Hi all,
please find below the WMF report for June 2012, in plain text.
As always, the editable and formatted version has been published on Meta:
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_Report,_June_2012
and the reports are posted on the Wikimedia blog, too:
https://blog.wikimedia.org/c/corporate/wmf-monthly-reports/
As usual, we are also publishing a separate "Highlights" summary.
Please consider helping non-English-language communities to stay
updated, by providing a translation:
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Highlights,_June_2012
Many thanks to those who translated last month's "Highlights" into
Arabic, Danish, French, Japanese, Macedonian, Dutch, Russian and
Turkish.
While still focussing on WMF activities, the "Highlights" include a
small selection of the most noteworthy events from the whole movement.
Suggestions for the upcoming July issue are welcome at
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Talk:Wikimedia_Highlights
(until August 2).
Regards, Tilman
--
Wikimedia Foundation Report, June 2012
* 1 Data and Trends
* 2 Financials
* 3 Highlights
o 3.1 Advisory group discusses future funds dissemination
structure
o 3.2 Second Visual Editor prototype launched
o 3.3 "Teahouse" pilot concludes with encouraging results
o 3.4 Hackers convene in Berlin
* 4 Technology
o 4.1 Events
o 4.2 Operations
o 4.3 Features Engineering
o 4.4 Internationalization and Editor Engagement Experiments
o 4.5 Mobile Engineering
o 4.6 Platform Engineering
* 5 Fundraising
o 5.1 Major Gifts and Foundations
o 5.2 Fundraiser
* 6 Global Development
o 6.1 Grants Program
+ 6.1.1 Grants Awarded and Executed
+ 6.1.2 Participation Support
o 6.2 Fellowships
o 6.3 Editor Growth and Contribution Program
o 6.4 Brazil Catalyst
o 6.5 Arabic Language Initiative
o 6.6 US Cultural Partnerships
o 6.7 Mobile and Business Development
o 6.8 Wikipedia Education Program
o 6.9 India Programs
+ 6.9.1 Indic Languages
+ 6.9.2 India Outreach
+ 6.9.3 India Communications
o 6.10 Community support
o 6.11 Program support
o 6.12 Communications
+ 6.12.1 Major announcements
+ 6.12.2 Major Storylines through March
+ 6.12.3 Other worthwhile reads
+ 6.12.4 Wikipedia Signpost
+ 6.12.5 WMF Blog posts
+ 6.12.6 Media Contact
* 7 Human Resources
o 7.1 Statistics
o 7.2 Department Updates
* 8 Finance and Administration
* 9 Legal and Community Advocacy
* 10 Visitors and Guests
== Data and Trends ==
Global unique visitors for May:
*492.39 million* (4.02% compared with April; 19.79% compared with
the previous year)
(comScore data for all Wikimedia Foundation projects; comScore will
release June data later in July)
Page requests for June:
*18.1 billion* (+0.2% compared with May; +22.7% compared with the
previous year)
(Server log data
<http://stats.wikimedia.org/EN/TablesPageViewsMonthlyAllProjects.htm>,
all Wikimedia Foundation projects including mobile access)
Active Registered Editors for May 2012 (>= 5 edits/month):
*85,200* (+0.38% compared with April / +3.25% compared with the
previous year)
(Database data
<http://reportcard.wmflabs.org/graphs/active_editors>, all Wikimedia
Foundation projects except for Wikimedia Commons. Note: In the near
future, we will be moving to a metric that takes into account SUL
and Wikimedia Commons.)
*Report Card* (integrating various statistical data and trends about WMF
projects) for May 2012:
http://reportcard.wmflabs.org/
== Financials ==
<Image: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:WMF_Revenue_and_Expenses_May_2012.p…>
Wikimedia Foundation YTD Revenue and Expenses vs Plan as of May 31, 2012>
<Image: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:WMF_YTD_Expenses_May_2012.png>
Wikimedia Foundation YTD Expenses by Functions as of May 31, 2012>
(Financial information is only available through May 2012 at the time of
this report.)
All financial information presented is for the period of July 1, 2011 -
May 31, 2012.
Revenue $ 35,563,497
*Expenses:*
Technology Group $ 10,979,122
Community/Fundraiser Group $ 3,612,603
Global Development Group $ 3,882,629
Governance Group $ 863,259
Finance/Legal/HR/Admin Group $ 6,127,792
Total Expenses $ 25,465,405
Total surplus/(loss) $ 10,098,092
* Revenue for the month is $659K vs plan of $162K, approximately $497K
or 306% over plan.
* Year-to-date is $35.6MM vs plan of $29MM, approximately $6.6MM or
23% over plan.
* Expenses for the month is $3.4MM vs plan of $2.2MM, approximately
$1.2MM or 50% higher than plan, largely due to catching up on
planned capital expenditures.
* Year-to-date is $25.5MM vs plan of $ 25.7MM, approximately $252K or
1% lower than plan.
* Cash position is $29.1MM as of May 31, 2012 which is approximately
12.5 months of expenses.
== Highlights ==
=== Advisory group discusses future funds dissemination structure ===
<Image: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:FDC_Advisory_Group_3.JPG
The FDC advisory group meeting in San Francisco>
On June 9-10, the advisory group for the formation of the future Funds
Dissemination Committee
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Funds_Dissemination_Committee/Framework_for…>
(FDC) met at the Foundation's offices in San Francisco
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Funds_Dissemination_Committee/FDC_Advisory_…>.
Community volunteers, Wikimedia Trustees, chapter representatives,
Foundation staff and members of the Bridgespan Group discussed how the
FDC will guide the decisions about the distribution of money (over 10
million US dollars in 2012-13) among the Foundation, chapters and other
groups. Based on the resulting recommendations, the Board of Trustees
has since approved
<https://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Resolution:Funds_Dissemination_Committ…>
the charter and initial operation of the FDC. Wikimedians who wish to
serve on the FDC are invited to nominate themselves
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Funds_Dissemination_Committee/Nominations>.
<Image: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Visual_Editor-logo.svg>
Logo of the Visual Editor project>
=== Second Visual Editor prototype launched ===
A new prototype of the "visual editor" for Wikimedia projects was
launched
<https://blog.wikimedia.org/2012/06/21/help-us-shape-wikimedias-prototype-vi…>,
the first release that can create and edit pages. It will enable users
to contribute without having to learn complicated wikitext syntax.
=== "Teahouse" pilot concludes with encouraging results ===
The Teahouse <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Teahouse>, where new
Wikipedia editors can receive support from experienced community
members, concluded its three month pilot phase
<https://blog.wikimedia.org/2012/06/15/wikipedia-teahouse-pilot-helps-new-ed…>
on the English Wikipedia, publishing a report
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Teahouse/Pilot_report> and metrics
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Teahouse/Host_lounge/Metrics>. 568
volunteers participated in the pilot. In a survey, 70% said that they
were satisfied with their Teahouse experience, while only 5% were not
satisfied. New editors who are invited to the Teahouse made many more
edits afterwards than those who do not receive an invitation. 28 percent
of Teahouse participants are women, compared to 9 percent of editors on
Wikipedia in general.
