all the money from a previous grant and even if I was very busy, I want to try to recycle them. So it'ìs time to get real on that front.--Alexmar983 (talk) 13:13, 23 February 2019 (UTC)[reply]
We will find a time, it's a bit sad, that exactly at this time the local Community Space in Berlin is closed, because we moving. It would have been a perfect place to meet. But we will find an other place. Marcus Cyron (talk) 00:17, 1 March 2019 (UTC)[reply]
@DerHexer: @DerMaxdorfer:, @Einsamer Schütze:, @Mediatus:, @Hartmann Linge: @Marcus Cyron: it's time to schedule a meeting in Wikimedia_Summit_2019/Thematic,_regional,_language-specific_meetups. I can let you do it if you "know the place" better. let me know. I have to schedule another one, so maybe Marcus can be the contact person. if I am free and another person schedules the other one, I can do this one. But I think the first scenario is more fair and functional, so it's probably more useful if a German chairs it there.--Alexmar983 (talk) 19:57, 6 March 2019 (UTC)[reply]
Hm, are we really invited to meet at the conference venue? Maybe Marcus will participate as WMDE board member but I am not sure about myself: volunteers can attend the party and staff can go to the dinner parties. I think that I can be around at some time, I will also pick up people for the sightseeing tour I provide. Whatsoever, we will find a time and place to meet, I am very sure. Best, —DerHexer (Talk) 20:46, 6 March 2019 (UTC)[reply]
I have NO IDEA but I can ask, but it's easier for you to arrange it. We should however write it down even with a TBD, IMHO. I don't think the list is intended just for events at the venue...--Alexmar983 (talk) 01:42, 8 March 2019 (UTC)[reply]
No, I'm not one of the german participants. Marcus Cyron (talk) 08:29, 15 March 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Marcus Cyron I am here in Berlin and this evening we are at events at WMDE office.--Alexmar983 (talk) 08:23, 29 March 2019 (UTC)[reply]

@Alexmar983: I will also be here but have a Wikimania meetup at 9 pm which Marcus was thinking about joining as well. Maybe some time around that? Best, —DerHexer (Talk) 10:12, 29 March 2019 (UTC)[reply]
I will come a bit earlier than 9 pm. Marcus Cyron (talk) 13:00, 29 March 2019 (UTC)[reply]
Let's find the time for a group photo or something, plus I have to give you the password for twitter. It won't take too much time.--Alexmar983 (talk) 15:58, 29 March 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Social media[edit]

We have a logo now, so twitter and facebook group will come soon. Any volunteers? I am here ready!--Alexmar983 (talk) 17:08, 3 March 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Here. Marcus Cyron (talk) 09:14, 4 March 2019 (UTC)[reply]
Good Marcus Cyron in the next days I create facebook and twitter. Facebook I need you as a personal contact for granting the sysop right, is it correct? For Twitter I have to tell you the password, if you want it to do it in a safe way 8not sending it by mail) maybe I can tell you in Berlin directly if you are there. I don't want to wait the end of March, I want to have enough follower by Wikimania. Is it ok? please tell me if you have better idea.--Alexmar983 (talk) 01:58, 5 March 2019 (UTC)[reply]
I have time. Berlin is not that much time away. Marcus Cyron (talk) 08:57, 5 March 2019 (UTC)[reply]
this one was taken, so on twitter we are @ClassicsWiki. It's going to be under the radar up to Berlin, if I follow too many new users at the beginning it will be locked, but fell free to ask around someone to follow it.--Alexmar983 (talk) 15:23, 5 March 2019 (UTC)[reply]
Found it, and the amphora looks great!--Sp!ros (talk) 17:26, 15 March 2019 (UTC)[reply]
Alexmar983, Marcus Cyron, a good alternative would be @WikiClassics.org -Geraki TL 15:56, 24 March 2019 (UTC)[reply]
I have already created it. I have never heard of ".com" used in twitter username. Is it common?--Alexmar983 (talk) 16:05, 24 March 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Quick update: our twitter account is going pretty well, I am starting to interact with the community on line about projects on-wiki and they seem to be reactive, for example discussions about wikidata properties. I will give the password to the pt-N users soon, if you do not oppose and that would be a third language. Whatever is the project you have in mind, we can create a section to ask for tweet when necessary, you can access a global audience.--Alexmar983 (talk) 15:10, 18 June 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Update about UG name[edit]

@Ilbuonme, Saintfevrier, and Ijon: @SurdusVII, DerHexer, and Geraki: @Camelia.boban, FocalPoint, and Tursclan: @Christelle Molinié, Mizardellorsa, and Taketa: @Eunostos, Renato de carvalho ferreira, and OrbiliusMagister: @Marcus Cyron, Romulanus, and Gts-tg:@Sp!ros, Sir Henry, and Rena: @T8616, DarwIn, and Prof.Lippold: @4nn1l2, Hartmann Linge, and Richard Nevell:... (did I forget someone?) here is un upodate.

Me and User:Epìdosis received the documents of the agreement last Friday and we revised them over the week end.

So if you remember the whole story, WMF asked us to move the page for the UG submission direcly as "WikiClassics User Group", the name we proposed based on other affiliates' name but now a different name was proposed. The name is Wikimedia Community User Group WikiClassics and we have to resubmit the application as a new one with this new name.

The reason is this guideline, and FYI please notice that before this request on our case I had already pointed out in March here how these guidelines do not include the quite common pattern WikiXxxxx User Group.

I don't think in general the repetition of wiki twice sound great (The placeholder WikiLand is replaced with a region name, in other UGs), but that's a minor inconvenience. The reason of this change is this guideline, we are stuck with these limits and, as I said, this is probably not a big deal. The core point is another one: we asked if once we signed with such name we must create another logo again or not. we are waiting for an answer. We are universally known as WikiClassics and this sort of long name is not common for thematic UG, so we want to be sure about the short form and its use.

In the meantime, while we are wating for a clear feedback, we share this information with you all. This is a open group and your comment is valuable, so let us know what do you think. It's Easter so maybe WMF won't reply soon in any case.--Alexmar983 (talk) 19:08, 16 April 2019 (UTC)[reply]

OK. Marcus Cyron (talk) 21:59, 16 April 2019 (UTC)[reply]
In practice, UGs routinely use shorter names than the officially recognized ones. This seems a tolerated practice. Ijon (talk) 01:06, 17 April 2019 (UTC)[reply]
Yes I agree with Ijon. Our official name does not need to be the name we go by. Sincerely, Taketa (talk) 08:13, 17 April 2019 (UTC)[reply]
I just hope they send us an official mail that says "yes you can use the logo with the shorter form". The point here is that routinely the form WikiXxxxx User group is also used as official name, yet it does not apply in our case, so we obviously can't rely on what is routinely done or tolerated, it is variable.--Alexmar983 (talk) 11:32, 17 April 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Update: WMF contacted the legal team contact about the logo, so everything is a little bit frozen, but they will let us know. As soon as they confirm the "short" logo is fine we can submit, you all accepted the long name. If not, we have to make a logo with a new writing and at that point we can submit the final proposal. Of course, making a new logo with a diffent name is no big deal, I am only sorry it would look a little bit crowded.--Alexmar983 (talk) 19:30, 22 April 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Thank to you for keeping it rolling! Best, —DerHexer (Talk) 18:22, 29 April 2019 (UTC)[reply]
AffCom apporved the short name, after reconsideration, that's unexpected. We will revise the documents tommorrow and let you know asap.--Alexmar983 (talk) 18:38, 7 May 2019 (UTC)[reply]

FYI (I will wait the official mail next week)--Alexmar983 (talk) 13:42, 11 May 2019 (UTC)[reply]

The mail was sent and the UG is now official. Congratulation to everyone!--Alexmar983 (talk) 19:04, 13 May 2019 (UTC)[reply]

First international meetup at Wikimania[edit]

Hi, would be fine, if we could have a first international meetup at the Wikimania this year in Stockholm. Would be fine, if those who will attend put themself in this list, so we can block a room or something like this. -- Marcus Cyron (talk) 15:48, 5 May 2019 (UTC)[reply]

you mean an official one? That was the idea since the beginning, and as I told, I won't be there.--Alexmar983 (talk) 19:28, 5 May 2019 (UTC)[reply]
With or without you, we need to plan it :). -- Marcus Cyron (talk) 12:37, 11 May 2019 (UTC)[reply]

@Marcus Cyron and Ijon: So, when and where do we want to meet? --Epìdosis 07:14, 14 August 2019 (UTC)[reply]

I will attend - sure/very sure[edit]

I probably/maybe attend[edit]

Report of Wikimania 2019[edit]

@Ijon, Epìdosis, and Marcus Cyron: @Camelia.boban and Xenophôn: please use WikiClassics User Group/Activities/Wikimania2019 for comments and other ideas (so we have something for our yearly report)--Alexmar983 (talk) 00:25, 15 August 2019 (UTC)[reply]

New Wikidata IDs[edit]

Hello. I have requested in Wikidata the creation of a new identifier for people from Ancient Rome. This is the link. Un saludo. --Romulanus (talk) 11:18, 23 May 2019 (UTC)[reply]

See also d:Wikidata:Property proposal/PHI Latin Texts author ID and d:Wikidata:Property proposal/digilibLT author ID (and d:Wikidata:Property proposal/IntraText author ID has some Latin authors too). --Epìdosis 19:22, 1 June 2019 (UTC)[reply]

A possible more compact table[edit]

Hello, below is a suggestion for a more compact version of the table by only including the links but not the names for the wikiprojects across different languages, since they're summarised by the row heading. I think it makes the table easier to read, since now columns and rows are all the same size and it's easier to see which are filled or empty. T.Shafee(Evo﹠Evo)talk 01:00, 27 May 2019 (UTC)[reply]

  ar ca da de el en es fa fi fr hu it ja ka ko lt mk no pl pt ro ru sv tr zh wikidata
Main Projects
Antiquity or Ancient history W W W W W W
Ancient Greece W W W W W W W
Ancient Rome W W W W W W
Roman Republic W
Roman Empire W
Greek mythology W W W W W W
Roman mythology W W
Latin Language W W W
Related Projects
Archeology W W W W W W W W W W W W W
Byzantine Empire W W W W W
Greece W W W W W W W W W W
Cyprus W W W W W
I actually quite like this! I think that this is more suitable for display on the main page. At the same time, I see no reason to get rid of the old table--I would just move it to a subpage and place a link in the new table. It could be very useful to see the actual names of these projects at times. I'm also wondering why some things are in alphabetical order and others are not. Prometheus720 (talk) 18:22, 27 May 2019 (UTC)[reply]
One other tradeoff worth mentioning: Merged cells prevent using visualeditor and also sortable columns. An alternative could be to put 'Related Projects' as a separate table of the same width below the main table. T.Shafee(Evo﹠Evo)talk 01:39, 28 May 2019 (UTC)[reply]
@Evolution and evolvability: Thanks for your work! Maybe the best option would be this: in the main page using your table splitted into two, in order to make them sortable; in a subpage, the old table. Bye, --Epìdosis 10:34, 28 May 2019 (UTC)[reply]
@Evolution and evolvability and Epìdosis: it's good.--Alexmar983 (talk) 19:06, 28 May 2019 (UTC)[reply]

I am definetly for more compactness. Marcus Cyron (talk) 13:04, 1 June 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Wonderful, thank you T.Shafee(Evo﹠Evo). --Camelia (talk) 08:31, 15 August 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Cuties[edit]

Hi, if you are going to wikimania (some of you) you will learn about the Wikimedia Cuteness Association. So the idea is to have a animal as a mascot for the affiliate. We have to make it ouselves because of trademark and copyright. Or we ask permission to the person who does it.

Now I can find a contact to do one. The owl is still owned by the UG of libraries, we can go for a lion, or for an hydra representing for example our crossplatform nature. What do you think?

Again I am not sure we will get there but if you want, give some advice. What about the color pattern for example? Let me know. One day I'll think about it.--Alexmar983 (talk) 19:28, 10 June 2019 (UTC)[reply]

I will be there, but sorry, for me this Cuteness Association is nothing more than nonsense. So I will only boycot this. And now have a nice table, and a logo, and a name, and the approval by the WMF. All fine. But maybe we should now start to work together? This group only make sense, if we really work together. -- Marcus Cyron (talk) 02:33, 18 June 2019 (UTC)[reply]
Marcus Cyron I am constantly looking for projects. But we are organizing WLM2019 in Toscany so I cannot be the one pushing with a new idea right now. This cuties thing is just a thing i was told in Portugal, I just shared with you. I don't like the idea per se, but I am at your disposition. Like the rest. We are doing some work about properties on wikidata specifically for mapping archeological and classical sites, we discussed it briefly at WikiDataDays in Portugal too, but I'd say the next event we planned is the on line edit a thon. I am also trying to find a place wth WMCH for conference since it'ìs perfectly half a way between Italy and Germany, but this will take time. It's mostly up to you, if you bring a specific project, as main organizer, I am sure you will see poeple join. I am here to catalyze the work more than to propose it. Than there is the rest of the on-wiki organization of work and I am sure Epìdosis is much better than I am on that, especially with the preparation of WLM2019.--Alexmar983 (talk) 15:07, 18 June 2019 (UTC)[reply]
I can't see any downsides. I'd be tempted to go with a wolf due to the link with Rome, but I have to know what a cute hydra looks like. Richard Nevell (talk) 21:34, 19 June 2019 (UTC)[reply]
To be honest, when it was suggested to me by the boyfirned of the girl who did the cutie for WMPT, I though it was an interesting idea. Yes, wolf is also possible.--Alexmar983 (talk) 11:01, 22 June 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Attack on the category system[edit]

I'm on Wiki projects long enough to know, that this is just the beginn of an attack on the system. They don't understand this, so they wanna destroy it. We should prevent people without knowledge from interfer our working area. And to be honest, I'm not really understand the problem. -- Marcus Cyron (talk) 17:40, 4 July 2019 (UTC)[reply]

@Marcus Cyron: In situations like this it's important to assume good faith. I would need to see compelling evidence before describing a deletion proposal as an 'attack' which implies malicious intent to knowingly damage the category structure. Instead, what is important is to communicate the role of the category and what purpose it serves. Our role should be to work collaboratively and educate our peers. Richard Nevell (talk) 19:28, 6 July 2019 (UTC)[reply]
OK, thanks. The first serious thing - and no help, just empty words. Maybe this is not the right place for me. -- Marcus Cyron (talk) 20:10, 6 July 2019 (UTC)[reply]
@Marcus Cyron: I intend to take part in the discussion, but I want to make sure we are not making it harder for ourselves by poisoning the well for collaboration. Richard Nevell (talk) 21:27, 6 July 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Sorry I missed these converstaion, I am very active on WLM now and also to improve Twitter as a communication channel. I ma here because I was pinged. I'll take a look asap.--Alexmar983 (talk) 18:30, 15 July 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Include other classics within UG's scope[edit]

As much as this user group's name suggest, I see no reason why it should only include Greek/Roman classics. Classics in other languages may be facing similar problems, as much as I understand the focus of the group maybe Greek/Roman due to the overwhelming amount of editors from Europe/America, it is wise not to exclude other classics in the group's scope. Viztor (talk) 20:39, 13 July 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Viztor I am very open, we just wanted to start to something not too much broad. it's not about the distribution of editors. people in the USA can have a very different approach on these topics than many European Countries, it's mostly about those civilizations close to the area of the Mediterranean basin. The group is still very much important for a lot of Northern African and Asian users, potentially. it's about Rome and Greece but also Etruscans, Phoenicia, Ptolemaic Egypt, Hellenistic Persia... and the role of classical culture in the next ages (including in the Islamic culture). That's already a lot. My advice would be to end the first year as UG and be confirmed, and than maybe enlarge the group, but you are welcome to propose an enlargement sooner if it's appropriate and nobody finds a clear reason to oppose it. As long as you bring some work in that. It takes some time to find an identity, we all come from very different backgrounds and have different visions. --Alexmar983 (talk) 18:40, 15 July 2019 (UTC)[reply]

On german language Wikipedia our scope are Europe, the mediteranean area and the near eastern cultures from bronze age until the middle ages and the Islam. -- Marcus Cyron (talk) 19:21, 15 July 2019 (UTC)[reply]

I feel like different local language edition could focus on the classics their community is most interested in, and by expanding the scope we're involving more language edition projects and I think that would be particularly helpful for the group. I am generally interested in all classics, Greek, Roman, Chinese and I find some of the ideas quite similar, and an improved understanding of all of them would be helpful to better comprehend the work of our ancestors. Some of the more interesting questions I find myself fascinated about is how these ideas bump into each other though trade route, and how the whole dynamic of ancient culture works. I hope someone is just as interested about these as I am, haha. Viztor (talk) 20:57, 16 July 2019 (UTC)[reply]
And here we are at the funny point: I would not see chinese cultures in our definition as a "classic" coulture. On the other site it would be possible to define the whole "old world" until a certain point (this point would differ in a lot of regions) as the classic region. At the end, we should start here with the graeco-roman world and their direct cultures at the edges as italicans, etruscans, cypriots, minoan, mycenean and cycladic people. There is much enough to do. -- Marcus Cyron (talk) 20:35, 21 July 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Let's talk about biographies[edit]

@Epìdosis, Alexmar983, Camelia.boban, OrbiliusMagister, FocalPoint, Ilbuonme, Christelle Molinié, Mizardellorsa, Tursclan, Saintfevrier, SurdusVII, Marcus Cyron, Romulanus, Gts-tg, Geraki, Sp!ros, DerHexer, Ijon, Sir Henry, Eunostos, T8612, Renato de carvalho ferreira, Taketa, 4nn1l2, DerMaxdorfer, DarwIn, Prof.Lippold, Hartmann Linge, and Xenophôn:

Hi everyone! Wikipedias' gender gaps are well-known, but fortunately there are groups who actively work to address the imbalance. The page for WikiClassics says that the group's scope includes biographies of researchers, so my question is what can we do as a User Group to support these initiatives? Richard Nevell (talk) 17:31, 15 July 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Shall we make a list of 10 women researchers and target ... say 50% minimum of articles about them at all wikis we are active? and/or another 50 women researchers to really fill up all wikidata for them? --FocalPoint (talk) 17:47, 15 July 2019 (UTC)[reply]

The en:Wikipedia:Women's Classical Committee is very active, I have recently interacted with them on twitter [1] and [2] but they did not join us and in no way I wanted to look "aggressive". We had an idea with User:Camelia.boban to do something sepcifically on the topic. We can join WikiDonne in some international campaing and if they do so I think it will just sounds better. We can make some wikidata list of missing articles. It's feasable. Plus, I have expertise on the wikicite aspect which is weak in the area of some social science, so a lot of wikidata items to be updated.--Alexmar983 (talk) 18:29, 15 July 2019 (UTC)[reply]
I think that the WCC is a little anglocentric in its activities, I think we can agree on an international campaign with them. But I suppose that Cemlia is a much better ambassador to the idea, she organized many similar events in the past. Me and Epìdosis we can arrange a small meeting in Pisa about that, but it can be mostly on line.--Alexmar983 (talk) 18:56, 15 July 2019 (UTC)[reply]
Hi, to be honest, I have my problems with such projects. We made a project on de:WP to create articles of all professors on german speaking Universities in the three mayor classics subjects (philology, archaeology, history) and we now have all those articles since modern time classics, starting with Heyne. We never cared about the gender of the persons. We just do it completely. We can not close gaps onwiki that came from outsite our projects. There are orfourse a lot of researchers without articles. But of both genders. Btw - a list of 10 female classicists seems to be impossible. Morata, Dacier, Harrison, Sellers Strong, Boyed-Hawes, Bieber, Norsa, Goldman, Richter, Jastrow, Delcourt, Toynbee, Speier. 13 and I had to ignore some important just born before 1900. Other people would see others as more and some of mine less important. And there are missing all younger ones, as the last year deceased Erika Simon for example. Just for fun we have an (ofcourse incopmplete) gallery of scholars of ancient european, mediteranean and near eastern civilizations: de:Wikipedia:Redaktion Altertum/Altertumswissenschaftler/Ahnengalerie. Because I wanna see the results, I marked women with a ♀. -- Marcus Cyron (talk) 19:19, 15 July 2019 (UTC)[reply]
@Marcus Cyron: I'm unclear on what problem you have wihh such projects. Could you elaborate? Richard Nevell (talk) 19:47, 15 July 2019 (UTC)[reply]
I don't see any cause for this, definetly not in the german language Wikipedia. Even it's a thousand times said, we did not have a gender problem here. -- Marcus Cyron (talk) 20:52, 15 July 2019 (UTC)[reply]
@Marcus Cyron: The fact that less than 10% of the biographies on classicist on de.wp are about women suggests there is a problem. Richard Nevell (talk) 21:10, 15 July 2019 (UTC)[reply]
It probbaly means that if we do so, we don't do it on dewiki but on other wikis, which is similar to what occurs in other gender-gap activities. Please notice that we are all from different backgrounds and communities, so we are building step by step how a cross/meta-project works. It's easy for the Med project for example, all deaseases are relevant, and there is a standardized way to discuss such scientific topics but it will never be the same for us. We need some tactical flexibility on some issues.--Alexmar983 (talk) 21:02, 15 July 2019 (UTC)[reply]
Is not a problem if some have issues with this kind of projects, we are all here to write about our interests, so I will write these biographies (mostly) in Italian. Let's complete this list first. --Camelia (talk) 20:10, 16 July 2019 (UTC)[reply]
Ofcourse! Please! Write about whatever you want! I could make you a list of 250 female researchers of interest without any problem. My problem begins where we don't do this, becaus we wanna do it, but because of politics featured with false statements. I for myself wrote a lot of biographies about early female archaeologists, because I was interested in this theme. Not because of gaps. They were interesting and they are of a special importance. But the most of them are not of this mayor importance, that an encyclopedia could not exist without them. Emilie Boer, Marie Delcourt, Helene Homeyer, Gred Ibscher, Gerda Krüger, Claire Préaux, Jelena Michailowna Schtajerman, Éva B. Bónis, Olwen Brogan, Gerda Bruns, Ersilia Caetani-Lovatelli, Edith Eccles, Elvira Fölzer, Hildegund Gropengiesser, Margarethe Gütschow, Helga von Heintze, Elisabeth Jastrow, Annalis Leibundgut, Gertrud Platz, Isabelle Raubitschek, Helga Reusch, Gisela M. A. Richter, Elisabeth Rohde, Margot Schmidt, Hermine Speier, Margaret Thompson. -- Marcus Cyron (talk) 23:57, 16 July 2019 (UTC)[reply]
I think it would be lovely. Marcus only has appetite for a "completist" project, but I think it's perfectly okay to make a dent in a large void, and that if all you can manage for the short term is a dent, it is perfectly okay to prefer that dent to also eat into the gender gap.
I also like the idea of combining Wikidata work -- as a foundational fact-gathering activity that could serve and help article writers in all languages -- with article writing and translating. I suggest we start a subpage, such as /Classicists, to organize the work. Let's get cracking! Ijon (talk) 22:49, 16 July 2019 (UTC)[reply]

The fact that less than 10% of the biographies on classicist on de.wp are about women suggests there is a problem. Dear @Richard Nevell: - what do you know about the history of the classiscs? In history of the classics, there are much less than 10% women of encyclopedic interest, that's a fact. It is completely unscientific to see just what you wanna have and not, and how it is or was. We can't change history! Beginning with Petrarca over centuries nearly all researchers in the field of classics were male. You can say, this was bad, you can say, this was terribe, you ca say, this was wrong and also very stupid, because so much talent was unused. But it's a fact. It was not before the middle of the 20th century, that the situation changed in some countries, in some more, in others less. In some areas more and faster (Archaeology), in other slowlier and not that fast (History). Did you know, how much women are with a biography in the 6th supplement of the New Pauly? 12. 12 of ca. 750! And it's not because of the bad men, who did not wanna see women there. It's because of the history of this field of research. Archäologenbildnisse features 164 (in) german publishing (classical) archaeologists - just 2 of them are female. You can do such a project, everybody can, no problem. But please stop telling untrue things! 10% women of all classical scientists are more than correct. The percentage will grow, because now females are much often in important positions. More and more women can do their scientific work and can become important in a encyclopedic way. But there will probaby never a 50/50 situation. We can not change history backwards! And this is my problem! If you wanna say, de:WP has a bias, then it's because of the wide majority of german speaking researchers. The attempt to change (scientific) history, the attempt to work with numbers that are not to understand in the way you do it here and as last to use this for a political fight! If you do this not because you are interested in the biographies, but because of to try to fix not existing "gender gaps", we will have a problem! So I like much more the idea of @Ijon:. Wikidata as a place to collect as much as possible data for those persons. It's often enough, that it's hard to find informations for other language scientists. I do this since a loger time for german classicists. I would like to see more data collections about scientists from other areas, escpecially of those I don't understand the language or can not even read it because of other alphabets. -- Marcus Cyron (talk) 23:29, 16 July 2019 (UTC)[reply]

