Wikimedia Europe/Board Elections 2025/Draft Profile

This profile has now been finalized and can be used by members of Wikimedia Europe to find good candidates. Should you still have comments, please feel free to leave them on the talk page.Jan-Bart (talk) 12:02, 2 January 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Profile(s) Wikimedia Europe

Wikimedia Europe is looking to elect a board to serve from mid-2025 until mid-2027. This document is intended to provide background and additional information so that our members can identify possible candidates and nominate them.

About Wikimedia Europe

Wikimedia Europe (WMEU) is an international non-profit association (AISBL) advocating for free knowledge, access to information, and freedom of expression, working to advance the common good and serve the public interest as mandated by the Wikimedia Movement in Europe.

Wikimedia Europe represents 30 Wikimedia movement affiliates (National Chapters, Users Groups and Thematic Organisations) and builds upon the Free Knowledge Advocacy Group EU, leveraging its 10-year history in public policy design and advocacy in the area of digital rights and extensive tech expertise.

You can find more information on Wikimedia Europe on this meta page.

The Wikimedia Europe Board

Wikimedia Europe selected its initial board in 2022. This board’s mission was to guide the creation of the legal entity “Wikimedia Europe” and provide guidance for the creation of the first Board in 2024. Due to unforeseen delays in the creation of Wikimedia Europe, the term of the initial board was extended to mid-2025.

The initial board of Wikimedia Europe consists of four elected members and one member that was appointed by the elected members.

(S)electing the first board of Wikimedia Europe

During the past two general assembly meetings, we have outlined the process which we intend to follow to (s)elect the board.

The proposed process consists of the following steps

Publishing the profile for the candidates (this document)
Members can nominate candidates
Candidates are interviewed by facilitator and current chair
The current board (with the support of the facilitator) will come to a recommendation for the members to vote on (March)
There will be a public session where candidates will present themselves and members can ask questions.
Members can vote on the proposed board, casting a vote on each individual candidate (50% approval needed to appoint a member)

The process of electing the first board of Wikimedia Europe will be facilitated by Jan-Bart de Vreede (WMNL). He will work with the current initial board and staff of Wikimedia Europe to come to a proposal for the members to vote on in April (this will be an online vote which will take place before the General Assembly).

After the four members have been selected, they will select someone for the fifth board seat.

Current Situation

Out of the current four members two have decided to run for re-appointment:

Claudia Garád. Currently president of the board. Is also the Executive Director of Wikimedia Austria and has been involved with Wikimedia Europe for a long time (from when it was still called the Free Knowledge Advocacy Group EU (and before)).

Capucine-Marin Dubroca-Voisin. Is currently the treasurer and was the chair of Wikimedia France from 2021 until 2024.

When looking at this from the perspective of continuity and new perspectives within the board a turnover of two of the four members is one of the better options. The Initial board has discussed increasing its size in order to have a broader base of expertise but has decided that a total of five board members is the optimal size for Wikimedia Europe in the coming board period.

So we are looking for two additional board members to serve on the 2025-2027 board of Wikimedia Europe (and we are very grateful to Maciej and Goncalo for their amazing participation in the Initial Board!).

Profile

We looked at the current board composition, its expertise and skills.

After that, we discussed what the 2025-2027 board is expected to have to work on, what challenges are we facing and what the staff needs in terms of support. We then translated this to the expertise and skills that are needed.

During the General Assembly in Prague (May 2024) we asked you, our members, what you found important when looking for new board members.

We then looked at what is covered by the two board members who intend to run again (and the 5th appointed member)

When summarizing this we come to the following criteria for the two board members we are looking for:

Overall

We are looking for candidates that

Have governance experience. Ideally, this is both within Wikimedia Affiliates and other non-profit entities.
Have experience within the Wikimedia Movement. Preferably within several different aspects of the movement.
Are team players that have experience with multi-cultural organisations. You will work both with fellow board members and staff.
Are able to commit a few hours per month for strategic advisory responsibilities, with increased availability during critical periods when there is a lot of activity in their area of expertise.
Ideally have some experience with Human Resource Management
Ideally have some experience with Financial Management

Specifically

We are looking for candidates that have one or more of the following expertise areas:

Public Policy: crucial for providing strategic advice on the formulation and advocacy of policies related to freedom of expression and access to knowledge.

Strategic Policy Advisory: Offers expert guidance on public policy formulation, ensuring alignment with the organisation’s mission and the interests of member organisations.
Support in Communication: Provides strategic oversight and guidance to staff responsible for communicating complex policy issues, ensuring clarity and consistency in external messaging.
Global Perspective: Offers a broad understanding of and connections to global stakeholders and dynamics in internet governance, particularly regarding freedom of expression and access to knowledge, supporting staff in aligning their work with the organisation’s mission and the broader global movement.
Diplomacy and Stakeholder Engagement: Advises and supports staff in engaging with stakeholders, fostering relationships and building diplomacy in internet governance and advocacy contexts and for the organisation’s sustainability.
Capacity Building Support: Advises and supports staff in developing capacity-building programs that address members’ diverse needs, including public policy formulation, governance, and advocacy strategies.
Analytical Thinking: Employs strong analytical skills to assess the implications of policy changes and developments, ensuring the organisation remains responsive and proactive in its advocacy efforts

EU Affairs: The EU Affairs role is essential for advising on strategic engagement with EU institutions and navigating relevant legislation that impacts the organisation and its members.

Strategic Advisory Role: Provides expert guidance on EU policies and legislative developments, ensuring alignment with the organisation’s mission and supporting member organisations in advocacy efforts.
Strategic Analysis: Offers support to staff in addressing strategic questions in EU legislation, helping to assess implications for the organisation and its member organisations and ensuring advocacy strategies are timely and well-informed.
Diplomatic Engagement: Provides insights into the roles of EU institutions in shaping policy, legislation, and governance, guiding staff in their interactions with these bodies, helping to foster relationships and strengthen the organisation's presence with policymakers, regulators, and civil society organisations.
Support in Communication: Offers strategic oversight and guidance to staff responsible for communicating complex EU policy and legislative issues, ensuring clarity and alignment with the organisation's goals.
Wikimedia Positioning Awareness: Recognizes the organisation's role within the broader global movement for freedom of expression and access to knowledge, supporting staff in how to integrate this perspective into their work with EU institutions.

Overall Composition

We will look at the board as a whole and we would like to have some experience/skills present in two or more members

a. Financial Resource Management experience

b. Human Resource Management experience

But more importantly, we would like to have a diverse board in order to provide as many different perspectives on the challenges that Wikimedia Europe is facing. Diversity includes (but is not limited to) geographic, ethnic and cultural background; gender, age and orientation

Procedure

Any member of Wikimedia Europe can nominate a candidate for a board seat. For practical reasons we would like to limit this to a maximum of one candidate per member and want to emphasize that more endorsements of a candidate are not needed (or desirable)

An affiliate can nominate a member by having the designated representative of the affiliate send an email with details to jan-bart@wikimedia.nl.

The deadline for a nomination is the 1^st of February 2025

Appendix A

Outcome of Wikimedia Board skills/expertise consultation in Prague 2024. We asked our members three questions. Please note that all those present were allowed to express their opinion, not just one vote per member. Note: this will removed from the final profile and is just included to recap this information for the draft.

The outcome was as follows

The members also indicated that while they were ok with the proposed procedure, it is important to have a vote on the individual candidates (implemented)