Strategy/Wikimedia movement/2017/Direction/Drafts/A

Integrating four disparate work streams

There are four tracks: organized groups, on wiki, new voices, and experts. Each track naturally imagines their track as a world unto itself. For example, many organized groups are taking the time to have in depth conversations on what they want—as they should be. Most are not, however, aware of the research and efforts in Track D. The drafting team’s job is to integrate those disparate idea streams into a working draft.

Direction: A way of life in every region

The shifts

By the time we reach 2030, our movement will have changed. Necessity will have changed us.  Three significant shifts will have taken place:

1. We will have grown—from a knowledge experiment that took the northwestern corner of the world by surprise, to a way of life in every region of the world.
2. We will have included and grown beyond the encyclopedia... toward the "free knowledge" commons we speak of in our vision.
3. We will have grown together—from loosely-coordinated groups focused on national territories, to a trusted network of healthy partnerships on and offline, working beyond borders for global impact.

The details

1. We will have grown—from a knowledge experiment that took the northwestern corner of the world by surprise, to a way of life in every region of the world.

   Throughout the 2020s, as a movement, we slowly shifted more attention and resources to Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and Latin America. Whether an affiliate took the lead, a local partner, or an inspired, lone volunteer, we approached work from the bottom up. Together, we developed a strong, localized, free knowledge presence in every region of the world. We partnered locally and supported what worked on the ground.  We began with awareness. We partnered for access. Communities emerged. All initiatives began as small pilots. We integrated lessons before making grand plans. And we never stopped looking for disruptive opportunities... ones that could positively impact hundreds of millions of lives.

2. We will have included and grown beyond the encyclopedia... toward the "free knowledge" commons we speak of in our vision.

   Rather than mentally anchor to “encyclopedia”, we anchored to “the sum of all knowledge”. Throughout the 2020s, we experimented beyond the encyclopedia, beyond the website, and beyond the browser. We began to integrate, curate, create, and render free knowledge across a variety of interfaces, media, and experiences. We empowered individuals and institutions to participate and share through open standards and platforms. We anchored to participatory, quality free knowledge creation and dissemination, regardless of form or structure.

3. We will have grown together—from loosely-coordinated groups focused on national territories, to a trusted network... healthy partnerships, working beyond borders for global impact.

   Throughout the 2020s we grew to trust one another and became a network of healthy, inclusive communities, known for our productive discourse. Together, we all worked to build ever-more trust amongst movement actors and our partners. We invested in infrastructure, culture, capacities, and technology needed to support us all in working toward our mission. We built better onramps and introductions to new contributors and worked to cultivate contributors throughout their lifespan. We built an inclusive culture on and offline. And together, many organized groups lifted their sites beyond the national chapter model, partnered on interesting programs, and helped us all think more about the world.