I don't see a low percentage as a problem per se untill I have other data in the framework. I just like to help people do what they want to do as long as it improves wikipedia. Also, I like to work with WikiDonne in general, they are a very tolerant group. If it helps, I can assure that in Italian we pay attention to all biographies even in the gener-gap activities, if we find information about husbands, mentors and so on we always enrich those as well, so in my language focusing on gender gap is not a strong statement in general, it can work as starting point more than as a goal and it works in any case. It can be a goal for some of the volunteers, for many others it's a nice way to spend time working with nice and helpful wikimedians. On Wikidata, I work already a lot in the directions of items of reserachers and it's going well, so i can focus on that part a little bit more.--Alexmar983 (talk) 13:23, 17 July 2019 (UTC)[reply]
I would like to see such an project and I also would support this active. And once more - I don't have a problem with a list of 10 of the most important female classicists, that should be on all projects. But because they were important and interesting, not because of politics. I would more than this like to see a group of 25, 50 or 100 biographies on all projects, and I would like not to care about their gender. Just because a person was important. -- Marcus Cyron (talk) 20:25, 21 July 2019 (UTC)[reply]
@Marcus Cyron: It seems that the crux of your concern is that this is some attempt at ‘revisionist’ history, to suggest that there have always been equal number of women working in classics as men. I want to reassure you that’s not the case. The point of projects addressing the gender gap is to document the work of notable women working in the field which is important as research has found that there’s a glass ceiling which means that women have to be ‘more notable’ to be included on Wikipedia. It is unlikely that Wikipedia will reach 50:50 representation in its biographies because of historical sexism. There is no doubting that research by women in the past has been marginalised, and their work ignored. To ignore that would be a disservice to those who worked hard to achieve equality, but at the same time we need to be careful not to replicate and further crystallise structures of power which have marginalised women and their research.
Archäologenbildnisse was written in the 1970s and 1980s, so is a good snapshot of the perception of the subject at the time. Only 11 of the authors contributing the Archäologenbildnisse were women, and while second wave feminism was having an effect clearly the work of female scholars wasn’t as valued as that of men at the time. It is inconceivable that a similar project now, even written about archaeologists working before the 1980s, would have included just two women. It’s not a problem unique to Archäologenbildnisse, though it is an extreme example. The Database of Classical Scholars has just over 800 biographies of classicists, but only 9% of them are about women. That might make 10% sound good, but a significant contributing factor to the imbalance is because you only get an entry in there after you have died, and since classics was a predominantly male field until the mid-20th century the 9% figure is not necessarily surprising. The Oxford Biographical Dictionary has a similar problem because (1) historically individual women are less well documented than men because of gender inequality (2) living people aren’t included in its entries. If we are holding up collections such as Archäologenbildnisse as the benchmark we need to be aware of the inherent biases in the source material and not use it as an excuse not to aim higher. They set their own framework, as do we. Our key restriction is ‘notability’ and while that puts us at the mercy of the source material there is certainly more ground to be covered.
It is marvellous that all the professors at German-speaking universities within the fields of archaeology, history, and philology have articles – that must have been a very time-consuming and rewarding project. But Wikipedia will never be finished, with as more people becoming notable over time and more people documenting previous scholars. The idea that classics ends at the boundary of the university is flawed; there are librarians, members of research centres and learned societies, and independent scholars who don’t hold university posts. If the focus is solely on professors, we will end up overlooking notable people who contribute to our understanding of classics. Richard Nevell (talk) 18:06, 17 July 2019 (UTC)[reply]
OK. We will not come together. You see this all from an ideologic site, I see it from a scientific site. You bringt not one argument except "the bad men before the 1970s, 1980s did not accepted women". And even this woud be true, it would not change the realities. But I'm out here. Makes no sense to discuss this. It is impossible to come up with facts against feelings. -- Marcus Cyron (talk) 20:21, 21 July 2019 (UTC)[reply]
@Marcus Cyron: That's not quite what I was trying to say. If there is one takeaway from this it would be that if you are using a particular benchmark to justify an approach you need to question how good that benchmark is. Saying that you don't care about gender is just as much an ideological stance as saying that we should care about it. Richard Nevell (talk) 17:26, 23 July 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Wiki Loves Classics[edit]

So... since I am very active on WLM and I also gear an international photo competition (WSC) I though about requesting a grant for "Wiki Loves Classics" that is giving a prize among the best WLM (semi)finalists related to the topics of this UG. Just a small idea to get recognized and make chapters understand we are here to help them and support their activities (for some reason some chapters and UG do not get along). I had a very preliminary interaction with WMPT who supported the idea, let me know. I have to make a local grant for WLM now, so this will come in the next weeks.

Ideally, the funding should be for 1-2 prizes and maybe shipping a certificate printed on high quality paper (I have good local sponsor here in Tuscany). Material will be sent to the local chapter or UG organizing WLM in the country of the winner. The big effort is to create a summary page with WLM sites that are related to the topic, and a landing page on commons, but we have the expertise. This cen be done mostly scrolling other countries lists. Having a jury will be a nice way to engage some of the members of the UG The social media strategy should not be a big problem, our twitter account is robustly growing.--Alexmar983 (talk) 19:09, 15 July 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Before talking about prizes, we should talk about, what do we wanna do in such an event. -- Marcus Cyron (talk) 19:23, 15 July 2019 (UTC)[reply]
If there's a way to pool classics related images from across the competitions that would be fantastic. The UK competition is based on information stored in wikidata, but I don't think items are mapped to particular periods so I'm not sure where we stand on automation. Richard Nevell (talk) 19:40, 15 July 2019 (UTC)[reply]
A lot of them are Wikidata based, I think we should however get them one by one to get an idea. the simplest way to do so is simply to monitor, a small group of motivated users, all incoming images from WLM and add a specific category for those related to classics. We can also add later a specific code on wikidata for WLM-classics and to do so we can make queries for some types to narrow the research, such as item with WLM IDs with "instance of: vase/temple/ruins" and so on. It's not impossible, it's just a very tight schedule, I am sorry I had the idea so late. But without the prize, if that is not sure, there is no big point in doing it. But the core promotional idea is quite simple, we highlight the best image(s) of these topics. the most informative image of an artifact for example, the best scenery and so on. We can actually select categories that are meaningful to us. Plus, we also end up monitoring all the files on the topic, they require better descriptions in many languages on commons and better categorization in any case. This is just a way to force us to do it immediately. And once it's completed we can all make an edit-a-thon about those specific winner(s).
If it is logistically far fetched for this year, we can do it next year, or we can do it better next year but stil try to do something this year. For example we don't make any specific advertisement until we are sure about the prize and we don't create a landing page immediately, but we clean up all the uploaded files, we get an idea, and we end up with a series of images where we can select some winners. Next year, with the infrastructure we have built, we can start with a bigger goal on September the 1st.--Alexmar983 (talk) 20:38, 15 July 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Draft[edit]

Hi these are the rules, I would like to propose something for early August. I am discussing here with Epìdosis and giving some advice. These grants are usually geographically based so we are going to be "outside of the box". I am collecting information for the proposal draft but first we want to be sure there is a margin (I hope there is). I won't be particularly greedy, so I hope they will trust us for a small amount.--Alexmar983 (talk) 13:12, 30 July 2019 (UTC)[reply]

I have improved the gallery (I will continue later) and I am going to ask for the grant program. --Epìdosis 13:14, 30 July 2019 (UTC) Asked. --Epìdosis 13:31, 30 July 2019 (UTC)[reply]
Draft in my sandbox. --Epìdosis 14:12, 30 July 2019 (UTC)[reply]

@DarwIn and Richard Nevell: since you were more involved in this discussion on wiki and off wiki, I think that we have to be sure national chapters and geographical UGs find it useful. We want to promote our goal to quality and outreach, so I hope this is understood. I will also discuss as soon as I have more time with User:Camelia.boban and see if her experience in AffCom and/or CEE can help us to promote more balanced jury and activities. Overall, I think it has a good potential. If we can promote this strategy, this will maybe pave the way to other "transnational" effort for areas where the community is reactive.--Alexmar983 (talk) 23:15, 30 July 2019 (UTC)[reply]

@Ilbuonme, Saintfevrier, and Ijon: @SurdusVII, DerHexer, and Geraki: @Camelia.boban, FocalPoint, and Tursclan: @Romulanus, Christelle Molinié, and Mizardellorsa: @Marcus Cyron, Xenophôn, and Prof.Lippold: @DarwIn, DerMaxdorfer, and 4nn1l2: @Taketa, T8616, and Eunostos: @Sp!ros, Gts-tg, and Hartmann Linge: are you all there? Thank you for coming here. Let me explain.

So,there are many things we will do and we can do but this month is the only one when we can submit a grant for WLM. So we need your feedback now on our idea.

Now, to be clear... the grant we have in mind is potentially critical... it's a unicum and the WLM funding is supposed to be geographically based, but it's a very interesting opportunity. So with User:Epìdosis we prepared a draft (see his sandbox) and the basic idea is to revise the uploaded images for WLM2019, and select those related to Classics.

If they give us some funding we will also give maybe 1-3 prizes. Otherwise, we will perform (at least me and him) all this procedure as a useful exercise. We will select the best possible images and create content based on them. It's also a possibility to explore types of files that are maybe boring for a generic audience (such as inscriptions) and have no chance to win, but are useful for us. Also, it's a way to reach out to countries that are not present in our "pool" yet. Plus, it's something that can pave way to future similar transnational iniatives.

Do you like the idea? Even in the case our request will be rejected, would you like to join us at least as jurors in the final steps? And help us polish the finalists (better descriptions, related article enlargement)?

Also, do you have personal contact with your related chapters and UGs to whom you can show this is a good idea? In few days we will create the final draft with the minigrant scaffolding, than crossed finger but please give us you feedback. and maybe your support. This could be the first international initiative we do as a group.--Alexmar983 (talk) 22:14, 1 August 2019 (UTC)[reply]

I support everything, that works on the projects content. -- Marcus Cyron (talk) 10:02, 2 August 2019 (UTC)[reply]
I have no objection, but am not personally motivated to spend my volunteer time on this. I'm a text-only kind of guy. :) Ijon (talk) 12:59, 2 August 2019 (UTC)[reply]
Ijon we do all that we can do but please if possible start to inform your chapter, i think that as long as they understand we are there to increase the chance of winning of their uploaders, it should be fine, but there is some political undertone. WMF cares a lot about cooperation, so many problems in the last years.--Alexmar983 (talk) 13:06, 2 August 2019 (UTC)[reply]

The proposal of a grant to support prizes for photographs on subjects related to WikiClassics is great! I fully support and endorse it, and though I cannot speak for the board, I'm pretty sure Wikimedia Portugal, as a chapter, will be happy to promote that in our national contest.--- Darwin Ahoy! 18:50, 2 August 2019 (UTC)[reply]

User:Epìdosis since the first comments in this phase are all positive, I think you should start to insert the scaffolding for the grant proposal in your sandbox so we can move it in the next days. Thank you!--Alexmar983 (talk) 19:23, 2 August 2019 (UTC)[reply]
User:Camelia.boban do you think you can start to reach out to countries such as Algeria or Albania? For example at Wikimania (not sure if Epìdosis can be there). We have nobody from those areas, we should inform them as soon as possible so the proposal is not a total surprise.--Alexmar983 (talk) 19:26, 2 August 2019 (UTC)[reply]
Yes, I can help with CEE countries and North Africa. --Camelia (talk) 14:54, 5 August 2019 (UTC)[reply]
Nice idea. I like your suggestion of a prize dedciated to artworks or buildings with inscriptions or writings, since I specifically support the activities of this group related to languages. -Mizardellorsa (talk) 19:42, 2 August 2019 (UTC)[reply]
...also plaques. There are a lot of plaques (almost in Latin, but coul be searched in other languages too) on the building. --Camelia (talk) 14:54, 5 August 2019 (UTC)[reply]
Nice idea, happy to help. —DerHexer (Talk) 19:37, 4 August 2019 (UTC)[reply]
DerHexer we will do the selection manually so you could help to spot the images in your country. We plan to add a hidden category. Than of course you can be part of the selection jury.--Alexmar983 (talk) 23:38, 4 August 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Hi, User:Epìdosis updated the sandbox, I am preparing c:Commons:Wiki Loves Classics and categories and subpages. we are ready to move the proposal, do you have any last comments?--Alexmar983 (talk) 18:40, 5 August 2019 (UTC)[reply]

@Alexmar983: This would be useful for the UK competition, and WLM-UK could encourage people to take photos of Roman monuments. I don't think we have time for this year, but perhaps for the future we could use Pleiades as the basis of the competition? Richard Nevell (talk) 17:50, 7 August 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Richard Nevell I do not know Pleaides very well but User:epìdosis probably do (I recall some proposal of some wikidata IDs). So, yes next year can be much better, with more infrastructure. Manual selection is old fashioned but in the current timeline we have no time to set up anything more "efficient". We will however analyze carefully the situation for 2020. So, please if you can inform UK about this draft that would be great, so I can point this out in the final proposal (I sent this afternoon a mail to Epìdosis to move the draft, it's a matter of few days).
Also, can I add you to our jury in c:Commons:Wiki Loves Classics 2019 (please it's the same for you all)?--Alexmar983 (talk) 18:52, 7 August 2019 (UTC)[reply]

For WLM Greece the monuments list is already Wikidata based and photos can be easily tagged by their WLM id. https://w.wiki/7Bb We will filter this by another property: [3] Next days we will add more items. Feel free to add P1435:Q29048715 to any ancient monument in Greece missing this property, and we will assign a WLM id to it. --Geraki TL 15:16, 16 August 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Greece UG WLM2019 grant[edit]

Hi all, dont' forget to support the Greek proposal Grants:Project/Rapid/UG_GR/Wiki_Loves_Monuments_in_Greece_2019 in the meantime. User:Magioladitis, User:MARKELLOS I have no idea if User:Geraki informed you of our proposal but I ping you also here.--Alexmar983 (talk) 20:53, 5 August 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Unfortunately the budget for all WLM rapid grants proposals was cut to 50% per decision by the WMF... :-( -Geraki TL 15:04, 16 August 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Romanian WLM2019 grant[edit]

Another grant we should support is Grants:Project/Rapid/WMROMD/Wiki Loves Monuments 2019 in Romania. User:Strainu hi, I ping also you since you are the writer of this current draft. We are the WikiClassics UG and we are going to submit a proposal for the cultural heritage images related to Classics. Our goal is to improve the content related to our topics and we also hope to get funding for some additional prizes. This way photographers of temple or artifacts or tombs or plaques related to these topics (also in your countries) have higher chance of winning another prize. --Alexmar983 (talk) 21:47, 5 August 2019 (UTC)[reply]

CC CEllen, Andrei Stroe. Thanks for letting us know, we'll see how we can best collaborate. Strainu (talk) 00:09, 6 August 2019 (UTC)[reply]
Strainu basically, we will add a manual hidden category to the uploaded files if related to Wiki Loves Classics so if you want, we can give you the instruction and you can also add it yourselves while checking the files. We will revise them a second tme of course, but that's the way we will populate the category for the evaluation.--Alexmar983 (talk) 00:34, 6 August 2019 (UTC)[reply]


[edit]

@Epìdosis, Alexmar983, Camelia.boban, OrbiliusMagister, FocalPoint, Ilbuonme, Christelle Molinié, Mizardellorsa, Tursclan, Saintfevrier, SurdusVII, Marcus Cyron, Romulanus, Gts-tg, Geraki, Sp!ros, DerHexer, Ijon, Sir Henry, Eunostos, T8612, Renato de carvalho ferreira, Taketa, 4nn1l2, DerMaxdorfer, DarwIn, Prof.Lippold, Hartmann Linge, and Xenophôn:

Dear all,

we need an individual logo for Commons:Wiki Loves Classics. It will help in publcity and prevent ackward situations such as links from social media display irrelevant images (such as the Albanian flag). Let's choose one ASAP, since the contest is already running.

I created two versions. My concept is that since Wiki Loves Classics is tied to Wiki Loves Monuments the logo can be a derivative of that contest: I used the third Wikimedia color (blue) that is not used in WLM or WLE, and changed the "medieval" castle to a classic pillar. Here they are:

We can wait for a couple of days in case there are more proposals and then choose whatever we have on the table. We can always change it to something else later. --Geraki TL 09:11, 13 September 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Excellent idea! Both the logos are really good, I would vote for 1. --Epìdosis 09:14, 13 September 2019 (UTC)[reply]
I think I prefer 1. But wouldn't it make sense to use the vase from our group's logo? —DerHexer (Talk) 09:15, 13 September 2019 (UTC)[reply]
Between 1 and 2, I prefer 1, because it's simpler and has less colours. I would prefer something more stylized, though.--- Darwin Ahoy! 09:18, 13 September 2019 (UTC)[reply]
I agree with a more stylized image. And also to be closer to our vase logo. --Camelia (talk) 11:03, 13 September 2019 (UTC)[reply]
As I told Geraki, before my MAC's battery crashed, I was making a logo and I was in fact using the vase icon. But I see no problem in the theme he has choosen. For me it's 1, the 2 is too simple as style. On the flyer I was reparing, I expected to use all the logos (WCS UG, WLM, WCS) so they can be different. Also my graph software cannot be used but maybe yours could! Add a third one but just hurry up.--Alexmar983 (talk) 11:25, 13 September 2019 (UTC)[reply]
I vote for 1.. --SurdusVII 12:30, 13 September 2019 (UTC)[reply]
I vote for 1 too (colors seem to go together better), though both are well done. --Ilbuonme (talk) 21:34, 14 September 2019 (UTC)[reply]
I would vote for 1. --Tursclan (talk) 23:52, 3 October 2019 (UTC)[reply]
Definetly #2. #1 is too stylized and looked so too modern, definetly not "classic". -- Marcus Cyron (talk) 22:00, 13 September 2019 (UTC)[reply]
I prefer the first one, I find it more graphically speaking, but the second one is quite good too, maybe without the red color. Thank you! --Christelle Molinié (talk) 10:19, 14 September 2019 (UTC)[reply]
I definitely exclude #1, as too near to the pillars logo (e.g. or ) my taste favours #3 over #2 for its archaeological and philologicals appeal; who prefers a more "abstract" idea of classics will favour the temple design, suggesting both archaeology, art and philosophy. What about adding a Greek (and/or a Latin) capital letter? εΔω 22:27, 16 September 2019 (UTC)

User:Geraki we upload the first complete flyer in three languages this Tueday. It will be in English/italian/German and than I will send you a copy in English/French/XXX where you can add modern Greek. that should be enough for this year. So by that date, please finalize a logo based on the feedback in this page. Whatever you chose, no problem with me.--Alexmar983 (talk) 13:47, 15 September 2019 (UTC)[reply]

I removed the red outline from #2 and created a 3rd with the amphora. To my understanding the de facto rule is that project logos should not contain chapter and user groups logos, and I think that the amphora is not a good icon for the concept of the WLE: it is a moveable object but the contest focuses on buildings (that is the thought behind the concept I described initially: exchange of the medieval castle with a classic pillar. -Geraki TL 14:35, 15 September 2019 (UTC)[reply]

it's both on buildings and objects, actually. I make a test with one of the logo and upload it soon.--Alexmar983 (talk) 20:29, 17 September 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Deal?--Alexmar983 (talk) 13:16, 18 September 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Nice Flyer. And now when there are three logo possibilities I would go for #3 - it's nearer to our other logo and definetly more classical than the capital logos. -- Marcus Cyron (talk) 21:13, 18 September 2019 (UTC)[reply]
Well I think he is right when he says To my understanding the de facto rule is that project logos should not contain chapter and user groups logos, and I think that the amphora is not a good icon... plus this way we can play wth both logo (WLC and UG) so why not? I will stick to #2 more than #1. i had refined few typos (there is an unecessary T in the contact section), I can upload a new version soon... but any final agreement on an improved version of the logo?--Alexmar983 (talk) 13:28, 19 September 2019 (UTC)[reply]
These rules will be not for long anymore, as far as I the movements development understand. The restriction the actual WMF does, will not longer work. Projects in the future will can decide for themself. -- Marcus Cyron (talk) 14:57, 24 September 2019 (UTC)[reply]

I will make a post with the flyer in the next days. Please agree on a final version of the logo if you have any suggestion. My old MAC is still under reparation, so I cannot improve any logo at the moment.--Alexmar983 (talk) 14:31, 20 September 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Now there is a second version. I will be off line tomorrow, on Saturday evening we can finalize the logo desing before posting on social media. In 2020 we will get a "rainbow" coverage such as in the Tuscan WLM set with more languages, but for this preliminary edition, we did enough.--Alexmar983 (talk) 19:03, 20 September 2019 (UTC)[reply]
I will create the png soon and than create the facebook post and the tweet.--Alexmar983 (talk) 17:33, 21 September 2019 (UTC)[reply]
tweet!--Alexmar983 (talk) 18:52, 21 September 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Wiki Loves Classics jury[edit]

@Epìdosis, Geraki, Camelia.boban, OrbiliusMagister, FocalPoint, Ilbuonme, Christelle Molinié, Mizardellorsa, Tursclan, Saintfevrier, SurdusVII, Marcus Cyron, Romulanus, Gts-tg, Geraki, Sp!ros, DerHexer, Ijon, Sir Henry, Eunostos, T8612, Renato de carvalho ferreira, Taketa, 4nn1l2, DerMaxdorfer, DarwIn, Prof.Lippold, Hartmann Linge, Xenophôn, Csisc, Pradigue, and Pompilos: Hi all. The jury is evolving. As I have already told you some of you in private, please provide names to complete it as let's keep a balance of wikimedians and external personalities if possible. We have enough Italians for sure, that is not a bad thing considering the global upload but there are countries with some strong performances which might need a juror as well. Whatever you would like to suggest, we are here.

No suggestion? --Alexmar983 (talk) 20:50, 20 October 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Wiki Loves Classics Sorting[edit]

here more details about the sorting. There is hurry, if there is not any volunteer we can take a little bit longer. As long as it is well done before the end of the year, it should be fine. I am also busy with WLm in Tuscany so the plan is to take it slowly, while at the same time starting to improve some categorization here and there.--Alexmar983 (talk) 15:14, 1 October 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Awards[edit]

Sailko premiazione WLM 2019

We had a small ceremony with one of the sponsor in Florence today, where one of the winner of WLC2019 lives. It's better than nothing. The original plan was an exhibition in March but we'll see if we can reuse the idea for 2020.

You can also see the design of the certificate, with the WLC logo, so this is ready for next year.

