Sent on behalf of Zack Exeley, and cross posted to: http://blog.wikimedia.org/blog/2010/09/15/wikimedia-foundation-fellowship-program/
> > Today I am pleased to announce the Wikimedia Foundation Community Fellows > program, a project of the Foundation’s Community Department. This program is > partly something the Foundation has been considering for a long time and > partly an outgrowth of the recent Community Department open hiring call. In > reading through the nearly 2,000 submissions to the open call, we realized > that there are far more qualified members of the Wikimedia community than we > can ever hire at one time. We also realized that the most promising > submissions came from people who were interested in working on specific > problems or opportunities in the movement rather than looking for permanent > staff positions. > Therefore, the Fellows program is intended to create an environment where > individuals and teams can concentrate full-time on important problems and > opportunities in Wikimedia projects and the movement as a whole. Fellows will > lead intensive, time-limited projects focused on key areas of risk and > opportunity — projects that require the support of the Foundation to succeed. > We are currently looking for Fellows among those who have already answered > the open hiring call and we will also be posting a form for submitting new > Fellowship applications soon. In addition to Wikimedia volunteers, we would > like to engage outside academics and professionals who have expertise that > could benefit our projects. > Each Fellowship will have its own objectives that require a unique skill set. > The length of the Fellowships at the Wikimedia Foundation will vary from > weeks to as long as a year, depending on the requirements of the project. A > handful of Fellows may eventually join the Foundation staff permanently. > However, the purpose of the program is to take charge of vital work that may > not require a long-term position but which volunteers have not previously > dealt with successfully. > Along with introducing what will be a continuing Wikimedia Foundation > program, we’d like to welcome the first Fellow in the Community Department: > Steven Walling. Steven represents exactly what we’d hoped to attract through > this process: talented Wikimedians who have a knack for crafting clear > theories about how Wikimedia communities operate and how they can be > supported. Steven’s previous experience as a freelance writer, blogger, and > community manager make him an excellent choice to pilot this program. Steven > is beginning a year-long Fellowship, during which he will work on multiple > projects. He will be blogging about his projects as he continues. > We are deeply excited about the possibilities for the Wikimedia Foundation > Fellowship program. Bringing in talented individuals who have specific > projects in mind will allow us all to ask questions and solve problems that > were previously out of reach for either volunteers or staff. I hope you’ll > join us in welcoming Steven and more new Wikimedia Foundation Fellows as they > are announced. > Zack Exley, > Chief Community Officer
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