Wikimedia Europe/Location

This is a page where we draft and discuss criteria for selecting the legal seat of a "Wikimedia Europe" hub. Locations discussed are suggestions that came up during conversations and not an exclusive list of candidates.

List of criteria

Technical Criteria

• Team needs Certain activities benefit from physical presence in specific locations.
• Accessibility
• Environmental
• Cost of hiring
• Availability and cost of office space
• Talent pool

Legal & Tax Criteria

• Possibility to certify donations
• Possibility of forwarding funds to other EU countries
• Possibility to forward funds to USA and non EU countries
• Possibility to register an internationally acting non-profit organization
• Employment law possibility and employment
• Conformity of employment and non profit legal environment
• Political stability/Civil Society Protections

Movement Criteria

• Community networking opportunities
• Movement considerations This should include geographic balance and neutral governance.
• Future plans How does the location fit activities that might be taken up in future?

List of potential locations

This list was compiled during the meeting on 18 February. Locations that were nominated by one participant and seconded by another were included.

• Brussels
• Prague
• Vienna
• Utrecht

Timeline

9 Feb Working group finalises criteria
18 Feb Working group gathers location nominations from workshop participants
19 Mar Working group assesses locations according to criteria in a chart.
25 Mar Working groups meet to discuss criteria and make selection.

Decision

Decision made on 25.03.2022 with Brussels as legal seat and AGMs in Prague.