I prepare a tweet and a Facebook post.--Alexmar983 (talk) 21:37, 20 July 2020 (UTC)[reply]

tweet and post--Alexmar983 (talk) 00:19, 21 July 2020 (UTC)[reply]

CFP: Classics and Civic Activism[edit]

If we would have someone in the area of Washington DC, it could be interesting for us as Wikimedia projects to be presented there as an example for Civic Activism in the field of Classics. -- Marcus Cyron (talk) 19:10, 5 August 2019 (UTC)[reply]

We lack some Americans so far. But if you find somebody, fine with me, it's a useful activity in our list.--Alexmar983 (talk) 20:50, 5 August 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Introduction: "Wikipedia and Archaeology"[edit]

Following an invitation from Professor Suzanne Frey-Kupper, I will be giving an introduction to Wikipedia and Archeology at University of Warwick (in Coventry, England, UK) on October 29 this year. For clues, what I should not forget, I would be grateful, since no one can think of everything. Likewise I am grateful for references to already existing such introductions, to statistics, suitable picture material etc. -- Marcus Cyron (talk) 01:18, 8 September 2019 (UTC)[reply]

And a day later, now I have an appointment at the Beazley Archive at Oxford. -- Marcus Cyron (talk) 13:42, 8 September 2019 (UTC)[reply]
@Marcus Cyron: If you like I'd be happy to share the slide deck I use when giving introductory talks archaeology students, but it does depend what key points you want to touch on. It might be worth tailoring it by giving examples of what archaeology stuff is happening in the UK, such as Archaeology Scotland and the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland and image donations from the York Museums Trust. And Wikimedia UK are talking to the people at King's College London who are behind the Gazetteer of Libyan Heritage to share images of endangered sites. I'd also suggest saying that Wikipedia is an important tool for the communication of archaeology and that everybody uses it, even if it's not obvious. Richard Nevell (talk) 20:23, 9 September 2019 (UTC)[reply]
@Richard Nevell: - I would like to see your slides. This will be not my first introduction (so 2012 at the Humboldt-Univerity in Berlin; 2013 at the University of Mainz or talks at the Ceramics Workshop of the DAI Athens in 2015 and the annual meetup of the German Association for prehistoric archaeology in 2016 and 1018) and I'm not looking for something I can use in complete. But I'm interested in new ideas, new impulses and things I forgot until today. So everything would be phantastic. And your hints here are very helpfull. -- Marcus Cyron (talk) 20:59, 9 September 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Once WLM month is over, remind me to contact you so we can prepare some materials for the social media. If you need help on that side, you can do it yourself of course.--Alexmar983 (talk) 21:19, 13 September 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Mailing list?[edit]

Hello. What is the 'mailing list (TBC)' announced on the home page, Contacts section? Thank you. --Romulanus (talk) 16:07, 15 September 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Romulanus yes the idea is in the long-term future to have maybe a mailing list like other groups. it's far fetched at the moment, I suppose.--Alexmar983 (talk) 18:45, 21 September 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Bibliography on students editing WMF articles/books?[edit]

Hello, sorry to bother you all about this. I am writing an article for a miscellaneous book on digital tools for teaching Classics. I often assigned students to edit WMF pages (Wikipedia, Wikibooks, Wikisource) and wanted to mention this as a good practice and argue about it. Do you know of any bibliography that I can consult on this? Thank you,I'll --Ilbuonme (talk) 15:55, 1 October 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Ilbuonme we had a similar discussion on line with a professor few months ago, I don't think there is anything specific about teachning classics. There is a lot about education in general, but on this topic probably it's fragmented. We shoul probably highlight your final chapter (I will do it with pleasure)--Alexmar983 (talk) 17:26, 1 October 2019 (UTC)[reply]
Alexmar983, thank you very much for your reply. I agree that the most interesting aspects are not domain-specific. Can you or the others point me to some online bibliography on the general (not classics-centered) topic of giving students an assignment consisting in editing WMF pages? I have trained teachers to do so in the realm of classics, but only because both me and the trainees happened to be classics teachers. Thank you for offering to go over the WMF-related section. I probably should have mentioned that it's in Italian, but I see from your user page that you too are an Italian native speaker :-) --Ilbuonme (talk) 20:30, 1 October 2019 (UTC)[reply]
Ilbuonme [4], [5], [6], [7] [8]... these ones are from different fields at University. [9] and [10] are at high schools. Mostly are anglophone but there is something in other countries. For example in Italy, User:Mirko Tavosanis [11].--Alexmar983 (talk) 21:04, 1 October 2019 (UTC)[reply]
THank you Alexmar983! I am also searching on Google Scholar. Once I'm done, I might contribute the bibliography I found somewhere in WMF. I'll let you all know when the first complete draft of the article is ready. --Ilbuonme (talk) 05:19, 2 October 2019 (UTC)[reply]
Hi, Ilbuonme! Yes, as Alexmar983 said, I have published a couple of papers (in Italian) about this topic, describing my experience in academic settings:
* http://hdl.handle.net/11568/990924
* http://hdl.handle.net/11568/392068 (this one is also on Academia: https://www.academia.edu/9988592/Insegnamento_universitario_della_scrittura_2.0_attraverso_Wikipedia)
A set of experiences in Italy is described also in LUIGI CATALANI (ed.), Fare didattica con i progetti Wikimedia, «BRICKS» 7, 4 (numero monografico); CORRADO PETRUCCO, Wikipedia come attività di empowerment personale e sociale di studenti e insegnanti nel progetto «Veneto in Wikipedia», in «TD Tecnologie didattiche» 24, 2: 102-110. --Mirko Tavosanis (talk) 13:47, 2 October 2019 (UTC)[reply]
See https://ask.wikiedu.org/question/320/do-you-know-of-any-peer-reviewed-studies-about-the-pedagogical-value-of-teaching-with-wikipedia/
If you have too many results, I suggest to use https://www.base-search.net/ , https://core.ac.uk/ or https://lens.org/ to narrow them down (and to filter by open access status). Nemo 05:54, 2 October 2019 (UTC)[reply]
Thank you Mirko Tavosanis and Nemo. Also, I didn't know of those open access alternatives to Google Scholar and I like them. --151.52.218.219 16:30, 3 October 2019 (UTC)[reply]

I added some select bibliography to my article in Italian on digital teaching for classics. I am sending it via email to Mirko Tavosanis for suggestions. User talk:Alexmar983, you had mentioned that you too would have been available to highlight my final paragraph (on students editing the WMF projects): if you are still up for it, or if anyone else is, please drop me a line (my contacts are [here](http://www1.unipa.it/paolo.monella/curriculum/)) so I have your email. Best, --Ilbuonme (talk) 15:53, 15 November 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Ilbuonme I did not receive a ping, but in any case... I completely forgot it. the problem is that I am busy with so many projects that before December, 15th I have no free time, I am so sorry. I can discuss in few days with another person however, I'll let you know.--Alexmar983 (talk) 21:16, 16 November 2019 (UTC)[reply]
@Alexmar983: I understand, no problem at all --Ilbuonme (talk) 21:38, 16 November 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Movement communications group[edit]

We need somebody in Movement_communications_group. Should I put my name here? Who else will be part of it because of other affiliation?--Alexmar983 (talk) 07:14, 31 October 2019 (UTC)[reply]

I almost forgot that I wrote here weeks ago. I put my name. Why not.--Alexmar983 (talk) 23:29, 11 November 2019 (UTC)[reply]

The Affiliations Committee (AffCom) – the committee responsible for guiding volunteers in establishing Wikimedia chapters, thematic organizations, and user groups – is looking for new members!

The main role of the Affiliations Committee is to guide groups of volunteers that are interested in forming Wikimedia affiliates. We review applications from new groups, answer questions and provide advice about the different Wikimedia affiliation models and processes, review affiliate bylaws for compliance with requirements and best practices, and update the Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees as well as advise them on issues connected to chapters, thematic organizations and Wikimedia user groups.

The committee consists of fourteen members, selected every twelve months for staggered two-year terms. Those joining the committee during the current process will serve a two-year term ending in December 2021.

AffCom continues to closely monitor the Wikimedia 2030 Strategy process that was initiated in 2016. While the affiliation models continue to be discussed as part of the broader strategy discussion, as no decisions have been made to change the current affiliation models yet, AffCom will continue to work in the same manner with regard to affiliate recognitions and intervention support for affiliates with issues of non-compliance in 2020. Specifically, AffCom will continue to process applications for user group and chapter/thematic organization creation, while we await the strategy next steps and begin to prepare for a smooth transition of the committee and affiliates ecosystem to any changing movement structures and systems in 2021.

Being a part of the Affiliations Committee requires communication with volunteers all over the world, negotiating skills, cultural sensitivity, and the ability to understand legal texts. We look for a healthy mix of different skill sets in our members.

Required and Recommended Skills for Affiliations Committee Members[edit]

Across all committee members there are additional relevant skills as well as requirements which help to support the committee and its sustainability which include both required and relevant general skills

Required Skills[edit]

  • Fluency in English
  • Availability of up to 5 hours per week, and the time to participate in a monthly one and two-hour voice/video meetings.
  • Willingness to use one's real name in committee activities (including contacts with current and potential affiliates) when appropriate.
  • Strong track record of effective collaboration
  • International orientation

Relevant Skills[edit]

  • Skills in other languages are a major plus.
  • Public Communications (English writing and speaking skills)
  • Strong understanding of the structure and work of affiliates and the Wikimedia Foundation.
  • Documentation practices
  • Interviewing experience
  • Knowledge of different legal systems and experience in community building and organizing are a plus
  • Experience with, or in, an active affiliate is a major plus.
  • Teamwork
    • Focusing on shared goals instead of disagreements
    • Focusing on the conflict at hand and not past ones
    • Ensuring each member of the team has a clearly defined role, which can help reduce disagreements over areas of responsibility
    • Project and people management to coordinate different parties on a shared plan and seeing it through to completion.
  • Problem-Solving
    • Ability to evaluate various solutions
    • Ability to consider multiple interests and points of view
    • Willingness to revisit unresolved issues
    • The capacity to recognize and respond to important matters
    • The ability to seek compromise and avoid punishing
  • Ability to work and communicate with other languages and cultures.

Given the expectations for maintaining course in 2020 and preparing for potential 2021 transitions, it is important that we are also clear about two different skill sets critical to committee support at this time. The first skillset is oriented to understanding affiliate dynamics and organizational development patterns to successfully process affiliate applications for recognition; the other is oriented to conflict prevention and intervention support for affiliates in conflict.

Affiliate Recognitions Relevant Skills[edit]

  • Administration
    • Willingness to process applications through a set, perhaps bureaucratic process.
    • Attention to detail
  • Monitoring & Strategic Development
    • Readiness to participate in political discussions on the role and future of affiliates, models of affiliation, and similar topics.
  • Organizational Awareness
    • Understanding of and community building and organizational development
    • Understanding of group dynamics
    • Awareness of the affiliates ecosystem and models

Conflict Prevention & Intervention Relevant Skills[edit]

  • Communication
    • Active listening
    • Reading nonverbal cues
    • Knowing when to interrupt and when to stay quiet
    • Being culturally sensitive at the same time remaining clear and concise when explaining a concept or opinion
  • Stress Management
    • Patience
    • Positivity
    • Ability to inject a dose of humor to dilute anger and frustration when needed
    • Taking well-timed breaks that can bring calm in the midst of flared tempers
    • Ability to manage stress while remaining alert and calm
  • Emotional Intelligence
    • Being emotionally aware,
    • Ability to control emotions and behaviors,
    • Ability to practice empathy,
    • Impartiality,
    • Don’t take anything personally,
    • Being aware of and respectful of differences.
  • Facilitation skills
    • Meeting facilitation experience
    • Peer or community mediation training
    • Peer or community mediation experience

Do you have any of these skill sets and an interest to support movement affiliates?

We are looking for people who are excited by the challenge of empowering volunteers to get organized and form communities that further our mission around the world. In exchange, committee members selected will gain the experience of supporting their world-wide colleagues to develop their communities as well as personal development in guiding organizational development, facilitating affiliate partnerships, and professional communications.

Selection process[edit]

As a reflection of our commitment to openness, transparency, and bilateral engagement with the Wikimedia community, the 2019 member selection process will include a public review and comment period. We invite you to share with us you applications, specifying your focus area you’re interested in. All applications received by the committee will be posted on Meta, and the community will be invited to provide comments and feedback about each candidate.

At the end of the public comment period, the applications will be voted on by the members of the committee who are not seeking re-election, taking into account comments put forward by the committee's members, advisors, Wikimedia Foundation staff and board liaisons, and the community. A final decision will be made by mid-January 2020, with new members expected to join later that month.

How to apply[edit]

If you are interested in joining the committee, please post your application on the nomination page and send an email announcing your application to AffCom(_AT_)lists.wikimedia.org by 10 January 2020. Your application must include the following information:

  • Your full name and Wikimedia username
  • A statement describing your relevant experience, skills, and motivation for joining the committee.
  • Answers to the following questions:
  1. How do you think affiliates work best together to partner on effective projects and initiatives?
  2. What do you see as the role of affiliates in the Wikimedia movement in the next three years?
  3. What do you feel you will bring to the committee that makes you uniquely qualified?
  4. Which subcommittee are you most interested in serving on: Recognitions OR Conflict Prevention & Intervention?

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact me and/or the committee as a whole. We are happy to chat or have a phone call with anyone about our work if this helps them decide to apply. Please distribute this call among your networks, and do apply if you are interested!


On behalf of the committee,

Camelia Boban, AffCom member

Winners of Wiki Loves Classics[edit]

The results are publshed in this page. Feedbacks were positive, somebody wants to wirte a post on some wikimedia website (I have asked for details). I am working now to find a sponsorship to print them. I will let you know.

In any case, we are ready for 2020!--Alexmar983 (talk) 15:44, 24 January 2020 (UTC)[reply]

iDAI[edit]

Hi, there are actually two requests for new properties depending iDAI-identifiers on Wikidata: d:Wikidata:Property proposal/iDAI.chronontology ID and d:Wikidata:Property proposal/iDAI.gazetteer ID. When the Corona crisis will be over one time, I wanna meet the decisive people of the DAI in Berlin to talk with them about linking their data bases on Wikidata. So if there's more you wanna have,, you wanna know or what ever, please collect it here. -- Marcus Cyron (talk) 21:36, 4 May 2020 (UTC)[reply]

WMF Report 2019[edit]

Hi, I am starting to draft the yearly reportin WikiClassics User Group/Reports/2019. Please take a look. Sorry I couldn't do before, the last three weeks have been crazy at work.--Alexmar983 (talk) 17:26, 6 May 2020 (UTC)[reply]

I will add for sure the part of social media channels and Wiki Loves Classic by the end of tomorrow.--Alexmar983 (talk) 17:28, 6 May 2020 (UTC)[reply]

@Ilbuonme: I remember the article you were writing; could you tell us some information, so that we can cite it? --Epìdosis 17:35, 6 May 2020 (UTC)[reply]

@Epìdosis, Geraki, Camelia.boban, OrbiliusMagister, FocalPoint, Ilbuonme, Christelle Molinié, Mizardellorsa, Tursclan, Saintfevrier, SurdusVII, Marcus Cyron, Romulanus, Gts-tg, Geraki, Sp!ros, DerHexer, Ijon, Sir Henry, Eunostos, T8612, Renato de carvalho ferreira, Taketa, 4nn1l2, DerMaxdorfer, DarwIn, Prof.Lippold, Hartmann Linge, Xenophôn, Csisc, Pradigue, and Pompilos: Hi all, the draft is going on. Please you can add something there. we should than send the report at least on the mailing list so whatever you think it's worth visibility just insert it. For example we made some tweets about the presence of some of you at some academic events, you can add those probably.--Alexmar983 (talk) 14:50, 8 May 2020 (UTC)[reply]

I was also told that it's lready enough, so it's a good thing. I will put it tonight in the Reports table on meta. Thank you for all feedbacks on-wiki and off-wiki so far.--Alexmar983 (talk) 16:18, 8 May 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Invitation to participate in Wikipedia Pages Wanting Photos[edit]

Dear Wikimedia Affiliate Community,

We are inviting you to participate in Wikipedia Pages Wanting Photos (WPWP), a new global contest scheduled to run from July through August 2020:

Participants will choose among Wikipedia pages without photo images, then add a suitable file 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, etc.) over the years.

WPWP offers a focused task for guiding new editors through the steps of adding content to existing pages. It can be used to organize editing workshops and edit-a-thons.

The organizing team is looking for a contact person at the Chapter, Thematic group & Wikimedia User Group level (geographically or thematically), or for a language WP, to coordinate the project locally. We’d be glad for you to sign up directly at WPWP Participating Communities

Thank you,

Deborah Schwartz Jacobs

On behalf of Wikipedia Pages Wanting Photos Organizing Team - 21:19, 9 May 2020 (UTC)

Hi everyone,

The Affiliations Committee (AffCom) – the committee responsible for guiding volunteers in establishing and sustaining Wikimedia chapters, thematic organizations, and user groups – is seeking new members!

The main role of the AffCom is to guide groups of volunteers that are interested in forming Wikimedia affiliates. We review applications from new groups, answer questions and provide advice about the different Wikimedia affiliation models and processes, review affiliate bylaws for compliance with requirements and best practices, and update the Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees as well as advise them on issues connected to chapters, thematic organizations and Wikimedia user groups.

The committee consists of five to fifteen members, selected at least once every year, to serve two-year terms. As the committee must hold mid-year elections to replenish its members at this time, those joining the committee during the current process will serve a slightly extended term from July 2020 through December 2022.

AffCom continues to closely monitor the Wikimedia 2030 Strategy process initiated in 2016. While the affiliation models continue to be discussed as part of the broader strategy discussion, as no decisions have been made to change the current affiliation models yet, AffCom continues to work in the same manner with regard to affiliate recognitions and intervention support for affiliates with issues of non-compliance in 2020. AffCom continues to process applications for user group and chapter/thematic organization creation, while we await the strategy next steps and begin to prepare for a smooth transition of the committee and affiliates ecosystem to any changing movement structures and systems in 2021.

Being a part of the AffCom requires communication with volunteers all over the world, negotiating skills, cultural sensitivity, and the ability to understand legal texts. We look for a mix of different skill sets in our members.

Click here for further details.

James Heilman on behalf of AffCom

MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 06:18, 13 June 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Survey about 2030 Movement Brand Project[edit]

@Epìdosis, Geraki, Camelia.boban, OrbiliusMagister, FocalPoint, Ilbuonme, Christelle Molinié, Mizardellorsa, Tursclan, Saintfevrier, SurdusVII, Marcus Cyron, Romulanus, Gts-tg, Geraki, Sp!ros, DerHexer, Ijon, Sir Henry, Eunostos, T8612, Renato de carvalho ferreira, Taketa, 4nn1l2, DerMaxdorfer, DarwIn, Prof.Lippold, Hartmann Linge, Xenophôn, Csisc, Pradigue, and Pompilos: I have just received a mail about the 2030 Movement Brand Project.

I followed it in general but I have no time during these weeks so I did not follow the recent developments properly. Here is also a youtube video, and some of you are probably also aware through international the mailing list or similar discussions within other affiliates, like I am. I was aware of the issue, but I had no free time since the COVID-19 outbreak to follow it in detail.

The survey will be available until 30 June, You are welcome to share any considerations, I will share mine as well if I can. I will summarize the UG position with pleasure.--Alexmar983 (talk) 17:50, 16 June 2020 (UTC)[reply]

I also cannot see the questions in advance, I have to fill the UG name and profile on the first page, which I am not sure if it is something I can do more than once. I'll look into it but again, I have no time.--Alexmar983 (talk) 17:53, 16 June 2020 (UTC)[reply]
@Alexmar983: hi to all wiki friends.. I cannot follow because I am deaf, that is, I have difficulty following with spoken voices.. however, I don't participate.. good evening!! --SurdusVII 18:01, 16 June 2020 (UTC)[reply]
I have seen the YouTube video live and I am still paralyzed. When I will be recovered, I will maybe participate in the survey. Best, —DerHexer (Talk) 19:20, 16 June 2020 (UTC)[reply]
here the survey. You will also vote personally, but I am supposed to cast a vote of the whole UG. Please share your comments and I will try to summarize them.--Alexmar983 (talk) 17:59, 17 June 2020 (UTC)[reply]
I think that a statement that the old poll and the new ones should be respected seems legit to me. Best, —DerHexer (Talk) 19:02, 17 June 2020 (UTC)[reply]
I perfectly agree with @DerHexer:. --Epìdosis 19:58, 18 June 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Who want to be affiliate liaison on the matter? i would have no problem in following the issue normally, but this is a very busy season for me so please whoever feel they are better for the role, tell us here and than sign up.--Alexmar983 (talk) 11:03, 19 June 2020 (UTC)[reply]

I will attend this event--Alexmar983 (talk) 18:02, 19 June 2020 (UTC)[reply]
Some core information from the meeting (you can also read here)
  • Essie Zar in charge of the survey was there for the first "technical" part. The second part was more free and only amongst the affiliate.
  • We are waiting for a statement from the BoT, tomorrow. The statement that a rebranding will occur because the BoT had a final decision was surprising to most people.
  • We revised the option of the survey, 5 of the g choice are based on "Wikipedia". It looks like an unusually narrow choice, in the end.
  • Naming of affiliates of global name changes is a big issue, there might a chance only visual identity will change, but not the term.
  • We revised what occurred for small rebranding "workshops" in Norway (Oslo) and India (Bangalore), the meetings were not strcitly related to rebranding and only one option from that events seems to be related in what is in the survey, "interconnected".
  • Almost everything is delayed in the movement but not this survey, which is odd.
  • At the moment we want to draft a concise open letter. I put the preliminary signature, timing is critical, please let me know if you disagree. We can NOT share the link to social media or open "forums" but it can be shared privately or with the Boards.
  • There is general drift to avoid boycotting the survey and use the "4th option". It's better to wait the statement from the BoT tomorrow.
  • I can sort the option in some order, if you see some "lesser evil" in the other Wiki options, please let me know
  • the branding is different from the 2030 strategy, there is a proposal to be merged with that this September.
  • Rationalization of name of Affiliates will probably occur as well.
I hope this is all.--Alexmar983 (talk) 20:12, 21 June 2020 (UTC)[reply]

The new statement from the BoT is here.--Alexmar983 (talk) 10:34, 22 June 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Survey's deadline was formally extended from 30 June to 7 July--Alexmar983 (talk) 23:02, 22 June 2020 (UTC)[reply]

main letter. I will sign it on behalf of the UG. @Epìdosis, Geraki, Camelia.boban, OrbiliusMagister, FocalPoint, Ilbuonme, Christelle Molinié, Mizardellorsa, Tursclan, Saintfevrier, SurdusVII, Marcus Cyron, Romulanus, Gts-tg, Geraki, Sp!ros, DerHexer, Ijon, Sir Henry, Eunostos, T8612, Renato de carvalho ferreira, Taketa, 4nn1l2, DerMaxdorfer, DarwIn, Prof.Lippold, Hartmann Linge, Xenophôn, Csisc, Pradigue, and Pompilos: I ping you all again since few days have passed. i will ad the UG signature in few hours, and I can remove it if some concern or opposition is clearly raised (it would be useful however if you indicate a clear support)--Alexmar983 (talk) 11:37, 23 June 2020 (UTC)[reply]

And I kept it private since Sunday to few hours ago (see above) but now we have to start to decide to sign or not. Plus, I said they are not supposed to edit and give me feedbacks. I am sorry but there are people here like Paulo who did not notice this, the communication was not very clear on this matter. Another person commenting here is from the Board of a chapter (he can access it) and he also did not notice it. I was told to kept it private in the first phase and I did so, but now it's almost ready and we don't have a structured board so they can't ask a small group to be fully private, it's not functional. And I cannot give less time to decide just by myself. if you want me to give some last feedback, I need to ask you. i am not going to do everything by myself.--Alexmar983 (talk) 17:08, 23 June 2020 (UTC)[reply]
Support Support I signed the letter on behalf of WikiDonne UG, so I agree to do it as WikiClassics too. --Camelia (talk) 17:45, 23 June 2020 (UTC)[reply]

@Alexmar983: "there are people here like Paulo who did not notice this" - You got it wrong, I never edited the letter from here, I always had the direct link to it from the branding videoconf. And I was indeed supposed to edit and collaborate on it, which I did.--- Darwin Ahoy! 14:03, 1 July 2020 (UTC)[reply]

User talk:DarwIn I got it right. I said you could access, which is true, and that you did not notice it was linked here before the deadline by mistake, which based on your reply it's probably also true because you did not leave a comment on that despite being here now a second time. --Alexmar983 (talk) 14:11, 1 July 2020 (UTC)[reply]

@Epìdosis, Geraki, Camelia.boban, OrbiliusMagister, FocalPoint, Ilbuonme, Christelle Molinié, Mizardellorsa, Tursclan, Saintfevrier, SurdusVII, Marcus Cyron, Romulanus, Gts-tg, Geraki, Sp!ros, DerHexer, Ijon, Sir Henry, Eunostos, T8612, Renato de carvalho ferreira, Taketa, 4nn1l2, DerMaxdorfer, DarwIn, Prof.Lippold, Hartmann Linge, Xenophôn, Csisc, Pradigue, Pompilos, Kaizenify, and Millars: I will prepare the reply to the survey on behalf of the UG. I was very direct personally, so considering the two abstain votes in the previous request, I will try to be as neutral as possible, but of course the UG's statement is generally a negative one. If there is anything you want to share, please let me know. --Alexmar983 (talk) 12:19, 1 July 2020 (UTC)[reply]

I have sent the survey yesterday in the late evening, you can all have a copy via mail of the receipt, just contect me.--Alexmar983 (talk) 20:07, 4 July 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Affiliations Committee elections announcement June 2020[edit]

Hi everyone,

This is a friendly reminder that the Affiliations Committee (AffCom) – the committee responsible for guiding volunteers in establishing and sustaining Wikimedia chapters, thematic organizations, and user groups – is seeking new members! The deadline to post your application on the nomination page is 30 June 2020.

