Re: [Wikimania-l] Thoughts on carrying the Wikimania conversation forward

[Chris Keating]

One thing that I think would be helpful before, or during, this
conversation is to define the role of the Wikimania committee and the staff
involved.

This is something that's gradually developed from "a group of people who
often get involved in Wikimania" to a standing Advisory Group to a
Committee that is now making fundamental decisions. At the same time the
WMF has played a greater role in decision-making about Wikimanias. (Quite
rightly, in my view, given the level of expenditure and risk involved).

As a result I'm not quite sure what the remit of the Committee is, or how
it relates to staff. Is it more like the FDC, where the committee takes the
(more-or-less) binding decisions supported by analysis & facilitation from
staff members? Or is it more like the GAC where the committee provides
feedback and a more diverse set of views, but the final decision is a staff
member's?

Thanks,

Chris

On Mon, Oct 12, 2015 at 5:47 PM, Siko Bouterse 
wrote:

> Thanks for these suggestions, Lodewijk. Starting with the main goals and
> ideas before moving to detailed process and criteria makes a lot of sense.
> We'll need to define a process for 2018 before too long - one of the issues
> we're seeing is a need to select hosts earlier, because good venues book up
> early - so I'm not sure we can postpone the process discussions entirely
> until after Ensino Lario, but I hear your point about vision before
> process, and about using the next Wikimania to forward some phases of
> discussion in-person. We can look at options for how to accomplish this.
>
> Cheers,
> Siko
>
>
> On Sat, Oct 10, 2015 at 6:12 AM, Lodewijk 
> wrote:
>
>> Hi Siko,
>>
>> Thanks for the constructive thoughts.
>>
>> I agree it is good to focus on the future, and have a good discussion
>> about this. I hope that chapters and organised groups (who could have
>> higher odds for bidding/hosting) also discuss this topic, and use that as
>> input. That way, more people can be included indirectly.
>>
>> While I do think we should really discuss this, I do also think Esino
>> Lario is a very brave experiment, and I would like to separate the
>> discussion between general goals, and how we accomplish them. I expect we
>> will learn many lessons from Esino Lario based on the very creative
>> approach to the conference. Some things will work out great, and should be
>> repeated, others probably give a less enthusiast feeling for repetition.
>> That is nothing to be ashamed of, because if we never try, we never find
>> out.
>>
>> So I would like to propose that this consultation does /not/ result in a
>> very rigid set of criteria and process, but that it focuses on the main
>> goals, the main ideas what we want with Wikimania - and that we revisit
>> that shortly after Esino Lario to incorporate those lessons. That also
>> gives some space to have a real life discussion at Wikimania about this
>> plan :) It would be nice to have a good set of input for that real life
>> discussion though!
>>
>> Best,
>> Lodewijk
>>
>> On Tue, Oct 6, 2015 at 12:11 AM, Siko Bouterse 
>> wrote:
>>
>>> Hi folks,
>>>
>>> Just letting you know that I’m reading the recent Wikimania-focused
>>> mailing list threads with interest, as the Community Resources team is now
>>> on-point for funding and coordinating WMF’s involvement in Wikimania.
>>>
>>> A couple of first thoughts to share:
>>>
>>> 1. WMF has learned from past Wikimanias that we need to do our
>>> due-diligence on venue etc before the host team and location is announced.
>>> One reason for this is that we have a limited budget for Wikimania, and
>>> doing a site visit before the host is finalized helps us ensure that we’re
>>> able to support the costs of the event in a given location. Ellie Young is
>>> headed to Montreal in 2 weeks and based on what she learns from that visit,
>>> we’re aiming to give the steering committee what they need to confirm
>>> selection before the end of 2015. That said, we recognize that
>>> communications around this haven’t gone as planned, and we are looking into
>>> improvements…(see thought 2)
>>>
>>> 2. We, too, would like to see the movement building towards a shared
>>> vision of Wikimania! It is great to see so many people, in true
>>> Wikimedian-style, thinking about big-picture questions of participation,
>>> representation, and content at Wikimania. Knowing that mailing list
>>> discussions have their limits, here’s how my team is thinking about
>>> collecting feedback more systematically for this going forward:
>>>
>>> We’ll be launching a community consultation in November to help build
>>> towards more shared vision and process improvements for Wikimania 2018 -
>>> 2021. Two key inputs we’ve been thinking about using to launch that
>>> conversation are 1) responses from the survey of last Wikimania’s attendees
>>> and 2) the steering committee’s recommendation for host selection going
>>> 

Re: [Wikimania-l] Thoughts on carrying the Wikimania conversation forward

[Siko Bouterse]

Thanks for these suggestions, Lodewijk. Starting with the main goals and
ideas before moving to detailed process and criteria makes a lot of sense.
We'll need to define a process for 2018 before too long - one of the issues
we're seeing is a need to select hosts earlier, because good venues book up
early - so I'm not sure we can postpone the process discussions entirely
until after Ensino Lario, but I hear your point about vision before
process, and about using the next Wikimania to forward some phases of
discussion in-person. We can look at options for how to accomplish this.

