Talk:Wikibase Community User Group/Archives/2021
Please do not post any new comments on this page. This is a discussion archive first created in 2021, although the comments contained were likely posted before and after this date. See current discussion or the archives index. |
Sunday January 10 Strategic Wikimedia Affiliates Network meeting
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)
Project Grant Open Call
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.
- Video tutorials for writing a strong application
- General planning page for Project Grants
- Program guidelines and criteria
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 projectgrantswikimedia.org.
RSharma (WMF)MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 07:56, 28 January 2021 (UTC)
Upcoming Wikibase Live Session—February 11th, 2021
Hi everyone,
We have our next Wikibase Live Session on Thursday, February 11th at 1600 UTC (Convert local time).
This month we will have a team member from Enslaved.org talk to us briefly about how they are using Linked Open Data (LOD) with the help of Wikibase. Everyone is welcome to attend the call and share-out about their project or what they have been working on recently around Wikibase.
Details about how to participate are below (Add to calendar):
- Time: 16:00 UTC, 1 hour, Thursday 11th February 2021
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask.
Hope to talk to you soon! -Mohammed Sadat (WMDE) (talk) 20:17, 7 February 2021 (UTC)
Sunday February 21 Strategic Wikimedia Affiliates Network meeting
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)
Sunday March 21 Strategic Wikimedia Affiliates Network meeting
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) 04:16, 17 March 2021 (UTC)
Upcoming Wikibase Live Session—March 25th, 2021
Hi everyone,
We have our next Wikibase Live Session on Thursday, March 25th at 1600 UTC (Convert local time).
This month we will have team members from Enslaved.org talk to us about how they are using Linked Open Data (LOD) with the help of Wikibase. Everyone is welcome to attend the call.
Details about how to participate are below (Add to calendar):
- Time: 16:00 UTC, 1 hour, Thursday 25th March 2021
- Google Meet
- Join by phone
- Notes
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask.
Hope to talk to you soon! -Mohammed Sadat (WMDE) (talk) 21:53, 23 March 2021 (UTC)
Sunday April 25 Strategic Wikimedia Affiliates Network meeting
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)
Upcoming Wikibase Live Session—April 29th, 2021
Hi everyone,
We have our next Wikibase Live Session on Thursday, April 29th at 1600 UTC (Convert local time).
This month we invite you to come and share out about your project or what you're working on around Wikibase. Everyone is welcome to attend the call.
Details about how to participate are below (Add to calendar):
- Time: 16:00 UTC, 1 hour, Thursday 29th April 2021
- Google Meet
- Join by phone
- Notes
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask.
Talk to you soon! -Mohammed Sadat (WMDE) (talk) 06:00, 27 April 2021 (UTC)
Invitation for Wikipedia Pages Wanting Photos 2021
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)
Affiliations Committee Call for Candidates - June 2021
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:
- Your full name and Wikimedia username
- 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-ctrwikimedia.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.
- What roles have you served across any Wikimedia projects and affiliates that you think have prepared you for this role?
- AffCom members need to manage time, confidentiality, conflicts of interest, and diverse situations across the global movement. How do you envision managing these?
- Members of AffCom serve on one of two subcommittees: Recognitions OR Conflicts Intervention. Which one of these are you most interested in serving on?
- 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?
- If you are interested in serving on the Recognitions subcommittee, what do you think are the benefits and responsibilities of functioning as formal affiliates?
- If you are interested in serving on the Conflicts Intervention subcommittee, please describe your experience working with conflicts resolution.
- 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 affcomwikimedia.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
Join the new Regional Committees for Grants
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 [1]. 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 [2].
Regional Committees will be established for the following regions:
- Middle East and Africa
- SAARC [3] 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 [4]. Applications have to be submitted by June 4, 2021!
If you have any questions or comments, please use the meta discussion page [5].
Please do share this announcement widely with your Network.
Best wishes,
JBrungs (WMF) (talk) 09:27, 21 May 2021 (UTC) on behalf of the Community Resources Team JBrungs (WMF) (talk) 09:27, 21 May 2021 (UTC)
Organization of the Meta pages of the User Group
Hello,
I would like to improve the organization of the Meta pages related to the User Group. Here are some of the changes I would like to implement:
- Automatically archive sections on this talk page, for instance after 3 months with no reply in a section. Done (automatic archival set to 100 days; a section can also be closed using
{{Section resolved|…}}
and will be archived after 7 days) - Having consistent pages naming and rely more on subpages (for instance to ensure to always have a relevant breadcrumb trail).