  • Application process: Considering the anticipated changes following the Strategy recommendations, we had a limited scope to introduce changes in the process. We have made a small but impactful addition to the application process by introducing the Self Assessment survey form which will help the committee know more about your engagement as endorsements are not consistently shared, may not be representative, and often do not speak to the specific skills needed.
  • Selection process: No change; see: Membership.

If you have any questions, please contact me and/or the committee as a whole. We are happy to answer questions about our work if this helps people decide to apply. Please distribute this announcement among your networks. Good luck to all the candidates!

On behalf of the committee,

--Rosiestep (talk) 00:49, 19 June 2020 (UTC) via MassMessaging[reply]

June 21 All-Affiliates Brand Meeting[edit]

All Wikimedia affiliates are invited to join an urgent All-Affiliates Brand Meeting in two sessions on Sunday June 21, regarding the most recent developments.-- Pharos (talk) 19:59, 19 June 2020 (UTC)[reply]

UG members are informed above, so I suggest to keep the previous unified discussion, if it's fine with you.--Alexmar983 (talk) 19:18, 21 June 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Feedback on movement names[edit]

There are a lot of conversations happening about the future of our movement names. We hope that you are part of these discussions and that your community is represented.

Since 16 June, the Foundation Brand Team has been running a survey in 7 languages about 3 naming options. There are also community members sharing concerns about renaming in a Community Open Letter.

You should have received a separate affiliate survey via email. If you have not, feel free to email brandproject(_AT_)wikimedia.org.

Our goal in this call for feedback is to hear from across the community, so we encourage you to participate in the survey, the open letter, or both. The survey will go through 7 July in all timezones. Input from the survey and discussions will be analyzed and published on Meta-Wiki.

Thanks for thinking about the future of the movement --The Brand Project team, 13:37, 2 July 2020 (UTC)

Note: The survey is conducted via a third-party service, which may subject it to additional terms. For more information on privacy and data-handling, see the survey privacy statement.

Project about Latin texts[edit]

Hi all! Recently I've started with @Alexmar983: a project about Latin literature and inscriptions centered on Wikidata and Commons with the support of Wikimedia Italia (and Wikimedia Switzerland); the idea was promoted by @Mizardellorsa:, member on the Board of Directors of Wikimedia Italia.

The main page of the project is d:Wikidata:Testi latini. If you have specific proposals about other possible tasks, please let us know in the talk page of the project; we can always rearrange few priorities if the chapters agree. This is intended to be a long-term effort with more steps to come; we had a very strict deadline and it was very important to start something quickly, we will investigate different possibilities of development. In the future, if the project is expanded, we will have more time to discuss with you as well. --Epìdosis 20:57, 9 July 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Announcing a new wiki project! Welcome, Abstract Wikipedia[edit]

Hello everyone. I am posting the announcement below, which you may have missed elsewhere, and in the hope that you can share it with your local communities. Please note that it may be available in your language at m:Special:MyLanguage/Abstract Wikipedia/July 2020 announcement. Thanks for your attention! m:User:Elitre (WMF)


hello there! sorry for bothering here as well, but I am not sure how closely the page on Commons is being monitored, and receiving any kind of answer is appreciated, so we know if we should allocate some time to promotional activities of WLC, or concentrate on other things related to the WLM contest. thanks! --アンタナナ 19:52, 15 August 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Invitation to affiliate members to complete a survey about WMF Universal Code of Conduct[edit]

Hello; My name is Mervat, and I am helping the Trust and Safety team to reach out to affiliates in order to discuss the Universal Code of Conduct.  

There has been talks about the need for a global set of conduct rules in different communities over time, and finally, Wikimedia Foundation Board announced a Community Culture Statement, enacting new standards to address harassment and promote inclusivity across projects.Since the universal code of conduct that will be a binding minimum set of standards across all Wikimedia projects, will apply to all of us, staff and volunteers alike, all around the globe, and will impact our work as groups, individuals and projects, it’s of great importance that we all participate in expressing our opinions and thoughts about UCoC, its nature, what we think it should cover or include and what it shouldn’t include; how it may develop, drawback or help our groups.   This is the time to talk about it. As you are a valuable contributor to the Wikimedia movement, your voice counts. Before starting to draft the code of conduct, we would like to hear from you; We invite you to devote some minutes to take this survey; your answers will help us create a safer environment for all on Wikimedia:

(English): https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSd36dNdU3C5shXEkKp9itJOhuCTx9hZE5AE-xflkxtfRMnZtg/viewform?usp=pp_url  

It's possible that you are a member of more than one affiliate; hence you may receive this survey more than once, and you may have participated previously in the discussions or filled out a previous survey during the first round of consultations about UCoC which targeted wikipedia/wikimedia communities. We apologize for this; it is really difficult to identify if a wikimedian belongs to multiple groups that work to spread free knowledge.

Looking forward to your thoughts and opinions and hoping that you can respond within the next 2 weeks.  If you have any questions about the surveys or difficulties accessing the link, please contact me by email (msalman-ctr@wikimedia.org)Results will be considered during the drafting process for the UCoC.

Thank you for your participation

Mervat Salman Trust & Safety (Policy) Facilitator Wikimedia Foundation --Mervat (WMF) (talk) 16:46, 16 August 2020 (UTC)[reply]

@Epìdosis, Geraki, Camelia.boban, OrbiliusMagister, FocalPoint, Ilbuonme, Christelle Molinié, Mizardellorsa, Tursclan, Saintfevrier, SurdusVII, Marcus Cyron, Romulanus, Gts-tg, Geraki, Sp!ros, DerHexer, Ijon, Sir Henry, Eunostos, T8612, Renato de carvalho ferreira, Taketa, 4nn1l2, DerMaxdorfer, DarwIn, Prof.Lippold, Hartmann Linge, Xenophôn, Csisc, Pradigue, Pompilos, Kaizenify, Millars, and Llywrch: I ping you all so you can see the message. Thnak you.--Alexmar983 (talk) 18:41, 16 August 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Mervat - ask your colleagues, why I'm not interested to work with your department. No trust, no safety. Nobody ever can live with trust and in safetyness with this T&S team. -- Marcus Cyron (talk) 18:49, 16 August 2020 (UTC)[reply]
@Marcus Cyron:, No dear, I will not ask about people's personal experience with the team. Hope things are changing for the best of all. Be safe. --Mervat (WMF) (talk) 19:35, 16 August 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Sunday August 23: Strategic Wikimedia Affiliates Network meeting[edit]

Strategic flock of Wikimedians heading in a new direction.

The Strategic Wikimedia Affiliates Network (SWAN) is a proposed forum for all Wikimedia movement affiliates to share ideas on the Wikimedia 2030 strategy process. It expands on the model of the All-Affiliates Brand Meeting to help lay some of the groundwork for a future Global Council.

The idea is to follow up on the All-Affiliates Brand Meeting and other strategic and outreach topics of mutual concern to all affiliates, and you are all invited to RSVP here.--Pharos (talk) 21:40, 20 August 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Sunday September 20 Strategic Wikimedia Affiliates Network meeting[edit]

Birds of a feather flock together.

The Strategic Wikimedia Affiliates Network (SWAN) is a developing forum for all Wikimedia movement affiliates to share ideas on the Wikimedia 2030 strategy process. It expands on the model of the All-Affiliates Brand Meeting to help lay some of the groundwork for a future Global Council.

Following up on the August SWAN meeting and June's All-Affiliates Brand Meeting, as well as strategic and outreach topics of mutual concern to all affiliates, this month we are meeting on Sunday September 20, and you are all invited to RSVP here.--Pharos (talk) 01:38, 18 September 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Movement Strategy - What Are Your Choices For Implementation[edit]

Hello WikiClassics User Group,

The time has come to put Strategy into work and everyone's invited to participate.

The Movement Strategy Design Group and Support Team are inviting you to organize virtual meetings with your community and colleagues before the end of October. The aim is for you to decide what ideas from the Movement Strategy recommendations respond to your needs and will have an impact in the movement. The recommendations are available in different formats and in many languages. There are 10 awesome recommendations and close to 50 recommended changes and actions or initiatives. Not everything will be implemented. The aim of prioritization is to create an 18-month implementation plan to take some of the initiatives forward starting in 2021.

Prioritization is at the level of your group, affiliate, and community. Think local and relevant! Regional and thematic platforms are great ways to prepare and share ideas. Afterwards, we will come together in November to co-create the implementation plan. More information about November’s global events will be shared soon. For now and until the end of October, organize locally and share your priorities with us.

You can find guidance for the events, the simple reporting template, and other supporting materials here on Meta. You can share your results directly on Meta, by email, or by filling out this survey. Please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us if you have any questions or comments, strategy2030(_AT_)wikimedia.org

We will be hosting office hours to answer any questions you might have, Thursday October 1 at 14.00 UTC (Google Meet).

MPourzaki (WMF) (talk) 16:18, 25 September 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Sunday October 25 Strategic Wikimedia Affiliates Network meeting[edit]

Friendship is a movement value.

The Strategic Wikimedia Affiliates Network (SWAN) is a developing forum for all Wikimedia movement affiliates to share ideas on the Wikimedia 2030 strategy process. It expands on the model of the All-Affiliates Brand Meeting to help lay some of the groundwork for a future Global Council.

Following up on the September and August SWAN meetings, and June's All-Affiliates Brand Meeting, as well as strategic and outreach topics of mutual concern to all affiliates including the recent proposed changes to the Wikimedia Foundation Bylaws, this month we are meeting on Sunday October 25, and you are all invited to RSVP here.--Pharos (talk) 17:44, 20 October 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Join the Global Conversations on November 21 and 22[edit]

Hola, こんにちは, E kaabo, Ciao, ਸਤਿ ਸ਼੍ਰੀ, Hello, سلام, Halo, Salut, 你好, Nnọọ, হ্যালো, Hallo, สวัสดี, Dzień dobry, Gyebale ko, வணக்கம், Mi Kwabo, ନମସ୍କାର, приветствие, שלום, Mholo, नमस्ते, γεια, Ahoj, ഹലോ, 여보세요, مرحبا, Բարեւ Ձեզ, Xin chào, Hallå, ಹಲೋ, Sawubona, નમસ્તે, Здраво, Merhaba, Talofa, హలో, Olá, ನಮಸ್ಕಾರ

WikiClassics User Group, we would love to see you at the upcoming Movement Strategy Global Conversations. It’s been a while.

The Movement Strategy Global Conversations will take place on Saturday November 21, 11:00 to 15:00 UTC, and Sunday November 22, 17:00 to 21:00 UTC, and you are warmly invited.

The focus will be to look at priorities identified by communities and affiliates, and to begin to create a movement-wide implementation plan for 2021. The main sessions will be in English. Any group interested to support live interpretation in another language may be able to receive a rapid grant. Let us know as soon as possible.

Please register by Nov. 20 so we can share the Zoom login information with you. If you have any questions or comments, don’t hesitate to reach out to the Support Team via Telegram, Wikimedia Chat or by email at strategy2030(_AT_)wikimedia.org.

Looking forward to seeing you on November 21 or 22.

MPourzaki (WMF) (talk) 16:05, 16 November 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Call for insights on ways to better communicate the work of the movement[edit]

The Movement Strategy recommendations published this year made clear the importance of establishing stronger communications within our movement. To this end, the Foundation wants to gather insights from communities, including affiliates, on ways we all might more consistently communicate about our collective work, and better highlight community contributions from across the movement. Over the coming months, we will be running focus groups and online discussions to collect these insights. We hope your affiliate will decide to share your thoughts by participating in a focus group or joining the discussion on Meta-Wiki.

ELappen (WMF) (talk) 18:54, 18 November 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Sunday November 29 Strategic Wikimedia Affiliates Network meeting[edit]

Take flight with us.

The Strategic Wikimedia Affiliates Network (SWAN) is a developing forum for all Wikimedia movement affiliates to share ideas on the Wikimedia 2030 strategy process. It expands on the model of the All-Affiliates Brand Meeting to help lay some of the groundwork for a future Global Council.

Following up on the August, September, and October SWAN meetings, and June's All-Affiliates Brand Meeting, as well as strategic and outreach topics of mutual concern to all affiliates including the recent proposed changes to the Wikimedia Foundation Bylaws, this month we are meeting on Sunday November 29, and you are all invited to RSVP here.

(Note that the UTC times of and are the same as before, although a number of places have had daylight savings time changes since our last meeting).--Pharos (talk) 18:52, 24 November 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Global Conversations continue on December 5 and 6[edit]

Hola, こんにちは, Ciao, Hello, سلام, Halo, Salut, 你好, Nnọọ, হ্যালো, Hallo, สวัสดี, Dzień dobry, வணக்கம், приветствие, שלום, Mholo, हैलो, γεια, Ahoj, ഹലോ, 여보세요, مرحبا, Բարեւ Ձեզ, Olá, Xin chào, Hallå, ಹಲೋ, Sawubona, Здраво, Merhaba, Talofa, హలో

Global Conversations Dec. 5 & 6

Hi WikiClassics User Group. 250 people participated in virtual Global Conversations that took place on November 21 and 22. The conversation continues on December 5 and 6 and we warmly invite you to take part. Registration is open until December 4. Looking forward to seeing you.

Since September, many groups have shared their local, regional, and thematic priorities for implementing the Movement Strategy recommendations. During the first set of Global Conversations on Nov. 21 and 22, we focused on initiatives that should be globally prioritized and coordinated. We invite you to read the selected global priorities. What do you like about them? What is missing? And what would make you want to play an active role in implementation? Share your thoughts in advance and continue the conversation on December 5 and 6.

Looking forward to seeing you again, or for the first time, on December 5 and 6.

MPourzaki (WMF) (talk) 20:58, 25 November 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Latin language User Group[edit]

Hi there, if you are a Latin reader / editor / transcriber and would like to help develop more Latin content, transcriptions, learning materials, please join the Latin language User Group where we will try to co-ordinate activities across Latin language Wikimedia projects. JimKillock (talk) 11:45, 5 December 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Sunday January 10 Strategic Wikimedia Affiliates Network meeting[edit]

Into the blue.

The Strategic Wikimedia Affiliates Network (SWAN) is a developing forum for all Wikimedia movement affiliates to share ideas on the Wikimedia 2030 strategy process. It expands on the model of the All-Affiliates Brand Meeting to help lay some of the groundwork for a future Global Council.

Following up on the August, September, October, and November SWAN meetings, and June's All-Affiliates Brand Meeting, as well as strategic and outreach topics of mutual concern to all affiliates including SWAN input on Interim Global Council and Movement Charter, this month we are meeting on Sunday January 10, and you are all invited to RSVP here.

To start the exchange of ideas on the IGC early, and to help prepare before the SWAN calls, we have set up and invite everyone to participate at this etherpad. If you like a more interactive way of discussing, we have also made a jamboard. Check here for more details.

--Pharos (talk) 18:41, 1 January 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Project Grant Open Call[edit]

This is the announcement for the Project Grants program open call that started on January 11, with the submission deadline of February 10, 2021.
This first open call will be focussed on Community Organizing proposals. A second open call focused on research and software proposals is scheduled from February 15 with a submission deadline of March 16, 2021.

For the Round 1 open call, we invite you to propose grant applications that fall under community development and organizing (offline and online) categories. Project Grant funds are available to support individuals, groups, and organizations to implement new experiments and proven ideas, from organizing a better process on your wiki, coordinating a campaign or editathon series to providing other support for community building. We offer the following resources to help you plan your project and complete a grant proposal:

Weekly proposals clinics via Zoom during the Open Call. Join us for #Upcoming_Proposal_Clinics|real-time discussions with Program Officers and select thematic experts and get live feedback about your Project Grants proposal. We’ll answer questions and help you make your proposal better.

Program officers are also available to offer individualized proposal support upon request. Contact us at projectgrants@wikimedia.org if you would like feedback or more information.

We are excited to see your grant ideas that will support our community and make an impact on the future of Wikimedia projects. Put your idea into motion, and submit your proposal by February 10, 2021!

Please feel free to get in touch with questions about getting started with your grant application, or about serving on the Project Grants Committee. Contact us at projectgrants(_AT_)wikimedia.org.
RSharma (WMF)MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 07:56, 28 January 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Global Council[edit]

Hi. I have just translated Project wiki representatives... it looks quite important, we will define a new Charter.

I will ping you all when most of the translations are ready but I start this discussion. Apparently, a new representative for the affiliate is needed.--Alexmar983 (talk) 13:16, 6 February 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Sunday February 21 Strategic Wikimedia Affiliates Network meeting[edit]

We are a mosiac.

The Strategic Wikimedia Affiliates Network (SWAN) is a developing forum for all Wikimedia movement affiliates to share ideas on the Wikimedia 2030 strategy process. It expands on the model of the All-Affiliates Brand Meeting to help lay some of the groundwork for a future Global Council.

Following up on the August, September, October, November, and January SWAN meetings and June's All-Affiliates Brand Meeting, as well as strategic and outreach topics of mutual concern to all affiliates, this month we are meeting on Sunday February 21, and you are all invited to RSVP here.

To help set priorities for the SWAN agenda, and also to help manage which global conversations should be a focus in general, we have set up and invite everyone to participate at this SWAN priorities form.

Possible topics include Community Board seats, Interim Global Council, Strategy prioritization follow-up events, Branding, Universal Code of Conduct, Grant strategy, and WMF CEO search. That is a lot of things, which are most important to cover in our upcoming SWAN meeting?

--Pharos (talk) 18:52, 15 February 2021 (UTC)[reply]

After a period of intense workload I am finally able to attend this meeting again. I still have no time to prepare discussing with you all, but if you have any questions please let me know. --Alexmar983 (talk) 19:18, 21 February 2021 (UTC)[reply]
Community as a hand-carved gem.

The Strategic Wikimedia Affiliates Network (SWAN) is a developing forum for all Wikimedia movement affiliates to share ideas on the Wikimedia 2030 strategy process. It expands on the model of the All-Affiliates Brand Meeting to help lay some of the groundwork for a future Global Council.

Following up on the August, September, October, November, January, and February SWAN meetings and June's All-Affiliates Brand Meeting, as well as strategic and outreach topics of mutual concern to all affiliates including Grants relaunch and Community Board seats, this month we are meeting on Sunday March 21, and you are all invited to RSVP here.

(Note that the UTC times of and are the same as before, although some places have had daylight savings time changes since our last meeting).--Pharos (talk) 04:17, 17 March 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Swanlings grow up together.

The Strategic Wikimedia Affiliates Network (SWAN) is a developing forum for all Wikimedia movement affiliates to share ideas on the Wikimedia 2030 strategy process. It expands on the model of the All-Affiliates Brand Meeting to help lay some of the groundwork for a future Global Council.

Following up on the August, September, October, November, January, February, and March SWAN meetings and June's All-Affiliates Brand Meeting, as well as strategic and outreach topics of mutual concern to all affiliates including Interim Global Council + Movement Charter, WMF Resolution about the upcoming Board elections, Community Resilience and Sustainability role in Movement Strategy coordination, Grants Strategy Relaunch, Wikimedia Enterprise / OKAPI, and WMF Executive Transition

This month we are meeting on Sunday April 25, and you are all invited to RSVP here.

(Note that the UTC times of and are the same as before, although some places may have had daylight savings time changes since our last meeting).--Pharos (talk) 18:52, 21 April 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Element in Wikidata for the UG[edit]

I've created the element in Wikidata for the User Group: d:Q106628853. Millars (talk) 22:14, 26 April 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Invitation for Wikipedia Pages Wanting Photos 2021[edit]

Hello there,

We are inviting you to participate in Wikipedia Pages Wanting Photos 2021, a global contest scheduled to run from July through August 2021.

Participants will choose among Wikipedia pages without photo images, then add a suitable file 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, etc.) over the years.

In its first year (2020), 36 Wikimedia communities in 27 countries joined the campaign. Events relating to the campaign included training organized by at least 18 Wikimedia communities in 14 countries.

The campaign resulted in the addition of media files (photos, audios and videos) to more than 90,000 Wikipedia articles in 272 languages.

Wikipedia Pages Wanting Photos (WPWP) offers an ideal task for recruiting and guiding new editors through the steps of adding content to existing pages. Besides individual participation, the WPWP campaign can be used by user groups and chapters to organize editing workshops and edit-a-thons.

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 WP. We’d be glad for you to reply to this message, or sign up directly at WPWP Participating Communities.

Please feel free to contact Organizing Team if you have any query.

Kind regards,
Tulsi Bhagat
Communication Manager
Wikipedia Pages Wanting Photos Campaign
Message delivered by MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 04:48, 3 May 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Affiliations Committee Call for Candidates - June 2021[edit]

This is an update from the Wikimedia Affiliations Committee. Translations are available.

The Affiliations Committee – the committee responsible for guiding volunteers in establishing Wikimedia chapters, thematic organizations, and user groups – is looking for new members!

The main role of the AffCom is to guide groups of volunteers that are interested in forming Wikimedia affiliates. We review applications from new groups, answer questions and provide advice about the different Wikimedia affiliation models and processes, review affiliate bylaws for compliance with requirements and best practices, and update the Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees as well as advise them on issues connected to chapters, thematic organizations and Wikimedia user groups.

The committee consists of five to fifteen members, selected at least once every year, to serve two-year terms.

Being a part of the AffCom requires communication with volunteers all over the world, negotiating skills, cultural sensitivity, and the ability to understand legal texts. We look for a mix of different skill sets in our members.

Responsibilities
  • Availability of up to 5-8 hours per month
  • Participate in monthly one and two-hour voice/video meetings
  • Commitment to carry out assigned tasks in a given time.
  • Facilitate and support communications
  • Affiliate Support and growth
Required and Recommended Abilities, Skills, Knowledge for Affiliations Committee Members

Strong interpersonal relationship among members of the committee and also with the Wikimedia community members. Across all committee members, there are additional relevant skills as well as requirements which help to support the committee and its sustainability which include both required and relevant general skills

Required
  • Fluency in English
  • Availability of up to 5 hours per week, and the time to participate in a monthly one and two-hour voice/video meetings.
  • Willingness to use one's real name in committee activities (including contacts with current and potential affiliates) when appropriate.
  • Strong track record of effective collaboration
  • International orientation
Relevant for all members
  • Public Communications (English writing and speaking skills)
  • Skills in other languages are a major plus.
  • Understanding of the structure and work of affiliates and the Wikimedia Foundation.
  • Documentation practices
  • Interviewing experience
  • Experience with, or in, an active affiliate is a major plus.
  • Teamwork: Project and people management skills to coordinate and collaborate with different parties on a shared plan and see it through to completion.
  • Problem-Solving: Ability to evaluate various solutions, consider multiple interests and points of view, revisit unresolved issues, seek compromise and work and communicate across languages and cultures.

