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Movement Strategy/About/Transition/Reports/PhilWiki Community

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Part 1 of 2 - General Information

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Field Information
Name of your group Philippine Wikimedia Community User Group
Time and date of the event November 3 to 16 via Facebook messenger
Who attended? 13

Gender (4 females, 9 males)
Membership (5 board members; 4 regular members; 4 non-members)
Editing experience (9 editors: editing for over 1 year; 4 non-editors)

Who facilitated? Filipinayzd
Who took notes? Filipinayzd

Part 2 of 2 - Prioritization

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Q1. Which recommendations will respond to your community’s needs?[1]

Choose Your Top Priorities Why is it prioritized?
Example: recommendation 2, improve user experience Example: Having a more engaging interface will excite more people from our community to want to contribute to Wikimedia projects.
Example, knowledge management is important for the global movement (recommendation 7) Example: As a movement, we need to better document our work to create opportunities for learning.
1. Recommendation #2 Improve User Experience (11 votes) Wikipedia has an interface that has not been improved for so long. I personally prefer how Wikipedia appears on WikiWand because it is organized, has a better layout, and is easy to read and to navigate, both on mobile or desktop view. Just like what one Wikipedian said, "editing on mobile works only if you set it on desktop view." During Wiki Loves Earth and Wiki Loves Monuments Philippines, and edit-a-thons, we often receive reports from the participants that their user account is being blocked, specially those using mobile phones in registration. Most of the users and contributors now use mobile phones.
2. Recommendation #9 Innovate in Free Knowledge (10 votes) Our movement has existed for almost two decades and it should stay relevant to the world. New projects have emerged after Wikipedia. Without these projects, Wikipedia would not be relevant as it is today.
3. Recommendations #4 Ensure Equity in Decision-making (5 votes) Ensure equity in decision-making is also very important because without real equity across the movement, all these other points will not be given the priority they deserve. If the top executives decide they want to prioritise certain points over others, and overrule the community's wishes then that is not really equity, and we can vote as much as we like but ultimately it will make zero difference if there is no real, meaningful power-sharing.
3. Recommendations #6 Invest in Skills and Leadership Development (4 votes) To sustain our programs and projects, skills of volunteers must be up-scaled and a better and effective leaders must be developed from the community.

Q2.From the recommendations, which specific actions and changes would you want prioritized in 2021?[2]

Choose Your Top Priorities Why is it prioritized?
Example: recommendation 2, improve user experience Example: Having a more engaging interface will excite more people from our community to want to contribute to Wikimedia projects.
Example: under allocation of resources (recommendation 4), we are interested in “the Movement should play a guiding role in resource allocation.” Example: A flexible resource allocation framework will allow us to respond to our needs and be able to lead work relating to movement strategy.
1. Recommendation #2 Improve User Experience

9. Methodology to improve the Wikimedia platform UX research, design, testing and community engagement (2 votes)
11. Resources for newcomers (2 votes)

We should invest in improving the interface of Wikipedia and its sister projects to achieve its optimum potential as the gateway to free knowledge.

Contributing to Wikipedia and its sister projects should be hustle-free. Any one who wants to join us should have an access to tutorial videos, physical facilities such us safe space with free internet connection, and readily available references whether physical/hard copy, digitized format or online access. Contributors only rely on their limited resources which should not be the case.

2. Recommendation #9 Innovate in Free Knowledge

39. Identifying policies that hinder knowledge equity. (3 votes)
41. Continues expirimentation, technology and partnerships for content, formats, and devices. (3 votes)

PhilWiki Community advocates Philippine language-based Wikipedia editions. Many of these regional languages are experiencing a decline in use and there is often a shortage of written material. We aim to promote and increase the daily use of Philippine languages and deploy Wikipedia as a resource and medium for the dissemination of open knowledge and learning through these languages. Local knowledge must have presence on the internet specially on Wikipedia.
3. Recommendations #4 Ensure Equity in Decision-making

22. Movement Charter (2 votes)
25. Regional and thematic hubs (2 votes)
26. Flexible resource allocation framework (2 votes each)

PhilWiki Community belongs to a bigger organization of affiliates and is part of ESEAP which stands for East Asia, Southeast Asia and the Pacific, therefore we think that a movement charter is important to achieve our shared goals.

The region is one of, if not, the most culturally diverse and underrepresented region in the movement and in the real world. Regional hubs for underrepresented communities and groups such as minority language speakers are important to serve as venues for unheard or unknown voices. Communities and group being presented as underrepresented sometimes are over represented and actually have louder voices, figuratively or otherwise. We have seen these at conferences even at regional conferences but still being attended by some from the Global North. They dominate the discussions and naturally intimidate culturally reserved, soft-spoken, non-confrontational people who usually are non-English speakers. They are the ones who ask people to speak louder without realizing that they do not listen to them intently.
There is a desire for greater equity especially from those of us who represent communities outside the so-called First World. But in reality, it is very clear where the real power lies. Wealthy, powerful nations are over represented and representatives from these countries tend to have the most important roles within the hierarchy at the expense of countries like the Philippines etc. That is not real equity. Our experience with grant applications and with AffCom perfectly illustrates the importance of striving for greater equity within the movement.

4. Recommendation #6 Invest in Skills and Leadership Development

33. Skill development infrastructure (3 votes)
31. Global approach for local skill development - gathering data, matching peers, mentorship, recognition (2 votes)
32. Leadership development plan (2 votes)

Most of us started as consumers of Wikipedia either as readers or researchers and turned into contributors being editors and/or volunteers. The skills of the contributors must be up-scaled. We must also invest in grooming new community leaders for the sustainability of its programs and projects.
5.

Q3. What human capacity and / or financial resources do you need to work on implementation?

Think of your existing resources, the movement’s vast resources, and the support infrastructure you may need for moving ideas forward.

  • Dedicated staff coming from the community to do certain tasks which is beyond the capacity of our editors and volunteers in order to maintain the good status of Philippine Wikimedia Community as a non-profit organization
  • Legal, medical and economic relief support in times of persecution, health risks, natural and man-made calamities including the threats of climate change
  • Office space with essential facilities for trainings and regular meetings in order to fully operate as a non-profit organization
  • Local funding in order to support its initiatives, individual's and other organization's projects, programs and activities that promote free, responsibly open-content resources and reference materials in English and Philippine languages
  • Scholarships in short-term courses such as management and leadership skills training, event's management and organizing, media and communication

Q4. Which initiatives do you think should be the top focus for global coordination?

Think global, movement-wide changes needed.

  • Initiatives on bridging content gaps and for underrepresented communities

Notes

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  1. There are 10 recommendations to choose from. Think of the work you’re already doing in your community and what else you want to do. At the same time, think of the whole Wikimedia movement and what we should prioritize globally to face the future.
  2. Think about the initiatives that will respond to your community’s needs. Each of the 10 recommendations has multiple changes and actions or initiatives. There are 45 all together.