Strategy/Wikimedia movement/2017/Direction/Drafts/G

This page is currently a draft. More information pertaining to this may be available on the talk page. Translation admins: Normally, drafts should not be marked for translation.

This is an extremely early draft. There are a few rhetorical devices that I’ll argue to keep but I am otherwise open to discussing and rewriting most of this document. It would normally take me at least two months to write a document like this one; I had three days. Therefore, it is not up to my usual standards both in terms of content and in terms of style.

Read at your own risk. You have been warned.

a.k.a.: To BOLDly go where no Wikimedian has gone before

In January 2017, we, the constituents of the Wikimedia movement, started an ambitious discussion about our collective future. We decided to reflect on our past sixteen years together and imagine the impact we could have in the world in the next decades. We thought we could define a common strategic direction that would unite and inspire us all across our movement on our way to 2030.

We were wrong.

Some of us write encyclopedia articles. Some of us develop software. Some of us donate money, others their time, others their expertise. Some of us curate data, sources, or media. Some of us organize events, advocate for copyright reform, or remix artwork. Some of us are community organizers, others wikignomes, others educators. Some of us do all of the above, and more.

What brings us together is not what we do; it’s why we’re doing it.

We are all part of this movement because we share a visceral, unshakable belief that free knowledge makes the world a better place. Every single human being deserves unrestrained access to knowledge and an opportunity to share back their own. That is non-negotiable. Knowledge is how, sixteen years ago, we chose to change the world.

Our movement is not just about knowledge, though. First and foremost, we are people, working together in different capacities. We are communities of knowledge. Our unique strength is the talent, dedication, and integrity of the individuals that make up our movement.

And across our discussions and research over the past few months, pieces of consensus have emerged regarding the future we want to build together.

We agree that we must support all contributors and provide a platform for them to contribute safely and productively amidst healthy conflict. We agree that our movement must remain open and participatory in all its aspects. We agree that we must provide opportunities for Wikimedians in the making to contribute throughout their life, beyond editing.

We agree that we are in a unique position to build a global infrastructure for free, open and verifiable knowledge. We agree that our technology must evolve to new platforms and new interfaces. We agree that machines can multiply, but not replace, human efforts.

We agree that we must address knowledge gaps and systemic biases. We agree that, to ensure that all experiences are represented, we must give particular attention to emerging communities, minorities, and cultures that have been traditionally underserved, particularly in Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and South America.

We also agree on some of the ways we want to pursue our goals.

We agree that governance must be distributed, both geographically and functionally. We agree that our greatest impact comes from local initiatives backed by global support. We agree that movement structures must adapt to our goals, not the other way around. We agree that experiments and pilots enable us to try new approaches with minimal risk. We agree that partnering with other organizations is the only way to increase our impact with limited resources.

This consensus serves to paint a picture of a future for our movement.

It is a future where our movement has become self-sustaining, global, representative of humanity, and indispensable to the knowledge and education infrastructure. A future where being a Wikimedian is a lifetime opportunity. A future where free knowledge has moved beyond the encyclopedia, beyond the website, beyond the connected world, and beyond the knowledge we are currently familiar with.

Therefore, we, the undersigned, declare our intent to work together towards that future of free knowledge.

We commit to participating in the next phase of this discussion in good faith and to come to an agreement, by Wikimania 2018, on roles, responsibilities, and organizational strategies that enable us to implement that future.

We pledge to put the needs of our movement above our own, and to find the structures, processes, and resources for our movement that enable us to best progress towards our vision of a world in which every single human being can freely share in the sum of all knowledge.

• X Y, on behalf of Z
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