"There are two topics this letter talks about – 1) the call for new members
of the Wikimedia Affiliations Committee (AffCom) is open
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_Legal_department/Commi…>
on Meta until 17 November 2023, and 2) there are membership changes in the
committee to ensure the transition process for offboarding existing
members, and onboarding new ones."
---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Nataliia Tymkiv <ntymkiv(a)wikimedia.org>
Date: Tue, Oct 17, 2023 at 2:00 PM
Subject: [Wikimedia-l] Wikimedia Affiliations Committee: Call for New
Members + Membership changes
To: Wikimedia Mailing List <wikimedia-l(a)lists.wikimedia.org>
Dear all,
TL;DR
There are two topics this letter talks about – 1) the call for new members
of the Wikimedia Affiliations Committee (AffCom) is open
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_Legal_department/Commi…>
on Meta until 17 November 2023; and 2) there are membership changes in the
committee to ensure the transition process for offboarding existing
members, and onboarding new ones.
== 2023 Call for AffCom members ==
The Affiliations Committee
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Affiliations_Committee> is, until 17
November 2023, seeking additional members to help the Wikimedia Foundation
Board of Trustees (Board) support the affiliate ecosystem. As a note: two
other movement groups (Ombuds commission and Case Review Committee) are
also seeking members. You can read about the process and how to apply here
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Wikimedia_Foundation_Leg…>
on Meta.
AffCom makes recommendations to the Board on the recognition, approval, or
derecognition of Wikimedia movement affiliates. It helps Wikimedians from
around the world self-organise into chapters, thematic organizations, and
user groups, and to gain official recognition from the Wikimedia
Foundation. AffCom’s work involves the recognition of new affiliates,
helping them retain their affiliate status through yearly reportings, and
conflict mitigation when challenges happen within affiliates.
Volunteers in this role should be experienced Wikimedians from any project,
have experience working with affiliates to practice good governance.
International perspectives, collaboration, teamwork and experience handling
sensitive situations are among traits needed. Given the scope of work,
proficiency in English is required. AffCom seeks members committing 7-10
hours monthly for a 3-year term. The members will have the option to run
again after completion of their terms.
Members are required to sign the Confidentiality agreement for nonpublic
information
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Confidentiality_agreement_for_nonpublic_inf…>
and must be willing to comply with the appropriate Wikimedia Foundation
board policies (such as the access to non-public information policy
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Access_to_nonpublic_information_policy>).
Members must also be over 18 years of age.
The information about this was previously shared on village pumps of the
Wikimedia projects, but as usual this call is also shared here, on the
mailing list.
== AffCom transition period ==
The number of members AffCom needs to recruit this year is not set, as
there was the intentional delay in selecting new members last year
(announced in December 2022, as AffCom was “a key input for the Board in
developing the Wikimedia Foundation Affiliates Strategy” [1]), but it has
created a need to stagger selection - as all AffCom members term come to
end at the same time: December 31, 2023. The number of seats available will
depend on how many existing members decide to carry on.
As having a committee formed entirely of new members is not sustainable,
there is an option for the current members to remain in their seats for a
transition period of 6 to 12 months (maximum until December 2024). Others
may choose to step down, before or after helping to onboard new members,
and pass on open tasks, and some may choose to join the volunteer process
to apply for another three year term as AffCom members.
With the goal of ensuring continuity, we, as the Board liaisons to AffCom,
have suggested to AffCom to convert two current AffCom advisors for a one
year term as AffCom members – as they have been a part of the AffCom work
for a while, they would need minimal onboarding, and would be able to
support the current workflows. Thus as of now, AffCom has two more members
joining it for a term ending 31 December 2024:
* Maor Malul, also known as user:Maor X
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Maor_X>, who has considerable
experience on this committee, having served even before his current role as
advisor as a member between 2013 and 2019, during which time he served
first as chair and then as co-chair;
* Aleksey Chalabyan, also known as user:Xelgen
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Xelgen>, who has already been
providing considerable value as an advisor since his appointment last year.
Speaking on behalf of the Board and reflecting the sentiments voiced by
AffCom itself, we are very happy that Maor and Aleksey have agreed to
support us in this way.
You can view more details about what this important committee does on Meta
in its “What we do
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Affiliations_Committee#what-we-do>”
section and also in their charter
<https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Affiliations_Committee_Charter>.
There will be a public comment period on applicants
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Affiliations_Committee/C…>
from 17 October to 17 November. Candidates will meet with AffCom, Board
liaisons and staff to discuss the role and their interest in it. The
Board’s Community Affairs Committee will also review the AffCom candidates,
to provide input. Per its Charter [2] the AffCom will appoint new members,
taking into account also the community feedback. The new members will be
announced in late December 2023, after individuals have been notified.