=== Hackers convene in Berlin ===
<Image: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wikimedia_Berlin_Hackathon_-_2012-0…
A panoramic view of the Berlin Hackathon>
Over 100 participants from 30 countries came to Berlin
<https://blog.wikimedia.org/2012/06/02/diverse-wikimedia-tech-crowd-gathers-…>
for the Berlin Hackathon
<https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Berlin_Hackathon_2012>, co-organized by
Wikimedia Deutschland and the Foundation. They included MediaWiki
developers, Toolserver users, systems administrators, bot writers and
maintainers, Gadget creators, and other Wikimedia technologists. The
community also learned more about the Wikidata
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikidata> and
RENDER <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/RENDER> projects.
== Technology ==
A detailed report of the Tech Department's activities for June 2012 can
be found at:
https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Wikimedia_engineering_report/2012/June
=== Events ===
The Berlin Hackathon took place in the German capital (see "Highlights"
section).
=== Operations ===
IPV6 Launch day (6/6/12) came and went without much fanfare, and we
launched IPv6 support for all Wikimedia projects
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/IPv6_initiative/2012_IPv6_Day_announcement>.
We have been keeping IPV6 traffic on since.
Also, regarding data dumps
<https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/WMF_Projects/Data_Dumps>, media downloads per
project are now live, along with one or two "incremental" downloads per
month. We're looking for more mirror sites for media, dumps or pageview
stats; send us ideas!
And the Ops team has identified a new San Francisco colocation to be the
new West Coast caching center. Work on building up the infrastructure is
planned to begin this coming August/September. With this caching center,
we will be able to improve users' site experience for the North American
West Coast and Asia Pacific.
=== Features Engineering ===
The team did the first deployment of VisualEditor and Parsoid
<https://blog.wikimedia.org/2012/06/21/help-us-shape-wikimedias-prototype-vi…>,
with an early version now live in a test namespace on mediawiki.org.
This editor is broadly feature-compatible with the old code which this
replaces, while being the first release that can create and edit pages.
The team is now planning to deploy new code to mediawiki.org as it
develops every two weeks or so.
We deployed an updated version of the New Pages Feed
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/en:Special:NewPagesFeed> (formerly called Page
Triage <https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Page_Triage>) on the English Wikipedia.
This new tool provides an enhanced list of pages for review by community
patrollers. The team also deployed the first version of a new curation
toolbar to appear on article pages, enabling patrollers to get more
article info, mark pages as reviewed, or tag them. You can check out the
current prototype <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:NewPagesFeed> on the
English Wikipedia, as well as the latest version
<http://ee-prototype.wmflabs.org/wiki/Special:NewPagesFeed> on Wikimedia
Labs.
With the engineering community team, features engineers also worked on
scripts, gadgets, templates, and other tools to make it easier to
document and report their work.
Features engineers also put up a demo <http://rl2.wmflabs.org/> of the
newest version of mw:ResourceLoader
<https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/ResourceLoader>, nearly finished a new
MediaWiki extension to help with the Wikipedia Education Program
<https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Wikipedia_Education_Program>, worked on code
integration and migration for the fundraiser
<https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/2012_Wikimedia_fundraiser>, and more.
=== Internationalization and Editor Engagement Experiments ===
The Article Feedback Tool
<https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Article_feedback/Version_5> (AFT5): This
month, the team completed primary feature development for this tool,
including the article feedback page
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:ArticleFeedbackv5/San_Francisco>, the
central feedback page
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:ArticleFeedbackv5>, and the final
feedback form <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Francisco?aftv5_form=6>
(scroll to bottom of page). We started writing and publishing new
documentation about this project, including this help page
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Article_Feedback/Help/Editors>. Dario
Taraborelli <https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/User:DarTar>, Aaron Halfaker
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:EpochFail> and Oliver Keyes
<https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/User:Okeyes_(WMF)> published a full report
<https://blog.wikimedia.org/2012/06/25/converting-readers-into-editors-new-r…>
that suggests that people who post feedback are more likely to edit
articles afterwards. We have started a wider deployment of AFT, which
will gradually increase our coverage to 10% of the English encyclopedia
by the end of July, with full deployment a couple months later.
The internationalisation team completed initial UI design and user
experience testing for the Universal Language Selector (ULS), and is now
developing an initial prototype.
=== Mobile Engineering ===
The mobile team developed and showcased a first version of a Wiki Loves
Monuments mobile application
<https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Wiki_Loves_Monuments_mobile_application>,
released the official Wiktionary Android app (developed by
<https://blog.wikimedia.org/2012/06/19/announcing-the-official-wiktionary-an…>
student volunteers <https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/UCOSP_Spring_2012>), and
released new versions of Wikipedia applications for Android and iOS
<https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Apps> that use a new content
selection API for mobile apps. They also made significant progress on a
new navigation UI
<https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Mobile_design/Wikipedia_navigation>, an early
version of which was released on the mobile beta site, and switched some
sibling projects to become "mobile default"
<https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Mobile_default_for_sibling_projects>.
We've been making significant progress recently to secure the necessary
partnerships that will make it possible to provide Wikipedia over SMS
<https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Wikipedia_over_SMS_%26_USSD>. Also, we've been
conducting Wikipedia Zero <https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Wikipedia_Zero>
tests with Orange in six different countries, and are testing and
refining with partners in Bangladesh and Montenegro.
=== Platform Engineering ===
During its work in June, the MediaWiki core team completed or prepared
multiple MediaWiki deployments to Wikimedia sites
<https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/MediaWiki_1.20/Roadmap>, led tutorial sessions
on Lua scripting <https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Lua_scripting/Tutorial>,
moved many more MediaWiki extensions to Git
<https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Git/Conversion> and improved Gerrit's IRC
logging, and investigated moving from PHP 5.3 to PHP 5.4.
Also, work has started on a more complete set of requirements and user
stories for OAuth <https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/OAuth>. Chris Steipp
<https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/User:CSteipp> put out a call for user stories
<https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/OAuth/User_stories>. Comments are welcome on
the wikitech-l mailing list thread about OAuth
<http://thread.gmane.org/gmane.science.linguistics.wikipedia.technical/61692>,
and/or the OAuth talk page <https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Talk:OAuth>.
The Quality Assurance/testing team focused on hiring the QA Engineer
<http://hire.jobvite.com/Jobvite/Job.aspx?j=odKnWfw0&c=qSa9VfwQ> and
Volunteer QA Coordinator
<http://hire.jobvite.com/Jobvite/Job.aspx?j=oX4sWfw9&c=qSa9VfwQ>. They
also worked on testing mw:Article Feedback
<https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Article_Feedback> (including via an event on
IRC with OpenHatch and new testing volunteers
<https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Article_feedback/Testing_June_2012>), and are
working to turn Wikimedia Labs into a suitable test environment. Timo
Tijhof <https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/User:Krinkle> is working on setting up
the new TestSwarm in Wikimedia Labs.
The Analytics team worked on benchmarking for some of its
analysis/logging software <https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Analytics/Kraken>,
improvements to logging for pageviews
<https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Analytics/Pageview_logging>, and on
improvements for the monthly report card
<https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Analytics/Reportcard>. And the Engineering
Community Team continued its work of volunteer coordination and
outreach, documentation, and facilitation of "20%" work
<https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Wikimedia_engineering_20%25_policy>.
== Fundraising ==
=== Major Gifts and Foundations ===
* We hired Sara Lasner as the Development Outreach Manager.
* Jonathan Curiel attended the Knight Foundation's conference.
