CEE/Newsletter/Newsroom/Wikimedia Europe General Assembly in Prague
Over 50 Wikimedians met in Prague on 24-25 May 2024 for the first General Assembly of Wikimedia Europe and two days of workshops, exchange of information, and public policy coordination.
Wikimedia Europe (WMEU) is an international association of 27 European Wikimedia Affiliates. It was created in 2022 on the base of the Free Knowledge Advocacy Group of the European Union to allow for more efficient coordination of public policy work in Europe in favour of the Wikimedia Movement (with mutual cooperation with the Wikimedia Foundation Global Advocacy team).
Wikimedia Europe General Assembly is a yearly meeting at which WMEU members gather together to make decisions about the organization. This year's edition was the first during which votes were taken. Members approved the financial report and narrative report for the year 2023 and approved the plan of operations for 2024. The organisation has also debated the rules of the election for the new board. The current board's (Claudia Garád, Maciej Nadzikiewicz, Capucine-Marin Dubroca-Voisin, Gonçalo Themudo and Rebecca MacKinnon) term ends in January 2025. The last topic discussed was the fundraising policy of the organization, including the underlying values, limitations, and processes.
Later the same day, a panel discussion took place at the National Museum in Prague. The topic of the debate was "Public Broadcasting and Public Access - systemic Ways to Fight Disinformation". Speakers included:
- Mr Marcel Kolaja, Member of the European Parliament, Greens/EFA
- Mrs Klára Joklová, executive director of Wikimedia Czech Republic
- Mr Oldřich Vágner, Member of the Council of Czech Radio
- Mr David Brabec, Member of the Board of the Czech Television, Czechia
- Mr Christian Humborg, executive director at Wikimedia Deutschland
- Mrs Anna Mazgal, executive director of Wikimedia Europe
- Mrs Claudia Garád, executive director of Wikimedia Austria and Board President of Wikimedia Europe
A series of workshops took place on the second day of the General Assembly. Participants started the morning with a group discussion about the role of Wikimedia Europe in the Wikimedia Movement, its governance, and its discourse. They later divided into two tracks: one focused on internal Wikimedia Movement exchanges (panels about hub coordination and discussion by the Wikimedia Europe & Friends) and the other on external public policy work. Attendees exchanged their experiences with sharable practices of European advocacy in the global context, cooperation with national public broadcasters, and the Anti-SLAPP legislation in the European Union.
At the end of the day, the General Assembly discussed financial matters of the Wikimedia Movement. A case study of Wikimedia affiliates and their external fundraising was presented — a Heritage Guard Network cooperation. At the later panel, a possibility of European-level fundraising was introduced, focusing on the use of Erasmus Programme funds in the development of Wikimedia activities. In the other track, a series of lightning talks was ongoing. Participants discussed, among other things, ways to contribute to Wikidata, how to onboard new people to the Global Wikimedia Movement, and projects organized by national minorities. The location of the next edition of the Wikimedia Europe General Assembly was also debated.
The entire programme of the General Assembly can be seen here. Photos from the event are available on Commons.