I am personally fully in support of Wikimedia supporting journalism, fwiw. On Sat, May 6, 2023, 9:08 AM Bobby Shabangu <bobbyshaba...@gmail.com> wrote:
> 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 > > _______________________________________________ > 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/KRYEAIBKUFJI5DDFWI6XLZLVXRL5QMOY/ > To unsubscribe send an email to wikimedia-l-le...@lists.wikimedia.org
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