=== Fundraiser ===
<Image: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Victor_Grigas_interviewing_Anton_Ko…>
Victor interviewing an editor in Saint Petersburg, Russia>
* Interviewed attendees at the Berlin hackathon
* Conducted donor research and prepared for the 2012 fundraiser with
the German chapter
* Interviewed 20 Wikipedians in Russia and researched improvements to
make for the Russia campaign to test in July
* Collaborated with Swedish chapter to optimize the fundraiser and
translations in Sweden
* Prepared to interview attendees at Wikimania in July
* Weekly testing continued, see Fundraising 2012/We Need A
Breakthrough
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fundraising_2012/We_Need_A_Breakthrough>
* New additions to payment methods: Amazon Payments, Google Checkout
and Yandex (Russian E-wallet). These methods should be tested soon.
* We hired Adam Wight, fundraising engineer.
== Global Development ==
Global Development Highlights
* Funds dissemination advisory group meetings took place in San
Francisco on 9 June and 10 June (see general "Highlights" section
<#Highlights>)
=== Grants Program ===
* Localization: grants instructions page translated into more than 12
languages
==== Grants Awarded and Executed ====
* Amical / GLAM outreach
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Grants:Amical/Glam_%26_outreach>
* Ada Initiative / AdaCamp DC
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Grants:Ada_Initiative,_Inc./AdaCamp_DC_Fund…>
* Wikimedia Norway / Nordic Chapter meeting
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Grants:Wikimedia_Norway/Nordic_Chapter_Meet…>
* Wikimedia Serbia / GLAM Start Up
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Grants:WM_RS/GLAM_Start_Up>
* User:Smallbones / Congressional Cemetery QRpedia Project
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Grants:User:Smallbones/Congressional_Cemete…>
* Wikimedia South Africa / Gauteng Meeting
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Grants:WM_ZA/Gauteng_meeting>
* ITOCA / South Africa train-the-trainer workshop
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Grants:ITOCA/Train-the-trainer_South_Africa…>
* Wikimedia Ukraine - Programs 2012
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Grants:WM_UA/Programs_in_Ukraine_2012>
=== Participation Support ===
* Localization: Participation Support instructions page translated
into 5 languages
=== Fellowships ===
* We launched the Fellowship News
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fellowship_News>, a monthly
digest containing updates on each fellowship project.
* Teahouse Project (see also "Highlights" section) -
Both the pilot project report
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Research:Teahouse/Pilot_Report>
and metrics report
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Research:Teahouse/Metrics> are now
complete. Based on pilot learnings and community feedback, we’ve
developed a plan for phase 2
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Research:Teahouse/Phase_2_plan>
of the project, which will run through October. The project team and
community volunteers are beginning work on this phase with a focus
on building scalability and long-term sustainability into the
Teahouse, and continuing to demonstrate the project’s impact on new
editor engagement and retention.
* Help Project - Peter launched a survey to better understand how new
and experienced editors currently use Wikipedia’s help
documentation, and preliminary results
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Help_Project/June_2012_survey>
are being compiled. Scripts are complete for the first in-person
usability tests of key help pages, which are scheduled to begin in
early July. More project updates are available in the Help Project
Newsletter <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Help_Project/Newsletter>.
* Dispute Resolution Project - Steven has collated his survey results
and an analysis of dispute resolution forum activity metrics is in
progress. The full survey report will be released soon, meanwhile a
monthly update
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Steven_Zhang/Dispute_resolution_fellowsh…>
containing preliminary findings is now available.
* Small Wiki Editor Engagement Project - Tanvir has been leading
discussions with the Bangla community to identify barriers and
opportunities for on-wiki strategies
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Small_Wiki_Editor_Engagement_Project/Report…>
that can be done to encourage more new editors on Bangla Wikipedia.
Input is now being collected from readers in order to help
prioritize experiments and plan tactics aimed at encouraging more
would-be and new editors.
<Image: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Editor_Growth_and_Contribution_Prog…>
Logo of the Editor Growth and Contribution Program>
=== Editor Growth and Contribution Program ===
* The contribution portal
<https://ar.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D9%88%D9%8A%D9%83%D9%8A%D8%A8%D9%8A%D8%AF%D9…>
has been launched on Arabic Wikipedia, banners are running to drive
logged-in users to the portal page which contains 6 visual
tutorials, and baseline metrics are now being collected.
Experimental changes are planned for each coming week.
=== Brazil Catalyst
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Brazil_Catalyst_Project> ===
Catalyst Program planning
* Released catalyst program planning page to open debate with
community members
* Discussions took place on Meta, IRC and in person
* Engaged and interacted with people I (Oona) hadn't met yet
* Published a draft on the job position for community organizer
(nobody commented on the page - which is a sign of both people not
feeling comfortable to add ideas when it doesn't seem a draft and
also not too controversial)
Education Program
* Released open call for professors for the education program (worked
with Everton on writing the call, contacting professors, preparing
FAQ page, reviewing online form)
* Planning wrap-up
* Continuity of Everton's Contract
Invitations for events and partnerships
* International Federation of Medical Students' Associations of Brazil
(IFMSA) <http://www.ifmsabrazil.org/> - for working with the
education program as a project that can result on certificates for
medicine students
* Sebrae-RS <http://www.sebrae-rs.com.br/> - Feira do Empreendedor
(they want not only an institutional lecture from Oona but also are
opening a laboratory for Wikimedia to run workshops there - need to
share with RS community)
* Fiocruz <http://portal.fiocruz.br/> (Núcleo Next and Library) - two
departments under debate for more strategic partnering on social and
pair validation of content
* National Library - follow up to be continued (National Library is
about to release a digital library)
* Ministry of Culture (participation in debate on Economy of Culture,
cultural networks and communities)
=== Arabic Language Initiative ===
Barry Answering Questions 6 - Computer.theora.ogv
<Video: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Barry_Answering_Questions_6_-_Compu…
Barry Newstead answering questions about the Arabic Language Initiative>
* Drafted the initiative's strategic plan
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Global_Development/Arabic_Language_Initiati…>
* Posted a job summary
<http://hire.jobvite.com/Jobvite/Job.aspx?j=oC9tWfwU&c=qSa9VfwQ> for
the Arabic initiative director, see our blog post: "Who will lead
the Arabic Language Initiative?
<http://blog.wikimedia.org/2012/06/16/who-will-lead-the-arabic-language-init…>".
* In collaboration with the Twitter-based initiative Taghreedat
<http://www.taghreedat.com/>, a series of editing workshops is being
organized in Dubai
(http://thenextweb.com/me/2012/05/30/taghreedat-launches-arabic-wikipedia-ed…)
and Qatar. The first took place on June 20 in Abu Dhabi with more
than 80 participants.
=== US Cultural Partnerships ===
* Facilitated dialogue surrounding the establishment of a GLAM-Wiki US
Consortium <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:GLAM/US/Consortium>,
which will be launched during Wikimania
* Preparations for Wikimania, including the GLAM Night Out
<https://wikimania2012.wikimedia.org/wiki/GLAM_Night_Out> event at the
Newseum, multiple presentations and panels, and support for the
Wikipedia Loves Libraries
<https://wikimania2012.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia_Loves_Libraries>
workshop
=== Mobile and Business Development ===
* Launched our first on-the-ground marketing of Free Access to
Wikipedia on Mobile with Orange in Tunisia. Orange put up over
100,000 flyers, 100 street pole posters, and noticeboards at 11
universities. Also, they ran radio ads to reach people that haven't
accessed information on their mobile phones before. See
http://blog.wikimedia.org/2012/06/20/marketing-free-knowledge-on-mobile-in-…
* Completed our second FULL launch of Free Mobile on Wikipedia (after
Digi in Malaysia), which occured on Orange's network in Niger.