Thank you for reading this long letter, and thank you in advance for your
interest to join AffCom – or Ombuds commission and Case Review Committee!
And if you are not interested but know someone who might be, please share
this message with them, personal encouragement goes a long way in the
Wikimedia Movement. Also please let us know if you have any questions.
[1]
https://lists.wikimedia.org/hyperkitty/list/wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org…
[2] https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Affiliations_Committee_Charter
Best regards,
Nat & Shani & Lorenzo
Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees Liaisons to the Affiliations
Committee
------
antanana / Nataliia Tymkiv
Chair, Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees
*NOTICE: You may have received this message outside of your normal working
hours/days, as I usually can work more as a volunteer during weekend. You
should not feel obligated to answer it during your days off. Thank you in
advance!*
_______________________________________________
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https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines and
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia-l
Public archives at
https://lists.wikimedia.org/hyperkitty/list/wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org…
To unsubscribe send an email to wikimedia-l-leave(a)lists.wikimedia.org
--
Pavan Santhosh.
Hello everyone,
We are delighted to extend an invitation to participate in the Indic Oral
Culture Project
<https://meta.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/Grants:Project/MSIG/Indic_Oral_Culture_Pr…>,
an initiative dedicated to the preservation and dissemination of
underrepresented forms of knowledge, specifically focused on oral culture,
including folk songs and folk tales. Our mission is to foster a cross-wiki,
cross-community effort to bring non-textual forms of knowledge onto various
Wikimedia projects.
Why use Wikimedia projects to document oral culture:
-
Folk songs are a cultural art form disappearing fast according to native
speakers and linguists
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Needs_assessment_for_documentation_and_revi…>
.
-
Several people now have access to cameras and freely available software
to create and process audiovisuals .
-
Broader accessibility and long-term preservation, fostering global
engagement and knowledge exchange.
Who can participate:
-
Beginners are welcome to join.
-
Knowledgeable on wikimedia volunteerism.
-
Passionate about digitizing the underrepresented aspect of their
language and culture.
What we offer:
-
Online training program covering the use of mobile devices for recording
oral culture videos and the workflow of Wikimedia projects.
-
Utilization of Wikimedia projects to digitize and preserve oral culture.
-
Internet & travel support, and per diem for those who require it.
Please share with your community or individuals who might be interested in
this project. Reach out to us via email at amritsufi2(a)gmail.com
<http://indicoralculture.org/amritsufi2@gmail.com> or
peerzadaiflaq(a)gmail.com
Regards,
Amrit Sufi
Project manager for Indic Oral Culture Project
Hello everyone,
The Indic MediaWiki Developers User Group
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Indic_MediaWiki_Developers_User_Group> is
happy to announce Indic Wikimedia Hackathon 2023 on 16 & 17 December 2023
in Pondicherry, India. The event is for everyone who contributes to
Wikimedia’s technical spaces code developers, maintainers, translators,
designers, technical writers and other related technical aspects. Along
with that, contributors who don't necessarily contribute to technical
spaces but have good understanding of issues on wikis and can work with
developers in addressing them can join too. You can come with a project in
mind, join an existing project, or create something new with others. The
goal of this event is to bring together technical contributors from India
to resolve pending technical issues, bugs, brainstorm on tooling ideas, and
foster connections between contributors.
We have scholarships to support participation of contributors residing in
India.
The scholarship form can be filled at
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSd_Qqctj7I87QfYt5imc6iPcGPWuPfncCO…
and will close at 23:59 hrs on 7 October 2023 (Sunday) [IST].
Please reach out to contact(a)indicmediawikidev.org if you have any questions
or need support.
Best,
Indic MediaWiki Developers UG
Dear Indic Wikimedians,
Greetings from A2K. We hope this message finds you in good health and high spirits. We are excited to share a career opportunity with the Access to Knowledge team.
We are currently looking for a motivated individual to join our team as a Program Associate (Technical Outreach). The Program Associate will play a pivotal role in facilitating technical engagement, providing support, and advancing technological initiatives within the Wikimedia community. For a detailed overview of the position, including responsibilities, qualifications, and application details, please visit the official job posting on our website: [ https://cis-india.org/jobs/program-associate-technical-outreach | https://cis-india.org/jobs/program-associate-technical-outreach ] .
If you are interested in applying please do it sooner as we are reviewing applications on a rolling basis. If you know someone who might be a perfect fit for this role, please feel free to share this opportunity with them.
Please reach out to me at [ mailto:pavan@cis-india.org | pavan(a)cis-india.org ] if you have any further questions.
