Nat, I am strongly disappointed. Not even mad, just disappointed.
Through the Board's and the Wikimedia Foundation's series of decisions [1], we have just spent a lot of community attention (*which should be treated as a limited resource*) on a ratification vote that is now without standing. The vote gave the community another chance to speak on the matter (and the feedback will hopefully be used going forward) but I don't think it was worth the sacrifice of resources (yet another global engagement of thousands); it was within the BoT's power to end this. So much for the Movement_Charter/Glossary#Care_Responsibility <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Movement_Charter/Glossary#Care_Responsibility> ... I have raised that after the Liaisons' initial statements: if someone wanted to sabotage the process (this is not a word I am using lightly), this is how they would do it. We had a lot of confusion created by a statement of just two people (and we were repeatedly told that they were not speaking for the Board). I am willing to argue that it has been partially responsible for the problems with reaching the quorum (which was eventually reached, but barely and at a great expense). We had two global meetings with 90+ people devoted to this <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Strategic_Wikimedia_Affiliates_Network/2024_06>. When we asked for the Board to accelerate their process so we could save the community from going through the costly process that would bring no fruit, we were ignored. The Liaisons' statement promised us "*concrete, time-bound next steps on a more practical scale." *Meanwhile, the minutes from the discussion and the resolution itself could not be further away from the above sentence. There are many non-statements, vague sentences, and very few* "concrete"* things. My absolutely favourite (not really) statement is: - "Foundation will move forward on some of its components, including experiments designed to test the feasibility of proposals related to resource distribution, technology advancement, and support of Wikimedia movement organizations" I like to think of myself as quite proficient in English. However, for the love of gods, I could not decipher this corporate dialect. There is nothing concrete in this. Sentences like this are an affront to the community, most of which are not first-language English speakers. *To be fair, there are a couple of things worth mentioning as positives:* - The executive summary <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_Board_noticeboard/Board_resolution_and_vote_on_the_proposed_Movement_Charter/Appendix> is an excellent step toward transparency and better communication, but the rest of the document and statements linked above are still very legal and exclusive. - I would also like to use this occasion to thank *Mike Peel* for his vote of support on the Charter. He had the courage to be the only dissenting Board member, only one of the six current community-sourced Trustees <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_Board_of_Trustees#Current_members> . - Lastly, I'd like to thank the Movement Charter Drafting Committee for their work. We have sometimes disagreed, but their work was hard, and they never crumbled. Kudos! My disappointment is not with the final decision of the Board; after all, you are independent stakeholders in this ratification. The disappointment comes from the lack of grace in this process. I worked as a facilitator at the beginning of the Movement Charter process. I am sad that this is how it ended. I hope that another two years, as decided in your letter [2], will bring some fruition :) [1] – "Because the Board of Trustees holds ultimate financial and fiduciary obligations, they are ultimately responsible [...] <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_Board_noticeboard/Board_resolution_and_vote_on_the_proposed_Movement_Charter/Appendix> ". [2] – "timeline for this work will involve a preparation phase (to begin immediately), an implementation phase (from January 2025 to December 2026, with the Board committed to ongoing monitoring), and an evaluation phase (to be completed by April 2027) <https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Resolution:Draft_Movement_Charter_and_next_steps> " Sad cheers, -- Maciej Artur Nadzikiewicz (He/him) Wikimania 2024 Katowice – Team Lead Wikimedia Europe Board Member Wikipedia Administrator User:Nadzik <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Nadzik> czw., 11 lip 2024 o 12:35 Nataliia Tymkiv <ntym...@wikimedia.org> napisał(a): > Dear all, > > As we await the outcome from all stakeholders who voted on the draft > Movement Charter ratification, the Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees > met on Monday, July 8, to discuss and cast the Foundation’s vote. > > *On behalf of the Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees I am sharing the > results of that vote, the resolution, meeting minutes, and proposed next > steps.* > > *==Draft Movement Charter== * > > > The proposed charter represents a tremendous amount of work done by the > Movement > Charter Drafting Committee > <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Movement_Charter/Drafting_Committee>, > alongside several others. The creation of a charter was one of several > recommendations to come from the Movement Strategy process alongside the > Strategic Direction that continues to guide the Wikimedia Foundation. > > At the same time, the vote on the proposed charter has provided an > opportunity for all of us to reflect on what has changed – and continues to > change – since the original Movement Strategy process started in 2018. The > Foundation has tried to consistently identify these issues in its annual > plan > <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_Annual_Plan/2024-2025>, > strategic planning priorities > <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation/Chief_Executive_Officer/Updates/April_2024_Update>, > and elsewhere > <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation/Chief_Executive_Officer/Updates/February_2024_Update>. > They include numerous and growing external threats (and some opportunities) > of a rapidly changing and fragmenting internet – from the nature of search > to the rise of generative AI. We have also seen an increase in global > regulations of content and platforms that have an impact on our people and > our projects. Furthermore, our collective resources have not been growing > as quickly > <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_Annual_Plan/2024-2025/Financial_Model> > as we had seen in prior periods. This has required more clarity on > priorities, trade-offs, and pragmatism. > > It is because of these myriad challenges and complex realities that > clarifying roles and responsibilities within the Wikimedia movement is > more, not less, important. That is why the Board and the Foundation have > been cautiously assessing how best to move forward at this point, after > providing significant support to the Movement Charter Drafting Committee in > undertaking this task. > > Our hope is to take solutions from the intent of the draft charter and > consider where a future Global Council may be able to provide benefits to > us all. We believe that this can only be done through concrete, > practical, and time-bound next steps, based on the areas identified in the > final draft charter text, rather than a wholesale adoption of the > proposed charter in its final form. > > *==Board resolution==* > > > Therefore, in the Special Board meeting this week, the Wikimedia > Foundation Board of Trustees voted not to ratify the proposed Charter. > You can read the full Board resolution [1] and minutes of the meeting [2]. > > The Board also approved a way forward, including three experiments that > the Wikimedia Foundation, Wikimedia affiliates, and community members can > jointly conduct in the three areas identified in the proposed Movement > Charter to be taken on by a future Global Council. The outlines of the > proposals are included in the resolution in the appendix [3] with > concrete proposals for these key areas. These include experiments designed > to test the feasibility of proposals related to resource distribution, > technology > advancement, and support of Wikimedia movement organizations. Solutions > for these collaborative experiments should be designed for co-ownership and > build on the capabilities of the entire Wikimedia movement. And the comments > received with the votes during the ratification would help shape these > proposals more. > > *==What’s next==* > > > As of this writing, 2,451 individual voters participated and 129 affiliate > votes were cast, meeting the quorum for both groups. By July 24, the > outcome of these votes along with comments will be published so that any > proposed next steps can benefit from the input, reflections, and > recommendations of all voters. It is important to listen to the feedback > that has been provided through this process before taking further steps. > > Following that, we shall ask for help in the coming months designing > spaces on- and off-wiki to request more feedback and improvements to the > specific proposals being offered to help us now move forward together. Some > of this can happen at Wikimania for those planning to attend, as we shall > also be offering our formal thanks at Wikimania to the Movement Charter > Drafting Committee members for their work. > > To provide any comments in the meantime, please leave a comment on the > main talk page of the appendix on Meta [4]. Alternatively, you can request > a conversation with Foundation leadership as a part of Talking:2024 > <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_Community_Affairs_Committee/Talking:_2024>. > You can also use the Let’s Talk > <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_Community_Affairs_Committee/Talking:_2024#Let%27s_talk> > feature to sign up for a time to speak with me and/or other trustees. > > [1] > https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Resolution:Draft_Movement_Charter_and_next_steps > > > [2] https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Minutes:2024-07-08 > > [3] > https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_Board_noticeboard/Board_resolution_and_vote_on_the_proposed_Movement_Charter/Appendix > > > [4] > https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Talk:Wikimedia_Foundation_Board_noticeboard/Board_resolution_and_vote_on_the_proposed_Movement_Charter/Appendix > > > Best regards, > antanana / Nataliia Tymkiv > Chair, Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees > > *NOTICE: You may have received this message outside of your normal working > hours/days, as I usually can work more as a volunteer during weekend. You > should not feel obligated to answer it during your days off. Thank you in > advance!* > > _______________________________________________ > 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/LGIJGANBXJ47OWLTYRCXRTMLO7TARZ7C/ > To unsubscribe send an email to wikimedia-l-le...@lists.wikimedia.org
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