Talk:Wikimedia New York City/Archives/2019
 | Please do not post any new comments on this page. This is a discussion archive first created in 2019, although the comments contained were likely posted before and after this date. See current discussion or the archives index. |
New Affiliations Committee appointments
AffCom is excited to share with you the news that the Wikimedia Foundation Board has unanimously approved the changes to the Bylaws during the last Board meeting on January 30, 2019.
This change allows the participation of User Groups in the Affiliate-selected Board seats (ASBS) 2019 process.
To read the Board's announcement, please click here
--MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 14:45, 21 February 2019 (UTC)
Help us make Wikipedia talk pages more accessible to more participants
Hello!
Our team at the Wikimedia Foundation is working on a project to improve the ease-of-use and productivity of wiki talk pages. As an affiliate, I can imagine you’ve run into challenges explaining talk pages to first-time participants, or it is an consultation that would interest your members.
We want all contributors to be able to talk to each other on the wikis – to ask questions, to resolve differences, to organize projects and to make decisions. Communication is essential for the depth and quality of our content, and the health of our communities.
We're currently leading a global consultation on how to improve talk pages, and we're looking for groups that can discuss and report on their experiences using (or helping other people to use) wiki talk pages. We'd like to invite you to participate, with the user groups that you belong to. You can learn more about the consultation at Mediawiki.org and if you're interested in hosting a group discussion (on-wiki or off-wiki), you can sign up at the participant sign-up group.
If you’d like to participate or if you have any questions, please contact us and let us know. The more people participate from many horizons, the better the outcome will be.
Thank you! Trizek (WMF) 15:29, 8 March 2019 (UTC)
Call for complementary facilitators and more to get the ASBS 2019 process started!
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Hi everyone, hope all is fine with you!
The next weeks will be intense, as affiliates figure out their participation in the process that will soon select 2 people for the Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees. Since new Bylaws established that the user groups are for the first time going to be involved in such process, a lot more support than before is certainly going to be necessary, among other things, for big and healthy conversations on the topic. Hence, please encourage members of your group to become a complementary facilitator, or sign up yourself! You can add yourself to the list on Meta or reply to me to flag availability. One person from the facilitators group should soon be selected to liaise with the Foundation Board’s Chair, María Sefidari, on behalf of all affiliates, and it may be wise to also find a deputy for them.
Finally, if you can think of any huge obstacles that would prevent your group from participating to the process (for instance, a language barrier, or lack of good decision-making mechanisms, etc.), please reach out to me directly: it is really important that we hear about them as early as possible. Thank you! Elitre (WMF) 15:23, 12 March 2019 (UTC)
Update on the Affiliate-selected Board seats 2019 process
Hi all,
The Election Facilitators met on Friday, April 5. We finalized the resolution, which is now frozen. The Board of Trustees of the Wikimedia Foundation will be asked to approve the resolution.
We have made two small changes to be more inclusive. We extended the date for compliance with AffCom reporting and being in good standing to May 7 to allow time for as many Affiliates as possible to be current with these requirements. The Election Facilitators adjusted the language in case a quorum is not met during the election.
On the talk page of the resolution one issue was raised. The issue looks like to be about a possible candidate. Affiliates will have ample time to discuss the merits of candidates during nomination time, screening time, and they can cast their votes on candidates. The Election Facilitators didn't see the necessity for this change, and left the resolution on this point unchanged.
The Election Facilitators will be Abhinav Srivastava, Lane Rasberry, Jeffrey Keefer, Ad Huikeshoven, Neal McBurnett and Alessandro Marchetti. We will welcome more volunteers to assist us in this process, to reach out to the diversity in language and gender in our communities, and do so in an advisory role.
The nomination period opens on April 15. We are going to prepare nomination pages on Meta. You can expect a call for nominations. There is a draft call, including a candidates' profile section with non-binding guidelines about experience and characteristics for nominees. You are welcome to add your insights, or discuss on the talk page.
Erica Litrenta (WMF staff) supports us in this process. She will reach out to all affiliates through mail and other channels to make sure we are up to date with (user)name and contact details of your primary contact.
On behalf of the Election Facilitators, Ad Huikeshoven 10:52, 6 April 2019 (UTC)
PIPA/SOPA protest 18 January
A 90-minute protest is happening outside the New York City offices of New York's senators, Charles Schumer and Kirstin Gillibrand, organized by the New York Tech Meetup. Wikimedians in NYC might be interested in going.
- Signing unsigned thread so it can be archived when the time comes. —MarcoAurelio (talk) 19:03, 25 June 2019 (UTC)
Update about the Affiliate-selected Board seats process 2019
Hello everyone!