Given the expectations for maintaining the course in 2021 and preparing for potential 2021 transitions as part of the Movement Strategy implementation process, it is important that we are also clear about two different skill sets critical to committee support at this time. The first skillset is oriented to understanding affiliate dynamics and organizational development patterns to successfully process affiliate applications for recognition; the other is oriented to conflict prevention and intervention support for affiliates in conflict.

Relevant to Affiliate Recognitions
  • Administration & Attention to detail
  • Readiness to participate in political discussions on the role and future of affiliates, models of affiliation, and similar topics.
  • Awareness of the affiliates ecosystem and models and understanding of community building, organizational development, and group dynamics
Relevant to Conflict Prevention & Intervention
  • Communication skills for active listening, clear instruction and turn-taking.
  • Stress Management skills for maintaining patience and positivity
  • Emotional intelligence to maintain awareness of emotions of oneself and others to practice empathy, impartiality, and mutual respect.
  • Facilitation, negotiation, and mediation skills to guide diverse individuals and groups toward cooperation.
  • Ability to work within a team

Do you have relevant skills and interest to support movement affiliates?

We are looking for people who are excited by the challenge of empowering volunteers to get organized and form communities that further our mission around the world. In exchange, committee members will gain the experience of supporting their world-wide colleagues to develop their communities as well as personal development in guiding organizational development, facilitating affiliate partnerships, and professional communications.

Selection process

As a reflection of our commitment to openness, transparency, and bilateral engagement with the Wikimedia community, the 2021 member selection process will include a public review and comment period and a self-assessment survey for candidates to share their skills and experience. This self-assessment information will help the committee to identify the skill sets relevant to our affiliate support processes. We invite you to apply for membership to the committee and join us in supporting the affiliates. The data shared in the self-assessment will only be made available to the committee and the relevant staff support. The nomination, candidate Q&A, and endorsements will be posted on Meta for public review at https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Affiliations_Committee/Candidates/June_2021. Here the global community is welcome to provide comments and feedback about each candidate.

Once the nomination window closes June 30, 2021, the sitting members who are not candidates for re-election in this cycle will deliberate and then vote, taking into account all inputs from the meta page, self-assessment, advisors, Wikimedia Foundation staff and board liaisons, and committee member discussion.

A final decision will be made in late-July 2021, with new members to be notified for onboarding in August.

How to apply

If you are interested in joining the committee, please:

Step 1. Post your application on the nomination page by 30 June 2021. Your application must include the following information:

  1. Your full name and Wikimedia username
  2. A statement describing your relevant education, experience, abilities, skills, knowledge, availability, and motivation for joining the committee.

Step 2. Complete the self-assessment survey between June 01, 2021 and June 30, 2021.

  • The privacy statement that applies to the survey can be found here.
  • NOTE: The survey will take 15 mins. Please do not close your browser. If you need a break, you are advised to keep the browser open. In case of losing the link, please reach out to mkaur-ctr(_AT_)wikimedia.org
  • This survey must be completed before Steps 3 & 4, as it will provide more background as to the type of work and expectations of members of AffCom.

Step 3. Answers the following questions:

  • NOTE: Questions 1-3 are required for all candidates.
  • Question 4 & 5 should be answered by those interested in joining the Recognitions subcommittee.
  • Question 6 & 7 should be answered by those interested in joining the Conflicts Intervention subcommittee.
  • If you are willing to nominate yourself for both subcommittees, answer all questions.
  1. What roles have you served across any Wikimedia projects and affiliates that you think have prepared you for this role?
  2. AffCom members need to manage time, confidentiality, conflicts of interest, and diverse situations across the global movement. How do you envision managing these?
  3. Members of AffCom serve on one of two subcommittees: Recognitions OR Conflicts Intervention. Which one of these are you most interested in serving on?
  4. If you are interested in serving on the Recognitions subcommittee, what do you think makes a group of Wikimedians ready to function together as an affiliate?
  5. If you are interested in serving on the Recognitions subcommittee, what do you think are the benefits and responsibilities of functioning as formal affiliates?
  6. If you are interested in serving on the Conflicts Intervention subcommittee, please describe your experience working with conflicts resolution.
  7. If you are interested in serving on the Conflicts Intervention subcommittee, please describe how you have helped build consensus and support diversity.

Step 4. Once you have completed the above, send an email announcing your application to affcom(_AT_)wikimedia.org before the application deadline.

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact me and/or the committee as a whole. We are happy to chat or have a phone call with anyone about our work if this helps them decide to apply. Please distribute this call among your networks, and do apply if you are interested!

On behalf of the committee,

-- FULBERT (talk) 15:30, 15 May 2021 (UTC) via MassMessaging[reply]

Join the new Regional Committees for Grants[edit]

Dear all,

We hope this email finds you well and safe. The COVID 19 situation continues to affect many of us across the globe and our thoughts are with everyone affected. We are also aware that there are several processes currently in progress that demand volunteer time and we do not want to add more work to anyone's plate.

We do want to draw your attention to our new Regional Committees for Grants though as they are an opportunity for you to have an active say in the future of our Movement!

📣 So today, we invite you to join our new Regional Committees for Grants! 📣

We encourage Wikimedians and Free Knowledge advocates to be part of the new Regional Committees that the WMF Community Resources team is setting up as part of the grants strategy relaunch [12]. You will be a key strategic thought partner to help understand the complexities of any region, provide knowledge and expertise to applicants, to support successful movement activities, and make funding decisions for grant applications in the region.

👉Find out more on meta [13].

Regional Committees will be established for the following regions:

  • Middle East and Africa
  • SAARC [14] region (Includes Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka)
  • East, Southeast Asia, and Pacific (ESEAP) region
  • Latin America (LATAM) and The Caribbean
  • United States and Canada
  • Northern and Western Europe
  • Central and Eastern Europe (CEE)

👉All details about the Committees and how to apply can be found on meta [15]. Applications have to be submitted by June 4, 2021!

If you have any questions or comments, please use the meta discussion page [16].

Please do share this announcement widely with your Network.

Best wishes,

JBrungs (WMF) (talk) 09:30, 21 May 2021 (UTC) on behalf of the Community Resources Team JBrungs (WMF) (talk) 09:30, 21 May 2021 (UTC)[reply]

UCoC Affiliates consultation report[edit]

Hello,

We are pleased to announce the completion of the Universal Code of Conduct Affiliates consultation process early this month. The summary report of the direct consultations and survey is now available at this Meta page: https://w.wiki/3Pew.

Should you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to leave a message on the talk page of the report, or contact Mervat (@msalman-ctr@wikimedia.org) and Ramzy (@ramzym-ctr@wikimedia.org).

Regards,
UCoC Team, Wikimedia Foundation
MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 08:51, 27 May 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Swan of healing.

The Strategic Wikimedia Affiliates Network (SWAN) is a developing forum for all Wikimedia movement affiliates to share ideas on the Wikimedia 2030 strategy process. It expands on the model of the All-Affiliates Brand Meeting to help lay some of the groundwork for a future Global Council.

Following up on the August, September, October, November, January, February, March, and April SWAN meetings, as well as last June's All-Affiliates Brand Meeting, as well as strategic and outreach topics of mutual concern to all affiliates including Movement Charter + Movement Strategy/Events, WMF Board elections, Wikimania 2021, and Grants Regional Committees.

This month we are meeting on Sunday June 6, and you are all invited to RSVP here.

(UTC meeting times are and *Note that we have shifted the second call an hour earlier in UTC time due to popular demand and to accomodate daylight savings*.)--Pharos (talk) 20:22, 3 June 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Wikimania 2021: Affiliate Program Submissions and Scholarships[edit]

Dear Wikimedia Affiliates,

Wikimania 2021 will be hosted virtually for the first time in the event's 15-year history. Since there is no in-person host, the event is being organized by a diverse group of Wikimedia volunteers that form the Core Organizing Team for Wikimania 2021.

Event Program - The program design of this Wikimania accommodates affiliates for them to curate a portion of the program. Wikimedia affiliates have an opportunity to host a series of their own sessions.

Below are some links to guide you through;

Please note that the deadline for submission is 18th June 2021.

Affiliate Scholarships - Scholarships are available to all Wikimedia movement affiliates to support practical access to and participation in Wikimania 2021 in their communities. Please read more about it in the Affiliate Announcement section here.

Office Hour - If you are left with questions, the COT will be hosting some office hours (in multiple languages), in multiple time-zones, to answer any programming questions that you might have. Details can be found here.

Best regards,

MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 13:23, 15 June 2021 (UTC)[reply]

On behalf of Wikimania 2021 Core Organizing Team

Final Call for Candidates for AffCom - June 2021[edit]

Want to help translate? Translate the missing messages.
Affiliations Committee (AffCom) logo

This is an update from the Wikimedia Affiliations Committee. Translations are available.

This is a final Call for Candidates for the June 2021 Affiliations Committee election.

If you are interested in running, please post your application and follow all four steps on the nomination page by 30 June 2021.

If you know somebody you think may be interested, please share this with them and encourage them to consider it. If you have any questions about this process or the requirements, please email affcom@wikimedia.org before the application deadline or reach out to any of the current members.

On behalf of the AffCom elections committee,

--- FULBERT (talk) 14:15, 20 June 2021 (UTC) via MassMessaging [[Category:AffCom Elections June 2021|]][reply]

Notification of Affiliate Expiration[edit]

Greetings,

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 2020 annual reporting became past due in May. Please be sure to :

  1. Post your 2020 annual reporting to the meta via the Wikimedia Affiliates Data Portal as soon as possible to return to compliance with your user group agreement.
  2. Check that your group’s page is also up to date with past report links for historical record-keeping, and
  3. 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.
Best regards,
MKaur (WMF) (talk) 21:10, 15 July 2021 (UTC)[reply]

The swan or the egg?

The Strategic Wikimedia Affiliates Network (SWAN) is a developing forum for all Wikimedia movement affiliates to share ideas on the Wikimedia 2030 strategy process. It expands on the model of the All-Affiliates Brand Meeting to help lay some of the groundwork for a future Global Council.

Following up on the August, September, October, November, January, February, March, April, and June SWAN meetings, as well as last June's All-Affiliates Brand Meeting, as well as strategic and outreach topics of mutual concern to all affiliates including Movement Charter + Drafting Committee, WMF Board elections, Wikimania 2021, and Grants Regional Committees.

This month we are meeting on Sunday July 25, and you are all invited to RSVP here.

(UTC meeting times are and *Note that we have shifted the second call an hour earlier in UTC time due to popular demand and to accomodate daylight savings*.)--Pharos (talk) 14:51, 22 July 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Activity report of user group[edit]

Please take a look here--Alexmar983 (talk) 13:38, 20 August 2021 (UTC)[reply]

@Epìdosis and Alexmar983: thanks for the report ! --Jahl de Vautban (talk) 06:02, 18 September 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Universal Code of Conduct - Enforcement draft guidelines review[edit]

News about the Universal Code of Conduct:

The Universal Code of Conduct Phase 2 drafting committee would like comments about the enforcement draft guidelines for the Universal Code of Conduct (UCoC). This review period started the 17 August 2021; you can comment about these guidelines in any language on the draft review talk page or by email until 17 October 2021. The committee will be revising the guidelines based upon community input.

There are planned live discussions about the UCoC enforcement draft guidelines:

--Epìdosis 08:40, 21 August 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Quaeso adjuvate ALPES! New User group to support Ancient Languages in Wikimedia[edit]

Hi all,

Please sign up to join our Support Group for Ancient Languages at Wikimedia. We want to find ways to collaborate especially between the in-language Wikis, such as Latin, Sanskrit and Traditional Chinese. This could be about translatable materials, language learning, or WM policy matters. --JimKillock (talk) 12:35, 15 September 2021 (UTC)[reply]

PS: given the overlap in interests and linguistic competencies with the WikiClassics User Group it would be great to have a conversation about collaboration some point :) --JimKillock (talk) 12:34, 18 September 2021 (UTC)[reply]
@JimKillock: Hi, sorry for missing this thread! Your Support Group is very interesting, we look forward to collaborating with you. --Epìdosis 21:19, 9 October 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Sunday September 26 SWANniversary Party and All-Affiliates Strategic Meeting[edit]

Celebrate our first anniversary with SWAN-shaped desserts!

Join the SWANniversary on September 26 as we mark the first year of the Strategic Wikimedia Affiliates Network!

We will have the regular All-Affiliates Strategic Meeting, to be followed by a SWANniversary Party in the after hours session, likely through spatialized chat on WorkAdventure.

The Strategic Wikimedia Affiliates Network (SWAN) is a developing forum for all Wikimedia movement affiliates to share ideas on the Wikimedia 2030 strategy process. It expands on the model of the All-Affiliates Brand Meeting to help lay some of the groundwork for a future Global Council.

Following up on the August, September, October, November, January, February, March, April, June, and July SWAN meetings, as well as last June's All-Affiliates Brand Meeting, we'll look together at strategic and outreach topics of mutual concern to all affiliates including Movement Charter + Drafting Committee, WMF Board elections, Wikimania 2021, and Grants Regional Committees.

This month we are meeting on Sunday September 26, and you are all invited to RSVP here.

(UTC meeting times are and .)--Pharos (talk) 20:15, 21 September 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Movement Charter Drafting Committee Thematic Affiliates selection[edit]

Greetings! You are listed as a Thematic Affiliate for the Selection Process of the Movement Charter Drafting Committee. We need to make a decision about our selector by October 10; I started this page (Movement Charter/Affiliates by Region/Thematic Affiliates) to collect ideas for how we'll pick our selector and self-nominations for who our selector could be. Please add to it! --LiAnna (Wiki Ed) (talk) 20:13, 28 September 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Selector for the Movement Charter[edit]

Hi! Any opinions about which candidate to endorse here? We have time until 10 October. Thanks, --Epìdosis 15:20, 8 October 2021 (UTC)[reply]

I personally know Nattes à chat and she seemed focused and correct in my presence. I don't know directly the other two candidates. I can ask around--Alexmar983 (talk) 03:30, 9 October 2021 (UTC)[reply]

@Epìdosis, Geraki, Camelia.boban, OrbiliusMagister, FocalPoint, Ilbuonme, Christelle Molinié, Mizardellorsa, Tursclan, Saintfevrier, SurdusVII, Marcus Cyron, Romulanus, Gts-tg, Geraki, Sp!ros, DerHexer, Ijon, Sir Henry, Eunostos, T8612, Renato de carvalho ferreira, Taketa, 4nn1l2, DerMaxdorfer, DarwIn, Prof.Lippold, Hartmann Linge, Xenophôn, Csisc, Pradigue, Pompilos, Kaizenify, Millars, and Llywrch: Please let us know if you know these candidates: Namrood, Nattes à chat and LiAnna Davis--Alexmar983 (talk) 21:16, 9 October 2021 (UTC)[reply]

I had the pleasure to know LiAnna Davis in Cape Town during the Wikimedia pre-conference events about education and instruction. She is a dedicated advocate of free knowledge. I would endorse her as candidate. - εΔω 21:45, 9 October 2021 (UTC)
Yes, both Nat and LiAnna, both endorsable. --Camelia (talk) 22:11, 9 October 2021 (UTC)[reply]
Agreed with these two but Nat would probably be my first choice. —DerHexer (Talk) 22:58, 9 October 2021 (UTC)[reply]
+1 to DerHexer. Ijon (talk) 11:03, 10 October 2021 (UTC)[reply]

I oppose the whole idea, so I don't care. -- Marcus Cyron (talk) 05:02, 10 October 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Sorry, I don't know anyone of them, so I can't express an informed opinion. --Ilbuonme (talk) 11:38, 10 October 2021 (UTC)[reply]
The things I miss because I'm having computer problems... -- Llywrch (talk) 15:42, 11 October 2021 (UTC)[reply]

It looks the majority of the vote is for Nat... if I consider Camelia's vote as 0.5 each, the sum is 3.5 Nat (me, Ijon, DerHexer) vs 1.5 LiAnna (Orbilius). So I will put this vote there... right after dinner, we are close to the deadline.--Alexmar983 (talk) 18:26, 10 October 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Learn how the Implementation Grants can support your Movement Strategy plans[edit]

We are excited to announce the reopening of the Movement Strategy Implementation Grants. This program funds projects that advance a specific Movement Strategy initiative. The projects can be big or small, but they must all make a case for advancing one initiative. Affiliates that have received funding from the Simple/Annual Plan Grants are welcome to apply.

Read more about the criteria, what to apply for, and how to apply.

Best regards,
Movement Strategy and Governance Team
Wikimedia Foundation
15:31, 21 October 2021 (UTC)

Sunday October 31 Strategic Wikimedia Affiliates Network meeting[edit]

A swan reflects.

The Strategic Wikimedia Affiliates Network (SWAN) is a developing forum for all Wikimedia movement affiliates to share ideas on the Wikimedia 2030 strategy process. It expands on the model of the All-Affiliates Brand Meeting to help lay some of the groundwork for a future Global Council.

Following up on the August, September, October, November, January, February, March, April, and June, July, and September SWAN meetings, as well as last June's All-Affiliates Brand Meeting, as well as strategic and outreach topics of mutual concern to all affiliates including Movement Charter Drafting Committee Set Up Process, Next Steps for Brand Work, 2021, Wikipedia Asian Month 2021, and other ongoing activities.

This month we are meeting on Sunday October 31, and you are all invited to RSVP here.

(UTC meeting times are and *Note that we have shifted the second call a half-hour later in UTC time due to WikidataCon*.)--Pharos (talk) 02:01, 29 October 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Sunday November 28 Strategic Wikimedia Affiliates Network meeting[edit]

Chart a new course on the swan ferry.

The Strategic Wikimedia Affiliates Network (SWAN) is a developing forum for all Wikimedia movement affiliates to share ideas on the Wikimedia 2030 strategy process. It expands on the model of the All-Affiliates Brand Meeting to help lay some of the groundwork for a future Global Council.

We'll focus on strategic and outreach topics of mutual concern to all affiliates including Hubs+Hubs Workshop, Movement Charter+Drafting Committee, WMDE's 'Future of Wikimedia Governance' proposal, Wikipedia Asian Month 2021, and other ongoing activities.

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

(UTC meeting times are and , note that some areas recently experienced daylight savings time changes).--Pharos (talk) 20:23, 24 November 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Closing the comment period for the Universal Code of Conduct Enforcement Draft Guidelines[edit]

Thank you for your continued comments and ideas on the Universal Code of Conduct enforcement guidelines. Your responses have helped to build a stronger Universal Code of Conduct.

If you have not already provided your comments, now is the time as the drafting committee has been meeting to update the enforcement guidelines. The drafting committee wants to consider all comments as they make their updates. Please submit any comments by the end of November. The Committee hopes to finish its revisions before the end of the year, and the revised guidelines will be published as soon as they have been completed.

The next steps for the Universal Code of Conduct include conversations about ratification of the enforcement guidelines. There will be a conversation about ratification on Nov 29.

The Wikimedia Foundation will make recommendations to the Board of Trustees about the ratification of the guidelines in December. The recommendations will inform the next steps in the Universal Code of Conduct process. CSinha (WMF) (talk) 13:34, 26 November 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Affiliations Committee (AffCom) Call for candidates - January 2022[edit]

Translations are available.

The Affiliations Committee – the committee responsible for guiding volunteers in establishing Wikimedia chapters, thematic organizations, and user groups – is looking for new members!

The main role of the AffCom is to guide groups of volunteers that are interested in forming Wikimedia affiliates. We review applications from new groups, answer questions and provide advice about the different Wikimedia affiliation models and processes, review affiliate bylaws for compliance with requirements and best practices, and update the Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees as well as advise them on issues connected to chapters, thematic organizations and Wikimedia user groups.

The committee consists of five to fifteen members, selected at least once every year, to serve two-year terms.

Being a part of the AffCom requires communication with volunteers all over the world, negotiating skills, cultural sensitivity, and the ability to understand legal texts. We look for a mix of different skill sets in our members.

Responsibilities
  • Availability of up to 5-8 hours per month
  • Participate in monthly one and two-hour voice/video meetings
  • Commitment to carry out assigned tasks in a given time.
  • Facilitate and support communications
  • Affiliate Support and growth
Required and Recommended Abilities, Skills, Knowledge for Affiliations Committee Members

Strong interpersonal relationship among members of the committee and also with the Wikimedia community members. Across all committee members, there are additional relevant skills as well as requirements which help to support the committee and its sustainability which include both required and relevant general skills

Required
  • Fluency in English
  • Availability of up to 5 hours per week, and the time to participate in a monthly one and two-hour voice/video meetings.
  • Willingness to use one's real name in committee activities (including contacts with current and potential affiliates) when appropriate.
  • Strong track record of effective collaboration
  • International orientation
Relevant for all members
  • Public Communications (English writing and speaking skills)
  • Skills in other languages are a major plus.
  • Understanding of the structure and work of affiliates and the Wikimedia Foundation.
  • Documentation practices
  • Interviewing experience
  • Experience with, or in, an active affiliate is a major plus.
  • Teamwork: Project and people management skills to coordinate and collaborate with different parties on a shared plan and see it through to completion.
  • Problem-Solving: Ability to evaluate various solutions, consider multiple interests and points of view, revisit unresolved issues, seek compromise and work and communicate across languages and cultures.

Given the expectations for maintaining the course in 2022 and preparing for potential 2022 transitions as part of the Movement Strategy implementation process, it is important that we are also clear about two different skill sets critical to committee support at this time. The first skillset is oriented to understanding affiliate dynamics and organizational development patterns to successfully process affiliate applications for recognition; the other is oriented to conflict prevention and intervention support for affiliates in conflict.

Relevant to Affiliate Recognitions
  • Administration & Attention to detail
  • Readiness to participate in political discussions on the role and future of affiliates, models of affiliation, and similar topics.
  • Awareness of the affiliates ecosystem and models and understanding of community building, organizational development, and group dynamics
Relevant to Conflict Prevention & Intervention
  • Communication skills for active listening, clear instruction and turn-taking.
  • Stress Management skills for maintaining patience and positivity
  • Emotional intelligence to maintain awareness of emotions of oneself and others to practice empathy, impartiality, and mutual respect.
  • Facilitation, negotiation, and mediation skills to guide diverse individuals and groups toward cooperation.
  • Ability to work within a team

Do you have relevant skills and interest to support movement affiliates?

We are looking for people who are excited by the challenge of empowering volunteers to get organized and form communities that further our mission around the world. In exchange, committee members will gain the experience of supporting their world-wide colleagues to develop their communities as well as personal development in guiding organizational development, facilitating affiliate partnerships, and professional communications.

Selection process

As a reflection of our commitment to openness, transparency, and bilateral engagement with the Wikimedia community, the 2022 member selection process will include a public review and comment period and a self-assessment survey for candidates to share their skills and their experience. This self-assessment information will help the committee to identify the skill sets relevant and supportive to our affiliate support processes. We invite you to apply for membership to the committee and join us in supporting the affiliates. The data shared in the self-assessment will only be made available to the committee and the relevant staff support. The nomination, candidate Q&A, and endorsements will still take place posted on Meta for public review at January 2022 page. Here the global community is welcome to provide comments and feedback about each candidate.

Once the nomination window closes 31 January 2022, the sitting members who are not candidates for re-election in this cycle will deliberate and then vote, taking into account all inputs from the meta page, self-assessment, advisors, Wikimedia Foundation staff and board liaisons, and committee member discussion.

A final decision will be made in late-February 2022, with new members to be notified for onboarding in February.

How to apply

If you are interested in joining the committee, please:

Step 1. Post your application on the nomination page by 31 January 2022. Your application must include the following information:

  1. Your full name and Wikimedia username
  2. A statement describing your relevant education, experience, abilities, skills, knowledge, availability, and motivation for joining the committee.

Step 2. Complete the self-assessment survey between January 1, 2021 and January 31, 2021.

  • The privacy statement that applies to the survey can be found here.
  • NOTE: The survey will take 15 mins. Please do not close your browser. If you need a break, you are advised to keep the browser open. In case of losing the link, please reach out to mkaur-ctr(_AT_)wikimedia.org
  • This survey must be completed before Steps 3 & 4, as it will provide more background as to the type of work and expectations of members of AffCom.

