Re: [Wikimedia-l] [Announcement] Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees Statement Opposing the EU Copyright Package

2018-06-29 Thread Eileen Hershenov 
On behalf of the Wikimedia Foundation, I want to thank our governing board
for its strong and unanimous statement opposing the EU copyright package.
I've written a blog
about
the Foundation's opposition to the copyright proposals, which also explains
how we have been advocating against them and what you can do.  Please share
widely.  We are making translations available as well.

Thank you,

Eileen Hershenov
General Counsel and Secretary
Wikimedia Foundation

Eileen B. Hershenov
General Counsel and Secretary
Wikimedia Foundation
1 Montgomery Street, Suite 1600

San Francisco, CA 94104

(Licensed in New York; applying for California Registered In-House Counsel
status)
ehershe...@wikimedia.org
(US) 415-483-6676

*NOTICE: This message may be confidential or legally privileged. If you
have received it by accident, please delete it and let us know about the
mistake. As an attorney for the Wikimedia Foundation and for legal/ethical
reasons, I cannot give legal advice to, or serve as a lawyer for, community
members, volunteers, or staff members in their personal capacity. For more
on what this means, please see our legal disclaimer
.*


On Fri, Jun 29, 2018 at 6:03 AM, María Sefidari 
wrote:

> The Board of Trustees of the Wikimedia Foundation, which operates
> Wikipedia, the world’s largest online repository of free knowledge, believe
> that the European Union’s proposed copyright directive is a threat to
> essential human freedoms. If passed, it would limit free expression, and
> cause serious harm to collaboration and diversity online.
>
> Over the last few months, the Wikimedia Foundation has been watching
> developments around new proposed copyright laws in Europe very closely.
>
> On June 20, the Legal Affairs Committee of the European Parliament voted to
> support proposed copyright laws that, if enacted, will significantly limit
> the openness of the internet, diminishing the ability of people around the
> globe to access knowledge, while stifling innovation and imposing what we
> believe will be unreasonable costs on new or smaller websites. We expressed
> our opposition to these proposals at the time, and the Wikimedia Foundation
> -- along with many in the Wikimedia movement—advocated against them. We now
> do so again as we approach July 5th, which will be another critical moment
> in the legislative process as the issue comes up for a vote once again.
>
> The Wikimedia Foundation and its projects exist to harness the power of a
> free and open web to make knowledge more accessible for everyone. Our
> mission to create a world where everyone can share in the sum of human
> knowledge requires a web in which all people can freely collaborate to
> create and access knowledge.
>
> This flawed EU copyright proposal contradicts that vision.
>
> Instead of truly modernizing copyright for Europe and promoting everyone's
> participation in information society, the proposal threatens freedom online
> and creates new obstacles to access by imposing new barriers, filters, and
> restrictions.
>
> We are committed to remaining a strong advocate and partner for enabling
> society’s ability to share and curate knowledge in free and open spaces.
>
> Now is the time to stand up for the free and open internet.
>
> Today we, as Trustees of the Wikimedia Foundation, *unanimously and
> strongly*, urge the European Parliament and Council *to oppose* the
> proposed directive in its current version and stand on the side of the
> people in Europe. Please read the Wikimedia Foundation's statement on EU
> copyright reform
>  proposal-will-hurt-web-wikipedia/>
> and take action at Changecopyright.org .
>
> On behalf of the Board,
>
> María Sefidari
> Vice Chair of the Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees
> ___
> Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/
> wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines and https://meta.wikimedia.org/
> wiki/Wikimedia-l
> New messages to: Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org
> Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l,
> 
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Re: [Wikimedia-l] [Announcement] Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees Statement Opposing the EU Copyright Package

2018-06-29 Thread Eileen Hershenov 
On behalf of the Wikimedia Foundation, I want to thank our governing board
for its strong and unanimous statement opposing the EU copyright package.
I've written a blog
about
the Foundation's opposition to the copyright proposals, which also explains
how we have been advocating against them and what you can do.  Please share
widely.  We are making translations available as well.

