Wikimedia Foundation elections/2024/Candidates/Farah Jack Mustaklem

Farah Jack Mustaklem (Fjmustak)

Fjmustak (talk • meta edits • global user summary • CA • AE)

Total word count for the whole application (required + optional questions) is 1000 (one thousand) words
Candidate details	Farah at the Wikimedia Summit 2024 Personal: Name: Farah Jack Mustaklem Location: Palestine/UK Languages: ar-N, en-N, fr-2, es-2, he-2, nl-1 Editorial: Wikimedian since: 2005 Active wikis: arwiki, enwiki, commons
Required questions
Why are you running for the Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees? What would you contribute? What would you like to learn more about?	I am running for a seat on the Board first and foremost to bring much needed diversity in its makeup. I bring to the Board years of experience in the different facets of the Wikimedia Movement: as a Wikipedia volunteer, a user group leader, and an advisor on several Wikimedia Foundation committees. My leadership in the Wikimedia Movement in the “Global South” brings a much needed perspective to the Board that gives a voice to the marginalized, especially in handling crises that I experience first hand as a member of the Palestinian community. I have first-hand experience in and understand the needs of underserved language communities and smaller affiliates. My professional experience will undoubtedly prove important when discussing and making decisions about the Foundation's investment in technology and ensuring keeping up with the rapid evolution in technology and harnessing its power to support the Wikimedia platforms and facilitate access to them. By joining the Board, I’m also hoping to grow and learn more about the challenges of aligning different stakeholders across the movement.
Please describe your Wikimedia experience (such as contributions to the Wikimedia projects, memberships in Wikimedia organizations or affiliates, activities as a Wikimedia movement organizer, or participation with a Wikimedia movement ally organization).	I have been a Wikimedian since 2005. I started out by editing the English and Arabic Wikipedias. In 2014, I became one of the founders of the Wikimedians of the Levant User Group, and I continue to be in its board. In this role, I initiated the Wikipedia Education Program in Palestine, created partnerships with NGOs, and helped build a local community that still thrives despite the challenges. I was also involved in establishing the Arabic Wikimedians User Group, which has been working on establishing a hub for the Arabic speaking Wikimedia community that fulfills the 2030 recommendation Ensure Equity in Decision-making. I am also a member of Wikimedia UK. In the global movement, I have served on the Affiliations Committee which works closely with and advises the Board of Trustees to approve and support Wikimedia affiliates. I was on the Wikimedia Strategy Steering Committee having worked on the 2030 strategy from its inception. I currently serve on the Regional Grants Committee for Africa and the Middle East, one of the first committees in the Movement to become decentralized.
From your perspective, what should the Wikimedia Foundation be prioritizing over the next 5-10 years, and why do you see these as the most important priorities?	With the increasing dependence on artificial intelligence and the spread of misinformation and disinformation online, a main priority for the Wikimedia Foundation over the next 5-10 years should be to ensure that Wikimedia projects remain factually accurate and relevant. To achieve this goal, we need to carefully experiment with new machine learning technologies to help accelerate and improve fact checking, combat misinformation, and improve the user experience of the Wikipedia readers. The spreading of propaganda and disinformation in relation to Palestine in recent months has been yet another reminder of how critical this is, with Wikipedia becoming a main source of information on the human tragedy in Gaza, but often also covering up or exacerbating the immense suffering. Combatting this type of propaganda should be prioritized by the Foundation in order to assist individual editors and the Movement as a whole in their strife for presenting accurate, neutral, and timely information.
Optional questions - Professional Experience, Skills and Education
Please describe your experience with governing bodies of organizations (nonprofit or for-profit), mentioning the scope of your responsibilities, as well as the complexity of the organization (in terms of scale of operations, budget, number of people involved, or other meaningful measures) and the size of the board or body.	I’m one of the Wikimedians of the Levant User Group’s three board members. The board oversees the annual planning and detailed implementation of dozens of activities and programs across four countries. During my time on the board, the group has grown from an annual budget of $0 into $34k for the year 2024. I also sat on the advisory board for 7amleh, the Arab Center for the Advancement of Social Media advising the NGO on issues pertaining to Wikipedia and free knowledge.
Please describe your professional career experience.	I am a career software engineer. For the past 24 years, I have worked in developing software for the semiconductor industry. Starting out as an individual contributor, I now manage a team of ten developers.
Please briefly describe 3 situations that show how you tackled, or advised others on, a complex problem in an organization. How did you work with others to address the situations?	As a veteran member of the Wikimedia community, I have been often called upon to intervene in quarrels and problems between community members. I have mediated, advised, and helped others to find fair solutions. Some complex situations have arisen in my volunteer work in Wikimedia committees, where I had to, with the other members, advise affiliates on how to move forward. The conversations were seldom easy, but always professional.
Please describe your educational background, including degrees, certificates, and courses of study finished, and their relevance to board work.	I hold a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics and a Master of Business Administration, which gives me insight into the business world, a skill beneficial to being on a nonprofit's board.
Please add any relevant links describing your professional background, experience, profile (such as LinkedIn, staff page, etc.).	Farah Jack Mustaklem on LinkedIn
Optional questions - Leadership Experience
Please describe ways in which you have helped to form a bridge between multiple communities (such as by working on projects outside your home wiki, or working on a collaboration between multiple affiliates).	At the Wikimedians of the Levant, we have continuously collaborated with other affiliates and groups. Bridges across Cultures was one such cross-regional collaboration. Another collaboration was a project to translate subtitles of videos produced by the Basque Wikimedians. An important collaboration I have been a part of is working towards creating an Arabic Hub, together with members from the other user groups in the region. Finally, since moving to the UK, I joined the chapter to act as a bridge between East and West, and seek opportunities for collaboration and learning.
Can you describe a policy, on wiki or off, that you helped to create or change? What did you learn from this experience?	An off-wiki policy I’ve helped create was User Group membership. I’ve learned from the experience how to best gather input from people with varying opinions and come up with solutions taking into account the differences. I helped draft the Code of Conduct for our User Group. As it was growing, it was vital to set clear expectations of members' conduct and to ensure the interaction between members remains collegial and constructive. It was also a chance to contribute to development of the Universal Code of Conduct and align with it.
How have you been able to empower people to make their voices heard?	I initiated the Wikipedia Education Program in Palestine, working with University professors and students to edit Wikipedia. After the first few editions of the program, I empowered students to lead the program, while providing them with the support they needed. The program is now entering its tenth year.
Sometimes in professional situations, there are personality conflicts. Explain how you remain productive even with personality conflicts.	In different situations, I’ve worked well with people from different countries having very different ideologies and backgrounds. Professionalism transcends these differences, and while arguments and disagreements are bound to arise, maintaining a positive collaborative environment is the key to success and productivity.
Optional questions - Strategic Thinking
Where do you see the need for greater diversity in the Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees or within the movement? What steps would you take to improve diversity on the Board or within the movement? What steps would you recommend the Board take to improve diversity?	The Board of Trustees lacks diversity in terms of regional representation. The “Global North” is very conspicuously dominant. I seek to change this to bring an unrepresented voice from the community to the Board, to help drive the Wikimedia Foundation towards equity.
Verification	Identity verification performed by Wikimedia Foundation staff and eligibility verification performed by the Elections Committee
Verification	Eligibility: Verified Verified by: KTC (talk) 20:03, 3 June 2024 (UTC)[reply]	Identification: Verified Verified by: – NahidSultan (WMF) (talk) 11:36, 29 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]