Step 3. Answers the following questions:

  • NOTE: Questions 1-3 are required for all candidates.
  • Question 4 & 5 should be answered by those interested in joining the Recognitions subcommittee.
  • Question 6 & 7 should be answered by those interested in joining the Conflicts Intervention subcommittee.
  • If you are willing to nominate yourself for both subcommittees, answer all questions.
  1. What roles have you served across any Wikimedia projects and affiliates that you think have prepared you for this role?
  2. AffCom members need to manage time, confidentiality, conflicts of interest, and diverse situations across the global movement. How do you envision managing these?
  3. Members of AffCom serve on one of two subcommittees: Recognitions OR Conflicts Intervention. Which one of these are you most interested in serving on?
  4. If you are interested in serving on the Recognitions subcommittee, what do you think makes a group of Wikimedians ready to function together as an affiliate?
  5. If you are interested in serving on the Recognitions subcommittee, what do you think are the benefits and responsibilities of functioning as formal affiliates?
  6. If you are interested in serving on the Conflicts Intervention subcommittee, please describe your experience working with conflicts resolution.
  7. If you are interested in serving on the Conflicts Intervention subcommittee, please describe how you have helped build consensus and support diversity.

Step 4. Once you have completed the above, send an email announcing your application to affcom(_AT_)wikimedia.org before the application deadline.

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact me and/or the committee as a whole. We are happy to chat or have a webinar call with anyone about our work if this helps them decide to apply. Please distribute this call among your networks, and do apply if you are interested!

On behalf of the committee,

--FULBERT (talk) 13:18, 19 December 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Affiliations Committee (AffCom) Call for advisors - January 2022[edit]

Translations are available.

The Affiliations Committee – the committee responsible for guiding volunteers in establishing Wikimedia chapters, thematic organizations, and user groups – is looking for new members!

The Affiliations Committee – the committee responsible for guiding volunteers in establishing Wikimedia Chapters, Thematic Organizations, and User Groups – is looking for advisors!

The main role of the Affiliations Committee is to guide groups of volunteers that are interested in forming Wikimedia affiliates. We review applications from new groups, answer questions and provide advice about the different Wikimedia affiliation models and processes, review affiliate bylaws for compliance with requirements and best practices, and advise the Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees on issues connected to chapters, thematic organizations and Wikimedia user groups.

We are looking for advisors who are excited by the challenge of empowering volunteers to get organized and form communities that further our mission around the world. In exchange, committee advisors selected will gain the experience of supporting their world-wide colleagues to develop their communities as well as personal development in guiding organizational development, facilitating affiliate partnerships, and professional communications.

AffCom advisors can engage with the committee in a variety of capacities:

Consultant

Individuals with extensive movement experience can be engaged as Consultants for specific cases or initiatives by AffCom.

Trainer

Individuals with specific expertise may be engaged for short-term projects for training AffCom or Affiliates. They might also lead the Capacity Building initiatives for AffCom or affiliates.

Observer

AffCom can request specific or all advisors to act as an observer in different cases to ensure neutrality & compliance with guidelines.

AffCom Support

Development of Policies: While advisors cannot create legally binding policies for the committee, they can help create policies that provide direction and support for the committee.

Planning and Implementing Community Relations: The advisors are long-term wikimedians & also include influential community leaders who can be effective at spreading the word about initiatives and services.

Supporting Subcommittees: The advisors can support subcommittees that have assigned tasks in specific areas.

Other Tasks: Advisors can be engaged to address a specific need. Such engagements are usually short-lived and are disbanded as soon as their specific goals are met.


Key skills

We look for a healthy mix of different skill sets in our advisors, including the following key skills and experience:

  1. Strong understanding of the structure and work of Wikimedia affiliates and the Wikimedia Foundation.
  2. Readiness to participate in political discussions on the role and future of affiliates, models of affiliation, and similar topics.
  3. Availability of up to 2 hours per week, and the time to participate in a monthly two-hour voice/video meeting
  4. International orientation and ability to work and communicate with other languages and cultures.
  5. Knowledge of different legal systems and experience in community building and organizing are a plus.
  6. Fluency in English is required; skills in other languages are a major plus.
  7. Experience with or in an active Wikimedia affiliate is a major plus.
  8. Strong track record of effective collaboration (such as evidenced skills at facilitation, mediation, negotiation, and so forth) is a major plus.
  9. Willingness to use one's real name in committee activities (including contacts with current and potential affiliates) when appropriate.
Selection process

As a reflection of our commitment to openness, transparency, and bilateral engagement with the Wikimedia community, the 2022 advisors selection process will include a public review and comment period. All applications must be posted on Meta between January 01 and January 31, 2022 at Affiliations Committee/Advisors/2022, and the community will be invited to provide comments and feedback about each candidate. At the end of the nomination period, the applications will be voted on by the members of the committee, taking into account comments put forward by the committee's members, advisors, Wikimedia Foundation staff and board liaisons, and the community. A final decision will be made in February 2022, with new advisors expected to begin later that month.

How to apply

If you are interested in advising the committee, please submit your candidacy on Affiliations Committee/Advisors/2022 between January 01 to January 31, 2022. Your application must include the following information:

  1. Your full name and Wikimedia username
  2. A statement describing your relevant experience, skills, and motivation for joining the committee as an advisor.
  3. The advisor role you would like to serve
  4. Answers to the following three questions:
    1. How do you think affiliates work best together to partner on effective projects and initiatives?
    2. What do you see as the role of affiliates in the Wikimedia movement in the next three years?
    3. What do you feel you will bring as an advisor to the committee that makes you a uniquely qualified candidate?

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact the committee. We are happy to chat or have a phone call with anyone about our work if this helps them decide to apply. Please distribute this call among your networks, and do apply if you are interested!

On behalf of the committee,

--FULBERT (talk) 13:17, 19 December 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Movement Strategy Implementation Grants[edit]

Hello there!

The Movement Strategy and Governance team wishes you a good start of the new 2022!

As we begin this year, we look forward to seeing more collaboration, increased support and connection between communities and affiliates. We would like to use this chance to share some information on the Movement Strategy Implementation Grants that aim to support volunteers and affiliates looking to help in implementing the Movement Strategy Initiatives within their communities.

These grants support big and small projects that aim to take the current state of an initiative and push it one step forward. Apply for a grant to implement a Movement Strategy initiative with a budget up to $25,000.  

We understand that ideas flow at their own pace, so Movement Strategy Implementation Grants  are designed to be flexible with no set deadline. Your applications are welcome at any time. Applications received after the 15th of each month will be reviewed in the following month.

Get in touch with us if you would like to discuss your project proposal or if you need more information about the program. The Movement Strategy and Governance team is happy to host conversations regarding these grants. Conversations may help answer your questions, develop your ideas, and connect with other communities with similar interests.

Please visit this meta page to look at some suggested examples, and you are welcome to join the “MS – Grants Community of Practice” group on Telegram.

Best regards,

Movement Strategy and Governance team

CSinha (WMF) (talk) 11:12, 5 January 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Call for Feedback about the Board of Trustees elections is now open[edit]

You can find this message translated into additional languages on Meta-wiki.

The Call for Feedback: Board of Trustees elections is now open and will close on 7 February 2022.

With this Call for Feedback, the Movement Strategy and Governance team is taking a different approach. This approach incorporates community feedback from 2021. Instead of leading with proposals, the Call is framed around key questions from the Board of Trustees. The key questions came from the feedback about the 2021 Board of Trustees election. The intention is to inspire collective conversation and collaborative proposal development about these key questions.

There are two confirmed questions that will be asked during this Call for Feedback:

  1. What is the best way to ensure more diverse representation among elected candidates? The Board of Trustees noted the importance of selecting candidates who represent the full diversity of the Wikimedia movement. The current processes have favored volunteers from North America and Europe.
  2. What are the expectations for the candidates during the election? Board candidates have traditionally completed applications and answered community questions. How can an election provide appropriate insight into candidates while also appreciating candidates’ status as volunteers?

There is one additional question that may be presented during the Call about selection processes. This question is still under discussion, but the Board wanted to give insight into the confirmed questions as soon as possible. Hopefully if an additional question is going to be asked, it will be ready during the first week of the Call for Feedback.

Join the conversation.

Thank you,

Movement Strategy and Governance CSinha (WMF) (talk) 10:07, 12 January 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Movement Strategy and Governance News – Issue 5[edit]

Movement Strategy and Governance News
Issue 5, January 2022Read the full newsletter


Welcome to the fifth issue of Movement Strategy and Governance News (formerly known as Universal Code of Conduct News)! This revamped newsletter distributes relevant news and events about the Movement Charter, Universal Code of Conduct, Movement Strategy Implementation grants, Board elections and other relevant MSG topics.

This Newsletter will be distributed quarterly, while more frequent Updates will also be delivered weekly or bi-weekly to subscribers. Please remember to subscribe here if you would like to receive these updates.

  • Call for Feedback about the Board elections - We invite you to give your feedback on the upcoming WMF Board of Trustees election. This call for feedback went live on 10th January 2022 and will be concluded on 16th February 2022. (continue reading)
  • Universal Code of Conduct Ratification - In 2021, the WMF asked communities about how to enforce the Universal Code of Conduct policy text. The revised draft of the enforcement guidelines should be ready for community vote in March. (continue reading)
  • Movement Strategy Implementation Grants - As we continue to review several interesting proposals, we encourage and welcome more proposals and ideas that target a specific initiative from the Movement Strategy recommendations. (continue reading)
  • The New Direction for the Newsletter - As the UCoC Newsletter transitions into MSG Newsletter, join the facilitation team in envisioning and deciding on the new directions for this newsletter. (continue reading)
  • Diff Blogs - Check out the most recent publications about MSG on Wikimedia Diff. (continue reading)

CSinha (WMF) (talk) 07:52, 19 January 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Question about the Affiliates' role for the Call for Feedback: Board of Trustees elections[edit]

You can find this message translated into additional languages on Meta-wiki.

Hi All,

Thank you to everyone who participated in the Call for Feedback: Board of Trustees elections so far. The Movement Strategy and Governance team suggested another question was still under discussion. As of today, we announce the last key question:

How should affiliates participate in elections?

Affiliates are an important part of the Wikimedia movement. Two seats of the Board of Trustees due to be filled this year were filled in 2019 through the Affiliate-selected Board seats process. A change in the Bylaws removed the distinction between community and affiliate seats. This leaves the important question: How should affiliates be involved in the selection of new seats?

The question is broad in the sense that the answers may refer not just to the two seats mentioned, but also to other, Community- and Affiliate-selected seats. The Board is hoping to find an approach that will both engage the affiliates and give them actual agency, and also optimize the outcomes in terms of selecting people with top skills, experience, diversity, and wide community’s support.

The Board of Trustees is seeking feedback about this question especially, although not solely, from the affiliate community. Everyone is invited to share proposals and join the conversation in the Call for Feedback channels. In addition to collecting online feedback, the Movement Strategy and Governance team will organize several video calls with affiliate members to collect feedback. These calls will be at different times and include Trustees.

Due to the late addition of this third question, the Call will be extended until 16 February.

Join the conversation.

Thank you,

Movement Strategy and Governance

CSinha (WMF) (talk) 12:52, 20 January 2022 (UTC)[reply]

I will attend on Thursday February, 3rd 18:00 UTC - 19:15 UTC (Join Zoom Meeting). If you have any feedback please let me know. I have some experience with electoral systems, I have always voted in any elections in the past since I am a registered users and I was facilitator of m:ASBS2019 as member of another User Group. I think my competence can be useful but I'll try to speak showing only my personal opinions.--Alexmar983 (talk) 20:57, 1 February 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Affiliations Committee (AffCom) Member & Advisor Elections - Final Reminder for January 2022[edit]

Translations are available.

This is a friendly reminder that the Affiliations Committee – which is responsible for guiding volunteers in establishing and sustaining Wikimedia chapters, thematic organizations, and user groups – is seeking new members and advisors! The deadline to post your application on the Member nomination page and Advisor nomination is 31 January 2022.

If you know somebody you think may be interested, please share and encourage them to consider applying. If you have any questions please email affcom@wikimedia.org before the application deadline or reach out to any of the current members. Good luck to all the candidates!

On behalf of the committee,
FULBERT (talk) 17:32, 25 January 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Community Wishlist Survey 2022[edit]

@Epìdosis, Geraki, Camelia.boban, OrbiliusMagister, FocalPoint, Ilbuonme, Christelle Molinié, Mizardellorsa, Tursclan, Saintfevrier, SurdusVII, Marcus Cyron, Romulanus, Gts-tg, Geraki, Sp!ros, DerHexer, Ijon, Sir Henry, Eunostos, T8612, Renato de carvalho ferreira, Taketa, 4nn1l2, DerMaxdorfer, DarwIn, Prof.Lippold, Hartmann Linge, Xenophôn, Csisc, Pradigue, Pompilos, Kaizenify, Millars, and Llywrch: Similarly to other affiliates or project pages, I remind you all that the Community Wishlist Survey 2022 is now in the voting phase.

If there is some proposal who you think it's worth supporting for you activity on Wiki platform, please share. We can allocate more votes there.--Alexmar983 (talk) 20:27, 31 January 2022 (UTC)[reply]

[Announcement] Leadership Development Task Force[edit]

Dear community members,

The Invest in Skill and Leadership Development Movement Strategy recommendation indicates that our movement needs a globally coordinated effort to succeed in leadership development.

The Community Development team is supporting the creation of a global and community-driven Leadership Development Task Force (Purpose & Structure). The purpose of the task force is to advise leadership development work.

The team seeks community feedback on what could be the responsibilities of the task force. Also, if any community member wishes to be a part of the 12-member task force, kindly reach out to us. The feedback period is until 25 February 2022.

Where to share feedback?

Interested community members can add their thoughts on the Discussion page.

Thanks for your time.

Regards, CSinha (WMF) (talk) 10:27, 9 February 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Universal Code of Conduct (UCoC) Enforcement Guidelines & Ratification Vote[edit]

In brief: the revised Enforcement Guidelines have been published. Voting to ratify the guidelines will happen from 7 March to 21 March 2022. Community members can participate in the discussion with the UCoC project team and drafting committee members on 25 February (12:00 UTC) and 4 March (15:00 UTC). Please sign-up.

Details:

The m:Universal Code of Conduct (UCoC) provides a baseline of acceptable behavior for the entire Wikimedia movement. The UCoC and the Enforcement Guidelines were written by volunteer-staff drafting committees following community consultations. The revised guidelines were published 24 January 2022.

What’s next?

#1 Community Conversations

To help to understand the guidelines, the Movement Strategy and Governance (MSG) team will host conversations with the UCoC project team and drafting committee members on 25 February (12:00 UTC) and 4 March (15:00 UTC). Please sign-up.

Comments about the guidelines can be shared on the Enforcement Guidelines talk page. You can comment in any language.

#2 Ratification Voting

The Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees released a statement on the ratification process where eligible voters can support or oppose the adoption of the enforcement guidelines through vote. Wikimedians are invited to translate and share important information.

A SecurePoll vote is scheduled from 7 March to 21 March 2022.

Eligible voters are invited to answer a poll question and share comments. Voters will be asked if they support the enforcement of the UCoC based on the proposed guidelines.

Thank you. CSinha (WMF) (talk) 16:27, 22 February 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Sunday February 27 Strategic Wikimedia Affiliates Network meeting[edit]

To dance is to fly.

The Strategic Wikimedia Affiliates Network (SWAN) is a developing forum for all Wikimedia movement affiliates to share ideas on the Wikimedia 2030 strategy process. It expands on the model of the All-Affiliates Brand Meeting to help lay some of the groundwork for a future Global Council.

We'll focus on strategic and outreach topics of mutual concern to all affiliates including Hubs+Dialogue, Movement Charter, Universal Code of Conduct+Enforcement Voting, Brand, International Women's Day+Gender Gap and WikiForHumanRights campaigns, and other ongoing activities.

This month we are meeting on Sunday February 27, and you are all invited to RSVP here.

(UTC meeting times are and ).----Pharos (talk) 18:05, 23 February 2022 (UTC)[reply]

The Call for Feedback: Board of Trustees elections is now closed [edit]

You can find this message translated into additional languages on Meta-wiki.

The Call for Feedback: Board of Trustees elections is now closed. This Call ran from 10 January and closed on 16 February 2022. The Call focused on three key questions and received broad discussion on Meta-wiki, during meetings with affiliates, and in various community conversations. The community and affiliates provided many proposals and discussion points. The reports are on Meta-wiki.

This information will be shared with the Board of Trustees and Elections Committee so they can make informed decisions about the upcoming Board of Trustees election. The Board of Trustees will then follow with an announcement after they have discussed the information.

Thank you to everyone who participated in the Call for Feedback to help improve Board election processes.

Thank you,

Movement Strategy and Governance
CSinha (WMF) (talk) 08:30, 5 March 2022 (UTC)[reply]

UCoC Enforcement Guidelines Ratification Vote Begins[edit]

This is a kind reminder that the voting on the ratification of the UCoC enforcement guidelines has started. Every eligible member can vote. Kindly share the update with your community members.

For instructions on voting using SecurePoll and Voting eligibility, please read this & click here to cast vote. The voting period will close on 21 March 2022.

For any questions or concerns, please reply to this message or contact UCoC directly at ucocproject@wikimedia.org

Thank you, CSinha (WMF) (talk) 13:23, 7 March 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Invitation for Hubs Global Conversation: 12 March - 13:00 UTC[edit]

Hello everyone,

After a successful workshop in November 2021, the Movement Strategy & Governance team would like to invite you to the next event about Regional and Thematic Hubs. The objective of this is to explore the concept of Regional and Thematic Hubs.

Over the last few weeks, we conducted about 16 interviews with groups working on establishing Hubs in the context of their communities. The feedback from these interviews will serve as a foundation for the conversation on 12 March.

Event Details:

  • The conversation will be led by Kaarel Vaidla.
  • Event registration form - last date to register is 10 March.
  • Date: 12 March, via Zoom
  • Time: 13:00 to 16:00 UTC
  • Interpretation will be available in French, Spanish, Arabic, Russian, and Portuguese.
  • Further details are here.

Anyone interested in the topic is invited to join us.

CSinha (WMF) (talk) 06:08, 9 March 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Leadership Development Working Group: Apply to join! (14 March to 10 April 2022)[edit]

You can find this message translated into additional languages on Meta-wiki.

Hello everyone,

Thank you to everyone who participated in the feedback period for the Leadership Development Working Group initiative. A summary of the feedback can be found on Meta-wiki. This feedback will be shared with the working group to inform their work. The application period to join the Working Group is now open and will close on April 10, 2022. Please review the information about the working group, share with community members who might be interested, and apply if you are interested.

Thank you,

~ On behalf of the Community Development Team

CSinha (WMF) (talk) 12:27, 21 March 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Universal Code of Conduct Enforcement guidelines ratification voting is now closed[edit]


You can find this message translated into additional languages on Meta-wiki.

Greetings,

The ratification voting process for the revised enforcement guidelines of the Universal Code of Conduct (UCoC) came to a close on 21 March 2022. Over 2300 Wikimedians voted across different regions of our movement. Thank you to everyone who participated in this process! The scrutinizing group is now reviewing the vote for accuracy, so please allow up to two weeks for them to finish their work.

The final results from the voting process will be announced here, along with the relevant statistics and a summary of comments as soon as they are available. Please check out the voter information page to learn about the next steps. You can comment on the project talk page on Meta-wiki in any language.

You may also contact the UCoC project team by email: ucocproject(_AT_)wikimedia.org

Best regards,

CSinha (WMF) (talk) 09:01, 23 March 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Bots in precious metals are part of our community too.

The Strategic Wikimedia Affiliates Network (SWAN) is a developing forum for all Wikimedia movement affiliates to share ideas on the Wikimedia 2030 strategy process. It expands on the model of the All-Affiliates Brand Meeting to help lay some of the groundwork for a future Global Council.

We'll focus on strategic and outreach topics of mutual concern to all affiliates including UCoC Voting, Hubs Global Conversation held + CEE Hub update, Movement Charter + Leadership Development Working Group, Desktop Improvements, Celebrate Women in March + International Women's Day, Wikimania 2022 survey concluded + Wikimedia Hackathon 2022 May 20-22 + local events, and other ongoing activities.

This month we are meeting on Sunday April 3, and you are all invited to RSVP here.

(UTC meeting times are and , note that some areas recently experienced daylight savings time changes).--Pharos (talk) 17:36, 29 March 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Wikisummit 2022 in Berlin[edit]

@Epìdosis, Geraki, Camelia.boban, OrbiliusMagister, FocalPoint, Ilbuonme, Christelle Molinié, Mizardellorsa, Tursclan, Saintfevrier, SurdusVII, Marcus Cyron, Romulanus, Gts-tg, Geraki, Sp!ros, DerHexer, Ijon, Sir Henry, Eunostos, T8612, Renato de carvalho ferreira, Taketa, 4nn1l2, DerMaxdorfer, DarwIn, Prof.Lippold, Hartmann Linge, Xenophôn, Csisc, Pradigue, Pompilos, Kaizenify, Millars, Llywrch, HalfdanRagnarsson, Zblace, Jahl de Vautban, Digitalphilologist, So9q, and Yamen:

Dear all, it's time to discuss our presence at the Wikimedia Summit 2022. This was a regular meeting before the pandemic and it is resuming this year, although together with a parallel on-line session. it's not like Wikimania, it is a restricted event mostly focused on governance and it's organized by the people of WMDE, with whom we chatted yesterday. They are very efficient but, due to possible visa issues and COVID-19 health guidelines, they need all the information months in advance.

The meeting is in September, and the deadline for the application is in circa two weeks. On Thursday, 14th I am going to meet with User:Epìdosis to fill out the form.

The main topic of this conference will be the implementation of the 2030 strategy and the governance reform within the activity of the Drafting Committee of the Charter. Also, these events are important for networking.

Joining as an affiliate is a crucial part of its institutional activity. As you will see in our next yearly plan, (that we are starting to draft), we managed this year to establish long-term projects with other affiliates (therefore proving they are feasible) but this passage was still missing.

We need to select a delegate. This is the second part of this message.

Originally, my plan was to participate in the 1st appearance and that would have concluded the core "consolidation" phase of this User Group. COVID-19 disrupted many possibilities but this still remains my advice. I want to stress that I don't want to attend the next Summit as a delegate. In any case, since I speak 6-7 languages, I am quite aware of the new WMF policies and I would have been around late August in Germany probably in any case, I think I am the best option. I hope I can be selected as a delegate to Berlin.

I helped to set up this UG but it's my goal to phase out, the COVID situation was just strange because it changed the pace of various projects. My goal is to complete phase of institutional set-up as intended, leaving some good practice and than probably we can start to think about new main contacts as well. If I am going to be in Berlin, I hope to get some brainstorming with other UGs about their governance as well.

