Re: [Wikimedia-l] New Affiliations Committee appointments

[Stuart Prior]

Congratulations to those re-selected and newly appointed, and
commiserations to those unsuccessful.

I do have one question spurred on by the consistent re-selection of
existing members for the past two rounds which will might require a little
collective institutional memory to answer.
Has anyone putting themselves forward for re-selection ever not been
re-appointed by the committee?

Best

Stuart
(User:Battleofalma)

On 23 January 2018 at 13:52, Nabin K. Sapkota 
wrote:

> Congratulations to all newly appointed and reappointed members.
>
> Cheers,
> Nabin
>
> On 23 January 2018 at 19:33, Kirill Lokshin 
> wrote:
>
> > Hi everyone,
> >
> > I'm pleased to announce that Derick Ndimnain Alangi, Biplab Anand, and
> Sami
> > Mlouhi have appointed to the Affiliations Committee as new members.  In
> > addition, two incumbent members -- Maor Malul and Emna Mizouni -- have
> been
> > re-appointed for an additional term.  Please join me in welcoming our new
> > and returning members.
> >
> > The committee extends its profound gratitude to Galileo Vidoni, who is
> > stepping down after having served six years on the committee, and to
> > everyone who participated in the recent selection process, whether by
> > standing as a candidate or by providing feedback on the applications.
> >
> > Regards,
> > Kirill Lokshin
> > Chair, Affiliations Committee
> > ___
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>
>
>
>
> --
>  *Nabin K. Sapkota  Nabin
> K. Sapkota *
>
> * Nabin K. Sapkota 
>   Nabin K. Sapkota
>  B0%E0%A4%AF%E0%A5%8B%E0%A4%97%E0%A4%95%E0%A4%B0%E0%A5%8D%E0%
> A4%A4%E0%A4%BE:Nabin_K._Sapkota>*
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Re: [Wikimedia-l] More politics: "WMF Annual Report"

[Stuart Prior]

​My 2¢​ The avoidance of politically sensitive issues is not the same as
being politically neutral.

Political neutrality isn’t about shifting your politics to wherever your
local Overton window currently sits. It involves a longer, broader, global
view of what accepted political norms are.

Political neutrality also sits in relation to your movement’s or
organisation’s other values, which shouldn’t be compromised or undermined
for the sake of maintaining it.

As an example, anthropogenic climate change is a politically sensitive
issue, but how can a consensus-driven movement not take into account that
97% of climate scientists acknowledge its existence
​?​
[1] <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientific_opinion_on_climate_change>
Accepting a scientific consensus just isn’t a political position.

And child refugees. They are politically sensitive in light of the current
situation of various government’s policies on accepting them. But the
rights of the child are internationally agreed upon and have been for
decades, in treaties such as UN Convention on the Rights of the Child
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Convention_on_the_Rights_of_the_Child> there
is consensus on basic things like a child’s right to education, with a
special focus on child refugees. Omitting to talk about your work on the
above topics accepts a narrative of controversy about the issues that is
quite extreme.

Our movement values neutrality, but it also values evidence and consensus.
If following the two latter principles leads WMF to a position where it is
not politically neutral, I’d suggest it is not WMF that has adopted an
extreme or partisan position. Thinking
​ ​
longer term, and more globally,
​
seems
​ ​
sensible here.

​S​


On 2 March 2017 at 20:08, George William Herbert <george.herb...@gmail.com>
wrote:

>
>
> On Mar 2, 2017, at 11:13 AM, James Salsman <jsals...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> >> politics damages our brand in real and serious ways.
> >
> > Such as how? This assertion keeps being made without any evidence
> supporting it.
> >
> >> It's more ammunition for everyone else's distrust and fear of our
> community and organizational motives.
> >
> > Are there any actual reasons to believe that such distrust and fear
> > exists apart from those upset about being on the losing end of some
> > Wikipedia content dispute?
>
>
> Surely you haven't missed the spectrum of external criticism of Wikipedia
> which in no small part claims we have a left bias.
>
> We are always able to come back and point to (usually) functional
> neutrality.  But then we go and do this.
>
>
> -george
>
> Sent from my iPhone
>
>
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-- 
*Stuart Prior*
*Project Coordinator*
*Wikimedia UK*
+44 20 7065 0990

Wikimedia UK is a Company Limited by Guarantee registered in England and
Wales, Registered No. 6741827. Registered Charity No.1144513. Registered
Office 4th Floor, Development House, 56-64 Leonard Street, London EC2A 4LT.
United Kingdom. Wikimedia UK is the UK chapter of a global Wikimedia
movement. The Wikimedia projects are run by the Wikimedia Foundation (who
operate Wikipedia, amongst other projects).

*Wikimedia UK is an independent non-profit charity with no legal control
over Wikipedia nor responsibility for its contents.*
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Re: [Wikimedia-l] Wikimania 2017 to be held in Montréal in Canada

[Stuart Prior]

Congratulations Montreal!

