[Wikimedia-l] What happened in GLAM in April?

[Romaine Wiki]

Hello all!

What happened with GLAM in April? Let us know and write a (short) report
about it for the newsletter 'This Month in GLAM' so that the worldwide and
local Wikimedia community can read what happened in your area. Also this
will encourage others to participate and donate material.

You can start writing here:
http://outreach.wikimedia.org/wiki/GLAM/Newsletter/Newsroom

If your country/area isn't mentioned on the page, you can always add it to:
http://outreach.wikimedia.org/wiki/GLAM/Newsletter/April_2021/Contents

Please mention also the coming GLAM activities on our calendar on:
http://outreach.wikimedia.org/wiki/GLAM/Calendar/May_2021

Deadline: 7 May


If anyone needs help/explanation about the newsletter, please ask!

Thanks & greetings & stay healty!
Romaine


---
http://outreach.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Romaine
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[Wikimedia-l] Join us for 1Lib1Ref this May!!

[Felix Nartey]

Hello Librarians and library lovers,

(Sorry for cross posting)

>From May 15th to June 5th 2021, we will be joining together once again to
continue providing reliable and factual information to the world through
Wikipedia and the #1lib1ref campaign. To participate is easy, simply add a
citation to Wikipedia!![1]



*May Experiments *

This May  we are focused on:

   -

growing the campaign in East and South East Asia with local affiliates
   -- if you want to help contact Venus Lui via (vlui-...@wikimedia.org) or
   me.
   -

   working closely with AfLIA to sustain our relationship with the
   Librarians network in Africa. Last year the participation from African
   Librarians was overwhelming, recording about 84% of the total numbers of
   edits attained (33,257). This surged our campaign to a staggering increase
   of 394%YoY for the May campaign.[2]
   -

   Supporting our long standing partner for the campaign, IFLA as they
   explore citations on Wikidata [3][4]

How can you engage?

We invite you to engage in three ways:

   -

   Make an edit - Participate globally and virtually by adding citations to
   Wikipedia.[5]
   -

   Organise - Lead a community activity or event in your library, country
   or region.[6]
   -

   Amplify -  Share and just keep sharing the campaign within your networks
   and help us reach out to library and research communities around the
   world.[7]



Join local events or editathons

If you are organising an activity virtually or providing a space to teach
or train people with an interest in the campaign, please add your event(s)
here.[8] In light of the pandemic, we strongly encourage virtual activities
and advise everyone to follow the WHO health guidelines.[9] If restrictions
have been lifted in your country and are considering organising in-person
events, kindly follow the Wikimedia COVID risk assessment for events.[10]

Ensure all your contributions are recorded by using the #1Lib1Ref hashtag
in your edit summary! Add your activity to the campaign dashboard to help
us track the activities happening across the globe.[11] This is very
important for us to monitor the reach and success of the initiative.

Learn more in our office hour

Join the next campaigns office hour on Thursday 13th May at 3:00pm UTC,
where we will share about strategies in Asia and Africa, under the
theme “exploring
regional or thematic approaches to campaigns in tackling topics of interest
”.[12]

Please tell your library, researcher and knowledge-loving friends about
#1Lib1Ref in May. We need everyone's help to make Wikipedia more reliable!



You can join the 1Lib1Ref community via the Libraries (
librar...@lists.wikimedia.org), and 1Lib1Ref (1lib1...@lists.wikimedia.org)
mailing lists, or by joining the Wikimedia + Libraries User Group.[13]

Cheers,

Felix Nartey

[1] - https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/The_Wikipedia_Library/1Lib1Ref

[2] -
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/The_Wikipedia_Library/1Lib1Ref/Lessons/May_2020

[3] -
https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Wikidata:IFLA_Wikidata_Working_Group/1Lib1Ref

[4] -
https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Wikidata:IFLA_Wikidata_Working_Group/1Lib1Ref

[5] -
https://meta.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:MyLanguage/The_Wikipedia_Library/1Lib1Ref/Participate#I_want_to_edit