Also, is there anyone here among us who will attend the meeting in any case with a different role?--Alexmar983 (talk) 17:59, 8 April 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Thank you for doing this in the most transparent way. I think you present valid arguments and I would agree with all. I hope to be around and get a chance to meet in person. --Zblace (talk) 18:04, 8 April 2022 (UTC)[reply]
There's little chance that I will attend (for one thing, my passport is expired), but depending on what topics are discussed -- & family demands -- I may participate remotely. As for the rest of your message, I thank you for your efforts, & I hope that with the pandemic receding, we can resume efforts to strengthen this User Group. -- Llywrch (talk) 18:30, 8 April 2022 (UTC)[reply]
Llywrch participation might be limited on line in any case. Other UGs disagree, and we might as well. I will ask to point out in the form the importance to at least allow more people to join, especially if they clearly state they want to. We'll see what WMDE decides in the end.--Alexmar983 (talk) 18:37, 8 April 2022 (UTC)[reply]
I am confused by your choice of words: you don't want to attend the next meeting as a delegate, yet you hope to be selected as one? I'm fine with either, but I'd feel ill-at-ease endorsing you in something you don't want to do.
In any case, I'd look forward this group becoming more active and visible. --Jahl de Vautban (talk) 18:41, 8 April 2022 (UTC)[reply]
The next one is "2023", I meant the following one or the one of next year. This one, I'd like to go and finally complete the set up as originally intended. Hoping that they want me there in Berlin. As a newly established UG it would be rude to exclude us. Next year I suppose it will be 100% in presence, as it was before.--Alexmar983 (talk) 19:09, 8 April 2022 (UTC)[reply]
@Alexmar983:, I would simply be observing if I joined remotely. Or, if the WMDE did not people who weren't delegates to be part online due to reasonable issues -- say, network bandwidth -- I'd want to review the recordings or transcripts afterwards. In any case, I hope the sessions would be recorded. (I can't imagine why they wouldn't be.) -- Llywrch (talk) 20:26, 8 April 2022 (UTC)[reply]
Llywrch I agree with you, passive attendance should be as free as possible on line. I also hope they will put all recordings on line. it's not WIkimania but the impact is getting quite big so the interest is growing. UGs have drastically changed the perception of these types of events and need for "normal" users to understand what's going on.
I will also create a IG account asap (it's time) to show images while there. I used to tweet last time I was there for another UG and those tweets were appreciated, but it was my personal account.--Alexmar983 (talk) 21:11, 8 April 2022 (UTC)[reply]
I will most probably attend, in my staff role at WMF. Ijon (talk) 22:38, 8 April 2022 (UTC)[reply]
Good, if as I expect Camelia will be there, that makes three of us (and probably some Germans if we organize some events at WMDE). We can start to think about a small meeting.--Alexmar983 (talk) 22:58, 8 April 2022 (UTC)[reply]
Thank you very much for your work on this. I won't attend myself, but I vote for you to be the delegate of the IG group. Ilbuonme (talk) 13:21, 9 April 2022 (UTC)[reply]
I will apply for attendance as co-lead of the Wikimedia Stewards User Group after chose as delegate in a similar way as yours described above. As we are the only formed group of functionaries and functionaries will play a crucial part in the enforcement of the UCoC which is part of the Movement Strategy (and since I live in Berlin), I'm optimistic to be selected. Looking forward to seeing you in my home city (and hopefully taking you around a bit, too). Best, —DerHexer (Talk) 11:02, 12 April 2022 (UTC)[reply]
Hi @Alexmar983, thanks for allowing the User Group to jointly decide on this. Knowing quite well all your work and knowledge related to the UG, I have not the least doubt in supporting you in Berlin as a delegate of the group. - Darwin Ahoy! 20:51, 13 April 2022 (UTC)[reply]

@Epìdosis, Geraki, Camelia.boban, OrbiliusMagister, FocalPoint, Ilbuonme, Christelle Molinié, Mizardellorsa, Tursclan, Saintfevrier, SurdusVII, Marcus Cyron, Romulanus, Gts-tg, Geraki, Sp!ros, DerHexer, Ijon, Sir Henry, Eunostos, T8612, Renato de carvalho ferreira, Taketa, 4nn1l2, DerMaxdorfer, DarwIn, Prof.Lippold, Hartmann Linge, Xenophôn, Csisc, Pradigue, Pompilos, Kaizenify, Millars, Llywrch, HalfdanRagnarsson, Zblace, Jahl de Vautban, Digitalphilologist, So9q, and Yamen: I am starting to draft the application, thank you all for your support (including two other people who told me in private they are fine with me as a delegate).

The application is very short, I checked yesterday, it includes in its core part three key questions:

  • Has your Affiliate been engaged in Movement Strategy activities and events in the past? (150 words max)
  • How could participating in the Summit help your Affiliate contribute to Movement Strategy implementation? (150 words max)
  • How do you envision your Affiliate’s role in the implementation of Movement Strategy? (100 words max)

If you have any feedback especially for the third one regarding the future, please let me know.--Alexmar983 (talk) 13:32, 14 April 2022 (UTC)[reply]

@Alexmar983 think #3 question on future is the most tricky without group meeting and strategising its future plans. Maybe it is worth having a short zoom meeting in next days and have at least a bit of real-time brainstorming towards future action and strategy planing. No? --Zblace (talk) 15:10, 14 April 2022 (UTC)[reply]
Zblace already working on that. But I need the calm days around Easter, that's possible because the application deadline was postponed to April 24th. Unfortunately, our dispersion requires probably at least two meetings if you want to meet for a face-to-face chat. Still, the text is so short that in case of very short deadline it would have been possible to agree on some key words and past it here, and discuss it in depth after the submission how to enlarge on that. If you want a Zoom meeting before, you still have to prepare in advance if you want to address the bulk of the topic, so we need to brainstorm something here.--Alexmar983 (talk) 15:26, 14 April 2022 (UTC)[reply]
@Alexmar983 understandable. For aSynchronous CHAT maybe we can use Wikimedia Chat on channel that is private https://chat.wmcloud.org/wikimedia/channels/members-only-wikiclassics-user-group# (@Ijon and I can add you) or we use public one https://chat.wmcloud.org/wikimedia/channels/wikiclassics-user-group ? --Zblace (talk) 15:31, 14 April 2022 (UTC)[reply]
I have never used such chat so you can set it up and explain how it works. Totally fine with me. Also, I don't need any privacy so for the moment I can go with the public one. You can tell me/us what is the difference (pros) with a discussion here.--Alexmar983 (talk) 15:34, 14 April 2022 (UTC)[reply]
@Alexmar983 sorry - was not tagged so I missed your reply.
It is fairly intuitive (maybe close to Slack, but not as feature-full)...
Just need to create account (ideally same name+email like on Meta, so it can later be linked)
https://chat.wmcloud.org/signup_user_complete/?id=acgnzndfh3fn9g38fgsx813u4r
-- Zblace (talk) 18:15, 18 April 2022 (UTC)[reply]

@Epìdosis, Geraki, Camelia.boban, OrbiliusMagister, FocalPoint, Ilbuonme, Christelle Molinié, Mizardellorsa, Tursclan, Saintfevrier, SurdusVII, Marcus Cyron, Romulanus, Gts-tg, Geraki, Sp!ros, DerHexer, Ijon, Sir Henry, Eunostos, T8612, Renato de carvalho ferreira, Taketa, 4nn1l2, DerMaxdorfer, DarwIn, Prof.Lippold, Hartmann Linge, Xenophôn, Csisc, Pradigue, Pompilos, Kaizenify, Millars, Llywrch, HalfdanRagnarsson, Zblace, Jahl de Vautban, Digitalphilologist, So9q, and Yamen: Dear all, have just discovered that some UGs are less transparent than this one on the application process. It's too short to do things properly.

Now, I have managed to set up zoom call (I have never acted as host before) and this could be the first one of a long series of regular meetings. I have scheduled a meeting about this application for April, 20th 2022 04:00 PM Rome time. This is the link. I can set up also some on-line poll but for sure that time I will be revising the draft so whoever would like to join us please let me know. If it's only 2-3 of us who will be really engaged in this matter probably you can write down here when you are for sure available before April, 24th. I will write here the draft of the application at the end of that meeting.--Alexmar983 (talk) 17:16, 18 April 2022 (UTC)[reply]

@Alexmar983: thanks for the invitation! Sadly I won't be able to attend this one; I'm usually only available after 17:00 UTC on week days, but any time on weekends. --Jahl de Vautban (talk) 18:30, 18 April 2022 (UTC)[reply]
Unfortunately, if I did my calculations correctly, I have a dentist appointment at that exact time. (I'm honestly surprised at this coincidence.) I'll have to pass this time around. -- Llywrch (talk) 20:22, 18 April 2022 (UTC)[reply]
I'll be in a business call at that time. Have fun! Best, —DerHexer (Talk) 20:38, 18 April 2022 (UTC)[reply]
Jahl de Vautban Jahl de Vautban DerHexer I schedule another one after 17:00 UTC This zoom meeting are free so quite short it's not a big deal. it could be on April, 23rd probably. When I am going to send the application.--Alexmar983 (talk) 13:12, 20 April 2022 (UTC)[reply]
23 April works for me at any time. —DerHexer (Talk) 13:59, 20 April 2022 (UTC)[reply]
@Alexmar983: awesome, thanks! --Jahl de Vautban (talk) 17:49, 20 April 2022 (UTC)[reply]

... I am here already now. there should be no waiting room.--Alexmar983 (talk) 13:41, 20 April 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Chat is closed, I write here the draft as soon as possible. Also, I prepare a link for April, 23rd.--Alexmar983 (talk) 14:46, 20 April 2022 (UTC)[reply]
@Epìdosis, Geraki, Camelia.boban, OrbiliusMagister, FocalPoint, Ilbuonme, Christelle Molinié, Mizardellorsa, Tursclan, Saintfevrier, SurdusVII, Marcus Cyron, Romulanus, Gts-tg, Geraki, Sp!ros, DerHexer, Ijon, Sir Henry, Eunostos, T8612, Renato de carvalho ferreira, Taketa, 4nn1l2, DerMaxdorfer, DarwIn, Prof.Lippold, Hartmann Linge, Xenophôn, Csisc, Pradigue, Pompilos, Kaizenify, Millars, Llywrch, HalfdanRagnarsson, Zblace, Jahl de Vautban, Digitalphilologist, So9q, and Yamen:

Hi y'all, this link is for the meeting of April, 23rd, 06:00 PM Rome Time. I will open the submission form and fill in with you all. The action takes probably 5-10 minutes. Here is the current draft for the core questions:

Has your Affiliate been engaged in Movement Strategy activities and events in the past? (150 words max)

We were aware of the process and the many aspects within its framework, and at the personal level some members were engaged. We informed via Twitter about calls for feedback related to the Movement Strategy, so we contributed to some plurality from our area into the global discussion. At the UG level, it was just time-consuming to gather for a single voice with such a variety of topics, since we lack a run-in infrastructure for internal debate. During the last year, the main contact Alessandro Marchetti attended the meeting for the discussion of the method for the Board of Trustees elections, but not those related to the Universal Code of Conduct. Attendance at some SWAN meetings about various aspects of the Movement Strategy was silent. However, we voted to send a Selector for the Movement Charter, contributing to her approval.

How could participating in the Summit help your Affiliate contribute to Movement Strategy implementation? (150 words max)

The selection of a delegate and agreeing on a unified position on the form help us to catalyze a common vision, that we can bring to Berlin and share among affiliates. For us, this process turned out to be the best streamlined way to define a unique position: we can revise it with the delegate over the following months, reviewing all the paperwork and agreeing on a clear bullet list of points to be discussed. Also, we hope to share expertise with other thematic and small affiliates, especially those who have been more active so far on this front.

How do you envision your Affiliate’s role in the implementation of Movement Strategy? (100 words max)

We have a multifaceted experience on governance in the Wikimedia movement, because our main contact was an organizer of the ASBS2019 and some members are actively involved in other UGs. Due to their cross-national and cross-platform nature, thematic UGs also bring together users with intrinsically diverse backgrounds, and can act as a bridge between different experiences in the wiki ecosystem. Combining these aspects, we can therefore provide structured feedback regarding the roles and responsibilities, but also the needs, of this subclass of affiliates, addressing also many details that can lead to a smooth implementation of the Strategy.

IMHO, the second answer is still the weakest one. We'll see the feedback.--Alexmar983 (talk) 18:15, 20 April 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Hi, we submitted the form. We were four. But more importantly, we will meet again from now on. I'll keep you updated.--Alexmar983 (talk) 16:18, 23 April 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Call for Candidates: 2022 Board of Trustees Election[edit]

Dear community members,

The 2022 Board of Trustees elections process has begun. The Call for Candidates has been announced.

The Board of Trustees oversees the operations of the Wikimedia Foundation. Community-and-affiliate selected trustees and Board-appointed trustees make up the Board of Trustees. Each trustee serves a three year term. The Wikimedia community has the opportunity to vote for community-and-affiliate selected trustees.

The Wikimedia community will vote to elect two seats on the Board of Trustees in 2022. This is an opportunity to improve the representation, diversity, and expertise of the Board of Trustees.

Kindly submit your candidacy to join the Board of Trustees. CSinha (WMF) (talk) 08:55, 28 April 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Swans are musical creatures.

The Strategic Wikimedia Affiliates Network (SWAN) is a developing forum for all Wikimedia movement affiliates to share ideas on the Wikimedia 2030 strategy process. It expands on the model of the All-Affiliates Brand Meeting to help lay some of the groundwork for a future Global Council.

We'll focus on strategic and outreach topics of mutual concern to all affiliates including 2022 Board of Trustees Call for Candidates, Movement Charter/Content preliminary narrative, Human Rights Policy Community Conversations, Wikimedia Foundation Annual Plan Feedback, IP blocking and Open Proxies discussion, Wikimedia Hackathon 2022 May 20-22 + local events, and other ongoing activities.

This month we are meeting on Sunday May 8, and you are all invited to RSVP here.

(UTC meeting times are and , note that some areas recently experienced daylight savings time changes).--Pharos (talk) 18:08, 3 May 2022 (UTC)[reply]

2022 Wikimedia Hackathon  - May 20th - 22nd[edit]

Hello all,

This is to invite you for this year's Wikimedia Hackathon from  May 20-22. We hope to see you there! You can share the update with your community as well.

The main event will be held online this year. We have an open call for sessions on our schedule page. If you'd like to host a session, you can simply pick an open slot in the category which best fits your topic. The developer advocacy team also put together some suggestions for how to create a fun session.


You can also add project ideas to the Phabricator Board

We will share more information soon about how to join the online space. You can also check through the list of local meetups holding around the world, you may find any closer to you.

If you have any enquiry or translation requests, please contact hlepp@wikimedia.org


See you there!

Best regards,

James Popoola

On behalf of the 2022 Wikimedia Hackathon Committee.

James Moore200 (talk) 17:44, 5 May 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Swan impressions.

The Strategic Wikimedia Affiliates Network (SWAN) is a developing forum for all Wikimedia movement affiliates to share ideas on the Wikimedia 2030 strategy process. It expands on the model of the All-Affiliates Brand Meeting to help lay some of the groundwork for a future Global Council.

We'll focus on strategic and outreach topics of mutual concern to all affiliates including Movement Charter, Hubs Global Conversation this June, WMF Proposal for Movement Strategy Forum, New rounds of WMF Conference Funds including in-person events, WMF Proposal for Sound Logo Contest, WMF Elections Analysis Committee selection, wikimania:Program submissions due June 10 (scholarship and local event grants due June 3) and other ongoing activities.

This month we are meeting on Sunday June 5, and you are all invited to RSVP here.

(UTC meeting times are and ).--Pharos (talk) 20:49, 31 May 2022 (UTC)[reply]

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

Greetings Epìdosis, Alexmar983,

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 2022 annual reporting became past due in 2022-05-07. Please be sure to:

  • Post your 2022 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

@Epìdosis and Alexmar983:, I gathered some data on news from WSFR, in case you need it :
News from WSFR
--Jahl de Vautban (talk) 19:22, 12 June 2022 (UTC)[reply]

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

Greetings Epìdosis, Alexmar983,

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 2022 annual reporting became past due in 2022-05-07. Please be sure to:

  • Post your 2022 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

Hi y'all this is the report. Before I send it to everyone and post it on line, any feedback? If you want to add something, I give you the week end. I agreed with WMF that I would have sent it late July.--Alexmar983 (talk) 13:02, 23 July 2022 (UTC)[reply]

I validated the final version today. It was posted on social media, I will mail to the general mailing list soon.--Alexmar983 (talk) 21:14, 30 July 2022 (UTC)[reply]

New project on Wikidata[edit]

For your information, we are warming up this new project on WIkidata about items of epigraphs. Alexmar983 (talk) 00:20, 19 June 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Swan celestial.

The Strategic Wikimedia Affiliates Network (SWAN) is a developing forum for all Wikimedia movement affiliates to share ideas on the Wikimedia 2030 strategy process. It expands on the model of the All-Affiliates Brand Meeting to help lay some of the groundwork for a future Global Council.

We'll focus on strategic and outreach topics of mutual concern to all affiliates including Movement Charter, Hubs Global Conversation last week, Affiliate voting period to shortlist WMF Board candidates (July 1-15), Wikimania updates, Desktop improvements, Wikimedia Enterprise first customers, Call for program submissions and updates for a global diversity of regional/linguistic Wiki-Conferences, Wikidata:Wiki Mentor Africa and other ongoing activities.

This month we are meeting on Sunday July 3, and you are all invited to RSVP here.

(UTC meeting times are and ).--Pharos via MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 12:55, 30 June 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Propose statements for the 2022 Election Compass[edit]


You can find this message translated into additional languages on Meta-wiki.

Hi all,

Community members are invited to propose statements to use in the Election Compass for the 2022 Board of Trustees election.

An Election Compass is a tool to help voters select the candidates that best align with their beliefs and views. The community members will propose statements for the candidates to answer using a Lickert scale (agree/neutral/disagree). The candidates’ answers to the statements will be loaded into the Election Compass tool. Voters will use the tool by entering in their answer to the statements (agree/neutral/disagree). The results will show the candidates that best align with the voter’s beliefs and views.

Here is the timeline for the Election Compass:

  • July 8 - 20: Community members propose statements for the Election Compass
  • July 21 - 22: Elections Committee reviews statements for clarity and removes off-topic statements
  • July 23 - August 1: Volunteers vote on the statements
  • August 2 - 4: Elections Committee selects the top 15 statements
  • August 5 - 12: candidates align themselves with the statements
  • August 15: The Election Compass opens for voters to use to help guide their voting decision

The Elections Committee will select the top 15 statements at the beginning of August. The Elections Committee will oversee the process, supported by the Movement Strategy and Governance (MSG) team. MSG will check that the questions are clear, there are no duplicates, no typos, and so on.

Regards,

Movement Strategy & Governance

This message was sent on behalf of the Board Selection Task Force and the Elections Committee

CSinha (WMF) (talk) 15:11, 11 July 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Slots in Berlin[edit]

Hi all. We were not given an in-person seat but we have 3 slots for representatives to join the Wikimedia Summit 2022 online via the specific event platform. We have to provide three names before July, 31st.

I leave the message here for now, I will tag you all later. I am curious to discover who checks this page frequently among you, it could be an interesting factor for an engaged candidate. If there are a lot of spontaneous candidates, we will probably vote, but based on the interest in the application in May I don't think so. Alexmar983 (talk) 09:43, 17 July 2022 (UTC)[reply]

ok... nobody is looking around. Let's tag!--Alexmar983 (talk) 13:00, 23 July 2022 (UTC)[reply]


@Epìdosis, Geraki, Camelia.boban, OrbiliusMagister, FocalPoint, Ilbuonme, Christelle Molinié, Mizardellorsa, Tursclan, Saintfevrier, SurdusVII, Marcus Cyron, Romulanus, Gts-tg, Geraki, Sp!ros, DerHexer, Ijon, Sir Henry, Eunostos, T8612, Renato de carvalho ferreira, Taketa, 4nn1l2, DerMaxdorfer, DarwIn, Prof.Lippold, Hartmann Linge, Xenophôn, Csisc, Pradigue, Pompilos, Kaizenify, Millars, Llywrch, HalfdanRagnarsson, Zblace, Jahl de Vautban, Digitalphilologist, So9q, and Yamen: there are some slots on line for the Wikimedia Summit 2022 in Berlin. Who wants to take a look?--Alexmar983 (talk) 13:04, 23 July 2022 (UTC)[reply]

I will go in person as co-contact of WMSUG so I don't need an online slot. Best, —DerHexer (Talk) 13:52, 23 July 2022 (UTC)[reply]
Also via other pathway... Looking forward to meet you. --Zblace (talk) 13:53, 23 July 2022 (UTC)[reply]
I am not longer willing to interact with the WMF. For me, this User Group is just a themed Cross-Wiki Cooperation. Marcus Cyron (talk) 14:12, 23 July 2022 (UTC)[reply]
I'd love to take part in this event, but unfortunately I will be involved in another event. (P.S. the 10th of September is also my birthday ^_^). Better luck next time. - εΔω 15:10, 23 July 2022 (UTC)
Hello, I will be in Berlin in presence as one of the AffCom's representatives. So no slot is needed from my side. --Camelia (talk) 17:54, 23 July 2022 (UTC)[reply]
I'd love to attend a Wikimedia-wide gathering like this: it's been something like 15 years since the previous one I attended. However, I don't have a current passport, as well as work & family demands are keeping me back. (And there is the issue of money...) -- Llywrch (talk) 20:33, 23 July 2022 (UTC)[reply]
Llywrch this is an on-line slot, no money needed. You just lurk around from your PC. Should I send your username by mail if you are curious?--Alexmar983 (talk) 14:27, 26 July 2022 (UTC)[reply]
I must admit I'm not checking Meta as much as I should: I hope that email notifications will change that. Anyway, I'd be willing to join on-line, though my motivation is mainly to have a look at how the WMF works. I'll gladly step-down if someone more interested in the implementation of the 2030 Movement Strategy voices themself. --Jahl de Vautban (talk) 19:44, 24 July 2022 (UTC)[reply]
Jahl de Vautban I guess you can get your slot on-line... don't see a lot of request so far.--Alexmar983 (talk) 14:27, 26 July 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Ok so on line it's me (since I cannot be there in presence) and User:Jahl de Vautban. Llywrch since you showed interest and there is not other applicant, I might also send your name. Anyone else?--Alexmar983 (talk) 13:24, 29 July 2022 (UTC)[reply]

I have sent a mail for the requests of personal details of the two interested people so far. If I get no reply, the second main contact of this User Group will be inserted as a "filler". If he has the time to look around, it's better not to waste an available slot.--Alexmar983 (talk) 02:27, 30 July 2022 (UTC)[reply]

main UG contacts[edit]

Dear all, as I have also officially written in our annual report, but I have been telling already since sping, we plan to select new contacts for the WMF. They will be in charge of all the paperwork et cetera.

It's time for me to step down, and we need someone who can focus full time on this project, so it can achieve its best potential. After the summer, I will try to set up a process here but in the meantime, if you plan to go on-line to Berlin (see previous post), that could be a good experience to see if you like that "institutional" dimension. Alexmar983 (talk) 13:14, 23 July 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Movement Strategy and Governance News – Issue 7[edit]

Movement Strategy and Governance News
Issue 7, July-September 2022Read the full newsletter


Welcome to the 7th issue of Movement Strategy and Governance newsletter! The newsletter distributes relevant news and events about the implementation of Wikimedia's Movement Strategy recommendations, other relevant topics regarding Movement governance, as well as different projects and activities supported by the Movement Strategy and Governance (MSG) team of the Wikimedia Foundation.

The MSG Newsletter is delivered quarterly, while the more frequent Movement Strategy Weekly will be delivered weekly. Please remember to subscribe here if you would like to receive future issues of this newsletter.

  • Movement sustainability: Wikimedia Foundation's annual sustainability report has been published. (continue reading)
  • Improving user experience: recent improvements on the desktop interface for Wikimedia projects. (continue reading)
  • Safety and inclusion: updates on the revision process of the Universal Code of Conduct Enforcement Guidelines. (continue reading)
  • Equity in decisionmaking: reports from Hubs pilots conversations, recent progress from the Movement Charter Drafting Committee, and a new white paper for futures of participation in the Wikimedia movement. (continue reading)
  • Stakeholders coordination: launch of a helpdesk for Affiliates and volunteer communities working on content partnership. (continue reading)
  • Leadership development: updates on leadership projects by Wikimedia movement organizers in Brazil and Cape Verde. (continue reading)
  • Internal knowledge management: launch of a new portal for technical documentation and community resources. (continue reading)
  • Innovate in free knowledge: high-quality audiovisual resources for scientific experiments and a new toolkit to record oral transcripts. (continue reading)
  • Evaluate, iterate, and adapt: results from the Equity Landscape project pilot (continue reading)
  • Other news and updates: a new forum to discuss Movement Strategy implementation, upcoming Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees election, a new podcast to discuss Movement Strategy, and change of personnel for the Foundation's Movement Strategy and Governance team. (continue reading)

CSinha (WMF) (talk) 12:36, 24 July 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Vote for Election Compass Statements[edit]

You can find this message translated into additional languages on Meta-wiki.