- The Resolution has been approved by the Board of Trustees;
- Nominations phase is now open, from April 15 00:00 UTC to April 30 23:59 UTC. See the Call for Candidates and Nominations pages;
- Community members may ask questions of the candidates;
- Your main representative has just received an email to confirm that they are indeed the primary contact and will perform official actions on behalf of your group (such as endorsing candidates and then voting). Some groups also need to verify their eligibility status in due time, as explained in the email;
- New content is available to spread awareness around the process - the infographic on this page has clickable links and can be translated, and a primer is available, that we hope will be particularly helpful to those new to such a process;
- Finally, you are welcome to help with translations! Pick one page from the ASBS category and, in the next couple of weeks, please consider translating profiles of the candidates in particular.
Thanks for your attention! The Facilitators for ASBS 2019, 07:33, 15 April 2019 (UTC)
Affiliate-selected Board seats 2019 process: your representative
Hello. The name of the only person who will vote on behalf of this group to select the next two Board members is now at m:Affiliate-selected Board seats/2019/Eligible entities. Please contact me directly as soon as possible if you need any kind of corrections there. There's only a few hours left to endorse candidates, and only the official voter can do that. I would also like to take this opportunity to remind you that you can make a difference with the necessary translations.
Appreciate your attention and your support so far! Thank you! Elitre (WMF) and Facilitators of ASBS 2019, 12:15, 29 April 2019 (UTC)
Upcoming 2019 Affiliate-selected trustee position on the Board of Wikimedia Foundation
Greetings Wikimedia New York City,
My name is Gerald Shields, also known as user:Geraldshields11. I am asking for your top rank vote for me in the election for one of two open trustee positions on the Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees.
I am asking for your vote to help support emerging communities and promote an inclusive education environment on all wiki projects. Also, I plan to promote various other issues as I mention in my statement and answers to various questions. I ask that you show your support for the issues that need to be address by voting for me as one of your preferences.
My candidacy information page is Affiliate-selected Board seats/2019/Nominations/Gerald Shields on Meta or can be found at Gerald Shields candidate. As of the 7 May 2019 list of questions, I am the only candidate to have responded to all of the “Questions for all candidates - Questions for this individual candidate that do not apply to other candidates”. My answers give more details on why your affiliate should vote for me.
Thank you for your time, discussion, and consideration of my candidacy. I appreciate it.
My best regards,
Gerald Shields
Geraldshields11 (talk) 01:31, 9 May 2019 (UTC)
- Thank you for Wikimedia New York City's organization vote during the 2019 trustee election. With your organization’s, Igbo's, and AfroCrowd's votes, I was able to score better than expected. I look forward to working with the trustees. Geraldshields11 (talk) 18:53, 16 July 2019 (UTC)
Conduct and friendly space policies for Wikimedia LGBT+
I proposed that Wikimedia LGBT+ adopt some policies which Wikimedia NYC developed. See
I am not requesting any particular response from anyone at Wikimedia NYC. If someone wants to take any action, then anything Wikimedia NYC does to develop and publicize its policies is useful. Thanks. Blue Rasberry (talk) 15:48, 12 December 2019 (UTC)
Archiving challenges
The archives of this talk page are at
{{archive-index}}
{{Special:PrefixIndex/Talk:Wikimedia New York City/Archives/|stripprefix=1}}
I do not see a quick way to make this display as links or search on the top of this page, which is how it should be. Eventually we need to provide access to the archives at the top here, which is the standard on English Wikipedia but more challenging here in meta. Blue Rasberry (talk) 15:53, 12 December 2019 (UTC)
The Affiliations Committee (AffCom) – the committee responsible for guiding volunteers in establishing Wikimedia chapters, thematic organizations, and user groups – is looking for new members!
The main role of the Affiliations Committee is to guide groups of volunteers that are interested in forming Wikimedia affiliates. We review applications from new groups, answer questions and provide advice about the different Wikimedia affiliation models and processes, review affiliate bylaws for compliance with requirements and best practices, and update the Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees as well as advise them on issues connected to chapters, thematic organizations and Wikimedia user groups.
The committee consists of fourteen members, selected every twelve months for staggered two-year terms. Those joining the committee during the current process will serve a two-year term ending in December 2021.
AffCom continues to closely monitor the Wikimedia 2030 Strategy process that was initiated in 2016. While the affiliation models continue to be discussed as part of the broader strategy discussion, as no decisions have been made to change the current affiliation models yet, AffCom will continue to work in the same manner with regard to affiliate recognitions and intervention support for affiliates with issues of non-compliance in 2020. Specifically, AffCom will continue to process applications for user group and chapter/thematic organization creation, while we await the strategy next steps and begin to prepare for a smooth transition of the committee and affiliates ecosystem to any changing movement structures and systems in 2021.
Being a part of the Affiliations Committee requires communication with volunteers all over the world, negotiating skills, cultural sensitivity, and the ability to understand legal texts. We look for a healthy mix of different skill sets in our members.