Thank you,

Eileen Hershenov
General Counsel and Secretary
Wikimedia Foundation

Eileen B. Hershenov
General Counsel and Secretary
Wikimedia Foundation
1 Montgomery Street, Suite 1600

San Francisco, CA 94104

(Licensed in New York; applying for California Registered In-House Counsel
status)
ehershe...@wikimedia.org
(US) 415-483-6676



On Fri, Jun 29, 2018 at 6:03 AM, María Sefidari 
wrote:

> The Board of Trustees of the Wikimedia Foundation, which operates
> Wikipedia, the world’s largest online repository of free knowledge, believe
> that the European Union’s proposed copyright directive is a threat to
> essential human freedoms. If passed, it would limit free expression, and
> cause serious harm to collaboration and diversity online.
>
> Over the last few months, the Wikimedia Foundation has been watching
> developments around new proposed copyright laws in Europe very closely.
>
> On June 20, the Legal Affairs Committee of the European Parliament voted to
> support proposed copyright laws that, if enacted, will significantly limit
> the openness of the internet, diminishing the ability of people around the
> globe to access knowledge, while stifling innovation and imposing what we
> believe will be unreasonable costs on new or smaller websites. We expressed
> our opposition to these proposals at the time, and the Wikimedia Foundation
> -- along with many in the Wikimedia movement—advocated against them. We now
> do so again as we approach July 5th, which will be another critical moment
> in the legislative process as the issue comes up for a vote once again.
>
> The Wikimedia Foundation and its projects exist to harness the power of a
> free and open web to make knowledge more accessible for everyone. Our
> mission to create a world where everyone can share in the sum of human
> knowledge requires a web in which all people can freely collaborate to
> create and access knowledge.
>
> This flawed EU copyright proposal contradicts that vision.
>
> Instead of truly modernizing copyright for Europe and promoting everyone's
> participation in information society, the proposal threatens freedom online
> and creates new obstacles to access by imposing new barriers, filters, and
> restrictions.
>
> We are committed to remaining a strong advocate and partner for enabling
> society’s ability to share and curate knowledge in free and open spaces.
>
> Now is the time to stand up for the free and open internet.
>
> Today we, as Trustees of the Wikimedia Foundation, *unanimously and
> strongly*, urge the European Parliament and Council *to oppose* the
> proposed directive in its current version and stand on the side of the
> people in Europe. Please read the Wikimedia Foundation's statement on EU
> copyright reform
>  proposal-will-hurt-web-wikipedia/>
> and take action at Changecopyright.org .
>
> On behalf of the Board,
>
> María Sefidari
> Vice Chair of the Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees
> ___
> Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/
> wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines and https://meta.wikimedia.org/
> wiki/Wikimedia-l
> New messages to: Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org
> Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l,
> 
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Re: [Wikimedia-l] The Wikimedia Foundation's FY18-19 Annual Plan is on Meta-wiki

2018-06-29 Thread Pine W 
I am looking forward to the year ahead too. However, for the record, I am 
disappointed with several aspects of the AP document as currently written, and 
it is not a document that I would have approved in its current form. I think 
that WMF should have its APs scrubbed by an uninvolved expert party, similar to 
how the FDC scrubs the APs of Wikimedia affiliates that submit AP funding 
requests to WMF. I am unhappy about WMF approving its own APs, particularly 
given how the WMF APs consistently fail to meet my expectations, and if given 
the choice I would put a stop to this practice.

Pine
( https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Pine )
 Original message From: Katherine Maher  
Date: 6/29/18  5:43 PM  (GMT-08:00) To: Wikimedia Mailing List 
, Funds Dissemination Committee List 
, "Staff (All)" , 
wikimediaannounce-l  Subject: Re: 
[Wikimedia-l] The Wikimedia Foundation's FY18-19 Annual Plan is
on Meta-wiki 
Hi all,

The Wikimedia Foundation is pleased to announce that our final FY18-19
Annual Plan[1] is now available on Meta. The Annual Plan was approved by
the Board of Trustees on June 12th.