Cheers,
Siko

On Sat, Oct 10, 2015 at 6:12 AM, Lodewijk 
wrote:

> Hi Siko,
>
> Thanks for the constructive thoughts.
>
> I agree it is good to focus on the future, and have a good discussion
> about this. I hope that chapters and organised groups (who could have
> higher odds for bidding/hosting) also discuss this topic, and use that as
> input. That way, more people can be included indirectly.
>
> While I do think we should really discuss this, I do also think Esino
> Lario is a very brave experiment, and I would like to separate the
> discussion between general goals, and how we accomplish them. I expect we
> will learn many lessons from Esino Lario based on the very creative
> approach to the conference. Some things will work out great, and should be
> repeated, others probably give a less enthusiast feeling for repetition.
> That is nothing to be ashamed of, because if we never try, we never find
> out.
>
> So I would like to propose that this consultation does /not/ result in a
> very rigid set of criteria and process, but that it focuses on the main
> goals, the main ideas what we want with Wikimania - and that we revisit
> that shortly after Esino Lario to incorporate those lessons. That also
> gives some space to have a real life discussion at Wikimania about this
> plan :) It would be nice to have a good set of input for that real life
> discussion though!
>
> Best,
> Lodewijk
>
> On Tue, Oct 6, 2015 at 12:11 AM, Siko Bouterse 
> wrote:
>
>> Hi folks,
>>
>> Just letting you know that I’m reading the recent Wikimania-focused
>> mailing list threads with interest, as the Community Resources team is now
>> on-point for funding and coordinating WMF’s involvement in Wikimania.
>>
>> A couple of first thoughts to share:
>>
>> 1. WMF has learned from past Wikimanias that we need to do our
>> due-diligence on venue etc before the host team and location is announced.
>> One reason for this is that we have a limited budget for Wikimania, and
>> doing a site visit before the host is finalized helps us ensure that we’re
>> able to support the costs of the event in a given location. Ellie Young is
>> headed to Montreal in 2 weeks and based on what she learns from that visit,
>> we’re aiming to give the steering committee what they need to confirm
>> selection before the end of 2015. That said, we recognize that
>> communications around this haven’t gone as planned, and we are looking into
>> improvements…(see thought 2)
>>
>> 2. We, too, would like to see the movement building towards a shared
>> vision of Wikimania! It is great to see so many people, in true
>> Wikimedian-style, thinking about big-picture questions of participation,
>> representation, and content at Wikimania. Knowing that mailing list
>> discussions have their limits, here’s how my team is thinking about
>> collecting feedback more systematically for this going forward:
>>
>> We’ll be launching a community consultation in November to help build
>> towards more shared vision and process improvements for Wikimania 2018 -
>> 2021. Two key inputs we’ve been thinking about using to launch that
>> conversation are 1) responses from the survey of last Wikimania’s attendees
>> and 2) the steering committee’s recommendation for host selection going
>> forward.
>>
>> We’re still regrouping from the latest Resources Consultation, and will
>> begin planning for a Wikimania Consultation next week, so after that we’ll
>> be able to share more information about what this consultation will look
>> like and the exact timeline. Meanwhile, suggestions and open questions that
>> you’d like to see resolved via this consultation are most welcome in this
>> thread. My hope is that a consultation will help broaden participation in
>> these conversations and get us from input to action.
>>
>> Warm regards,
>> Siko
>>
>> --
>> Siko Bouterse
>> Director of Community Resources
>> Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.
>>
>> sboute...@wikimedia.org
>>
>> *Imagine a world in which every single human being can freely share in
>> the sum of all knowledge. *
>> *Donate  or click the "edit" button today,
>> and help us make it a reality!*
>>
>> ___
>> Wikimania-l mailing list
>> Wikimania-l@lists.wikimedia.org
>> https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimania-l
>>
>>
>
> 

Re: [Wikimania-l] Thoughts on carrying the Wikimania conversation forward

[Lodewijk]

Hi Siko,

Thanks for the constructive thoughts.

I agree it is good to focus on the future, and have a good discussion about
this. I hope that chapters and organised groups (who could have higher odds
for bidding/hosting) also discuss this topic, and use that as input. That
way, more people can be included indirectly.

While I do think we should really discuss this, I do also think Esino Lario
is a very brave experiment, and I would like to separate the discussion
between general goals, and how we accomplish them. I expect we will learn
many lessons from Esino Lario based on the very creative approach to the
conference. Some things will work out great, and should be repeated, others
probably give a less enthusiast feeling for repetition. That is nothing to
be ashamed of, because if we never try, we never find out.