- Move Proposed meetings to Meetings. This page would provide a quick overview of incoming and past meetings. The current content would be moved to the talk page, that could be used to discuss incoming meetings. Partly done
- Name the pages of the meetings with an ISO 8601 date (like 2021-05-24), and also apply to their archived notes (at the moment, names are inconsistent and the breadcrumb trail is broken for several archived notes, example). Done
- Pages names of archived notes should not contain the tool used for taking notes (for instance to avoid inconsistencies like this one: the page is named IRC when the event takes place on Telegram). Done
- Create a subpage Reports. Done
- Create a subpage for participants to be transcluded and easing pinging. Not done (no simple and maintained Template:Ping project as in Wikidata; I just split the list into columns)
- Create a dedicated navbox. Done (available here and added to relevant pages)
Moving pages should not be used for sorting them (if needed, sort key is the solution).
Pinging some people who were recently involved in these Meta pages: @Mohammed Sadat (WMDE) and GreenReaper:
I'm ready to implement the changes if there is no objection. Regards, Envlh (talk) 20:19, 24 May 2021 (UTC)
- I'm also wondering if meetings pages and archived notes should be merged, as they duplicate information and complicate navigation. — Envlh (talk) 06:58, 25 May 2021 (UTC)
- I have no objections to these changes including the meeting pages and archived notes merge, thanks for the cleanup Envlh. -Mohammed Sadat (WMDE) (talk) 08:00, 25 May 2021 (UTC)
Upcoming Wikibase Live Session—May 27th, 2021
Hi everyone,
We have our next Wikibase Live Session on Thursday, May 27th at 1600 UTC (Convert local time).
You're welcome to come and share out about your project or what you're working on around Wikibase.
Details about how to participate are below (Add to calendar):
- Time: 16:00 UTC, 1 hour, Thursday 27th May 2021
- Google Meet
- Join by phone
- Notes
Feel free to add discussion points to the agenda.
Talk to you soon! -Mohammed Sadat (WMDE) (talk) 14:33, 25 May 2021 (UTC)
UCoC Affiliates consultation report
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@wikimediaorg) and Ramzy (ramzym-ctr@wikimediaorg).
Regards,
UCoC Team, Wikimedia Foundation
MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 08:51, 27 May 2021 (UTC)
Sunday June 6 Strategic Wikimedia Affiliates Network meeting
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)
Annual reports (discussion from 2021-06-09)
Dear all,
After a productive meeting yesterday with a few members of the user group, we decided on next steps how to keep the official affiliation of the group with the WMF going forward.
One of the key elements is the annual reports. We need to maintain these and submit every year. They can be very very simple and short, but there is also opportunity to develop them into a good documentation resource for group activities.
Crucially, we want to encourage at least a few people to help maintain those as active / helpful documents, rather than just 1 or 2 people having to do it purely as an admin task in the end of the year.
Everyone in this group is welcome to add important events or discussions / outcomes that concern the whole group. The 2020 report has not been submitted yet, so you all still have a chance to contribute to it here: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikibase_Community_User_Group/Reports/2020
And let’s get an early start on the 2021 report here: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikibase_Community_User_Group/Reports/2021
Types of things that can go in the report pages include group meetings, significant announcements on the mailing list, in-depth discussions on the Telegram chat, etc. Community members are also encouraged to add their Wikibase projects or extensions, especially if it’s something that can help or has helped the whole user group through discussion on the chat, etc. And we should be documenting discussions on desired features in the reports, too, because these could potentially justify WMF/WMDE contributions/assistance to the group in the future.
Loz.ross (talk) 18:19, 10 June 2021 (UTC)
Wikimania 2021: Affiliate Program Submissions and Scholarships
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)
On behalf of Wikimania 2021 Core Organizing Team
Upcoming Wikibase Live Session—June 24th, 2021
Hi everyone,
We have our next Wikibase Live Session on Thursday, June 24th at 1600 UTC (Convert local time).
This month we'll have a team member from Wikibase Stakeholders Group talk briefly about their work, and then we'll welcome people to share out about their work around Wikibase. We'll leave some space in the agenda to discuss meta issues related to the Wikibase Community Usergroup.
Details about how to participate are below (Add to calendar):
- Time: 16:00 UTC, 1 hour, Thursday 24th June 2021
- Google Meet
- Join by phone
- Notes
Feel free to add discussion points to the agenda.
Talk to you soon! -Mohammed Sadat (WMDE) (talk) 17:40, 20 June 2021 (UTC)
Final Call for Candidates for AffCom - June 2021
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|]]
Notification of User Group Expiration - Renewal pending submission of reporting
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 February. Please be sure to :
- Post your 2020 annual reporting to the meta via the Wikimedia Affiliates Data Portal as soon as possible to return to compliance with your affiliate 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.