This Annual Plan remains organized around three goals that focus on making
critical improvements to our systems and structures to ensure that we’re
better positioned for our ongoing work against the strategic direction[2].
The Foundation’s goals for this year should not only move us closer to
knowledge equity and service, but will prepare us to execute against the 3
to 5 year strategic plan which we intend to develop this year in order to
guide the Foundation’s work into the future.

From all of us here at the Foundation, we thank everyone who engaged with
the process by asking questions and providing feedback on the Annual Plan
throughout its development. This insight continues to push us to improve
our planning, our programs, and the way that we share our work.  Based on
this feedback and our continued refinement of our plans, we have updated
the budget and several of the specific program plans that are linked in the
Appendix.

We look forward to the year ahead!
Katherine

[1]
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_Annual_Plan/2018-2019/Final
[2] https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Strategy/Wikimedia_movement/2017


On Thu, Mar 29, 2018 at 10:42 PM, Katherine Maher 
wrote:

> Hi everyone,
>
> I'm delighted to announce that the Wikimedia Foundation's Annual Plan for
> FY18-19 is now on Meta[1].
>
> This year, we have organized our efforts around three goals that focus on
> making critical improvements to our systems and structures to ensure that
> we’re better positioned for our coming work against the strategic
> direction[2]. The Foundation’s goals for this year should not only move us
> closer to knowledge equity and service, but will prepare us to execute
> against the 3- to 5-year strategic plan which we intend to develop this
> year in order to guide the Foundation’s work into the future.
>
> As you’ll see, we’ve made some changes to the structure of this year’s
> annual plan. This year’s plan is organized around three goals for the
> Foundation’s work in the year to come. By restructuring the Annual Plan, we
> have written a plan for the whole Foundation,  rather than an aggregation
> of plans from all of our departments and teams. In this sense, we’re
> seeking to become a better-integrated institution, rather than a collection
> of teams and departments with disparate goals.
>
> We’ve also reduced the overall length of the published Annual Plan. We
> wanted to make sure that the focus and goals of our work don’t get lost in
> the details. Of course, we know that many community members enjoy reading
> the particulars of our planned work, so you can still access the details of
> departmental programs through links to their descriptions on Meta or
> MediaWiki.org. These links will provide interested readers with detailed
> departmental programs, which describe the specific and detailed program
> goals, impact and outcomes. This change does not sacrifice the depth and
> rigor of our planning process, but rather, it is meant to keep the Annual
> Plan lean and focused while allowing interested readers to dive deep into
> the details.
>
> Finally, we’ve expanded the planning framework we instituted last year for
> cross-departmental programs to all of our programs across the Foundation.
> This allows us to clearly link a program’s resources to outcomes and
> measures. As such, we’ve presented the Annual Plan budget in terms of our
> investments in the three defined goals rather than in terms of our internal
> organizational structure.
>
> Thank you all for your support over the past year. I'm really looking
> forward to your feedback on this year's proposed plan during the open
> comment period -- a reminder it runs through May 15th.
>
> Thanks!
> Katherine
>
> [1] https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_Annual_
> Plan/2018-2019/Draft
> [2]

Re: [Wikimedia-l] The Wikimedia Foundation's FY18-19 Annual Plan is on Meta-wiki

2018-06-29 Thread Katherine Maher 
Hi all,

The Wikimedia Foundation is pleased to announce that our final FY18-19
Annual Plan[1] is now available on Meta. The Annual Plan was approved by
the Board of Trustees on June 12th.

This Annual Plan remains organized around three goals that focus on making
critical improvements to our systems and structures to ensure that we’re
better positioned for our ongoing work against the strategic direction[2].
The Foundation’s goals for this year should not only move us closer to
knowledge equity and service, but will prepare us to execute against the 3
to 5 year strategic plan which we intend to develop this year in order to
guide the Foundation’s work into the future.

From all of us here at the Foundation, we thank everyone who engaged with
the process by asking questions and providing feedback on the Annual Plan
throughout its development. This insight continues to push us to improve
our planning, our programs, and the way that we share our work.  Based on
this feedback and our continued refinement of our plans, we have updated
the budget and several of the specific program plans that are linked in the
Appendix.