[6] -
https://meta.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:MyLanguage/The_Wikipedia_Library/1Lib1Ref/Participate#I_want_to_organize

[7] - https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/The_Wikipedia_Library/1Lib1Ref/Share

[8] -
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Template:The_Wikipedia_Library/1Lib1Ref/Events?veaction=edit

[9] - https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019

[10] -
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Grants:Risk_assessment_during_COVID-19

[11] -
https://outreachdashboard.wmflabs.org/campaigns/1lib1ref_may_2021/programs

[12] -
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Campaigns/Foundation_Campaigns_Team#Office_Hour_6:_Exploring_regional_or_thematic_approaches_to_campaigns_in_tackling_topics_of_interest

[13] - https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_and_Libraries_User_Group
-- 

Felix Nartey

Senior Program Officer, Campaigns

Wikimedia Foundation 
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Re: [Wikimedia-l] COVID-19 second wave and protection of our most valuable movement asset

[Bodhisattwa Mandal]

Hi all,

Today, we have opened up the Google Form for Indian volunteers to fill up.
Here is the link -
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScYcjEeuT7vUxP3NJg7KfIiZaude9IXLyCagsDarTx11J4ymA/viewform

There are still some logistical constraints to be fully operational, but we
are trying to figure those out as soon as we can. Hopefully, all will be
set by next week.

Regards,
Bodhisattwa

On Thu, Apr 29, 2021, 21:54 Samuel Klein  wrote:

> Thanks Biyanto, wonderful to see.  Have any other groups done something
> similar?  S
>
> On Thu, Apr 29, 2021 at 4:53 AM Biyanto Rebin <
> biyanto.re...@wikimedia.or.id> wrote:
>
>> Hello all,
>>
>> I just want to share that Wikimedia Indonesia has started the initiative
>> since last year. We have disbursed a healthy package - we call it, wellness
>> package - to our active community members. They are indeed very valuable
>> and most of them are vulnerable. Vaccine is another story, since our
>> country still prioritizes the most needed first.
>>
>> Read more of the story in here:
>> https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Grants:APG/Proposals/2019-2020_round_2/Wikimedia_Indonesia/Progress_report_form
>>
>> Best,
>>
>> Pada tanggal Kam, 29 Apr 2021 pukul 14.08 Rajeeb 
>> menulis:
>>
>>> Hello everyone,
>>>
>>> Hope my mail finds you all in the best of health and spirits. I like to
>>> thank Tito and Bodhi for coming up with this initiative and starting the
>>> conversation. Now, WMF has permitted CIS-A2K to allot funds to reimburse
>>> vaccines, send COVID protection kits and provide counselling for Wikimedia
>>> volunteers in India.
>>> A noble initiative for humanity has begun and I am sure the days are not
>>> too far where we all will be healthy and happy with our families, relatives
>>> and friends.
>>>
>>> Last but not the least, I am always there for my Wiki Community, for
>>> anything and everything, anyone wants to speak with me, please feel free to
>>> contact me.
>>>
>>> Wishing everyone and their families a healthy and happy life.
>>>
>>> Namaste,
>>>
>>> Rajeeb.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> On Tue, 27 Apr 2021 at 20:55, Samuel Klein  wrote:
>>>
 Something like this could definitely make a real difference, GN --
 either enhancing and focusing pages on WP, or standing up a COVID-19
 dedicated site that could draw from other projects.

 At the same time we could also set aside funds to ensure that
 communityresources is well staffed at this time.
 A federated approach like this
  to
 explicitly support regional partners, in coordination with other regional
 sponsors, could work. (Candid has a catalog
  of similar
 efforts).

