Wikimedia Foundation elections/2025/Candidates/Ahmad Ali Karim
Ahmad Ali bin A Karim (EmpAhmadK)
EmpAhmadK (talk • meta edits • global user summary • CA • AE)
| Candidate details | .jpg)
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| Candidate video statement | ||
| Total word count for the whole application (required + optional questions) is 2500 words. | ||
| Have you read the minimum candidate requirements and verified you meet the minimum qualifications and the candidate eligibility requirements? | Yes | |
| Have you read the candidate guidelines and agree to abide by the guidelines? | Yes | |
| Required questions | ||
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| Why are you running for the Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees? What would you contribute? What would you like to learn more about? | I have been active in the local Wikimedia movement for the past five years and have been engaging with other like-minded organisations and institutions working towards open knowledge. With my past experiences in the Wikimedia movement and beyond, I look forward to contributing further to our Wikimedia movement by serving in the Board of Trustees, if you were to vote for me. As the movement has been shaped by the many volunteers since the early days of Wikipedia, I believe it is important for our generation to also play a role in ensuring the sustainability of the movement and spirit of open knowledge.
I believe that my experience, although perhaps not as much as some others, is diverse from my involvement in many other institutions. Based on this, I would like to help out in shaping the future of the movement, especially in the face of the new era of AI, and a new generation which challenges the relevance of our movement, as well as the very integrity of reliable knowledge and information. | |
| Please describe your Wikimedia experience (such as contributions to the Wikimedia projects, memberships in Wikimedia organizations or affiliates, activities as a Wikimedia movement organizer, or participation with a Wikimedia movement ally organization). | I began contributing to Wikimedia Commons in 2018 by uploading vectorised graphics, before expanding to Malay Wikipedia and later discovering the Wikimedia user group in Malaysia in 2020. This was when they invited me to help conduct their projects in the movement, such as organising programmes and facilitating other activities such as their Discord server. After helping the user group in organising local programmes including our first WikiGap in 2021, I began representing the user group in events in 2023, starting with Stockholm Internet Forum 2023, where we were invited to discuss on internet freedom policy in the face of crises from the perspective of a developing nation.
Since then, I have attended Wikimania 2023, ESEAP Conference 2024 (also as committee member), Wikimania 2024, Wikimedia Youth Conference 2025, and EduWiki Conference 2025. During all except one of these, I have done a presentation. My presentations ranged from sharing of best practices to training sessions. In September 2023, I became the external relations ambassador for the user group and have been engaging with our strategic partners and expanding the movement’s network. One of my most notable works is coordinating our WikiKata programmes, a collaborative project which was awarded the International Green Gown Award in 2024. I lobbied multiple organisations and institutions, including my university who we have been working closely with in finding a way to integrate Wikimedia projects into higher education. From this, our user group is now a part of RCE Greater Gombak, a network of institutions in Malaysia on education for sustainable development, part of a global network under a United Nations University institution. Aside from external relations, I am an active trainer in Malaysia, and have conducted or facilitated many workshops since 2023, including at invited events such as TEDx conference and EngageMedia's Open Tech Camp, and even in other countries. On wiki, aside from being an active editor, I serve as an administrator for the Kadazandusun Wikipedia, and an interface administrator for the Bajau Sama and Iban Wikipedias, where I have been working on things such as their main page and style sheets as they are all newly opened wikis. On Commons, I have been granted the autopatrolled user right. In 2024, I also established a Wikimedia club in my university. I frequently write about the movement on my newspaper column in Utusan Malaysia. Through that, I have been spreading awareness and providing exposure to the Wikimedia movement to the general Malaysian public, especially initiatives that address issues on marginalised communities such as indigenous people. | |
| From your perspective, what should the Wikimedia Foundation be prioritizing over the next 3-5 years, and why do you see these as the most important priorities? | The biggest challenge we face now is the decline of participation especially from the newer generation, and the rise of competing alternatives (such as generative AI) which poses a threat to reliable information dissemination. Not only is this opening to more misinformation through hallucinations, it also means that the human integration in knowledge will become less relevant in the future, leading to risks such as manipulation from parties with interests.
