And some of this desire for change is for all of that to change. As I've been saying, a lot of people have years long frustrations with how the board has operated.
On Wed, Oct 15, 2025, 5:28 p.m. Lorenzo <[email protected]> wrote: > Hi everyone, I'm writing on behalf of the Board of Trustees. > > Since the announcement > <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_Board_noticeboard/October_2025_update> > of > the final ballot and further > <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Talk:Wikimedia_Foundation_Board_noticeboard/October_2025_update#More_answers_on_the_Board's_decision_on_the_2025_final_ballot> > messages > <https://lists.wikimedia.org/hyperkitty/list/[email protected]/message/OKNCCC4USJ2YGU3H4OXI3OYEIUUGDMLV/>, > we have been closely following conversations over the past week. We agree > with the sentiments that we do not have an ideal process for board > selection, and as such, we are continuously reviewing it and attempting > improvements. This ranges from the role of various stakeholders in the > short-listing process, the timeline of the selection, to the steps required > by the Board's own bylaws, and to the most effective way of communicating > decisions to our movement. > > The change we implemented this year - vetting candidates before the vote, > instead of after - was made in order to ensure that we don't ask the > community to vote for people that we will not be able to seat. This might > not have been the best choice, and we will rediscuss it for future > selections. The checks themselves, however, haven't changed: they are the > same I went through four years ago when I joined the board, including the > background check, media check and the vetting interview. > > We understand that some of you disagree with the decision we have taken > regarding individual candidates. Unfortunately, it is not something we are > able to provide more information about. Part of our duty is to protect the > users and the projects, and sometimes that means not sharing publicly > information that may harm them or the movement, even when the community > demands it, or some of the people affected demand it. In this case, we have > discussed the reasons with the candidates, but it's not appropriate for us > or them to bring them here. > I realize this is frustrating - it is also for us. Even before the > announcement, we knew that this decision would receive harsh criticism, and > we knew that we could not fully respond to it. > > The Board's Governance Committee > <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_Governance_Committee> > (which > is tasked with overseeing the selection process) welcomes specific > proposals and ideas for reform here on this talk page > <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Talk:Wikimedia_Foundation_Board_noticeboard/October_2025_update>. > We have time before the next selection cycle (scheduled for 2027) to make > both incremental improvements and large-scale changes. The Governance > Committee and the Board will carefully consider them. We commit to work on > improvements of the selection process, and working with the communities and > the affiliates, to make this process better for all stakeholders, including > for the Board itself. > > Lorenzo Losa > Chair-Elect, Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees > > _______________________________________________ > Wikimedia-l mailing list -- [email protected], 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/[email protected]/message/JNCRLJEKFSRKCIMXHUIGJVTNOWTQNDN5/ > To unsubscribe send an email to [email protected]
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