Best regards,
MKaur (WMF) (talk) 15:18, 8 April 2021 (UTC)
- Hello MKaur (WMF), and for anyone interested in this topic,
- Last month, I wrote a short summary of the state of the Wikibase Community User Group and its probable upcoming derecognition.
- If anyone has questions, feel free to contact me.
- Cheers, — Envlh (talk) 22:24, 11 April 2021 (UTC)
- MKaur (WMF) et. al.: Despite the appearance of dormancy, discussion of this matter is ongoing on Telegram - the focus of the community's operations, due to the need many members have for interactive ad-hoc support. As few have been directly involved in organizing matters, and those designated by the community a year ago (notes) on an interim basis (before COVID struck) do not appear to want to (or feel able to) commit to the primary contact role going forwards, talk has ranged onto group reorganization, and what roles and responsibilities might be involved. I think you'll get your report, but we may need an election in order to "complete and submit" it per Wikimedia user groups/User Group Primary Contact Rights & Expectations - I assume it's valid, as it's by the vice-chair and linked from {{Affiliations Committee}}. Such matters might be covered in tomorrow's monthly meeting. GreenReaper (talk) 09:25, 28 April 2021 (UTC)
- GreenReaper Thank you for sharing the action plan. I will wait for updates from your side. MKaur (WMF) (talk) 20:40, 28 April 2021 (UTC)
- MKaur (WMF) and GreenReaper: Sadly, I will not be able to attend the meeting (it was announced only two days ago...). I published a blog post explaining my position: A short history of the Wikibase Community User Group. To be clear, I'm ready to help with the user group. Cheers, Envlh (talk) 11:23, 29 April 2021 (UTC)
- Envlh We can discuss the next steps by discussing concerns over a call. Please write to me on mkaur-ctr(at)wikimedia.org. -MKaur (WMF) (talk) 20:45, 15 May 2021 (UTC)
- GreenReaper Thank you for sharing the action plan. I will wait for updates from your side. MKaur (WMF) (talk) 20:40, 28 April 2021 (UTC)
A meeting is scheduled on June 9 to solve the issue. — Envlh (talk) 20:59, 30 May 2021 (UTC)
@MKaur (WMF): Hi! Several questions were raised during the meeting (notes):
- How many group contacts does a user group have?
- Do all group contacts have the same “rank”? Is there a primary group contact, and a second one acting only when the primary is unavailable?
Cheers, — Envlh (talk) 21:49, 9 June 2021 (UTC)
- Envlh The responses to your questions are as follows-
- All affiliates can have two Primary Contacts who sign the Affiliate agreement. Both the identified PCs are contacted in case of announcements & notifications for the group.
- There is no ranking in members specified by AffCom. You can find the details here- Wikimedia user groups/User Group Primary Contact Rights & Expectations.
Please feel free to reach out in case you have any further questions.-MKaur (WMF) (talk) 20:33, 11 June 2021 (UTC)
A process to elect the group contacts of the Wikibase Community User Group has been set up. The first phase is open. Candidates interested in the position are required to present themselves before 2021-07-08 17:00 (UTC). The community is invited to ask them questions. Cheers, — Envlh (talk) 15:08, 27 June 2021 (UTC)
- The voting phase of the election is now open, until 2021-07-22 (17:00 UTC). I know a couple of eligible candidates have chosen not to run for one reason or another. I'd not personally object if another stepped up at this point, since the delay before voting was primarily so as not to disadvantage those seeing the announcement later than others, and it's unlikely to be a burden for vote-counting. GreenReaper (talk) 15:57, 9 July 2021 (UTC)
- Voting on the candidates (there are now two) will conclude in one hour. I notified Telegram and the mailing list earlier, but figured I'd mention here as well, in case people aren't watching the relevant pages. GreenReaper (talk) 16:06, 22 July 2021 (UTC)
Sunday July 25 Strategic Wikimedia Affiliates Network meeting
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) 14:50, 22 July 2021 (UTC)
Upcoming Wikibase Live Session—July 29th, 2021
Hi everyone,
We have our next Wikibase Live Session on Thursday, July 29th at 1600 UTC (18:00 Berlin) (Convert local time).
This month we'll have a presentation by Luca Mauri explaining the basics of setting up a Wikibase instance from scratch. We will also be discussing the outcome of the Usergroup affiliate 2021 contact election.
Details about how to participate are below:
- Time: 16:00 UTC (18:00 Berlin), 1 hour, Thursday 29th July 2021
- Google Meet
- Join by phone
- Notes
Talk to you soon! -Mohammed Sadat (WMDE) (talk) 15:39, 26 July 2021 (UTC)
Sunday September 26 SWANniversary Party and All-Affiliates Strategic Meeting
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)
Upcoming Wikibase Live Session—September 30th, 2021
Hi everyone,
We have our next Wikibase Live Session on Thursday, September 30th at 1600 UTC (18:00 Berlin) (Convert local time).