Dear community members,

Volunteers in the 2022 Board of Trustees election are invited to vote for statements to use in the Election Compass. You can vote for the statements you would like to see included in the Election Compass on Meta-wiki.

An Election Compass is a tool to help voters select the candidates that best align with their beliefs and views. The community members will propose statements for the candidates to answer using a Lickert scale (agree/neutral/disagree). The candidates’ answers to the statements will be loaded into the Election Compass tool. Voters will use the tool by entering in their answer to the statements (agree/neutral/disagree). The results will show the candidates that best align with the voter’s beliefs and views.

Here is the timeline for the Election Compass:

  • July 8 - 20: Volunteers propose statements for the Election Compass
  • July 21 - 22: Elections Committee reviews statements for clarity and removes off-topic statements
  • July 23 - August 1: Volunteers vote on the statements
  • August 2 - 4: Elections Committee selects the top 15 statements
  • August 5 - 12: candidates align themselves with the statements
  • August 15: The Election Compass opens for voters to use to help guide their voting decision

The Elections Committee will select the top 15 statements at the beginning of August

Regards,

Movement Strategy and Governance

This message was sent on behalf of the Board Selection Task Force and the Elections Committee

CSinha (WMF) (talk) 06:41, 26 July 2022 (UTC)[reply]

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

Greetings Epìdosis, Alexmar983,

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 2022 annual reporting became past due in 2022-06-07. Please be sure to:

  • Post your 2022 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

Delay of Board of Trustees Election[edit]

Dear community members,

I am reaching out to you today with an update about the timing of the voting for the Board of Trustees election.

As many of you are already aware, this year we are offering an Election Compass to help voters identify the alignment of candidates on some key topics. Several candidates requested an extension of the character limitation on their responses expanding on their positions, and the Elections Committee felt their reasoning was consistent with the goals of a fair and equitable election process.

To ensure that the longer statements can be translated in time for the election, the Elections Committee and Board Selection Task Force decided to delay the opening of the Board of Trustees election by one week - a time proposed as ideal by staff working to support the election.

Although it is not expected that everyone will want to use the Election Compass to inform their voting decision, the Elections Committee felt it was more appropriate to open the voting period with essential translations for community members across languages to use if they wish to make this important decision.

The voting will open on August 23 at 00:00 UTC and close on September 6 at 23:59 UTC.

Best regards,

Matanya, on behalf of the Elections Committee

CSinha (WMF) (talk) 07:35, 15 August 2022 (UTC)[reply]

FYI, they are adding so many layers this time I cannot follow this election properly. This time, it was formalized that members of affiliates might be eligible to vote even if they do not meet other criteria (the usual ones for users' vote, checked using Account Eligibility Tool). In any case, such exceptions do not concern our case, it's probably for staff.--Alexmar983 (talk) 20:08, 17 August 2022 (UTC)[reply]

2022 Board of Trustees Community Voting Period is now Open[edit]

You can find this message translated into additional languages on Meta-wiki.

Dear community members,

The Community Voting period for the 2022 Board of Trustees election is now open. Here are some helpful links to get you the information you need to vote:

If you are ready to vote, you may go to SecurePoll voting page to vote now. You may vote from August 23 at 00:00 UTC to September 6 at 23:59 UTC. To see about your voter eligibility, please visit the voter eligibility page.

Regards,

Movement Strategy and Governance

This message was sent on behalf of the Board Selection Task Force and the Elections Committee

CSinha (WMF) (talk) 03:59, 24 August 2022 (UTC)[reply]

The 2022 Board of Trustees election Community Voting is about to close[edit]

You can find this message translated into additional languages on Meta-wiki.

Hello,

The Community Voting period of the 2022 Board of Trustees election started on August 23, 2022, and will close on September 6, 2022 23:59 UTC. There’s still a chance to participate in this election. If you did not vote, please visit the SecurePoll voting page to vote now. To see about your voter eligibility, please visit the voter eligibility page. If you need help in making your decision, here are some helpful links:

Regards,

Movement Strategy and Governance

CSinha (WMF) (talk) 12:22, 1 September 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Revised Enforcement Draft Guidelines for the Universal Code of Conduct[edit]

You can find this message translated into additional languages on Meta-wiki.

Hello everyone,

The Universal Code of Conduct Enforcement Guidelines Revisions committee is requesting comments regarding the Revised Enforcement Draft Guidelines for the Universal Code of Conduct (UCoC). This review period will be open from 8 September 2022 until 8 October 2022.

The Committee collaborated to revise these draft guidelines based on input gathered from the community discussion period from May through July, as well as the community vote that concluded in March 2022. The revisions are focused on the following four areas:

  1. To identify the type, purpose, and applicability of the UCoC training;
  2. To simplify the language for more accessible translation and comprehension by non-experts;
  3. To explore the concept of affirmation, including its pros and cons;
  4. To review the balancing of the privacy of the accuser and the accused

The Committee requests comments and suggestions about these revisions by 8 October 2022. From there, the Revisions Committee anticipates further revising the guidelines based on community input.

Find the Revised Guidelines on Meta, and a comparison page in some languages.

Everyone may share comments in a number of places. Facilitators welcome comments in any language on the Revisions Guideline Talk Page. Comments can also be shared on talk pages of translations, at local discussions, or during conversation hours. There are planned live discussions about the UCoC enforcement draft guidelines.

Conversation hours

The facilitation team supporting this review period hopes to reach a large number of communities. If you do not see a conversation happening in your community, please organize a discussion. Facilitators can assist you in setting up the conversations. Discussions will be summarized and presented to the drafting committee every two weeks. The summaries will be published here.

~ On behalf of the UCoC project team.

CSinha (WMF) (talk) 14:29, 9 September 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Sunday November 13 Strategic Wikimedia Affiliates Network meeting[edit]

bestiary (Q830560)compendium (Q1459574)reference work (Q13136).

The Strategic Wikimedia Affiliates Network (SWAN) is a developing forum for all Wikimedia movement affiliates to share ideas on the Wikimedia 2030 strategy process. It expands on the model of the All-Affiliates Brand Meeting to help lay some of the groundwork for a future Global Council.

We'll focus on strategic and outreach topics of mutual concern to all affiliates including Wikimedia Research Fund, 2023 Ombuds commission and Case Review Committee appointments process, feedback on consultation and community session of the Movement Charter Drafting Committee, various Wikimania topics: (ideas/suggestions for Wikimania 2023, expressions of interest for Wikimania 2024 and beyond, expressions of interest to join Wikimania Steering Committee), and other ongoing activities.

This month we are meeting on Sunday November 13, and you are all invited to RSVP here.

(UTC meeting times are and
UTC times are different from before, and also note that some areas may have recently experienced daylight savings time changes.).--MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 18:18, 9 November 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Upcoming vote on the revised Enforcement Guidelines for the Universal Code of Conduct[edit]

You can find this message translated into additional languages on Meta-wiki.

Hello all,

In mid-January 2023, the Enforcement Guidelines for the Universal Code of Conduct will undergo a second community-wide ratification vote. This follows the March 2022 vote, which resulted in a majority of voters supporting the Enforcement Guidelines. During the vote, participants helped highlight important community concerns. The Board’s Community Affairs Committee requested that these areas of concern be reviewed.

The volunteer-led Revisions Committee worked hard reviewing community input and making changes. They updated areas of concern, such as training and affirmation requirements, privacy and transparency in the process, and readability and translatability of the document itself.

The revised Enforcement Guidelines can be viewed here, and a comparison of changes can be found here.

How to vote?

Beginning January 17, 2023, voting will be open. This page on Meta-wiki outlines information on how to vote using SecurePoll.

Who can vote?

The eligibility requirements for this vote are the same as for the Wikimedia Board of Trustees elections. See the voter information page for more details about voter eligibility. If you are an eligible voter, you can use your Wikimedia account to access the voting server.

What happens after the vote?

Votes will be scrutinized by an independent group of volunteers, and the results will be published on Wikimedia-l, the Movement Strategy Forum, Diff and on Meta-wiki. Voters will again be able to vote and share concerns they have about the guidelines. The Board of Trustees will look at the levels of support and concerns raised as they look at how the Enforcement Guidelines should be ratified or developed further.

On behalf of the UCoC Project Team,

CSinha (WMF) (talk) 09:54, 8 January 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Voting Opens on the Revised Universal Code of Conduct (UcoC) Enforcement Guidelines[edit]

You can find this message translated into additional languages on Meta-wiki.

Hello all,

The voting period for the revised Universal Code of Conduct Enforcement Guidelines is now open! Voting will remain open for two weeks and will close at 23:59 UTC on January 31, 2023. Please visit the voter information page for voter eligibility information and details on how to vote.

For more details on the Enforcement Guidelines and the voting process, see our previous message.

On behalf of the UCoC Project Team,

CSinha (WMF) (talk) 10:32, 17 January 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Community Wishlist Survey 2023[edit]

Hi. We have just posted on social media about the CWS 2023. See here or here. If there is any need to endorse a specific proposal, please write to everybody in this page if you think it can help. Alexmar983 (talk) 22:53, 1 February 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Notification of upcoming reporting due date[edit]

Greetings Epìdosis, Alexmar983,

This is a notification to bring to your attention that your organization reporting date is coming up in 26 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 2023 annual reporting will be due in 2023-05-07. Please be sure to:

  • Post your 2023 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) 21:07, 10 April 2023 (UTC)[reply]

User:DNdubane_(WMF) I never got this ping and, as I say every years, May and June are the worst months for me and Epìdosis. We'll get there when we can.--Alexmar983 (talk) 15:15, 8 May 2023 (UTC)[reply]
Good day @Alexmar983, thank you for this response. Please send me an email with your preffered reporting period/month to wadportal(_AT_)wikimedia.org and I will be happy to assist in this regard. --DNdubane (WMF) (talk) 14:16, 22 May 2023 (UTC)[reply]

New governance[edit]

Dear all, I was going to start the draft of the annual report and I would like to communicate a change in our main contacts.

This user group was created when one of the main contacts (Epìdosis) was hoping to get more involvement around the theme of classical culture from various Wikimedia projects, yet COVID changed many things and his main area of activity shifted from this theme to authority control. I have always helped and I kept the UG functioning with all related infrastructure, but it's time for a new leadership. For example we asked already to provide our report later than in May because this time of the year is the worst month for both of us, while the summer is perfect, but it's not going to change it and it's not optimal to be always late.

Personally speaking, one of the few useful options could have been to create international networking as occurred in the past but everything shifted online where all this infrastructure for a small UG ends up to be mostly a duplicate of paperwork draining time from content-based projects. If we could have met de visu with other users, it would have been so much better. it's difficult to be engaged when you have other wiki-related options in real life that are much more "concrete"

So, it's time to change, I can remain as a second contact to provide continuity and I will remain in charge with social media accounts, but as I told already in the past to some of you, we need a new main contact. Any candidate?--Alexmar983 (talk) 15:17, 8 May 2023 (UTC)[reply]

@Epìdosis, Geraki, Camelia.boban, OrbiliusMagister, FocalPoint, Ilbuonme, Christelle Molinié, Mizardellorsa, Tursclan, Saintfevrier, SurdusVII, Marcus Cyron, Romulanus, Gts-tg, Geraki, Sp!ros, DerHexer, Ijon, Sir Henry, Eunostos, T8612, Renato de carvalho ferreira, Taketa, 4nn1l2, DerMaxdorfer, DarwIn, Prof.Lippold, Hartmann Linge, Xenophôn, Csisc, Pradigue, Pompilos, Kaizenify, Millars, Llywrch, HalfdanRagnarsson, Zblace, Jahl de Vautban, Digitalphilologist, So9q, and Yamen: --Alexmar983 (talk) 15:17, 8 May 2023 (UTC)[reply]

WMF would not accept me. Marcus Cyron (talk) 16:14, 8 May 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Also, if you have any information for our annual report, please share.--Alexmar983 (talk) 15:17, 8 May 2023 (UTC)[reply]

@Tolanor: - you are not yet member, it seems. But I could really imagine you there. -- Marcus Cyron (talk) 19:40, 8 May 2023 (UTC)[reply]

I would just like to add a few words to the summary by Alessandro. I was a cofounder of this user group and I effectively planned, in 2018, to spend some time in organizing its activities, both online and in presence. However, after a good start in 2019 (with Wiki Loves Classics and some other activities), the pandemic was a turning point and I started another group of activities regarding Wikidata, authority control and the involvement of GLAM professionals in Wikidata. Thus, in the last years, my time for this user group decreased significantly. While classics still remains one of my main interests (and my area of specialization at university), I think I won't be able, at least for the next years, to dedicate an appropriate quantity of time to the coordination of the activities of this user group, so I prefer to step down from my present role, in order to leave it to someone who can effectively make the user group more active. I will of course remain a member of the user group. See you soon, --Epìdosis 13:43, 9 May 2023 (UTC)[reply]
And honestly, I hold tight because I did no want to loose the opportunity for you all but I was not intended to be the "first contact" for a long time, I was supposed to help the UG to grow and leave. Trust me, without the covid pandemics I could have done better, and I kept it "going" because it was the right thing to do IMHO, but please whoever wants to take care, just show up. I am very generous of my time but I am a helper, a catalyst, it's not my long-term job to handle paperwork with WMF. --Alexmar983 (talk) 14:45, 9 May 2023 (UTC)[reply]
I'd be interested in becoming a contact. To present myself in a few words, I am mostly active on Wikidata, where I contribute on people and texts from the whole ancient Mediterranean. That often leads me to various wikis to try to merge duplicates and to contribute in authority control, e.g. by reporting on de:w:Wikipedia:GND/Fehlermeldung. I must say that I have little to no experience in dealing with WMF framework, so I'd need a backup on that. Glad to answers questions if they come. --Jahl de Vautban (talk) 17:51, 9 May 2023 (UTC)[reply]
So Jahl is the only concrete candidate so far... it's fine with me. Any objection? I start to plan in that drection if there is no clear objection (or another candidate, I put no deadline for that, you have few more days to show up)--Alexmar983 (talk) 14:49, 13 May 2023 (UTC)[reply]
I can't see a cause against him. Marcus Cyron (talk) 00:44, 17 May 2023 (UTC)[reply]
Thank you, @Jahl de Vautban, for stepping forward!
I work for the Foundation so can't be a contact, but I am happy to help as advisor with "the paperwork", which I think sounds scarier than it is: the user group is required to produce a single activity report once a year, and it can be as brief as a single page. Ijon (talk) 07:50, 18 May 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Invitation to join the Wikimedia Affiliate strategy discussions[edit]

Hope this message finds you well. I am sharing an update about the Wikimedia Foundation Affiliate strategy initiative. In November, Nataliia Tymkiv, Chair, Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees announced the beginning of Wikimedia Foundation Affiliate strategy.

We are working on the next steps of the Affiliate strategy. We invite you to a session with the Board of Trustees, AffCom, and supporting staff to provide input into this process. These sessions will be conducted in groups and the language will be English. If you are able to attend one of these meetings, please sign up here. If you prefer a 1:1 session for a detailed discussion, please reach out to me. If you are unable to attend the meeting, please respond via the survey or in writing to askcac@wikimedia.org or on the Talk page.

This message was also sent by email to affiliate primary contacts.

Best, MKaur (WMF) 22:30, 22 May 2023 (UTC)[reply]

I will join the discussion on Sunday 11th (see Wikimedia Foundation Affiliates Strategy)--Alexmar983 (talk) 11:56, 7 June 2023 (UTC)[reply]

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

Greetings Epìdosis, Alexmar983,

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 2023 annual reporting became past due in 2023-05-07. Please be sure to:

  • Post your 2023 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) 14:53, 6 June 2023 (UTC)[reply]

WikiWomenCamp 2023 Scholarship Application[edit]

Hello all,

We are thrilled to announce the opening of the scholarship applications for Wiki Women Camp 2023 which will run from 20-23 October in New Delhi, India. The scholarship application deadline is July 4th, end of the day (anywhere in the world), and applicants will receive notification of decisions in mid-July.

Please submit your application directly through the provided forms available here.

If you have any questions or require further information, please do not hesitate to reach out to us at admin@wikiwomencamp.org.

Cheers,
Maffeth.opiana (talk) 11:25, 23 June 2023 (UTC)[reply]
On behalf of the WikiWomenCamp 2023 Team

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

Greetings Epìdosis, Alexmar983,

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 2023 annual reporting became past due in 2023-05-07. Please be sure to:

  • Post your 2023 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) 16:28, 8 July 2023 (UTC)[reply]

As I replied via mail, we usually have time to file the report only in the summer, and the draft of this year is almost finalized (if someone want to tae a look). I send it tomorrow.--Alexmar983 (talk) 19:09, 30 July 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Sunday July 16 Strategic Wikimedia Affiliates Network meeting (Global Council focus, now available in ar, es, fr!)[edit]

SWAN: The Next Generation

The Strategic Wikimedia Affiliates Network (SWAN) is a developing forum for all Wikimedia movement affiliates to share ideas on the Wikimedia 2030 strategy process. It expands on the model of the All-Affiliates Brand Meeting to help lay some of the groundwork for a future Global Council.

We'll focus on strategic and outreach topics of mutual concern to all affiliates including Wikimania Singapore, Future of SWAN, Movement Charter/Content new sections (particularly Movement Charter/Content/Global Council), other activities you submit, and we will top it all off with a grand finale AI Happy Hour / Doom Hour!

This month we are meeting on Sunday July 16, and you are all invited to RSVP here.

UTC meeting times are and
Note that we are now meeting on Zoom, with interpretation in the 2nd session in (Arabic) (Spanish) (French)--Pharos (talk) 02:41, 12 July 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Call for Affiliates & Call for Trainers WikiWomenCamp 2023[edit]

Dear all,

The WikiWomenCamp 2023 team is excited to announce that the calls for Affiliates and Trainers are open now!

Self-funded affiliates attendance

If your affiliate is interested, kindly fill out the registration form by 8 August 2023, anywhere on earth. Please note that self-funded attendance means participants will be responsible for their travel, accommodation, visa (if required), and related expenses. We have 10 seats reserved for affiliates. Here is the form link: Google Forms

Trainers

The call for trainers to facilitate gender-focused sessions at WikiWomenCamp 2023 is open. To propose your session(s), please submit the application form by 8th August 2023. More details about the call for trainers (benefits for trainers and key dates) are here: m:WWC2023/Program

To read more about the camp, please visit: m:WikiWomenCamp 2023

Cheers,
Maffeth.opiana (talk) 03:37, 29 July 2023 (UTC)[reply]
On behalf of the WWC23 team

Call for Highlight Videos for WikiWomenCamp 2023[edit]

Dear Community Members,

As we gear up for the upcoming WikiWomenCamp in India, we are excited to announce a unique opportunity to share your incredible work and its impact with the global community.

What We're Looking For: We invite you to submit short (3-5 minute) videos highlighting your projects, initiatives, or efforts that have made a significant difference in addressing gender gaps. We know that many of you are doing remarkable work in various corners of the world, and we want to shine a spotlight on your achievements.

Why Short Videos: Our camp sessions are extensive, covering a wide range of topics and discussions. In the interest of time and with a commitment to showcasing the amazing initiatives across our movement, we believe that short videos are an effective way to capture and share the essence of your work.

How Your Videos Will Be Used: The selected videos will be featured on our social media channels and played during breaks at the camp. This provides an excellent opportunity for you to showcase your work to a broader audience and inspire others to get involved or collaborate with you.

Submission Guidelines:

  1. Videos should be 3-5 minutes in length.
  2. Please focus on the impact of your work, highlighting how it contributes to addressing gender gap.
  3. Be creative and engage in your presentation.
  4. Ensure video quality is clear and audible.
  5. Narration (optional): If possible, include a brief voiceover or text captions to provide context and explanation.
  6. Language: While English is preferred for wider accessibility, videos in other languages are also welcome. Kindly ensure that non-English videos are accompanied by English subtitles or captions.

Submission Deadline:

To be considered for inclusion in our camp programming, please submit your videos by Thursday, 28th September 2023. Late submissions may still be featured later on our social media channels.

How to Submit:

To avoid any issues with file sizes, we recommend using a file transfer service like WeTransfer or Google Drive while sharing your videos with us at admin@wikiwomencamp.org. In your email, include a brief description of your project, affiliate name / your name or username, and contact information.

We believe that your stories and experiences are powerful tools for change. By sharing them with our community, you contribute to a collective effort to bridge the gender gap and empower women and girls worldwide.

Thank you for being a part of the camp initiatives, and we look forward to receiving your inspiring videos.


Warm regards,
WikiWomenCamp 2023 COT


Maffeth.opiana (talk) 09:57, 21 September 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Introducing the Wikimedia photo library and a workshop invite[edit]

Dear Wikimedia affiliates communications leads,

We are so excited to share a new resource with you: The Wikimedia Photo Library. In it you will find high quality images that help to tell the story of free knowledge. We hope that this library will help you in the important work you do as a communication lead. Alongside this library, we’ve also updated guidelines on how to effectively use imagery to tell brand stories.

Curious to learn more about these resources?

We will be holding a short workshop for 45 minutes on Tuesday 3 October 2023, at 16:00 UTC (add event to your calendar) and again on Thursday 5 October at 7:00 UTC (add event to your calendar) to accommodate different time zones. During these workshops, we will walk you through some examples of images that align with the Movement Brand Guidelines, some basics of quality photography and answer any questions you may have about this topic.

The need for a Wikimedia Photo Library

Our research showed that there are lots of photos available from Wikimedia events, usually featuring people using computers. There were very few images showing mobile editing or reading, and even fewer showing people using the projects in their everyday lives.

These images are the first steps in creating a photo library that is representative of the whole movement. We have added images that are aligned with the Movement Brand Guidelines in this category on Wikimedia Commons. Photography is a powerful tool to create cohesion in Wikimedia communication. Our hope is that all of you will help to build this resource out with images from your region.

By continuing to add to this category, we will be helping one another tell more impactful stories of the free knowledge movement – learn how on the Brand portal on Meta-wiki.

Thank you so much and please let me know if you have any questions. We hope to see you at one of the workshops!


Best,

Samir and the Brand Studio team --MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 16:54, 23 September 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Follow up on the last message about the photography workshop[edit]

Hi everyone,

This is a reminder about our photography sessions happening this week. Also, some people reached out with concerns about not being able to open the links to meetings in the previous message. Please find a direct link to the Google Meet sessions here:

Thank you and please let me know if you have any questions. If you have any questions please reach out to selsharbaty@wikimedia.org . --MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 08:21, 2 October 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Opportunities open for the Affiliations Committee, Ombuds commission, and the Case Review Committee[edit]

Hi everyone! The Affiliations Committee (AffCom), Ombuds commission (OC), and the Case Review Committee (CRC) are looking for new members. These volunteer groups provide important structural and oversight support for the community and movement. People are encouraged to nominate themselves or encourage others they feel would contribute to these groups to apply. There is more information about the roles of the groups, the skills needed, and the opportunity to apply on the Meta-wiki page.

If you are aware of participants in your affiliate who may be interested in these roles, please share this message with them.

On behalf of the Committee Support team, Keegan (WMF) (talk) 20:23, 18 October 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Wikimedia Foundation Affiliates Strategy: Summary and Report[edit]

Dear Wikimedia affiliate,

Last year, the Wikimedia Foundation Board announced they started the process with creating an Affiliates Strategy in collaboration with the Affiliations Committee, the affiliates, and the broader communities with the intention to develop a strategy that will help guide the Foundation’s immediate work in supporting affiliates for the next few years, with a primary focus on the recognition process, as a direct responsibility of the Board.

Over several months, the Wikimedia Foundation Board engaged with an outside consultant to drive a review process of what work the Foundation was doing to support affiliates. The end goal was to have several recommended actions.

You can read more about the findings and the recommendations on this Meta-Wiki page.

Best,

MPossoupe_(WMF)21:28, 23 October 2023 (UTC)[reply]

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

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]