Re: [Wikimedia-l] Bylaws amendments and upcoming call for feedback

2021-01-21 Thread Samuel Klein 
Yair, thanks for looking it over carefully.

On Thu, Jan 21, 2021 at 6:35 PM Yair Rand  wrote:

> Those "loopholes" people mentioned are still there, with the addition of
> at least one new one.
>

Hm.  Maria, an easier-to-read diff like the one Laurentius made for the
proposal, would be most welcome.

For each of these loopholes, could you be explicit about the intent, and
whether or not the new apparent loophole is desired, or a bug to be fixed?

* "As many as" eight community/affiliate seats -- under what conditions
would there be fewer?  Are there conditions where a term might expire or be
vacated without replacement?
* No mention of voting -- just the promise of "a series of options [for]
strong community processes to select representatives". How are these being
developed / is there a long-list of potential options under consideration?
* The change from "majority community-selected" to "at least half
community-selected"  - intentional, and if so to what end?
* The loophole where "shall not appoint" still allows the Board to become
minority community-selected  - intentional, and if so to what end?

Warmly,  SJ
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Re: [Wikimedia-l] Bylaws amendments and upcoming call for feedback

2021-01-21 Thread Yair Rand 
It looks like the Board ignored the feedback, and also just decided not to
tell anyone about that until a month and a half after the decision was
finalized. The bylaws changes were implemented on December 9, according to
the resolution text.

Those "loopholes" people mentioned are still there (the change from precise
numbers to "As many as" eight community/affiliate seats, and the bylaws no
longer mentioning community voting), with the addition of at least one new
one. The change from "A majority of the Board Trustee positions, without
counting the Community Founder Trustee position, shall be selected or
appointed from the Affiliates collectively and the community." to "The
Board shall not appoint a new Board-selected trustee if it would cause the
Board-selected Trustees to outnumber the Community- and Affiliate-selected
Trustees." The differences include:
(a) Previously, having an equal number of community/affiliate and appointed
seats was not okay, community/affiliate seats had to outnumber appointed
seats. Now, the bylaws are fine with adding an appointed member even if it
brings their number up to that of the community/affiliate seats, so long as
it doesn't go past that number. (Note that "Board-selected" is a separate
category from the Founder seat.)
(b) The Board is permitted to let community/affiliate terms expire (or
remove members outright), not appoint new ones (remember, "as many as" is
now the text), and then since the appointed seats already outnumber the
community/affiliate seats, the Board is permitted to add new appointed
members anyway ("if it would _cause_ [...] to outnumber", presumably
doesn't apply if they were already outnumbered). At that point, of course,
the remaining Board could just change the bylaws to change the numbers and
make itself entirely self-perpetuating, but it wouldn't even have to.

It does not matter in the slightest how effective the Board is, if it is
not a Wikimedia Board.

I don't know what will happen now, but I think it is quite clear that, if
we make it out of this, we can no longer leave the Board in such a
precarious situation as we had with four of ten members appointed, or with
the legal model being that of self-perpetuation. The Board must be
accountable to the movement, and the Board must not

have the legal ability to take that away.

-- Yair Rand

‫בתאריך יום ה׳, 21 בינו׳ 2021 ב-12:15 מאת ‪María Sefidari‬‏ <‪
ma...@wikimedia.org‬‏>:‬

> Hi everyone,
>
> The Board has discussed and approved some governance improvements in two
> recent meetings, on December 9 and January 8. As the governing body for the
> Wikimedia Foundation, we want to improve our capacity, performance, and
> representation of the movement’s diversity. We have amended the Bylaws in
> support of that goal. Please check the details in the announcement
> published on Meta and on the Diff blog:
>
>
> https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_Board_noticeboard/January_2021_-_Approval_of_Bylaws_amendments_and_upcoming_call_for_feedback_about_the_selection_of_new_trustees
>
>
> https://diff.wikimedia.org/2021/01/21/approval-of-bylaws-amendments-and-upcoming-call-for-feedback-about-the-selection-of-new-trustees/
>
> Kind regards,
>
> María
>
> --
>
> María Sefidari Huici
>
> Chair of the Board
>
> Wikimedia Foundation 
>
>
>
>
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[Wikimedia-l] Open Call to Join the Project & Simple APG Grants Programs Committees

2021-01-21 Thread Veronica Thamaini 
(Apologies for cross-posting!)