What are you working on around Wikibase? You're welcome to come and share with the Wikibase community.
Details about how to participate are below:
- Time: 16:00 UTC (18:00 Berlin), 1 hour, Thursday 30th September 2021
- meet.jit.si/WikibaseLiveSession
- Notes
Talk to you soon! -Mohammed Sadat (WMDE) (talk) 14:12, 27 September 2021 (UTC)
Upcoming Wikibase Live Session—November 25th, 2021
Hi everyone,
We have our next Wikibase Live Session on Thursday, November 25th at 1600 UTC (17:00 Berlin).
What are you working on around Wikibase? You're welcome to come and share with the Wikibase community.
Details about how to participate are below:
- Time: 16:00 UTC (17:00 Berlin), 1 hour, Thursday 25th November 2021
- meet.jit.si/WikibaseLiveSession
- Notes
Talk to you soon! -Mohammed Sadat (WMDE) (talk) 14:12, 27 September 2021 (UTC)
Movement Charter Drafting Committee Thematic Affiliates selection
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) 20:07, 28 September 2021 (UTC)
Learn how the Implementation Grants can support your Movement Strategy plans
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
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) 02:00, 29 October 2021 (UTC)
Sunday November 28 Strategic Wikimedia Affiliates Network meeting
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)
Wikibase: 1.35.5 security release updates
Hello,
We would like to announce the following security and maintenance updates to the Wikibase 1.35 container image, which include fixes to severe security issues in MediaWiki and instructions for disabling features in ElasticSearch to mitigate the recently discovered log4shell vulnerability.
Here are links to important documentation related to the release, which include instructions for updating MediaWiki to 1.35.5 and a security fix for Wikibase:
If updating your Wikibase installation is not an option, please refer to these instructions on disabling the vulnerable code in MediaWiki in the recent security release announcement.
If you have any questions please feel free to ask on this mailing list or leave a comment at Talk:Wikibase/FAQ. Mohammed Sadat (WMDE) (talk) 14:24, 17 December 2021 (UTC)
Affiliations Committee (AffCom) Call for candidates - January 2022
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:
- Your full name and Wikimedia username
- 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-ctrwikimedia.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.
- What roles have you served across any Wikimedia projects and affiliates that you think have prepared you for this role?
- AffCom members need to manage time, confidentiality, conflicts of interest, and diverse situations across the global movement. How do you envision managing these?
- Members of AffCom serve on one of two subcommittees: Recognitions OR Conflicts Intervention. Which one of these are you most interested in serving on?
- 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?
- If you are interested in serving on the Recognitions subcommittee, what do you think are the benefits and responsibilities of functioning as formal affiliates?
- If you are interested in serving on the Conflicts Intervention subcommittee, please describe your experience working with conflicts resolution.
- 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 affcomwikimedia.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)
Affiliations Committee (AffCom) Call for advisors - January 2022
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:
- Strong understanding of the structure and work of Wikimedia affiliates and the Wikimedia Foundation.
- Readiness to participate in political discussions on the role and future of affiliates, models of affiliation, and similar topics.
- Availability of up to 2 hours per week, and the time to participate in a monthly two-hour voice/video meeting
- International orientation and ability to work and communicate with other languages and cultures.
- Knowledge of different legal systems and experience in community building and organizing are a plus.
- Fluency in English is required; skills in other languages are a major plus.
- Experience with or in an active Wikimedia affiliate is a major plus.
- Strong track record of effective collaboration (such as evidenced skills at facilitation, mediation, negotiation, and so forth) is a major plus.
- 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:
- Your full name and Wikimedia username
- A statement describing your relevant experience, skills, and motivation for joining the committee as an advisor.
- The advisor role you would like to serve
- Answers to the following three questions:
- How do you think affiliates work best together to partner on effective projects and initiatives?
- What do you see as the role of affiliates in the Wikimedia movement in the next three years?
- 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)
Upcoming Wikibase Live Session—December 30th, 2021
Hi everyone,
We have our next Wikibase Live Session on Thursday, December 30th at 1600 UTC (17:00 Berlin).
This month we will have a guest presentation by the team at The Semantic Lab at Pratt Institute. They will present how they are using Linked Open Data (LOD) in their projects with the help of Wikibase.
Details about how to participate are below:
- Time: 16:00 UTC (17:00 Berlin), 1 hour, Thursday 30th December 2021
- meet.jit.si/WikibaseLiveSession
- Notes
Talk to you soon! -Mohammed Sadat (WMDE) (talk) 16:26, 21 December 2021 (UTC)