These are interesting viewpoints indeed. I think the connection between these awards and Wikipedia (especially in the African continent) is clearly stated in the article. In fact, if it was me who was writing this press release I would have started that sentence with:
- Most African Wikipedians struggle with adding content on the English/French Wikipedia because of lack of reliable references, and " *the awards recognise the essential role journalists play in creating well-researched articles that volunteer editors use as source materials to develop content on Wikipedia....*" Colleagues, you will agree with me that there's no one size fits all solution to fix our problems. We exist in a dynamic community where something that was perfectly fine a few years ago may not work today. I personally participated in the development of the MS2030 but I was also fully aware that the recommendations of the MS2030 are not a silver bullet or a formula to solve all our problems in the movement. It is our collective thinking that by implementing the recommendations, our movement will be in a better strategic position by year 2030 to address the issues stated in the MS2030. Now does that mean we should say NO to a pilot project that the WMF consulted us to try out help close the knowledge gaps in Africa because it's not part of the MS2030 which is our silver bullet to solving all our problems? I don't know you tell me colleagues. Best regards, Bobby Shabangu On Sat, 6 May 2023 at 11:08, Mrb Rafi <mrbrafi1...@gmail.com> wrote: > +1 to Paul. > I was thinking of the same thing but was confused about how to put it. > Many individuals from underrepresented communities, including myself, often > feel hesitant to contribute to global-level conversations in a meaningful > way and raise their concerns. > > The connection between Wikimedia and this initiative is too weak. While > cost is not the primary concern, the potential impact on Wikimedia is > significant for any Wikimedia initiative. > I am not trying to discourage our fellow Wikimedians from Africa in any > way. On the contrary, I have witnessed firsthand the incredible work they > are doing despite facing numerous obstacles, and their contributions often > go unrecognized. > > This is undoubtedly a good initiative that serves the local African > community. But how does this serve Wikimedia? How do we measure the direct > impact of this initiative on Wikimedia? How is it aligned with MS2030? > I am also slightly uncomfortable with the fact that the volunteer > organizers are not recognized in any visible place. They deserve proper > acknowledgment. > > From a broader perspective, there's something strange happening in the > movement. I fear that the focus is being shifted from community relations > and support to somewhere else. In the annual planning community > conversation, I expressed my concerns about the apparent reduction in > direct professional support from the Foundation for the communities. > Instead, it appears that the focus is shifting towards self-organized > initiatives, which will never be effective for underrepresented > communities. We require direct professional support from the Foundation, > which has been provided quietly but effectively in recent years. Wikimedia > communities need professional support from the foundation that empowers > them from the core and creates the capacity to work more independently. > > The foundation possesses all the linguistic expertise and the required > in-depth, unique, and specialized knowledge of the local Wikimedia > community dynamics to align this initiative with MS2030 and enhance its > direct impact on the movement. But for some strange reason, they're not > doing that—not only for this initiative but almost everywhere; they're > instead fully destroying that capacity themselves through the recent > layoffs (probably). The radical changes may have a very negative long-term > impact on communities, specially the underrepresented ones. > > I'm not sure, but I'm having the feeling that ideas like DEI and MS2030 > are being misinterpreted to justify a lot of things that don't necessarily > serve DEI or MS2030 in the movement. Even I had the feeling that the draft > annual plan was just MS2030-washed without any visible impact. I've always > supported the foundation and its staff in any of their meaningful > contributions with all my enthusiasm and knowledge as a volunteer, but for > the last few days, I've been hesitating. > I want everyone, including the foundation, to work in such a way that it > creates capacity in the local communities and, at the same time, serves our > goals as a movement. > > Best, > Rafi > > On Sat, May 6, 2023 at 9:58 AM Paul J. Weiss <lib...