* Continued testing and/or soft launches of Wikipedia Zero (or Free m.
access) in seven countries: Uganda, Tunisia, Bangladesh, Montenegro,
Ivory Coast, Kenya and Cameroon.
=== Wikipedia Education Program ===
* Professor in Argentina teaches with Wikipedia: A blog post recently
published highlighted the work being done in Argentina by Professor
Lila Pagola at the University of Villa Maria. Professor Pagola
teaches a course on the history of photography for which she asks
her students to contribute article to the Spanish Wikipedia on
course-related topics.
<http://www.ludost.org/content/wikimedia-education>
* New Case Studies brochure released: Professors around the world
share their experiences using Wikipedia as a teaching tool in a new
brochure developed by the Wikimedia Foundation. "Case Studies: How
professors are teaching with Wikipedia" has an online component to
each feature, where interested professors can get more information
about the assignment, including the professor's course page on wiki,
syllabus, and assignment. Fifteen professors from six countries are
featured in the brochure.
<http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wikipedia_Education_Program_Case_Stu…>
* Application process opens for U.S., Canada classes: New for fall
2012, professors from the United States and Canada interested in
participating in the Wikipedia Education Program will need to apply
to join the program. With increasing demand for support from
Ambassadors, we need to prioritize classes that are contributing the
most content – words or illustrations – to Wikipedia articles, so
we've created an application process designed to better pair
professors with Ambassadors.
<http://outreach.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia_Education_Program/US-Canada/Jo…>
* Canadian professor writes of her experience: University of British
Columbia Professor Tina Loo published a blog post on the Network in
Canadian History and Environment (NiCHE) site about why she was
happy to use Wikipedia in her classroom last term. Professor Loo's
students wrote on North American environmental history topics, and
she found the assignment to be well worth her efforts.
<http://niche-canada.org/node/10397>
* Cairo conference celebrates pilot successes: Wikimedia Foundation
staff and Cairo Pilot professors, Ambassadors, and students are
gathering at Ain Shams University in Cairo this week for a
celebration of the initial successes of the pilot program. Students
in seven classes at Ain Shams and Cairo University participated in
the pilot program this term, contributing the equivalent of 372
pages of content to the Arabic Wikipedia, even with the political
turmoil present the entire term.
<http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cairo_conference_agenda.pdf>
=== India Programs ===
<Image: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ne-wiki10-1.JPG
Putting up a welcome sign for the tenth anniversary celebrations of the
Nepali Wikipedia>
<Image: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Assamese_Wikipedia_-10th_Birth_Anni…
Banner at the tenth anniversary celebration of the Assamese Wikipedia>
<Image: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Kannada_Wiki_9th_Anniversary_gather…
Gathering for the ninth anniversary of the Kannada Wikipedia>
==== Indic Languages ====
* Supported the 10th anniversary celebrations of the Assamese, Kannada
and Nepali Wikipedias
* Supported Wikisource and Wiktionary initiatives in Gujarati,
Kannada, Telugu, and Bangla
* Supported a series of initiatives by the Malayalam community -
announcements of which will be made appropriately by the Malayalam
community
* Initiated discussions with Gujarati, Tamil & Assamese communities
* Supported the improvement of a Wikipedia Help Desk by the Odia
community, which can serve as a model for other language Wikipedia
Help Desks
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/India_Program/Pilot_Designs/Community_build…>.
==== India Outreach ====
* Continued to build on the social media pilot for outreach in English
and in Odia, as well as commenced discussions to support the
community to explore it in Hindi, Kannada and Nepali
* Working on building a model for Student Clubs
o Partnered with British Council to set up a Wikipedia Club in Delhi
o Two introductory sessions were conducted (with about 70
particpants in total); third more detailed editing session to be
conducted in the coming week
* Supporting Kannada community to conduct outreach sessions in schools
* Continued working with other Indic communities to get outreach
supporting material translated
* Commenced discussions with the Simple English Wikipedia community to
explore the potential for a pilot of the Education Program and the
initial response indicates that the time is not right
==== India Communications ====
The following press coverage was supported in some manner or the other
by India Program. (Typically, the team would support the community by
helping draft a press release and then also help with media contacts
wherever possible.)
Assamese 10th Anniversary:
* http://www.northeasttoday.in/our-states/assam/assamese-wikipedia-celebrates…
* http://news.outlookindia.com/items.aspx?artid=765639
* http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/industry-and-economy/info-tech/article3…
* http://www.sify.com/news/assamese-wikipedia-completes-10-years-of-existence…
* http://ibnlive.in.com/generalnewsfeed/news/assamese-wikipedia-completes-10-…
* http://issuu.com/assamese/docs/ghy_13062012?mode=window&backgroundColor#222…
* http://www.telegraphindia.com/1120611/jsp/northeast/story_15594299.jsp
* http://sevensisterspost.com/?p=17895
* http://amarasom.glpublications.in/Details.aspx?id=9509&boxid=103211609
Kannada 9th Anniversary:
* http://epaper.udayavani.com/Display.aspx?Pg=H&Edn=MN&DispDate=6/18/2012
* http://allevents.in/Bangalore/483961428297721
* http://epaper.samyukthakarnataka.com/42055/Samyuktha-Karnataka/June-12-2012…
* http://kannada.oneindia.in/news/2012/06/12/business-tech-kannada-wikipedia-…
Nepali 10th Anniversary:
* Article in Nagarik News
* Article in Karobar National Economic Daily
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karobar_Economic_Daily>
* Radio Sagarmatha interviewed Wikipedian Ganesh Paudel.
* Radio Nepal Bani interviewed Wikipedians in Kathmandu, Ganesh Paudel
and Saroj Dhakal.
* Red FM interviewed Wikipedian Jyoti Prakash Nath.
* Dy365 (TV News Channel) interviewed Wikipedian Bishnu Saikia.
In addition, these blog posts were put up:
* Report on the Assamese anniversary
(http://blog.wikimedia.org/2012/06/29/bonti-projjwollon-lighting-lamps-to-ce…)
* Malayalam community conference, the first ever Indic community
conference
(http://blog.wikimedia.org/2012/06/22/kerala-hosts-wikisangamolsavam-first-i…
The following lessons were documented in blog posts or mailing list
posting by India Programs:
* Social media for outreach
(http://blog.wikimedia.org/2012/06/20/social-media-for-wikipedia-outreach-in…)
* Media support for local commnities
(http://lists.wikimedia.org/pipermail/wikipedia-as/2012-June/000138.html)
==== Community support ====
* Worked on tracker for edits of new wikipedians who joined the
facebook groups (English and Odia) and started editing.
* Worked on readership for Indic Wikipedias. This report will be
published soon on meta.
* Rolled a Teahouse <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WP:TH>-like support
system on Odia Wikipedia as Chattasabha
<https://or.wikipedia.org/wiki/WP:CS>. Worked on a detailed program design
for Help desk
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/India_Program/Pilot_Designs/Community_build…>
for other Indic Wikipedias.
==== Program support ====
* Reached out to 5 Wikipedians (including contractor YuviPanda and
former staff Ayush) for support with tools to do analysis of edits
by new Wikipedians. User:Hoo man
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Hoo_man> has created an
analysis tool <http://toolserver.org/~hoo/multiUserInfo.php> which
we have started using for analysing the edits of new Wikipedians who
joined Wikipedia from the Facebook groups in English
<https://www.facebook.com/groups/WikipediaSupport> and Odia
<https://www.facebook.com/groups/OdiaWiki/>.
