Wikimedia Foundation Board noticeboard/August 2023 Meeting Outcomes

This message, "Outcomes of August Meeting for the Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees", was sent by Nataliia Tymkiv on 03 October 2023.

Outcomes of August Meeting for the Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees

Dear all,

The Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees held its most recent meeting in Singapore and spent time with other attendees by hosting and participating in multiple sessions throughout Wikimania. For example, we hosted a joint session with the Wikimedia Endowment Board to answer questions and engage with participants in small groups about the work of the Endowment and Foundation boards. Conversations covered a wide range of topics from financial projections, to governance and elections, to how the Board is addressing future trends like generative AI.

I would like to acknowledge the conference organisers, volunteers, and staff who made this Wikimania gathering possible. It was an important opportunity to connect and reconnect with many people, and to celebrate the work of volunteers everywhere, especially from the ESEAP region. Thank you to our hosts!

Board Meeting

The official Board meeting took place on Tuesday, August 15. As the Board had just met in late June to approve the Wikimedia Foundation’s annual plan and budget, for this meeting we focused on longer-term strategic objectives related to the work of the Foundation. The Board was once again joined by representatives from the Movement Charter Drafting Committee for this portion of our meeting.

Trustees began by unanimously approving the consent agenda, which included re-appointing Esra’a Al Shafei and Raju Narisetti for their final three-year terms.

The Board of Trustees currently has 12 members: one (1) Community Founder, six (6) community-and-affiliate-selected Trustees, and five (5) board-selected Trustees (one of whom is currently also a community member). Thank you to those who responded with suggestions to our open call to consider nominations for the Audit Committee Chair, as Tanya Capuano’s term ends next year, as it would be good to identify and have a future replacement “shadowing” her for a bit in the Audit Committee.

I can share that the search process ultimately identified a strong candidate with relevant expertise in not-for-profit finance and endowments, and the Board spent some time in Singapore discussing the Governance Committee’s recommendation for a new Audit Chair. Over the past year, the Board has been making intentional improvements in all of our processes (e.g., recruitment, appointments, onboarding, succession planning) to ensure Trustees with limited Wikimedia experience can use their first year to participate in community conferences, events, and on-wiki discussions, thus broadening their familiarity with our diverse communities and projects.

We shall be making a more formal introduction shortly, with plans to seat the new Audit Chair at our December meeting, as has been our practice for a while now. Tanya Capuano has graciously agreed to convert to a volunteer advisor member of the Audit Committee after she steps down from the Trusteeship to ensure stability, continuity and institutional memory.

Finally, the consent agenda also included appointing trustee Lorenzo Losa as Chair of the Product and Technology Committee, as Esra'a Al Shafei stepped down from this position, and approval of the June Board meeting minutes.

You can see the current Board committee membership list on the Foundation wiki here.

The Board received an update on the Wikimedia Foundation Affiliates Recognition Strategy report, which is focused on a small number of recommendations related to the workings of the Affiliations Committee (AffCom). You can read the original announcement here and the call for participation here. The full report has also been shared with AffCom and will be published after legal review. Additional next steps will be shared soon. The Board then spent time reflecting on the Wikimedia Foundation’s newly refreshed values, and how these can better define ways of working for the Foundation as part of the broader Wikimedia movement.

Finally, the Board reviewed feedback reports for the Wikimedia Foundation CEO, as part of her formal evaluation, and also for all Trustees, as part of individual development/growth and collective succession planning for future Board leadership.

Committee Meetings

Board committees (Product and Technology, Talent & Culture, and the Community Affairs Committee Sister Project Task Force) also used this event as an opportunity to have their meetings in person.

Movement Charter Drafting Committee Sessions

The board’s liaisons to the MCDC also met with members of the Movement Charter Drafting Committee, to talk about the Movement Charter drafts published shortly before Wikimania, and the timeline, that meeting also included our colleague Richard (User:Nosebagbear), who as many of you know, passed away shortly after Wikimania. Trustees and I have shared our deepest condolences and reflections about Richard with the MCDC and on his memorial page. Over the years, Richard has made many contributions to the Wikimedia movement and we are all very saddened by his sudden passing.

Links:

Take care, and thank you, antanana / Nataliia Tymkiv Chair, Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees