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Designing equitable decision-making in the Wikimedia Movement

Alice Wiegand, Nora Circosta, Nicole Ebber

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General Framing

  • Governance is how decisions are made that affect the environment in which you do your work.
  • So far, a defined governance structure for our Movement is missing – i.e. who takes which decisions has not yet been defined.
  • People feel that some decisions are not fair and not legitimate.
  • A group of people (MCDC) is drafting a Charter to improve the current situation.

CC BY-SA 3.0, Kristian Peters

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Communities

Affiliates

Wikimedia Foundation

The current situation

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New entity introduced by MS: Hubs

Communities

Affiliates

Hubs

Wikimedia Foundation

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New entity introduced by MS: Global Council

Communities

Affiliates

Hubs

Wikimedia Foundation

Global Council

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What should be the role of these entities in the future and how should decisions be made?

Communities

Affiliates

Hubs

Wikimedia Foundation

Global Council

???

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1

Money

(Fundraising & Distribution)

2

Technology

& Projects

3

Affiliation

& Hubs

Choose one of the following decision areas

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  • Choose the area of decision making that you want to discuss .
  • Each group will discuss three concrete examples of decisions made in that area that affect the whole movement.
  • During the conversation, keep in mind that different entities can be involved in making decisions:
    • Global Council, Hubs, Affiliates, Wikimedia Foundation, Communities
  • Share your thoughts and don’t be afraid to disagree :)

What do we do in the small groups?

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Money

CC by SA 4.0, Tomere

  • Who should decide if a grant proposal gets funded?

  • Who should be able to do banner fundraising and why?

  • Who decides the criterias to raise funds with the Wikimedia trademark?

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Technology and projects

  • Who should define the technical development areas or priorities for the Movement?

  • Who should set standards for and approve sister projects?

  • Who should set standards for and approve language projects?

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Affiliation & Hubs

  • Who should recognize and de-recognize affiliates?

  • Who decides on the conditions for Hubs to be recognized?

  • Who decides what a Hub should be working on?

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See you in 30 minutes!

CC BY-SA 4.0, Sumita Roy Dutta

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1

Money

(Fundraising & Distribution)

2

Technology

& Projects

3

Affiliation

& Hubs

Share one highlight from the conversation

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Next steps

CC by SA 4.0, Tomere

  • Review and comment on the Movement Charter Drafts

  • Go to the Governance sessions at Wikimania

  • For eligible affiliates: Join the online engagement session for the Wikimedia Summit 2024

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Thank you!

CC BY-SA 4.0, Sumita Roy Dutta