* Uploaded all the videos of WikiConference India, Mumbai 2011 [on
http://www.youtube.com/user/WikiConferenceIndia/videos Youtube]
* Supported team administration and finance.
=== Communications ===
Work in June continues to focus on a new editorial focus for the
Wikimedia blog, aiming to increase participation from our contributor
community, increase the amount of articles in non-English languages, and
developing new story areas based on emerging trends and issues in our
community.
The Wikimedia Shop (http://shop.wikimedia.org) was readied for a soft
launch on English Wikipedia in June. The ultimate launch kicked off on
July 2, based on a geo-location enabled extension
<https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Extension:WikimediaShopLink> that creates a
Wikimedia/Wikipedia shop link on the WP navigation sidebar in the US and
Canada only. As the platform expands we hope to make the shop more
accessible and cost-effective for those outside of the US and Canada.
Communications was also working closely with the Wikimania 2012 team in
DC on preparations for media activities in the U.S. capital. As of
reporting time, dozens of mainstream media confirmed interest in attending.
==== Major announcements====
No major announcements in June.
==== Major Storylines through March ====
CIPR recommends PR practitioners keep out of Wikipedia's public pages
(June 27, 2012)
The Chartered Institute of Public Relations in the UK released a report
in June that summarized their research and dialogs (with Wikipedians,
and with support from Wikimedia UK) on the topic of COI (conflict of
interest) editing of Wikipedia - specifically PR and marketing
practicioners editing the site. The report's high-profile advice that PR
pros not edit Wikipedia's public pages was widely covered by the English
language press.
(CIPR press release)
http://newsroom.cipr.co.uk/wikipedia-guidance-for-pr-will-build-mutual-unde…
(Debate w/ UK Wikipedian David Gerard [nice suit!])
http://www.cipr.co.uk/ciprtv/108058/the-wikipedia-debate-will-two-communiti…http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/rob-al-brown/dont-edit-wikipedia-says-_b_16…http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/pr-firms-urged-not-to-edit-…
WP's Visual Editor prototype update makes waves (June 21, 2012)
A working prototype of the visual editor was announced in a June 21 blog
post, and resulted in a stream of mostly positive tone media stories.
Jimmy Wales' tweet on the topic - calling the editor "epically
important" - helped spread coverage even further.
(WMF blog post)
http://blog.wikimedia.org/2012/06/21/help-us-shape-wikimedias-prototype-vis…http://www.webpronews.com/jimmy-wales-really-wants-you-to-start-editing-wik…http://techcrunch.com/2012/06/21/jimmy-wales-on-new-editing-platform-this-i…http://www.theverge.com/2012/6/22/3110130/wikimedia-visual-editor-prototype
(ES)
http://tecnologia.elpais.com/tecnologia/2012/06/22/actualidad/1340385404_70…
==== Other worthwhile reads ====
Can Wikipedia Teach Us About Conflict Resolution? (Science 2.0, June 25,
2012)
http://www.science20.com/news_articles/can_wikipedia_teach_us_about_conflic…
Why Wiki’s all set to turn Ghalib cool (Asian Age, June 15, 2012)
http://www.asianage.com/life-and-style/why-wiki-s-all-set-turn-ghalib-cool-…
How big data sees Wikipedia (NY Times, June 14, 2012)
http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/06/14/how-big-data-sees-wikipedia/
The History of the world according to Wikipedia (The Atlantic, June 14,
2012)
http://www.theatlanticwire.com/technology/2012/06/history-world-according-w…
==== Wikipedia Signpost ====
For lots of detailed coverage and news summaries, see the
community-edited newsletter "Wikipedia Signpost" for June 2012:
* Volume 8, Issue 23, 4 June 2012
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Wikipedia_Signpost/Archives/2012-06…>
* Volume 8, Issue 24, 11 June 2012
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Wikipedia_Signpost/Archives/2012-06…>
* Volume 8, Issue 25, 18 June 2012
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Wikipedia_Signpost/Archives/2012-06…>
* Volume 8, Issue 22, 25 June 2012
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Wikipedia_Signpost/Archives/2012-06…>
==== WMF Blog posts ====
Thirty-seven blog posts in total for June 2012. More posts featuring our
global contributor community were published, as well as a focus on
POTD/Y background. This month also saw an increase in bilingual posts.
http://blog.wikimedia.org/2012/06/
Selections from June:
* ‘Bonti Projjwollon’ – Lighting lamps to celebrate 10 years of
Assamese Wikipedia!
<http://blog.wikimedia.org/2012/06/29/bonti-projjwollon-lighting-lamps-to-ce…>
* Afripedia collaboration expands offline Wikipedia in Africa
<http://blog.wikimedia.org/2012/06/28/afripedia-collaboration-expands-offlin…>
* Meet the Wikipedians behind WikiProject Visual Arts
<http://blog.wikimedia.org/2012/06/09/meet-the-wikipedians-behind-wikiprojec…>
==== Media Contact ====
http://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Press_room/Media_Contact#June_2012
== Human Resources ==
* Initiated annual performance review cycle for the organization,
consisting initially of each member of the organization doing a
self-assessment, receiving feedback from others that they've worked
with, and then from their manager
* Human Resource Information System (HRIS) implementation,
specifically the modules related to Payroll, Benefits, Core Data &
Time/Attendance for non-exempt employees
* Initiated online sexual harassment prevention training for all
employees with direct reports, as mandated by California law.
Deadline for completion is August 31, 2012.
* Completed an initial study on what career development could look
like at the Foundation, given the relatively flat hierarchial
structure and desire to be non-corporate. Initial recommendations
are being evaluated for implementation for the next 1-3 years.
* Coordinated senior leadership team retreat with C-level staff to
assess working relationships, team dynamics, and overall
organizational leadership
* Completed WMF culture survey to assess elements that support overall
mission of WMF and elements that impede ability to execute
* Completed executive compensation benchmarking survey for the board,
using an external firm with which to make appropriate salary
recommendations, and as a foundation for compensation philosophy for
the organization. The impact on current salaries will be minimal, as
we found that most salaries are within the expected range, given
external benchmarks.