So I would like to propose that this consultation does /not/ result in a
very rigid set of criteria and process, but that it focuses on the main
goals, the main ideas what we want with Wikimania - and that we revisit
that shortly after Esino Lario to incorporate those lessons. That also
gives some space to have a real life discussion at Wikimania about this
plan :) It would be nice to have a good set of input for that real life
discussion though!

Best,
Lodewijk

On Tue, Oct 6, 2015 at 12:11 AM, Siko Bouterse 
wrote:

> Hi folks,
>
> Just letting you know that I’m reading the recent Wikimania-focused
> mailing list threads with interest, as the Community Resources team is now
> on-point for funding and coordinating WMF’s involvement in Wikimania.
>
> A couple of first thoughts to share:
>
> 1. WMF has learned from past Wikimanias that we need to do our
> due-diligence on venue etc before the host team and location is announced.
> One reason for this is that we have a limited budget for Wikimania, and
> doing a site visit before the host is finalized helps us ensure that we’re
> able to support the costs of the event in a given location. Ellie Young is
> headed to Montreal in 2 weeks and based on what she learns from that visit,
> we’re aiming to give the steering committee what they need to confirm
> selection before the end of 2015. That said, we recognize that
> communications around this haven’t gone as planned, and we are looking into
> improvements…(see thought 2)
>
> 2. We, too, would like to see the movement building towards a shared
> vision of Wikimania! It is great to see so many people, in true
> Wikimedian-style, thinking about big-picture questions of participation,
> representation, and content at Wikimania. Knowing that mailing list
> discussions have their limits, here’s how my team is thinking about
> collecting feedback more systematically for this going forward:
>
> We’ll be launching a community consultation in November to help build
> towards more shared vision and process improvements for Wikimania 2018 -
> 2021. Two key inputs we’ve been thinking about using to launch that
> conversation are 1) responses from the survey of last Wikimania’s attendees
> and 2) the steering committee’s recommendation for host selection going
> forward.
>
> We’re still regrouping from the latest Resources Consultation, and will
> begin planning for a Wikimania Consultation next week, so after that we’ll
> be able to share more information about what this consultation will look
> like and the exact timeline. Meanwhile, suggestions and open questions that
> you’d like to see resolved via this consultation are most welcome in this
> thread. My hope is that a consultation will help broaden participation in
> these conversations and get us from input to action.
>
> Warm regards,
> Siko
>
> --
> Siko Bouterse
> Director of Community Resources
> Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.
>
> sboute...@wikimedia.org
>
> *Imagine a world in which every single human being can freely share in the
> sum of all knowledge. *
> *Donate  or click the "edit" button today,
> and help us make it a reality!*
>
> ___
> Wikimania-l mailing list
> Wikimania-l@lists.wikimedia.org
> https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimania-l
>
>
___
Wikimania-l mailing list
Wikimania-l@lists.wikimedia.org
https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimania-l

[Wikimania-l] Thoughts on carrying the Wikimania conversation forward

[Siko Bouterse]

Hi folks,

Just letting you know that I’m reading the recent Wikimania-focused mailing
list threads with interest, as the Community Resources team is now on-point
for funding and coordinating WMF’s involvement in Wikimania.

A couple of first thoughts to share:

1. WMF has learned from past Wikimanias that we need to do our
due-diligence on venue etc before the host team and location is announced.
One reason for this is that we have a limited budget for Wikimania, and
doing a site visit before the host is finalized helps us ensure that we’re
able to support the costs of the event in a given location. Ellie Young is
headed to Montreal in 2 weeks and based on what she learns from that visit,
we’re aiming to give the steering committee what they need to confirm
selection before the end of 2015. That said, we recognize that
communications around this haven’t gone as planned, and we are looking into
improvements…(see thought 2)

2. We, too, would like to see the movement building towards a shared vision
of Wikimania! It is great to see so many people, in true Wikimedian-style,
thinking about big-picture questions of participation, representation, and
content at Wikimania. Knowing that mailing list discussions have their
limits, here’s how my team is thinking about collecting feedback more
systematically for this going forward:

We’ll be launching a community consultation in November to help build
towards more shared vision and process improvements for Wikimania 2018 -
2021. Two key inputs we’ve been thinking about using to launch that
conversation are 1) responses from the survey of last Wikimania’s attendees
and 2) the steering committee’s recommendation for host selection going
forward.

We’re still regrouping from the latest Resources Consultation, and will
begin planning for a Wikimania Consultation next week, so after that we’ll
be able to share more information about what this consultation will look
like and the exact timeline. Meanwhile, suggestions and open questions that
you’d like to see resolved via this consultation are most welcome in this
thread. My hope is that a consultation will help broaden participation in
these conversations and get us from input to action.

Warm regards,
Siko

-- 
Siko Bouterse
Director of Community Resources
Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.

sboute...@wikimedia.org

*Imagine a world in which every single human being can freely share in the
sum of all knowledge. *
*Donate  or click the "edit" button today,
and help us make it a reality!*
___
Wikimania-l mailing list
Wikimania-l@lists.wikimedia.org
https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimania-l