S

On 22 December 2015 at 10:53, James Forrester <jdforres...@gmail.com> wrote:

> All,
>
> I am delighted to announce on behalf of the Wikimania Committee that
> Wikimania, the annual Wikimedia community conference, will be held in
> Montréal, Canada in 8–13 August 2017.
>
> 2017 will be the 375th anniversary of the founding of Montréal as a city,
> which will make it a great time for a cultural event to take place. Despite
> being our twelfth Wikimania, Montréal will be our first in a Francophone
> location, and the Montréal team is working with French-speaking community
> members worldwide to make Montréal a success. WikiFranca and Wikimedia
> Canada will be supporting the local team led by Marc-André Pelletier
> (User:Coren). A press release/announcement from them will be forthcoming.
> You can contact the team via e-mail at team{at}wikimania.ca.
>
> For 2017, we decided to investigate and vet a revised earlier proposal for
> Montréal to host while the selection process itself is being reviewed.
> Selecting and confirming the venue with more lead time ensures cost savings
> in hotel prices and contract terms; affords us favourable dates and rates;
> and allows participation and overlap with current and future teams.
>
> Please join us in congratulating the team, and working to support them in
> holding an excellent conference.
>
> Yours,
>
> James D. Forrester
> Chair, Wikimania Committee
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-- 
*Stuart Prior*
*Project Coordinator*
*Wikimedia UK*
+44 20 7065 0990

Wikimedia UK is a Company Limited by Guarantee registered in England and
Wales, Registered No. 6741827. Registered Charity No.1144513. Registered
Office 4th Floor, Development House, 56-64 Leonard Street, London EC2A 4LT.
United Kingdom. Wikimedia UK is the UK chapter of a global Wikimedia
movement. The Wikimedia projects are run by the Wikimedia Foundation (who
operate Wikipedia, amongst other projects).

*Wikimedia UK is an independent non-profit charity with no legal control
over Wikipedia nor responsibility for its contents.*
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Re: [Wikimedia-l] WMF office location and remodel

[Stuart Prior]

I see that East St Louis also has a murder rate approaching that of say,
Bogota. This to me says vibrant.

On a more serious note, while SF is egregiously expensive, if you want to
attract good people, you have to base yourself where the action is.

S

On 8 April 2015 at 16:46, Richard Symonds richard.symo...@wikimedia.org.uk
wrote:

 I know from experience that East St Louis is pretty cheap, and it's
 centrally located. And the weather is almost as good as California, but
 without the Hurricanes.

 How do the WMF staff feel about moving to East St Louis? I imagine they
 would be *thrilled*.

 Richard Symonds
 Wikimedia UK
 0207 065 0992

 Wikimedia UK is a Company Limited by Guarantee registered in England and
 Wales, Registered No. 6741827. Registered Charity No.1144513. Registered
 Office 4th Floor, Development House, 56-64 Leonard Street, London EC2A 4LT.
 United Kingdom. Wikimedia UK is the UK chapter of a global Wikimedia
 movement. The Wikimedia projects are run by the Wikimedia Foundation (who
 operate Wikipedia, amongst other projects).

 *Wikimedia UK is an independent non-profit charity with no legal control
 over Wikipedia nor responsibility for its contents.*

 On 8 April 2015 at 14:57, Oliver Keyes ironho...@gmail.com wrote:

  (volunteer hat on)
 
  Glasgow to London in no way represents the scale of what any move,
  even an in-US move, would be, unless the goal is for the WMF to end up
  in LA or (maybe) Portland.
 
  I would agree that a multi-location setup would work better as a good
  expansion route here, although I'm not sure what that how that would
  work out internationally, in terms of legal liability. Even just
  having an east coast location in somewhere obvious (we have clusters
  of staff in, e.g., Boston, Raleigh and NY, albeit small clusters)
  would make a big difference.
 
  On Wed, Apr 8, 2015 at 9:53 AM, Fæ fae...@gmail.com wrote:
   On 8 April 2015 at 06:07, Aleksey Bilogur aleksey.bilo...@gmail.com
  wrote:
   A logistical non-starter! They've got 200+ staff members, any gains
  to...
  
   Plenty of companies and charities happily move their HQ building
   location with more staff gaining benefits rather than losing them. I
   was involved with a corporate move where most staff went from London
   to Glasgow, with the benefit that their family and social lives
   improved and they could afford to buy large houses with the same money
   it takes to buy half a small flat in London. Presented the right way,
   a move can improve staff commitment and even reduce turnover.
  
   You also can't have it both ways, the WMF is supposed to be a
   multi-location global organization. Strategically it would be better
   to grow globally in several locations, rather than always having
   everyone in the same offices in the same city on the West Coast of
   America. Our staff and volunteers are highly experienced in virtual
   cooperation and meetings, the WMF could even become an exemplar for
   how that works for smaller organizations with global teams.
  
   Fae
   --
   fae...@gmail.com https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Fae
  
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​

-- 

Wikimedia UK is a Company Limited by Guarantee registered in England and
Wales, Registered No. 6741827. Registered Charity No.1144513. Registered
Office 4th Floor, Development House, 56-64 Leonard Street, London EC2A 4LT.
United Kingdom. Wikimedia UK is the UK chapter of a global Wikimedia
movement. The Wikimedia projects are run by the Wikimedia Foundation (who
operate Wikipedia, amongst other projects).

*Wikimedia UK is an independent non-profit charity with no legal control
over Wikipedia nor responsibility for its contents.*
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