Required and Recommended Skills for Affiliations Committee Members
Across all committee members there are additional relevant skills as well as requirements which help to support the committee and its sustainability which include both required and relevant general skills
Required Skills
- Fluency in English
- Availability of up to 5 hours per week, and the time to participate in a monthly one and two-hour voice/video meetings.
- Willingness to use one's real name in committee activities (including contacts with current and potential affiliates) when appropriate.
- Strong track record of effective collaboration
- International orientation
Relevant Skills
- Skills in other languages are a major plus.
- Public Communications (English writing and speaking skills)
- Strong understanding of the structure and work of affiliates and the Wikimedia Foundation.
- Documentation practices
- Interviewing experience
- Knowledge of different legal systems and experience in community building and organizing are a plus
- Experience with, or in, an active affiliate is a major plus.
- Teamwork
- Focusing on shared goals instead of disagreements
- Focusing on the conflict at hand and not past ones
- Ensuring each member of the team has a clearly defined role, which can help reduce disagreements over areas of responsibility
- Project and people management to coordinate different parties on a shared plan and seeing it through to completion.
- Problem-Solving
- Ability to evaluate various solutions
- Ability to consider multiple interests and points of view
- Willingness to revisit unresolved issues
- The capacity to recognize and respond to important matters
- The ability to seek compromise and avoid punishing
- Ability to work and communicate with other languages and cultures.
Given the expectations for maintaining course in 2020 and preparing for potential 2021 transitions, it is important that we are also clear about two different skill sets critical to committee support at this time. The first skillset is oriented to understanding affiliate dynamics and organizational development patterns to successfully process affiliate applications for recognition; the other is oriented to conflict prevention and intervention support for affiliates in conflict.
Affiliate Recognitions Relevant Skills
- Administration
- Willingness to process applications through a set, perhaps bureaucratic process.
- Attention to detail
- Monitoring & Strategic Development
- Readiness to participate in political discussions on the role and future of affiliates, models of affiliation, and similar topics.
- Organizational Awareness
- Understanding of and community building and organizational development
- Understanding of group dynamics
- Awareness of the affiliates ecosystem and models
Conflict Prevention & Intervention Relevant Skills
- Communication
- Active listening
- Reading nonverbal cues
- Knowing when to interrupt and when to stay quiet
- Being culturally sensitive at the same time remaining clear and concise when explaining a concept or opinion
- Stress Management
- Patience
- Positivity
- Ability to inject a dose of humor to dilute anger and frustration when needed
- Taking well-timed breaks that can bring calm in the midst of flared tempers
- Ability to manage stress while remaining alert and calm
- Emotional Intelligence
- Being emotionally aware,
- Ability to control emotions and behaviors,
- Ability to practice empathy,
- Impartiality,
- Don’t take anything personally,
- Being aware of and respectful of differences.
- Facilitation skills
- Meeting facilitation experience
- Peer or community mediation training
- Peer or community mediation experience
Do you have any of these skill sets and an interest to support movement affiliates?
We are looking for people who are excited by the challenge of empowering volunteers to get organized and form communities that further our mission around the world. In exchange, committee members selected will gain the experience of supporting their world-wide colleagues to develop their communities as well as personal development in guiding organizational development, facilitating affiliate partnerships, and professional communications.
Selection process
As a reflection of our commitment to openness, transparency, and bilateral engagement with the Wikimedia community, the 2019 member selection process will include a public review and comment period. We invite you to share with us you applications, specifying your focus area you’re interested in. All applications received by the committee will be posted on Meta, and the community will be invited to provide comments and feedback about each candidate.
At the end of the public comment period, the applications will be voted on by the members of the committee who are not seeking re-election, taking into account comments put forward by the committee's members, advisors, Wikimedia Foundation staff and board liaisons, and the community. A final decision will be made by mid-January 2020, with new members expected to join later that month.
How to apply
If you are interested in joining the committee, please post your application on the nomination page and send an email announcing your application to AffCom
lists.wikimedia.org by 10 January 2020. Your application must include the following information:
- Your full name and Wikimedia username
- A statement describing your relevant experience, skills, and motivation for joining the committee.
- Answers to the following questions:
- How do you think affiliates work best together to partner on effective projects and initiatives?
- What do you see as the role of affiliates in the Wikimedia movement in the next three years?
- What do you feel you will bring to the committee that makes you uniquely qualified?
- Which subcommittee are you most interested in serving on: Recognitions OR Conflict Prevention & Intervention?
If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact me and/or the committee as a whole. We are happy to chat or have a phone call with anyone about our work if this helps them decide to apply. Please distribute this call among your networks, and do apply if you are interested!
On behalf of the committee,
Camelia Boban, AffCom member