We look forward to the year ahead!
Katherine

[1]
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_Annual_Plan/2018-2019/Final
[2] https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Strategy/Wikimedia_movement/2017


On Thu, Mar 29, 2018 at 10:42 PM, Katherine Maher 
wrote:

> Hi everyone,
>
> I'm delighted to announce that the Wikimedia Foundation's Annual Plan for
> FY18-19 is now on Meta[1].
>
> This year, we have organized our efforts around three goals that focus on
> making critical improvements to our systems and structures to ensure that
> we’re better positioned for our coming work against the strategic
> direction[2]. The Foundation’s goals for this year should not only move us
> closer to knowledge equity and service, but will prepare us to execute
> against the 3- to 5-year strategic plan which we intend to develop this
> year in order to guide the Foundation’s work into the future.
>
> As you’ll see, we’ve made some changes to the structure of this year’s
> annual plan. This year’s plan is organized around three goals for the
> Foundation’s work in the year to come. By restructuring the Annual Plan, we
> have written a plan for the whole Foundation,  rather than an aggregation
> of plans from all of our departments and teams. In this sense, we’re
> seeking to become a better-integrated institution, rather than a collection
> of teams and departments with disparate goals.
>
> We’ve also reduced the overall length of the published Annual Plan. We
> wanted to make sure that the focus and goals of our work don’t get lost in
> the details. Of course, we know that many community members enjoy reading
> the particulars of our planned work, so you can still access the details of
> departmental programs through links to their descriptions on Meta or
> MediaWiki.org. These links will provide interested readers with detailed
> departmental programs, which describe the specific and detailed program
> goals, impact and outcomes. This change does not sacrifice the depth and
> rigor of our planning process, but rather, it is meant to keep the Annual
> Plan lean and focused while allowing interested readers to dive deep into
> the details.
>
> Finally, we’ve expanded the planning framework we instituted last year for
> cross-departmental programs to all of our programs across the Foundation.
> This allows us to clearly link a program’s resources to outcomes and
> measures. As such, we’ve presented the Annual Plan budget in terms of our
> investments in the three defined goals rather than in terms of our internal
> organizational structure.
>
> Thank you all for your support over the past year. I'm really looking
> forward to your feedback on this year's proposed plan during the open
> comment period -- a reminder it runs through May 15th.
>
> Thanks!
> Katherine
>
> [1] https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_Annual_
> Plan/2018-2019/Draft
> [2] https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Strategy/Wikimedia_movement/2017
>
> --
> Katherine Maher
>
> Executive Director
> Wikimedia Foundation
>
> 1 Montgomery Street, Suite 1600
> San Francisco, CA 94104
>
> +1 (415) 839-6885 ext. 6635 <(415)%20839-6885>
> +1 (415) 712 4873 <(415)%20712-4873>
> kma...@wikimedia.org
> https://annual.wikimedia.org
>



-- 
Katherine Maher

Executive Director
Wikimedia Foundation

1 Montgomery Street, Suite 1600
San Francisco, CA 94104

+1 (415) 839-6885 ext. 6635
+1 (415) 712 4873
kma...@wikimedia.org
https://annual.wikimedia.org
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Re: [Wikimedia-l] [Announcement] Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees Statement Opposing the EU Copyright Package

2018-06-29 Thread James Heilman 
Thanks Maria

The EN community continues to discuss the possibility of posting a banner
targeted to those in Europe in an effort to raise awareness. Still a lot of
work to do and further community support required for this to move forwards.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Village_pump_(proposals)#Proposals_for_wording_of_a_neutral_banner

James

On Fri, Jun 29, 2018 at 3:03 PM María Sefidari 
wrote:

> The Board of Trustees of the Wikimedia Foundation, which operates
> Wikipedia, the world’s largest online repository of free knowledge, believe
> that the European Union’s proposed copyright directive is a threat to
> essential human freedoms. If passed, it would limit free expression, and
> cause serious harm to collaboration and diversity online.
>
> Over the last few months, the Wikimedia Foundation has been watching
> developments around new proposed copyright laws in Europe very closely.
>
> On June 20, the Legal Affairs Committee of the European Parliament voted to
> support proposed copyright laws that, if enacted, will significantly limit
> the openness of the internet, diminishing the ability of people around the
> globe to access knowledge, while stifling innovation and imposing what we
> believe will be unreasonable costs on new or smaller websites. We expressed
> our opposition to these proposals at the time, and the Wikimedia Foundation
> -- along with many in the Wikimedia movement—advocated against them. We now
> do so again as we approach July 5th, which will be another critical moment
> in the legislative process as the issue comes up for a vote once again.
>
> The Wikimedia Foundation and its projects exist to harness the power of a
> free and open web to make knowledge more accessible for everyone. Our
> mission to create a world where everyone can share in the sum of human
> knowledge requires a web in which all people can freely collaborate to
> create and access knowledge.
>
> This flawed EU copyright proposal contradicts that vision.
>
> Instead of truly modernizing copyright for Europe and promoting everyone's
> participation in information society, the proposal threatens freedom online
> and creates new obstacles to access by imposing new barriers, filters, and
> restrictions.
>
> We are committed to remaining a strong advocate and partner for enabling
> society’s ability to share and curate knowledge in free and open spaces.
>
> Now is the time to stand up for the free and open internet.
>
> Today we, as Trustees of the Wikimedia Foundation, *unanimously and
> strongly*, urge the European Parliament and Council *to oppose* the
> proposed directive in its current version and stand on the side of the
> people in Europe. Please read the Wikimedia Foundation's statement on EU
> copyright reform
> <
> https://blog.wikimedia.org/2018/06/29/eu-copyright-proposal-will-hurt-web-wikipedia/
> >
> and take action at Changecopyright.org .
>
> On behalf of the Board,
>
> María Sefidari
> Vice Chair of the Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees
> ___
> Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at:
> https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines and
> https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia-l
> New messages to: Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org
> Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l,
> 



-- 
James Heilman
MD, CCFP-EM, Wikipedian
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[Wikimedia-l] [Announcement] Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees Statement Opposing the EU Copyright Package

2018-06-29 Thread María Sefidari 
The Board of Trustees of the Wikimedia Foundation, which operates
Wikipedia, the world’s largest online repository of free knowledge, believe
that the European Union’s proposed copyright directive is a threat to
essential human freedoms. If passed, it would limit free expression, and
cause serious harm to collaboration and diversity online.

Over the last few months, the Wikimedia Foundation has been watching
developments around new proposed copyright laws in Europe very closely.

On June 20, the Legal Affairs Committee of the European Parliament voted to
support proposed copyright laws that, if enacted, will significantly limit
the openness of the internet, diminishing the ability of people around the
globe to access knowledge, while stifling innovation and imposing what we
believe will be unreasonable costs on new or smaller websites. We expressed
our opposition to these proposals at the time, and the Wikimedia Foundation
-- along with many in the Wikimedia movement—advocated against them. We now
do so again as we approach July 5th, which will be another critical moment
in the legislative process as the issue comes up for a vote once again.

The Wikimedia Foundation and its projects exist to harness the power of a
free and open web to make knowledge more accessible for everyone. Our
mission to create a world where everyone can share in the sum of human
knowledge requires a web in which all people can freely collaborate to
create and access knowledge.

This flawed EU copyright proposal contradicts that vision.

Instead of truly modernizing copyright for Europe and promoting everyone's
participation in information society, the proposal threatens freedom online
and creates new obstacles to access by imposing new barriers, filters, and
restrictions.

We are committed to remaining a strong advocate and partner for enabling
society’s ability to share and curate knowledge in free and open spaces.

Now is the time to stand up for the free and open internet.

Today we, as Trustees of the Wikimedia Foundation, *unanimously and
strongly*, urge the European Parliament and Council *to oppose* the
proposed directive in its current version and stand on the side of the
people in Europe. Please read the Wikimedia Foundation's statement on EU
copyright reform

and take action at Changecopyright.org .

On behalf of the Board,

María Sefidari
Vice Chair of the Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees
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