New Requisitions Filled
* Munaf Assaf, UX Designer (Engineering)
* Evan Rosen, Data Analytics Manager (Global Development)
* Adam Wight, Software Engineer - Fundraising (Engineering)
New Other Position Hire
* Martin Parry, Finance Analyst (Finance)
Conversions
* Haitham Shammaa, Contribution Research Manager (Global Development)
* Jon Robson, Software Developer, Mobile (Engineering)
New Contractors
* Kate Aleo (Fundraiser)
* Luis Campos (Global Development)
* Johanna “Petro” Leigh (Fundraiser)
* Mimi Li (Fundraiser)
* Jacqui Pastor (Fundraiser)
* Sara Selim (Human Resources)
Contract Extended
* Everton Alvanrenga (Legal and Community Advocacy)
* Micheal Beattie (Fundraiser)
* Karen Callier (Fundraiser)
* Karen Chelini (Human Resources)
* Andrew Garrett (Engineering)
* Christopher Johnson (Engineering)
* Niklas Laxström (Engineering)
* Siebrand Mazeland (Engineering)
* Stacey Merrick (Engineering)
* Jonathan Morgan (Global Development)
* Sarah Selim (Human Resources)
* Maxim Semenik (Engineering)
* Sara Smollett (Engineering)
* Sarah Stierch (Global Development)
* Stephanie Thommen (Human Resources)
* Heather Walls (Engineering)
* Diederik Van Liere (Engineering)
Leaving
* Ian Baker
* Mani Pande
Contract Ended
* Christian Aistleitner
* Danielle Benoit
* Andreas Engels
* Fabian Kaelin
* Yusuke Matsubara
* Gerard Meijssen
* Yuvaraj Pandain
* Tauhida Parveen
* Angela Robeson
* Sarah Selim
* Audrey Tang
New Postings
* Engineering Outreach Coordinator
* Senior Software Engineer - Features
* Technical Product Manager
RFP
* Wikimedia Arabic Language Initiative Director (Consultant)
=== Statistics ===
Total In-Plan Staff Positions Filled
Actual: 112
June Plan: 125, June Filled: 3, June Attrition: 2
YTD Filled: 57, YTD Attrition: 19
Remaining Open positions to fiscal year end: 13
=== Department Updates ===
Real-time feed for HR updates: http://identi.ca/wikimediaatwork or
http://twitter.com/wikimediaatwork
== Finance and Administration ==
* We have implemented the availabilty of using SEPA/IBAN in
participating countries. Anyone receiving funding from the Wikimedia
Foundation can request payments using SEPA/IBAN.
* The Wikimedia Foundation has committed to leasing the 5th floor of
149 New Montgomery (the building we currently occupy) but do not
plan to occupy the floor as it will not be available for occupancy
for some time. This delay in occupancy will be at no cost to the
Foundation and allows the Foundation to have the 5th floor available
for future growth if needed.
== Legal and Community Advocacy ==
* The LCA team has a new team mascot, Rory
<http://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Rory>, who is available to
answer your animal law questions by email.
* The fundraising agreements
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/2012-13_Fundraising_Agreement_(Master)>
with WMDE, WMFR,
WMUK, and WMCH have been negotiated and are in the process of signature.
* Request for Comment on whether WMF should join the Internet Defense
League
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Legal_and_Community_Advocacy/Internet_Defen…>
was
closed; based on community comments, the WMF does not intend to join.
* Continued strong push on cease & desist letters to challenge
improper use of Wikimedia trademarks
o Opened 20 new cases
o Closed 9 cases
o 11 letters sent
o Total 72 open cases by the end of the month
* Wikilegal <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikilegal> notes:
o Section 2257 Record-keeping Requirements
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikilegal/Age_Record_Requirement>
o Update on NASA images
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikilegal/NASA_images>
* Metrics
o Contracts submitted: 17
o Trademark issues submitted: 11
+ Approved: 3
+ Pending: 6
+ Denied: 2
== Visitors and Guests ==
Visitors to the WMF office in June 2012:
1. Christine Moellenberndt (consultant to the LCA team)
2. Elli Horner (consultant to the LCA team)
3. Brendan Corrigan (J.P. Morgan)
4. Charu Gorrepati (J.P. Morgan)
5. Rebecca Konkel (J.P. Morgan)
6. Kat Walsh (WMF Board of Trustees member)
7. Stu West (Treasurer- WMF Board of Trustees)
8. Jan-Bart de Vreede (Vice Chair- WMF Board of Trustees)
9. Kathy Reich (FDC Advisory Group)
10. Osmar Valdebenito (FDC Advisory Group)
11. Pavel Richter (FDC Advisory Group)
12. Peter Ekman (FDC Advisory Group)
13. Richard Ames (FDC Advisory Group)
14. Sydney Poore (FDC Advisory Group)
15. Thomas de Souza Buckup (FDC Advisory Group)
16. Ting Chen (Chair - WMF Board of Trustees)
17. Jiang Lijun (Director/Senior Editor, Encyclopedia of China
Publishing House)
18. Tian Ye (Chief Engineer, Encyclopedia of China Publishing House)
19. Haidong Pan (Chairman and CEO, Hudong)
20. Yang Jing Feng (Higher Education Press)
21. Stephanie Smith (WSM Immigrations)
22. Shane Cragun (The Cornerstone Group)
23. Juan Riboldi (Ascent Advisor)
24. Liz Williams (Collaboration Zone)
25. Bill Adams (Full Circle Leadership)
26. David Ansley (Consumer Report)
27. Grant Joung (ThoughtWorks)
28. Thibaut Horel (Visiting Wikipedian)
29. Mark Florant (United Layer)
30. Joe Arnold (Swiftstack)
31. David McDonald, Mark Zachry and Jonathan Morgan (visiting from
University of Washington, presented at Dario's Brown Bag)
32. Edward J. Black (The Foundation for Innovation and Internet Freedom)
33. Jim LeMunyon (Computer and Communications Industry Association)
34. Randall Benson (consultant for culture study)
35. Kim Dodson (consultant for culture study)
36. Jim Anderson (Bill Adam’s colleague - Key Connections)
37. Kathi Fletcher (Shuttleworth Foundation)
38. Max Klein (Wikipedian volunteer for Education Program)
39. Matt Senate (Wikipedian volunteer for Education Program)
40. Derrick Coetzee (Wikipedian volunteer for Education Program)
41. Bence Damakos (Wikimedia Hungary)
42. Julie Chang (Apple)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
/The monthly Wikimedia Foundation metrics and activities meeting on July
5, 2012 covered the 2012-13 Annual Plan instead of focusing on the month
of June as usual. The video recording will be uploaded to Commons
<https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Wikimedia_Foundation_Metrics_an…>
around the time of the publication of the Annual Plan./
--
Tilman Bayer
Senior Operations Analyst (Movement Communications)
Wikimedia Foundation
IRC (Freenode): HaeB
_______________________________________________
Please note: all replies sent to this mailing list will be immediately directed to Wikimedia-l, the public mailing list of the Wikimedia community. For more information about Wikimedia-l:
https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l
_______________________________________________
WikimediaAnnounce-l mailing list
WikimediaAnnounce-l(a)lists.wikimedia.org
https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediaannounce-l
Dear Wikimedia Community,
As you may have seen, last week the Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees
passed a resolution to establish the Funds Dissemination Committee (FDC) [1].
Full details about the planned structure and processes of the FDC can be
found in the framework proposed to the Board [2]. This framework was
developed over the past few months with input from a variety of people
across the movement.
We will be holding two sets of *IRC office hours* on *Wednesday 25 July*,
to answer any questions community members may have about the FDC process;
in particular the first step of establishing the eligibility to apply to
the FDC. Office hours will be held:
· 16:00-17:00 UTC/09:00 PDT Wednesday, July 25th
· 23:00-23:59 UTC/16:00 PDT Wednesday, July 25th
On *Monday 23 July 2012*, the Foundation will publish a list of eligible
entities based on the eligibility criteria established in the framework [3].
Please let me know if you believe there are any corrections to be made to
this list. Entities who are interested in applying for funds through the
FDC but are ineligible due to compliance issues should work with the
Foundation to develop a plan to correct compliance issues.
Entities who are ineligible for other reasons - or who would prefer not to
go through the FDC process in this round -may seek funding through the
Wikimedia Foundation Grants Program.
I will be sending out a more detailed email on Monday to inform you of this
list and next steps in the process. I look forward to speaking with you on
Wednesday.