The Foundation must support the movement’s global community in combating these challenges by tackling these aspects: 1. Support for growing communities We need capacity building for the future generations, especially within growing communities. There are many affiliates still underrepresented, lacking support despite having many potentials. Some have a lot of interested activists who are willing to do all the volunteer work, but they lack proper guidance and other forms of institutional support that would help them conduct their activities better within their regions. 2. Strengthen the technical development Wikimedia relies on technology. If the technology development remains stagnant, people would be more likely to migrate to other tools such as AI. We need to make sure that our platform does not stay behind current technology, even though we do not want to become one of them. Having acquaintances from the tech community in Wikimedia, I have heard from them that certain aspects of our system are in bad shape because the technology is being developed and driven by volunteers. Although this aligns with our movement, it can also be detrimental to the movement itself if its development is unable to catch up due to this factor. Even within my local community, a lot of issues remain unaddressed on Phabricator because nobody is working on it. 3. Empower communities to empower new volunteers We also have to put the new contributors and generation as one of our main targets to ensure the sustainability of our movement. We do not necessarily need to specifically cater to the youth only, but make sure that affiliates have measures to support the long-term participation of new volunteers, and not simply rely on existing ones. Volunteers come and go, not only from retirement, but also from their passing. Although it is obvious, it must really be highlighted in every community that empowering new people is as important as running projects. Affiliates must be empowered to recruit new volunteers who would be valuable to our global community. Many are actually interested to join, but they simply lack awareness or proper facilitation to do so. | |
| Please describe your experience with governing bodies of organizations (nonprofit or for-profit), mentioning the scope of your responsibilities, as well as the complexity of the organization (in terms of scale of operations, budget, number of people involved, or other meaningful measures) and the size of the board or body. | Within the Wikimedia movement, I have been involved with Wikimedia Community User Group Malaysia as External Relations Ambassador since 2023. Along with the rest of the user group, I often take part in discussing and strategising for our future projects and how to move forward as a user group. Our budget in 2025 amounts to around USD $100,000.00.
Since 2025, I have been appointed as the Asia-Pacific Regional Youth Coordinator (RYC) for the Regional Centres of Expertise (RCE). It is a global network of networks under the United Nations University Institute for the Advanced Study of Sustainability (UNU-IAS), with 190+ networks working towards Education for Sustainable Development (ESD). As RYC, I work closely with the Ubuntu Committee of Peers, their Regionial Advisors, as well as UNU-IAS itself, all of which consisting of senior academicians from global institutions. My role is specifically to advise the Global RCE Service Centre on policy-related issues, and also to coordinate the youth movement in Asia-Pacific, where we have 71 networks, most of them operated by academic institutions, and some by civil society organisations. Although I was appointed, the position comes with no financial benefits as the whole global RCE network mostly operate under a non-profit basis, but the global service centre receives funding from UNU, and I am not given the specifics of our budget. I will be serving this position until 31 December 2026. Earlier in 2023, I was first appointed as the Youth Coordinator for RCE Greater Gombak, which is part of the aforementioned network. Over here, I work closely with a committee and secretariat of 12 people, operating a network of 18 organisations working on education for sustainable development in a region of over 7 million people. We engage with the government and parliamentary institution to advocate for ESD policy and initiatives, especially within the context of marginalised communities such as indigenous people and refugees. I do not have exact information on our budget, but we operate as a centre under a large academic institution in Malaysia. At the time of writing this, I am still serving in this position until 31 July 2025. I have also served in a few other smaller low-funded organisations, among which include the Malaysian Education Concorde Organisation (ME’DIDIK), an education-based society consisting of teachers and youth members, where I became the secretary and lobbied for certain education-related issues to the government during the Covid times. However, most of these involve small-impact local-level activities. | |
| Questions from the Community (required) | ||
| These questions were sourced from the community. These questions are required to consider your application complete. If this section is not complete by 23:59 AoE, July 8 (11:59 UTC, July 9), your application will not be considered. | ||
| How do you plan to ensure transparency and accountability in your decision-making processes as a member of the Board of Trustees? | Any decision I make must be soundly based on proper evaluation, and also free from any personal influence whether cultural, belief, or preference. My purpose as a member of the Board is to evaluate and decide on issues completely based on my experience and understanding, as well as the movement principles. In issues that may involve conflicts of interest, I will declare that there is potential for a subconscious influence, and seek advice from the other Board members on whether I should proceed to take part in the decision-making, or if the conflict might be too direct, I might need to stay out to avoid bias. | |
| What will be the first new issue you would like to bring to the attention of the Board for discussion, and how would you approach it? | We need to address the issue of Wikimedia’s public image. Although we know that the general public does not have a strong negative opinion on the movement, we must understand that the impact of influencers on social media criticising us could bring weight to our movement and cause less people to take part in contributing to our platforms. We do not want to create Wikimedia propagandas, but we want to spread awareness on the reality behind our movement and combat the misinformation being spread online about Wikimedia. | |
| How should decisions about trade-offs and prioritisation in Wikimedia technology or product areas be approached? Please explain what the trade-off is in your view. | The biggest issue pertaining to trade-offs in the Wikimedia technology is accessibility. As much as we want to expand our avenues to adapt to newer technologies, we are still facing many accessibility challenges in marginalised areas.