 SJ


 On Sun, Apr 25, 2021 at 7:04 AM Gnangarra  wrote:

> Our best skill is collecting, collating, and sharing knowledge, we
> have connections deep into communities and countries across the globe.
>
> In a small way we have networks and we could get limited support
> medically to a handful of volunteers, in some ways that will have made 
> feel
> as if we have done some to help then we can go back to our meetings, our
> events, our adding a few more articles.
>
> Perhaps its time we took our big stick and put the right knowledge
> where it can be found quickly, turn over the main pages to Wikimed get 
> more
> useful support information about reducing transmission risks. We can use
> our resources to get knowledge about how bad it is to wider audiences,
> importantly link our volunteers into other organisations and help this
> knowledge with support to wherever ground zero is.  We can put our skill
> sets to translations and knowledge distribution so everyone can learn.
>
>
> On Sun, 25 Apr 2021 at 02:38, Chris Keating <
> chriskeatingw...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>>
>>> Personally I feel, insuring individuals against COVID-19 or helping
>>> people to get vaccines or sending other supports can be better handled
>>> locally by local affiliates (or local committees as proposed by Tito,
>>> whichevers seems fit) instead of a central organization like WMF. Local
>>> affiliates have better information about the vulnerable section of the
>>> community, government orders concerning the available vaccines, local
>>> market value of insurance premiums, vaccines, disinfectants etc. 
>>> Sometimes
>>> they even have the money and/or the intention to extend this kind of
>>> support too, all they need is just a permission from the donor i.e. WMF
>>> Grants team.
>>>
>>
>> The more I think about this, the more I come to think that we should
>> at least attempt it.
>>
>> It might be unusual for a nonprofit to provide this kind of support
>> to its volunteers, but this is a truly exceptional situation. And 

Re: [Wikimedia-l] Flourishing of the Endowment

[Andreas Kolbe]

Hi SJ,

Long time no speak. :)



As explained on Meta, it is inaccurate to think of the endowment as "an
> investment that the WMF is the beneficiary of". The endowment is there to
> support the Projects, rain or shine.
>



I don't think you can separate the WMF from its projects, which are the
WMF's wholly owned property and its whole raison d'être.

The Wikimedia Endowment page on Meta[1] actually states very clearly in its
lead paragraph who benefits from the Endowment. It says,

"The funds may be transferred from Tides either to the Wikimedia Foundation
or to other charitable organisations selected by the Wikimedia Foundation
to further the Wikimedia mission."

The Wikimedia Foundation alone controls how the funds are used (limited
only by whatever UPMIFA or donor-specific constraints apply).

Moreover, as I'm sure you know, the Endowment is actually about to be
returned in full to the WMF, to be placed into a new 501(c)(3) organisation
the WMF will set up. If anyone familiar with the matter could outline the
envisaged legal structure of that future organisation, that would be great.




> To quote from my initial proposal
>  (*NB: past proposals
> may not reflect current or future endowment goals; among other things I
> don't know that we've ever tried to narrowly define and optimize core
> services ;*) :
>
> "The endowment should be large enough to sustainably support the basic
> operation of the Projects (see iii. below), able to grow with inflation
> while supporting any needed central server farms and technical support with
> its interest, and of a size that we can raise."
>
>


Including the $100 million endowment, the WMF will now have investments of
around $200 million (excluding cash and cash equivalents), for an annual
investment income of over $10 million. That is already enough to run core
services. Wikimedia posted total expenses of $3.5 million in 2007/2008, a
year after Wikipedia became a global top-ten website.

The problem for me – and many other rank-and-file volunteers – is not the
idea of an endowment as such, but fundraising messages saying "Wikipedia
really needs you this Tuesday" to donate money so Wikipedia can "stay
online", "protect its independence", etc., or "to show the volunteers their
work matters".

The WMF creates the impression that it struggles to keep Wikipedia up and
running; people then feel scared or guilty, think Wikipedia is struggling,
or dying, or will soon put up a paywall;[2] and the WMF does little to
correct that mistaken impression, even when directly asked about it as in
Katherine's recent The Daily Show interview[3]. One is left with the
uncomfortable conclusion that the WMF creates and fails to correct that
false impression because it benefits financially from it.