Sincerely,
Garfield Byrd
(WMF Chief of Finance and Administration)
[1]
http://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Resolution:Funds_Dissemination_Committe…
[2]
http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Funds_Dissemination_Committee/Draft_FDC_Prop…
[3]
http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Funds_Dissemination_Committee/Sample_letter_…
--
Garfield Byrd
Chief of Finance and Administration
Wikimedia Foundation
415.839.6885 ext 6787
415.882.0495 (fax)
www.wikimediafoundation.org
Imagine a world in which every single human being can freely share in
the sum of all knowledge. Help us make it a reality!
*https://donate.wikimedia.org*
Birgitte_sb(a)yahoo.com, 23/07/2012 19:27:
> On Jul 23, 2012, at 7:42 AM, "Federico Leva (Nemo)" wrote:
>
>> Birgitte_sb(a)yahoo.com, 23/07/2012 14:28:
>>> I am unaware of what the shortcomings of the current system are and where any improvements would be felt. This makes it a bit hard to have a firm opinion of the trade-offs involved with changing the system. So what exactly are the problems people are having with the current geolocation system?
>>
>> As the page tries to prove, looks like the current system is completely unreliable and therefore useless for most geonotices in Italy and probably other places.
>
> I think it would be useful to have a wider study of the accuracy of the current system. Privacy issues are always a concern. I am not certain I could support gathering more exact information on users who are well-served by the current system. It would be more supportable, I think, if there were a way to turn on the browser-based system only for those who are in areas that are known to be poorly served by the current system. Or if you were to ask those who geolocate to known ambiguous areas to opt-in to browser-based geolocation. There is obviously a benefit for some people, but a cost to everyone if we were to switch wholesale. Further study to determine exactly how widespread and how significant the benefit would be is something that I think might be useful.
What if the new system happened e.g. to be needed for geonotices (to
distinguish regions within a country) but not fundraising (which so far
cares only about country, for currency/language/payment/legal purposes)?
Nemo
Just checking....
The meta page
http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Funds_Dissemination_Committee/2012_Round_1_E…
outlines that amongst the obligations is the fact of providing financial
reports in English
"What we have considered as 'financial reports' : financial reports
in English (per the Chapter Agreement) that offer complete details
of an entity’s revenue and expenditure over the course of its fiscal
year."
And errrrr.... yeah. I'd like to ask what is the level of requirement
with regards to what is called "Financial reporting" and what do you
exactly expect.
Because when we signed the agreement, back in 2005.... Financial
Reporting was something quite basic (a paragraph or so in our annual
report and a bunch of figures).
Last year, this page was set up
http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Financial_reports
for reporting. But as discussed during the financial meeting, rather
fail to meet a common ground as not all financial systems work the same.
Fundraising Agreement on the other hand does mention Financial
reporting. But it absolutely does not mention that these should be in
English.
The exact wording of the FA is
Providing a copy of accurate and complete audited financial
statements and the auditor’s letter to management, compiled by the
auditor appointed by the board of the Chapter, for the 2011 fiscal
year, by September 1, 2012 and on the same schedule for any Renewal
Periods.
But.... I already feel sick in the stomach at the idea of translating
our complete Financial Reports.
See for example our financial report here:
http://www.wikimedia.fr/sites/default/files/Comptes%202011%20certifiés.pdf
It certainly does it great to understand better a financial situation.
But we probably need an in-between report systems :)
This was discussed during the Financial meeting, but I am not quite sure
what is the outcome of the work done afterwards on the matter (something
such as a common reporting document where we would add figures as much
as we can).
What's the status on this ?
Florence
On 7/24/12 7:04 PM, Melanie Brown wrote:
>
> Dear Wikimedia Community,
>
> As you may know, the Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees passed
> a resolution two weeks ago, to establish the Funds Dissemination
> Committee (FDC) [1]. Full details about the planned structure and
> processes of the FDC can be found in the framework proposed to the
> Board [2]. This framework was developed over the past few months
> with input from a variety of people across the movement.
>
> It is now time to set this plan in motion. There are a couple of
> next steps we want you to be aware of:
> 1. Establishing the first Funds Dissemination Committee:If you are
> interested in nominating yourself to serve either as an FDC member
> or as the FDC Ombudsperson, please submit your nomination by
> August 15th. The Board will appoint the first members by the
> beginning of September [3].
>
> 2.Identifying eligible entities: Today, the Foundation has
> published a list of eligible entities [4]based on the eligibility
> criteria established in the framework [5]. Please let us know if
> you believe there are any corrections to be made to this list.
> Entities are categorised into ‘Yes’, ‘Yes, If’ and ‘No’ categories
> based on the eligibility criteria. Entities who are interested in
> applying for funds through the FDC but are ineligible due to
> compliance issues (i.e. those who fall into the ‘Yes, If’ category
> detailed in the list above) should work with the Foundation to
> develop a plan to correct compliance issues.
>
> Entities who are ineligible for other reasons - or who would
> prefer not to go through the FDC process in this round - may seek
> funding through the Wikimedia Foundation Grants Program[6].
>
> 3.Beginning the applications process for the first round of
> funding:The first round of applications for funding will be due
> October 1st. FDCproposal formswill be posted on the FDC portal(a
> hub for FDC related information that is currently being set up) on
> Meta by August 1st. We strongly encourage eligible entities to
> begin filling out the proposals to the FDC well in advance of the
> October 1st deadline, particularly to support time for
> translation, if necessary, and to answer any questions or
> clarifications.
>
> I would appreciate entities who are interested in applying for the
> upcoming round of funding, emailing me as soon as possible stating
> your interest. In addition, do let me know if you have any
> questions, clarifications or concerns about meeting the
> eligibility gap. This will help us best support you.
>
> Additionally, as I mentioned in my message on Friday, we will be
> holding two sets of IRC office hours on Wednesday 25 July. I will
> be present, with Barry, Anasuya (our new Director of Global
> Learning and Grantmaking) and Asaf, to answer any questions you
> have about the FDC process and the steps outlined here; in
> particular, the first step of establishing the eligibility to
> apply to the FDC. Office hours will be held:
> · 16:00-17:00 UTC/09:00 PDT Wednesday, July 25th
> · 23:00-23:59 UTC/16:00 PDT Wednesday, July 25th
>
> Please join us during these times
> athttp://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/IRC_office_hours
>
> We are excited to get this process launched and want to send a
> huge thank you to all of you who were involved in getting it
> kicked off!
>
> All the best,
> Garfield Byrd, WMF Chief of Finance and Administration
>
> [1]
> http://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Resolution:Funds_Dissemination_Committe…
> [2]
> <http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Funds_Dissemination_Committee/Draft_FDC_Prop…>http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Funds_Dissemination_Committee/Framework_for_…<http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Funds_Dissemination_Committee/Draft_FDC_Prop…>
> [3]
> http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Funds_Dissemination_Committee/Call_for_Volun…
> [4]
> http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Funds_Dissemination_Committee/2012_Round_1_E…
> [5]
> http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Funds_Dissemination_Committee/Sample_letter_…
> [5] http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Grants:Index
>
>
> --
> Melanie L. Brown
> HR Administrator
> Wikimedia Foundation
> 415.839.6885 ext 6690
> 415.882.0495 (fax)
> www.wikimediafoundation.org <http://www.wikimediafoundation.org>
>
> /Imagine a world in which every single human being can freely share in
> the sum of all knowledge. That's our commitment./
> https://donate.wikimedia.org/
>
>
>
>
>
FYI: Spanish Wikinews today bears a site notice in protest against the
Mexican government signing the ACTA agreement. It says: The internet
must remain free. The Freedom of the internet is in peril."