This is where regional empowerment is especially important, as regional hubs may assess the needs of their localities and advise the Foundation on what areas must be improvised. We must not let the issue stop others from innovating, but at the same time we must also keep the matter in our view at all times. | |
| The number of Wikimedia affiliates has grown significantly over the past few years, but ensuring adequate resourcing can be a challenge. Given this, how might we rethink the movement ecosystem, including how affiliates are evaluated, engaged, and resourced? | Some affiliates are doing a lot of programmes, but with little impact; whereas some affiliates are doing not as much or even more, but with more impact. However, they still lack support. Therefore, regional hubs should play a key role in evaluating each affiliate’s potential, not only to reallocate funding, but more importantly to advise them on doing their work more efficiently. Intraregional collaboration (or even interregional whenever possible) must be highly encouraged to promote sharing of best practices and funding efficiency. | |
| As the Wikimedia Foundation's Chief Executive Officer (CEO) position transitions, what qualities do you believe the incoming leader should embody, and how would these contribute to the advancement of the Wikimedia movement? | We need someone who is not only familiar with the global open movement, but more importantly, someone who understands the emerging global challenges of today. Recently, there has been many criticisms against Wikipedia and the Wikimedia movement, especially when we had thee donation campaign throughout June. As much as it is easy to brush it off, the Foundation should speak louder for the movement. The new CEO must someone who would be bold to address these issues, and convince the public on the purpose of the Foundation and the relevance of the movement. The Foundation must be there to equally support the movement, and if we have someone who can truly lead the movement this way, we will be able to have more participation from the people. | |
| Optional questions - Professional Experience, Skills and Education | ||
| These questions are optional. Responses will count towards the total word limit on your application. (Reminder: You will not have other opportunities to provide this information). | ||
| Please describe your professional career experience and relevance to board work. | Although technically unemployed, I have had professional experience in many organisations and institutions, as explained in the fourth required question. Most of these are actually related to education, community engagement and development, as well as policy. The first two are directly related to the Wikimedia movement, with its core idea being to disseminate the sum of all human knowledge to all human beings. The last is relevant to one aspect of the board work, as I am familiar with some aspects of policy formulation and discussions on the issue. | |
| Please describe how you handled, or advised others on, a complex problem in an organization. How did you work with others to address the situation? What was the change that resulted from your efforts? | ||
| Please describe your educational background, including degrees, certificates, and courses of study finished, and their relevance to board work. | َ
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| Please add any relevant links describing your professional background, experience, profile (such as LinkedIn, staff page, etc.). | Links: | |
| Optional questions - Leadership Experience | ||
| These questions are optional. Responses will count towards the total word limit on your application. (Reminder: You will not have other opportunities to provide this information). | ||
| Please describe ways in which you have helped to form a bridge between multiple communities (such as by working on projects outside your home wiki, or working on a collaboration between multiple affiliates). | When handling our WikiKata project, I was able to bridge different communities and organisations to work together on one project, by convincing them that all our works are aligned with each other's interests and goals. By contextualising the movement to their understanding, I was able to convince them to work with us despite being from different fields and disciplines. | |
| Can you describe a policy, on wiki or off, that you helped to create or change? What did you learn from this experience? | I am currently part of the Drafting Committee for the Okayama Declaration on Education for Sustainable Development 2025, which is expected to be signed in October this year. Although I am unable to disclose the details of this work, but I took part in the discussions on what to include in the declaration and on the writing process, which gave me a good insight into the reality of formulating something at such a scale. Sometimes we want to include what seems good for a lot of people, but we forget that it might not apply to all contexts across the world. Therefore, we must always be observant over what must be generalised and what must be specified to ensure that our policy is applicable and appropriate for all. | |
| How have you been able to empower people to make their voices heard? | ||
| Can you describe how you have demonstrated the ability to guide others in solving problems, adapting to change or achieving goals, particularly at a leadership or management level? | As the Asia-Pacific Regional Youth Coordinator at the Regional Centres of Expertise, I engage with the different regions in Asia-Pacific and advise them on how to deal with issues such as lack of engagement and institutional support. I have helped some communities find new collaborators to not only join forces in their efforts but also fund their movement to achieve their goals in hard times. | |
| Optional questions - Strategic Thinking | ||
| These questions are optional. Responses will count towards the total word limit on your application. (Reminder: You will not have other opportunities to provide this information). | ||
| Please describe your experience participating in or leading an organization in planning for its future. How did your work contribute to picking the right path for the organization? | In the Malaysian user group, I had been involved in internal discussions since 2023 for the expansion of the group. Most of my contributions relate back to my role as external relations ambassador, where I seek potential collaborators to work with. Having experienced working with institutions and government agencies outisde the movement, I often advise or handle strategic communications with these bodies to ensure that our goals would be met, especially when contextualising our movement to their ideas. This has helped the user group expand its network of collaborators, including with the national language board, multiple academic institutions, and others. | |
| Verification | Identity verification performed by Wikimedia Foundation staff and eligibility verification performed by the Elections Committee | |
Eligibility:  Verified
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Identification: Verified Verified by: – NahidSultan (WMF) (talk) 04:59, 16 July 2025 (UTC) | |