The Community Resources team is inviting you to an exciting opportunity to
be a committee member as part of the grants programs' participatory
grantmaking practice.

Participatory grantmaking ensures that resourcing community efforts in the
movement is diverse, equal and inclusive. This practice aligns with
movement strategy recommendation 4. Ensure Equity in Decision-making:
Establishing shared responsibility and accountability for decision-making
and distribution of resources.

Serving committee members will have the opportunity to inform and advise
funding decisions and proactively share recommendations and mentorship to
support grantees worldwide in their development, growth, and sustainability
strategies; that contribute to a world in which every single human being
can freely share in the sum of all knowledge.

You will also strengthen your capacity in participatory decision-making
processes while learning about our community's incredible work and the
different contexts that influence their work.

Here is statement by a current committee member, Thepwnco, on their
experience;

My experiences with Wikimedia Foundation grant programs have been very
rewarding, and I feel fortunate to have served as a volunteer committee
member since 2014. Grant programs contribute to equity and sustainability
in our movement through funding unmet and under-resourced needs. Under our
participatory approach to grantmaking, volunteers play a key role in
decision-making. Volunteers also help support and strengthen community-led
initiatives by reviewing grant proposals for impact and providing feedback
and other support to prospective grantees. But being a volunteer committee
member is much more than just a way to share your knowledge and insights,
it’s also an incredible opportunity to learn and be inspired by the breadth
of amazing and innovative work taking place across the movement and in
diverse communities and regions.



Here are the committees that are currently soliciting new members:

* Project Grants:* https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Grants:Project

** Project Grants Committee reviewing Community Organizing proposals: This
committee reviews proposals for projects that inspire and coordinate
volunteers, via campaigns, training, contests and other forms of community
organizing. You can learn more about Project Grants here:

** Project Grants Committee reviewing Research and Software proposals: This
committee reviews proposals for projects that create or maintain software
that supports the Wikimedia movement, or that conduct research to answer
questions important for Wikimedia communities and projects. *Simple Annual
Plan Grants: *https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Grants:Simple/About

** Simple APG Committee: This committee reviews proposals to fund a group
or organization's programs and operating expenses for 12 months. The groups
and organizations need to have experience managing programs and grant
funding already.

Orientation and training is provided for new members, and you don’t have to
have previous experience to sign up.

Committee responsibilities include:


   - Providing review and constructive feedback to help support applicants
   and strengthen grant proposals
   - Evaluating and recommending promising proposals for funding
   - Helping recruit and spread the word about grants
   - Optional: Becoming a project advisor for proposals that interest you

Eligibility requirements for committee members can be found here:

* Project Grants:
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Grants:Project/Committee/Eligibility#committee-criteria

* Simple APG: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Grants:Simple/Committee

You can sign up as a candidate for a committee here:

* https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Grants:Project/Committee/Candidates

* https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Grants:Simple/Committee/Candidates

Deadlines for submitting committee candidacy:


   - Project Grants Committee reviewing Community Organizing proposals
   --February 5, 2020
   - Project Grants Committee reviewing Research and Software proposals --
   March 5, 2020
   - Simple APG Committee -- February 5, 2020

Please reach out to projectgra...@wikimedia.org  for questions on the
Project Grants Committee and sim...@wikimedia.org  for questions on the
Simple APG Committee.


Warm regards,

Veronica Thamaini, Program Officer for Simple APG

Marti Johnson, Program Officer for Project Grants

-- 
 *Veronica Thamaini *(She/Her)
Senior Program Officer, Community Resources
Wikim edia Foundation

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[Wikimedia-l] Bylaws amendments and upcoming call for feedback

2021-01-21 Thread María Sefidari 
Hi everyone,

The Board has discussed and approved some governance improvements in two
recent meetings, on December 9 and January 8. As the governing body for the
Wikimedia Foundation, we want to improve our capacity, performance, and
representation of the movement’s diversity. We have amended the Bylaws in
support of that goal. Please check the details in the announcement
published on Meta and on the Diff blog:

https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_Board_noticeboard/January_2021_-_Approval_of_Bylaws_amendments_and_upcoming_call_for_feedback_about_the_selection_of_new_trustees

https://diff.wikimedia.org/2021/01/21/approval-of-bylaws-amendments-and-upcoming-call-for-feedback-about-the-selection-of-new-trustees/

Kind regards,

María

-- 

María Sefidari Huici

Chair of the Board

Wikimedia Foundation 
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