The Spanish Wikinews community has issued a press release on the matter:
https://es.wikinews.org/wiki/Wikinoticias:Comunicado_de_prensa_acerca_de_la…
I think we should express our solidarity with Spanish Wikinews editors.
Regards,
Jürgen.
Hello, everyone.
I'm pleased to announce that we have significantly expanded the Grant
Advisory Committee (GAC)[1] as of today, and it now numbers 30 volunteers,
following an open process and public calls for volunteers. The updated
list of members is here[2]. With this expansion, we hope to achieve a
higher degree of community participation in the Foundation's evaluation of
grant proposals for its Wikimedia Grants program[3], as well as more
diverse feedback and advice for grant applicants on how to refine their
proposals for best impact.
The GAC was set up almost exactly one year ago, and has been quietly doing
what is frankly a thankless job. I applaud and thank the volunteers who
have done this work so far, and look forward to easing their load a little
now that the GAC is larger, considering an expected rise in the number of
grant proposals they would be called upon to review.
Welcome to the new volunteers, and may we all have much success in
fostering innovation and impactful mission-aligned activities through the
grants program.
Asaf
[1] http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Grant_Advisory_Committee
[2] http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Grant_Advisory_Committee#Membership
[3] http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Grants:Index
--
Asaf Bartov
Wikimedia Foundation <http://www.wikimediafoundation.org>
Imagine a world in which every single human being can freely share in the
sum of all knowledge. Help us make it a reality!
https://donate.wikimedia.org
Forwarding per request.
Alex
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Melanie Brown <mbrown(a)wikimedia.org>
To: foundation-l(a)lists.wikimedia.org
Cc: Garfield Byrd <gbyrd(a)wikimedia.org>, Anasuya Sengupta <
asengupta(a)wikimedia.org>
Date: Tue, 24 Jul 2012 10:04:27 -0700
Subject: FDC Eligibility Status
Dear Wikimedia Community,
>
> As you may know, the Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees passed a
> resolution two weeks ago, to establish the Funds Dissemination Committee
> (FDC) [1]. Full details about the planned structure and processes of the
> FDC can be found in the framework proposed to the Board [2]. This
> framework was developed over the past few months with input from a variety
> of people across the movement.
>
> It is now time to set this plan in motion. There are a couple of next
> steps we want you to be aware of:
> 1. Establishing the first Funds Dissemination Committee: If you are
> interested in nominating yourself to serve either as an FDC member or as
> the FDC Ombudsperson, please submit your nomination by August 15th. The
> Board will appoint the first members by the beginning of September [3].
>
> 2. Identifying eligible entities: Today, the Foundation has published
> a list of eligible entities [4] based on the eligibility criteria
> established in the framework [5]. Please let us know if you believe there
> are any corrections to be made to this list. Entities are categorised into
> ‘Yes’, ‘Yes, If’ and ‘No’ categories based on the eligibility criteria.
> Entities who are interested in applying for funds through the FDC but are
> ineligible due to compliance issues (i.e. those who fall into the ‘Yes, If’
> category detailed in the list above) should work with the Foundation to
> develop a plan to correct compliance issues.
>
> Entities who are ineligible for other reasons - or who would prefer not to
> go through the FDC process in this round - may seek funding through the
> Wikimedia Foundation Grants Program[6].
>
> 3. Beginning the applications process for the first round of funding: The
> first round of applications for funding will be due October 1st. FDC proposal
> forms will be posted on the FDC portal (a hub for FDC related information
> that is currently being set up) on Meta by August 1st. We strongly
> encourage eligible entities to begin filling out the proposals to the FDC
> well in advance of the October 1st deadline, particularly to support time
> for translation, if necessary, and to answer any questions or
> clarifications.
>
> I would appreciate entities who are interested in applying for the
> upcoming round of funding, emailing me as soon as possible stating your
> interest. In addition, do let me know if you have any questions,
> clarifications or concerns about meeting the eligibility gap. This will
> help us best support you.
>
> Additionally, as I mentioned in my message on Friday, we will be holding
> two sets of IRC office hours on Wednesday 25 July. I will be present,
> with Barry, Anasuya (our new Director of Global Learning and Grantmaking)
> and Asaf, to answer any questions you have about the FDC process and the
> steps outlined here; in particular, the first step of establishing the
> eligibility to apply to the FDC. Office hours will be held:
> · 16:00-17:00 UTC/09:00 PDT Wednesday, July 25th
> · 23:00-23:59 UTC/16:00 PDT Wednesday, July 25th
>
> Please join us during these times at
> http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/IRC_office_hours
>
> We are excited to get this process launched and want to send a huge thank
> you to all of you who were involved in getting it kicked off!
>
> All the best,
> Garfield Byrd, WMF Chief of Finance and Administration
>
> [1]
> http://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Resolution:Funds_Dissemination_Committe…
> [2] <http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Funds_Dissemination_Committee/Draft_FDC_Prop…>
> http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Funds_Dissemination_Committee/Framework_for_…<http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Funds_Dissemination_Committee/Draft_FDC_Prop…>
> [3]
> http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Funds_Dissemination_Committee/Call_for_Volun…
> [4]
> http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Funds_Dissemination_Committee/2012_Round_1_E…
> [5]
> http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Funds_Dissemination_Committee/Sample_letter_…
> [5] http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Grants:Index
>
>
--
Melanie L. Brown
HR Administrator
Wikimedia Foundation
415.839.6885 ext 6690
415.882.0495 (fax)
www.wikimediafoundation.org
*Imagine a world in which every single human being can freely share in the
sum of all knowledge. That's our commitment.* https://donate.wikimedia.org/
--
Melanie L. Brown
HR Administrator
Wikimedia Foundation
415.839.6885 ext 6690
415.882.0495 (fax)
www.wikimediafoundation.org
*Imagine a world in which every single human being can freely share in the
sum of all knowledge. That's our commitment.* https://donate.wikimedia.org/
Hi all,
The correct starting times for these IRC office hours are 16:00 UTC (9PDT) and 23.00 UTC (16PDT) as stated in the Wikimedia-l posts last week. The times are now corrected on Meta - thanks for alerting us to this, Michael!
Best,
Meera
Meera Chary
Case Team Leader
The Bridgespan Group
465 California Street, 11th Floor, San Francisco, CA 94104
Phone: 415.627.4540| Fax: 415.627.4575
meera.chary(a)bridgespan.org
www.bridgespan.org
Bridgespan's free newsletters offer topics and tools for leaders in nonprofits and philanthropy. www.bridgespan.org/subscriptions
___________________NOTICE____________________________ This electronic mail transmission, including any attachments, contains confidential information of the Bridgespan Group ("Bridgespan") and/or its clients. It is intended only for the person(s) named, and the information in such e-mail shall only be used by the person(s) named for the purpose intended and for no other purpose. Any use, distribution, copying or disclosure by any other persons, or by the person(s) named but for purposes other than the intended purpose, is strictly prohibited. If you received this transmission in error, please notify the sender by reply e-mail and then destroy this e-mail. Opinions, conclusions and other information in this message that do not relate to the official business of Bridgespan shall be understood to be neither given nor endorsed by Bridgespan. When addressed to Bridgespan clients, any information contained in this e-mail shall be subject to the terms and conditions in the applicable client contract.
.JPG){kind=link}