@hotmail.com> wrote: > >> To me, this award is reaching well beyond the scope of what the Wikimedia >> community should be doing. It does not, to me, align with our Movement >> Strategy's recommendations >> <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Movement_Strategy/Recommendations> nor >> their initiatives >> <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Movement_Strategy/Initiatives>, nor the WMF >> 2023-2024 Annual Plan >> <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_Annual_Plan/2023-2024>. >> Just because something might be positive for the world or our community >> does not mean we should do such. As a gay man, I appreciate all the >> literature awards for LGBT+ books, but I would not support such an award >> from the WMF or the community. Where would this stop? Is it in scope for us >> to give an award for scientific research? Social justice activism? >> Translation software? These could all be beneficial to our community, but I >> don't think it would be appropriate for us to take on those endeavors. >> >> In addition I am concerned this award will have negative effects on our >> fundraising. I would expect that some donors, if they found out we are >> awarding $3,500 to journalists in no way connected to our wikis, might be >> less likely to donate. I think this kind of thing has happened to other >> non-profits. >> >> We are stretched too thin enough already. I believe that we should stick >> to our core activities, which stem from the documents linked to above. >> >> Thanks, >> Paul >> User:Libcub >> >> On 2023-05-04 1:47 PM, Olushola Olaniyan wrote: >> >> >> *Dear all, * >> >> >> *My name is Olushola (User: Olaniyan Olushola). I am from Africa and have >> been a Wikimedia since 2014 and passionate about language. I co-lead the >> Oral History documentation of Nigerian indigenous languages ( see more >> about it **here* >> <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Nigerian_Language_Oral_History_Documentation_Project/Gallery> >> * ). *I am part and parcel of the working group for this Journalism >> Award. Together with other community members and some foundation staff, we >> have co-created the submission guidelines and award criteria, including >> that articles should be English language articles published in a major >> outlet. >> >> >> Everything regarding the rationale for this award is being done in >> consultation with members of our African communities, aligned with our >> goals to increase exposure for the work we love in the region and close >> knowledge gaps. >> >> >> One thing to mention is that articles about Africa, especially written by >> journalists with a local perspective, must be better represented in our >> language Wikipedias, including English. >> >> >> With this being a brand-new initiative, it was the best time to learn. >> >> >> It is a pilot, and we all see this as an experiment to draw more >> attention to journalists' important role as content creators on Wikipedia. >> >> >> You will agree that we need to celebrate existing journalism excellence >> that helps fill knowledge gaps online. >> >> >> The working group conferred, and since this is a pilot, we decided >> together that it was a good idea to consider the need to limit the scope to >> collect data and insights easily. We understand the sentiment behind >> language in Africa and beyond, and we always wanted to keep everything >> simple. We know that no language is superior to the other, so this is a >> pilot. From here, we will likely assess the impact we can have before >> scaling. >> >> >> We wish to expand this initiative with more regional volunteers should it >> succeed - and we hope it will. >> >> >> We already have more than a hundred entries! >> >> >> Thank you >> >> Shola >> >> _______________________________________________ >> Wikimedia-l mailing list -- wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org, guidelines at: >> https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines and >> https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia-l >> Public archives at >> https://lists.wikimedia.org/hyperkitty/list/wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org/message/UEFHWM4CB5VAQM2IV2UGM65V6FMFYJHQ/ >> To unsubscribe send an email to wikimedia-l-le...@lists.wikimedia.org >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> Wikimedia-l mailing list -- wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org, guidelines >> at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines and >> https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia-l >> Public archives at >> https://lists.wikimedia.org/hyperkitty/list/wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org/message/BE3PJZB5COV26X5HBY4RFUTFMW7XS35I/ >> To unsubscribe send an email to wikimedia-l-le...@lists.wikimedia.org > > _______________________________________________ > Wikimedia-l mailing list -- wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org, guidelines > at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines and > https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia-l > Public archives at > https://lists.wikimedia.org/hyperkitty/list/wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org/message/KUDK4CC7WY4UYT4MMBN4SUBJ2MOIL2M3/ > To unsubscribe send an email to wikimedia-l-le...@lists.wikimedia.org
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