If tens of millions of dollars of the money collected under that false
premise, that Wikipedia is struggling, then end up in an endowment grown to
$100 million in half the time originally planned for, that is unseemly. No
one should beg for money claiming to be penniless if what they're actually
doing is building up a $100 million investment portfolio in record time.

The last phrase ("show the volunteers their work matters") is objectionable
for a different reason, and people at the WMF I think are well aware that
volunteers object to it. Nevertheless, it just ran again on fundraising
banners in Brazil, only to be withdrawn after complaints from the pt.WP
community.[4] I would love it if this one could really be phased out now!




> 2. Would it be possible to provide, say, monthly updates for the Endowment
>> on Meta?
>>
>
> Once a year is standard and would suffice here, I should think.
>



I disagree, SJ. The Meta page[1] has a blue progress bar showing how much
money is in the Endowment. To me it is incompatible with the idea of a wiki
– a website designed to support continuous updates – for such a progress
bar to be up to a year out of date. It's not what a reasonable reader of
that page would expect.




> 3. Could a mention of the Endowment, and the fact that the posted expenses
>> include $5 million paid to the endowment, be added to the FAQ?
>>
>> (The FAQ refers to the most recent audited accounts, and thus is still a
>> live document. For Awards and grants, which includes the $5 million paid to
>> the endowment, the FAQ summary is: "We increased our awards and grants as
>> we continue our commitment to support our Affiliates, Organized Groups, and
>> Community Members."
>>
>
> I agree with clarifying the 'Awards and grants' category.  I try to keep
> track of the % of total global donations that are redistributed as awards
> and APG or other grants (*current guess: 9%
> ?*),
> and must remember to subtract the endowment transfer each year.  It would
> be excellent if that were called out as its own line item.
>



I am very happy that we agree 

[Wikimedia-l] Invitation for Wikimedia Research Office hours May 04, 2021

[Martin Gerlach]

Hi all,

Join the Research Team at the Wikimedia Foundation [1] for their monthly
Office hours on 2021-05-04 at 16:00-17:00 UTC (9am PT/6pm CET).

To participate, join the video-call via this link [2]. There is no set
agenda - feel free to add your item to the list of topics in the etherpad
[3] (You can do this after you join the meeting, too.), otherwise you are
welcome to also just hang out. More detailed information (e.g. about how to
attend) can be found here [4].

Through these office hours, we aim to make ourselves more available to
answer some of the research related questions that you as Wikimedia
volunteer editors, organizers, affiliates, staff, and researchers face in
your projects and initiatives. Some example cases we hope to be able to
support you in:

   -

   You have a specific research related question that you suspect you
   should be able to answer with the publicly available data and you don’t
   know how to find an answer for it, or you just need some more help with it.
   For example, how can I compute the ratio of anonymous to registered editors
   in my wiki?
   -

   You run into repetitive or very manual work as part of your Wikimedia
   contributions and you wish to find out if there are ways to use machines to
   improve your workflows. These types of conversations can sometimes be
   harder to find an answer for during an office hour, however, discussing
   them can help us understand your challenges better and we may find ways to
   work with each other to support you in addressing it in the future.
   -

   You want to learn what the Research team at the Wikimedia Foundation
   does and how we can potentially support you. Specifically for affiliates:
   if you are interested in building relationships with the academic
   institutions in your country, we would love to talk with you and learn
   more. We have a series of programs that aim to expand the network of
   Wikimedia researchers globally and we would love to collaborate with those
   of you interested more closely in this space.
   -

   You want to talk with us about one of our existing programs [5].


Hope to see many of you,
Martin on behalf of the WMF Research Team

[1] https://research.wikimedia.org/team.html

[2] https://meet.jit.si/WMF-Research-Office-Hours

[3] https://etherpad.wikimedia.org/p/Research-Analytics-Office-hours

[4] https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Research/Office_hours
[5] https://research.wikimedia.org/projects.html

-- 
Martin Gerlach
Research Scientist
Wikimedia Foundation
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