Re: [Wikimedia-l] Wiki Indaba - Letter to Katherine (L2K)

[Katherine Maher]

Dear all,

From Wikimania 2017 in Montreal, please find my formal response to the L2K,
in English and French. You can also find a copy on Meta, on the same page
as the original L2K.

We look forward to meeting you all soon in Cape Town in 2018.

Yours,
Katherine

[1]
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/WikiIndaba_conference_2017/Letter_to_Katherine_(L2K)


*Response to the L2K*

Dear friends,

Today, on the first day of Wikimania, I reflect on who is not here with us
in Montreal. The reasons are familiar: denied visas, limited time away from
work, the prohibitive cost of travel. However familiar the reasons, they
never cease to be frustrating: they are an ever-present reminder of the
challenges so many members of our global movement face.

In particular I am compelled to note how few of our colleagues from our
African community are here with us this weekend. The past year has
demonstrated the enthusiasm, focus, and energy of our African communities,
and your rising voices in our global Wikimedia movement. When you are not
with us, we feel your absence.

The Letter to Katherine is a vivid manifestation of the emerging
opportunity for our Wikimedia communities across Africa. It is a frank
acknowledgement of the unique circumstances in which many of our African
communities conduct their work. But in its existence, crafted together at
WikiIndaba, it is also a powerful reminder of the tremendous
accomplishments the community has already achieved.

Already, we see the influence of the African communities on our broader
community. The L2K set an important precedent for the global movement,
including the drafting of the Carta de Buenos Aires [1] from the Iberocoop
community. And while we have been at work, so have you. Your continued
achievements give support to the momentum of the community — just last
month, Wikimedians in Cameroon formed a new User Group.

We know that Wikimedia has a bright future across Africa. The diversity of
languages and cultures, the richness of your histories, and the creativity
and ambition of your nations: these all represent remarkable opportunities
for our movement to thrive and grow. We also know that embracing these
opportunities means changing some of the ways we do things. We know that
for Wikimedia to thrive across Africa, we must embrace Africa in Wikimedia.
We must listen to you, learn from you, and consider how we grow together.

I wanted to share, briefly, a few instances with you of how the L2K has
already guided the Foundation’s efforts. I hope you will accept these as
assurance of our commitment to the African community, and as an invitation
to continued conversation, while recognizing we have more work to do:

*We are seeking new ways to support the capacity of African communities. *We
currently provide grants for training and supporting new and emerging
Wikimedians in Africa. In the fiscal year 2016-2017, we awarded 24 rapid
grants, and continued funding the Project Grants program which supports
projects such as the pan-African Wiki Loves Africa, South Africa’s
Joburgpedia, and Nigeria’s “Wikipedian in Residence” program, to mention a
few. Beyond these grants, we are committed to opening new forums for
members to learn communication, technical, and other skills.

*We are facilitating peer support. *We agree with you that the best
resource is often a fellow Wikimedian, and we want to support members in
identifying experienced peers. Many in the African community have gathered
through the movement strategy process, and we provided support for
workshops and salons led by affiliates in Côte d'Ivoire, Egypt, and soon in
Nigeria. The movement strategic direction will guide the Wikimedia
Foundation’s strategy through 2030; and we are grateful that it not only
reflects the voices of our African communities, but aspires to continue and
deepen these opportunities for connection.

*We are offering resources on how to strengthen partnerships. *We offered
partnerships workshops and capacity building at Wikimedia Conference in
Berlin. For Africa specifically, we are continuing our regularly scheduled,
quarterly “office hours,” with the Foundation’s Partnerships and Global
Reach team available to answer questions, share updates, and explore new
opportunities.

We recognize that 2018 will be Africa’s year in the Wikimedia movement. One
year from now, we will gather together in South Africa, for the second
African, and first sub-Saharan African, Wikimania. This will be an
opportunity to bring the global movement to what is currently (but
certainly not for long) the continent’s only chapter. We will also visit
Tunisia, for the first WikiIndaba in North Africa. I am deeply excited for
what the year will bring, and already looking forward to all of the
achievements we will have to celebrate together at Wikimania in one year’s
time..

I am grateful to you, the African community, for sharing your voice and
your experiences. Today at Wikimania, I pledge to continue our commitment
to the African 

[Wikimedia-l] [Wikimania] Livestream session links for Saturday 12 August

[Melody Kramer]

Hello,

We will be livestreaming one session today at Wikimania via YouTube [1] and
Facebook [2].

*9:15 AM ET/ 6:15 AM PT/ 1:15 PM UTC - 10:30 ET / 7:30 AM PT / 2:30 PM UTC*

*Wikidemocracy: How We Can Save Free Speech, Privacy, and Democratic Values*

*Susan N. Herman  [3] *, the
President of the American Civil Liberties Union.

You can also find a complete schedule for livestreamed [4] and recorded
sessions [5], as well as notes from other sessions [5]. If you have
notes/slides from yesterday's presentations, please add them.

Thank you,
Mel



[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zGmNQVItUXw

[2] https://www.facebook.com/wikipedia/

[3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Susan_N._Herman

[4] https://wikimania2017.wikimedia.org/wiki/Livestreamed_keynotes

[5] https://wikimania2017.wikimedia.org/wiki/All_Session_Notes

-- 
Melody Kramer 
Senior Audience Development Manager
Read a random featured article from Wikipedia!


mkra...@wikimedia.org
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Re: [Wikimedia-l] Trace of Soul (WLM+WLE) in Republic of Srpska

[Shani Evenstein]

Very happy for you! Good luck! :)

Shani.

On Sat, Aug 12, 2017 at 12:17 PM, WМ RepublikaSrpska <
wmrepublikasrp...@gmail.com> wrote:

> Thanks Ivana! Thanks Pine W! :)
>
> *Замислите свет у коме свака особа на планети има слободан приступ
> целокупном људском знању. То је оно на чему ми радимо.*
>
>
> 2017-08-03 23:26 GMT+02:00 Pine W :
>
> > I like the name.
> >
> > Pine
> >
> >
> > On Tue, Aug 1, 2017 at 12:06 PM, WМ RepublikaSrpska <
> > wmrepublikasrp...@gmail.com> wrote:
> >
> > > Hello everyone!
> > >
> > >
> > > I am pleased, in front of the Wikimedia Community of the Republic of
> > > Srpska, to inform you that our community received its first annual APG
> > > grant this year and we are very excited about it! :) We have already
> > > started with the initial activities - the Trace of Soul 2017 project.
> It
> > is
> > > a photo competition revolving around natural and stationary cultural
> > > heritage of the Republic of Srpska. The competition is organized for
> the
> > > third time in the Republic of Srpska and we hope that it will be
> > > successfully implemented as in the previous years. In addition to the
> > > photo-competitions, we will have a number of accompanying activities -
> > > photo-tours and editing workshops in various cities of the Republic of
> > > Srpska. We hope that this year we will be able to improve the project
> > both
> > > in terms of quality and quantity.
> > >
> > > For more information, see Trace of Soul
> > > , and
> > > the project
> > > website .
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > Best,
> > >
> > > Bojana
> > >
> > > *Замислите свет у коме свака особа на планети има слободан приступ
> > > целокупном људском знању. То је оно на чему ми радимо.*
> > > ___
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> > > 
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> >
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[Wikimedia-l] [Wikimedia Announcements] [PRESS RELEASE] Wikimedia Foundation announces Board of Trustees appointments and leadership at Wikimania 2017 in Montreal

[Samantha Lien]

This press release is also available online here:
https://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Press_releases/Wikimedia_Foundation_announces_Board_of_Trustees_appointments_and_leadership_at_Wikimania_2017_in_Montreal


*Wikimedia Foundation announces Board of Trustees appointments and
leadership at Wikimania 2017 in Montreal*

*Wikimedia Foundation Board appoints Wikimedia community-selected Trustees,
and confirms Chair and Vice Chair leadership*

*(Montreal, Canada) 11 August 2017* — Today the Wikimedia Foundation Board
of Trustees confirmed the appointments of three community-selected trustees
including the reappointment of María Sefidari and Dariusz Jemielniak, both
current Board members, and James Heilman, former Trustee. The Board also
reappointed as Chair, Christophe Henner, and Vice Chair, María Sefidari, to
lead the Board. The announcement was made at Wikimania 2017 in Montreal,
the annual Wikimedia gathering celebrating Wikipedia, its sister projects,
and the Wikimedia volunteer community.


The Wikimedia Foundation’s Board of Trustees oversees the Wikimedia
Foundation and its work, and serves as the organization’s ultimate
corporate authority. The three appointed trustees, all of whom currently
serve or have served on the Foundation's Board, were selected by the
international community of volunteers who create and develop Wikipedia and
its sister projects.


The three open Board seats were filled through an on-wiki election process
in which individual Wikimedia volunteers submit their candidacy and the
broader Wikimedia volunteer community offers support to their preferred
candidates. Wikimedia community members participated in the election
process online in May 2017, during which more than 5,100 people voted from
more than 170 individual project wikis.


As community-selected Trustees, María Sefidari, Dariusz Jemielniak, and
James Heilman will each serve a three year term. As incoming Chair and Vice
Chair, Christophe Henner and María Sefidari will serve as officers for one
year terms. This will mark the second consecutive term as Chair and Vice
Chair for both Henner and Sefidari, respectively.


María Sefidari began contributing to the Wikimedia projects in 2006 and has
since served in several roles across the Wikimedia movement. She was a
founding member of Wikimedia España and Wikimujeres Grupo de Usuarias, and
she also helped create Spanish Wikipedia's LGBT Wikiproject. She has served
on several Foundation governance committees, including the Affiliations and
Individual Engagement Grants committees. María is a professor in the
Digital Communications, Culture and Citizenship Master's degree program of
Rey Juan Carlos University at the MediaLab-Prado in Madrid, Spain. She has
previously served on the Board from August 2013 to July 2015, and most
recently joined the Board once again in January 2016. She has been selected
for a second term which will conclude at Wikimania 2020.


Dariusz Jemielniak has held a variety of roles on Wikimedia projects,
including administrator, bureaucrat, checkuser, steward and ombudsman. He
served as the chair of the Wikimedia community’s Funds Dissemination
Committee for three terms and is the author of “Common knowledge?: An
Ethnography of Wikipedia.” Dariusz is a full professor of Management, the
head of the Center for Research on Organizations and Workplaces, and a
co-founder of the New Research on Digital Societies (NeRDS) group at
Kozminski University. Dariusz has been re-appointed for a second term as a
Trustee after first joining the Board in July 2015.


James Heilman, M.D., has helped to found both Wikimedia Canada and
WikiProject Med Foundation. As an emergency physician in Cranbrook, British
Columbia, and a faculty member of emergency medicine at the University of
British Columbia, James is an active member of the medical community on
Wikimedia projects. James has also been involved in establishing
collaborations with several organizations, including Translators Without
Borders and the World Health Organization, to improve Wikimedia’s coverage
of medical content. James previously served on the Board of Trustees from
July to December 2015.


Christophe Henner has been a leader within the Wikimedia community for more
than 12 years. Prior to joining the Foundation Board in 2016, he served as
Board Chair of Wikimedia France, and had been a member of the chapter’s
Board since 2007. During this time, he spent nearly three years in Vice
Chair and Chair positions. Christophe is currently the Chief Operating
Officer (COO) of the Blade Group, a cloud computing company headquartered
in France. At Blade, Christophe is scaling up operations to support the
company's transition from a start-up to a global company.


The Wikimedia Foundation and Board of Trustees are pleased to announce the
appointed Trustees, Chair, and Vice Chair, who collectively bring many
years of service and commitment to the Wikimedia community and mission.


Other seats on the Board include one seat