Strategy/Wikimedia movement/2017/Toolkit/Discussion guide/Offwiki

The following discussion is closed.

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Cycle 1 of the discussion is now closed for analysis and sense-making, and the toolkit information may change for Cycle 2. Please join us soon for the next cycle of discussions. Updates in progress.

This page explains how to organize a discussion about Movement strategy at an online but offwiki location.

Movement Strategy Portal

What happens during the second discussion (cycle 2)?

1. Group discusses the future of the movement, exploring the five themes. There are 5 questions for each theme. Groups should prioritize their discussions on which theme is most important to them, in case there is not enough time to discuss all five themes.
2. For each question, someone should summarize the response and 1 key word or phrase (for preliminary sorting and translation across projects).
3. The Coordinator submits these answers and key words to meta for inclusion in the overall discussion.

Be a Discussion Coordinator
We need volunteers! The primary responsibilities are to invite, host, and post the discussion summary.
Signup to be a coordinator

Planning Tools

• Learn about the role of a coordinator
• Planning page
• Mailing list for coordinators
• Frequently Asked Questions

Discussion Guides

• Discussion Toolkits
  • on-wiki
  • in-person
  • video/teleconference
  • online, but off-wiki

Attendee Reading Material

• Research about these themes

Active discussions

Report the discussion

To ensure your theme statements are included in the overall discussion, it is critical to submit them on meta.

• About the summaries
• Summit summaries (Sources)

Please observe the Friendly Space Expectations when sharing your thoughts or discussing those of others.

Online discussion - off wiki (cycle 1)

Recommended size

Unlimited

Overview agenda

Over the course of the month-long discussion period, participants will do the following:

• Part 1 (first 1-3 weeks of discussion cycle, depending on when you start)
  • Review the Strategy Brief and discuss the key points that resonate with the group
  • Explore what accomplishing the vision looks like
  • Generate ideas about what is our best way of reaching our vision
  • Identify major themes and discuss
• Part 2 (final week of discussion cycle)
  • Write one theme statement per each major topic (1 sentence for each theme) and write 1-3 keywords
  • Post summary to local project and Meta

Detailed agenda

Here is a recommended agenda for the discussion. While you may choose to run the conversation differently, this has been designed for your use.

While this is designed to run for four weeks, groups can shorten the discussion timeline as needed, as long as a summary of statements is posted.

Step	Activity / Prompts for online discussion
Step 1 (week 1)	First posting - Introduction and briefing Introduce yourself and share the purpose of discussion. Encourage the group to read the strategy brief and share initial thoughts and add the text: We will be working together to discuss the overall direction of the movement and generate an initial list of major themes and their meanings. We will start by reading the Strategy Brief and discussing it. What does everyone find most interesting or meaningful to the future of Wikimedia?
Step 2 (week 2)	Second posting - Main discussion on our future direction Post the discussion prompt: What do we want to build or achieve together over the next 15 years? Some potential other ways to think about this question are: What will guide our work together over the next 15 years? What impact or change do we want to have on the world over the next 15 years? What is the single most important thing we can do together over the next 15 years? What will unite and inspire us as a movement for the next 15 years? What will accelerate our progress over the next 15 years? What will we be known for in the next 15 years? Additional discussion prompts are available.
Step 3 (week 3-4)	Summarize the themes (option for group to summarize together through online collaboration or for discussion coordinator to summarize separately) Identify major ideas from the discussion Write one sentence statement (theme statements) and 1-3 keywords for each major idea Example: Theme statement: We should spread access to knowledge through educational institutions. Keywords: education, access Post to local project and to meta Meta: If possible, translate your summary into English. If not, please post in your local language to Meta and mark for translation if we do not have a language liaison to translate this for you.