Best regards,
Pavan Santhosh,
Program Manager,
CIS-A2K.
Hello everyone,
I hope this message finds you all in good health. We are thrilled to share
the exciting news that Train The Trainer 2023 is set to kick off tomorrow,
September 29th, and will continue until the 1st of October in Kochi. We are
pleased to inform you that a total of 26 scholars representing over 15
different languages will be participating in this enriching event.
For detailed information about the program, including schedules and
activities, please visit the TTT Meta page by following this link:
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/CIS-A2K/Events/Train_the_Trainer_Program/20…
Thank you for your attention.
Regards,
Nitesh
Program Officer
CIS-A2K
Dear everyone,
I trust this email finds you in good health. We are excited to announce the
upcoming Image Description Month in India description-a-thon, a
collaborative effort, Image Description Month
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image_Description_Month>, aimed at
enhancing image-related content across Wikimedia projects. This event is
scheduled to run for an entire month, from October 1st to October 31st,
2023.
During the course of this event, our focus will revolve around three
primary areas: Wikipedia, Wikidata, and Wikimedia Commons. We have several
tasks lined up, including adding captions to images on Wikipedia,
associating images with relevant Wikidata items, and improving the
organization, categorization, and captions of media files on Wikimedia
Commons etc.
To stay updated and get involved, please visit our dedicated event page
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/CIS-A2K/Events/Image_Description_Month_in_I…>
We
encourage you to sign up on the respective meta page and generously
contribute your time and expertise to make essential and impactful edits.
*Please note that our event page is currently under construction, and we
are diligently working to complete it by October 1st.*
If you have any questions or require further information, please do not
hesitate to reach out to me at nitesh(a)cis-india.org.
Your active participation will play a significant role in enriching
Wikimedia content, making it more accessible and informative for users
worldwide.
Regards,
Nitesh
Program Officer
CIS-A2K
Hello everyone, glad to inform you that the Indic Oral Culture Project
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Grants:Project/MSIG/Indic_Oral_Culture_Proj…>
has been funded. There is a requirement for a communications and community
coordinator for the project. It is a part time job for 6 months. The role
expectations and requirements are mentioned in the PDF attached below.
To apply, send your resume and cover letter to amritsufi2(a)gmail.com by 27th
September 2023. The chosen individuals will go through an interview for
selection. Please share the job opening with other relevant individuals as
well.
Thanks,
Amrit Sufi
Hello all,
This email is a reminder that the *tenth Open Community Call* scheduled
today (*i.e. **10 September 2023*) will start at 6 pm IST. We request you
all to join today's call.
The agenda of today's call is as follows: (Available on the meta page
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/WikiConference_India_2023/Open_Community_Ca…>
as
well)
-
U4CBC (Universal Code of Conduct Building Committee
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Universal_Code_of_Conduct/Coordinating_Comm…>)
Conversation
-
Learning experience from Wikimania Participants
-
Community Update
[WCI 2023] Open Community Call Details:
Date: 10 September 2023
Time: 1800-1900 [6 pm to 7 pm] (IST)
Google Link: https://meet.google.com/ubk-ugun-qzu
Look forward to connecting with you all!
Thank you!
Warm regards,
WCI 2023 Team
Hello all,
Hope you all are doing well. We would like to remind you that the tenth
Open Community Call will be happening *today* (*i.e. **10 September
2023*) where
we will be holding conversations around important aspects necessary for
communities, open space to share the ongoing activities among the
communities and their Wiki stories with others. The detailed agenda,
etherpad, call timings, and meeting link are available on the meta page
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/WikiConference_India_2023/Open_Community_Ca…>
.
Please add the following to your respective calendars and we look forward
to seeing you on the call.
[WCI 2023] Open Community Call
Date: 10 September 2023
Time: 1800-1900 [6 pm to 7 pm] (IST)
Google Link: https://meet.google.com/ubk-ugun-qzu
Please join the General Chat telegram group <https://t.me/+X9RLByiOxpAyNDZl> to
share your ideas, thoughts, inputs, suggestions, or questions.
Alternatively, you can also leave us a message on the talk page
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Talk:WikiConference_India_2023/Open_Communi…>
.
Look forward to connecting with you all!
Thank you!
Warm regards,
WCI 2023 Team
Hey! If you are interested in joining one of these calls, click on this public
link
<https://calendar.google.com/calendar/u/2?cid=Y182ZWY5ZGQwODA4OWI2ZTdiNGRkNm…>
and
add the “Open Community Call” to get meeting invitations directly to your
calendar. If you are interested in moderating one of these calls, you can
sign up under the Moderator Sign-up
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/WikiConference_India_2023/Open_Community_Ca…>
section.