How do you see the movement’s strategy being made possible within local communities?
This is one of the Affiliate questions selected for the Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees election 2022. Only candidates can post their replies here. You can read these answers on Meta.
To make the movement’s strategy being possible within the local communities will consolidate the movement, it will be represented in the communities and this will fight against non-inclusivity as the communities will be represented and could participate in the debate and evaluation of different views and ideas.
I’m not sure I understand the question and what is exactly being asked here. But I will state the following regarding our movement’s strategy applicability to local communities:
The Movement strategy is all-encompassing. It’s not just for WMF or big affiliates, but for everyone who is part of this movement, including local communities. Some aspects of the strategy specifically influence local communities: from the UCoC and working toward healthier community, one that is welcoming for newcomers, to other aspects of capacity building, knowledge preservations, and a commitment for innovation that affects how we all work in Wiki Projects.
Affiliates have the duty to work towards the movement strategy within their communities. It would be great for local communities to be involved in every step of the strategy, from deliberations to implementation. The insight gained from diverse local communities is an invaluable asset to successful strategy discussions.
Viewpoints and needs must be at the heart of our strategy. Connect with the people most directly in the community.
Reply by Mike Peel (Mike Peel)
Local communities need to determine this, supported by WMF and affiliates to make sure they are in a good position to make use of the strategy (including supported with funding, training, and other things as needed). There is not a one-sized solution here, it really does depend on the local community.
This is a very interesting and provocative question. What is a “local community” and why is it important? The popularity of social media has strengthened many people’s identity and connection to virtual communities. And the recent COVID pandemic, which isolated so many of us from our local (i.e. geographically-situated) communities, has certainly encouraged this trend. Maybe this is a golden opportunity for Wikimedia projects to gain new members through affiliation with their virtual communities. It may also provide an opportunity to engage more rurally-situated participants who have not been able to connect with movement-related local communities (often urban-based).
I see the Movement Strategy being made possible within local communities if the communities are invited to prioritize the strategies according to what’s most important, relevant, most applicable to them and work with it.
Inclusivity practices employed in the different phases of the movement strategy process must be reviewed in other encompass aspects such as modes of participation, transparency, and decision-making with the local communities. Through discourse analysis, we can highlight the main characteristics of the movement strategy product created and how it has been interpreted by the local communities.
I don’t fully understand this question, it is ultimately up to local communities to engage with the various processes and points of the movement strategy. Often times people refer to a singular entity called “the Wikimedia community” but in reality Wikimedia is made up of plenty of communities, that organize, contribute and participate in various ways and for the movement strategy to really have an impact, we need to reach those local communities.
All local communities should have their own strategy adapted to their specific public and according to the general values of the movement.
Local communities need to translate the Movement strategy into their local context, making sure they are reasonably aligned with the global Movement (we leave the room for context and experiments!) and apply the strategy with the benefit of their audiences, communities and org.
E.g. improving user experience may mean work with the editting communities, volunteer support, software solutions and proper outreach. Subsidiarity and hubs may mean: able affiliate, working on a hub supporting the topic or region, leaving space for the communities to still organize themselves.