Movement Strategy/Recommendations/Iteration 3

This is an archive for draft recommendations.

Visit Strategy/Wikimedia movement/2018-20/Recommendations to read the final recommendations.

Building our shared future Recommendations for how we can achieve the Wikimedia 2030 vision

In 2017, we set ourselves an ambitious goal: to become the essential infrastructure of the ecosystem of free knowledge by 2030. So how can we get there? Our Movement has analyzed, discussed, and distilled ideas for our future into recommendations for how to bring this vision to life. These outline how we can grow sustainably and inclusively. They introduce ways we can make the most of new opportunities and meet the challenges of today and tomorrow. And how we can strive for knowledge equity and knowledge as a service. So that everyone – those already within our Movement and anyone who wishes to join – can play an effective role in capturing, sharing, and enabling access to free knowledge.

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Wikimedia movement strategy recommendations presentation at WMF All-Hands 2020

On the following pages, you will find the first version of the movement strategy document, comprising 13 recommendations for change, principles that underlie them, and an outline of how these recommendations connect and are designed, as a whole, to help align with our strategic direction.

You can read this content in English, Arabic, French, German, Hindi, Portuguese, and Spanish. The English version also contains a longer “Principles” section and expanded “Why” and “How” sections for each recommendation, which offer additional rationale and context. Beyond this, it features links to more detailed sections on “Community Input” for each recommendation. These insights have come from across the Movement and were put forward in online discussions as well as offline at strategy salons around the world and at Wikimania.

The content of the recommendations is highly interdependent. To understand how the recommendations all connect, we suggest reading the narrative of change first. We encourage you to read each recommendation and review it from the perspective of your community or context. If you feel inclined, please post your thoughts on each recommendation’s talk page or in active forums within your language community. If you don't wish to post your thoughts in a public forum, you can email your feedback on the recommendations to the Core Team via this address: strategy2030@wikimedia.org. To gain a deeper understanding of ideas that underpin the recommendations and have informed their development, please read through the principles that have informed the development of the recommendations. Finally, the process and future steps section outline the steps that have gotten us to this point and what happens next.

Read these recommendations as a PDF: If you'd like to read through the recommendations in an offline or all-in-one format, you can find a PDF of the core document, the extended version, and the cover note. Besides, a one-page summary is available.

You can also listen to audio files of the recommendations and you can watch core team members Tanveer and Mehrdad present the 13 recommendations and shed some light on how they have been developed in the video to the right or on Commons (you can look at the presentation used in the video).

Welcome

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In 2017, we created a strategic direction for the future of our movement and set ourselves an ambitious shared goal: to become the essential infrastructure of the ecosystem of free knowledge. This document presents a coherent change narrative and vision based on our strategic direction, and introduces the strategic recommendations, along with an overview of the process that developed them. It includes the overarching change narrative and underlying principles that pave the way for the future of the Wikimedia Movement.

Our Movement has grown over the past nineteen years in organic and distributed ways — independent, yet wholly intertwined. However, our growth and distribution have also created challenges in alignment and coordination. There are inequities in power, resources, and opportunity that prevent us from reaching our potential and fulfilling our mission. Some challenges have at times led to a lack of trust and understanding, power struggles, and disconnect between people and organizations.

Our cause and existence also face an urgency created by rapid changes in our world. Increasingly, there are threats against an open Internet and free knowledge, and their advocates and contributors. We risk becoming obsolete as information - both sound and controversial - floods virtual spaces. As a Movement synonymous with learning and verifiable information, we have a collective responsibility to ourselves, each other and to the world we serve to be intentional about the impact of our work and the knowledge we share.

Our changing world also offers a wealth of opportunities that can help us advance in our strategic direction. Today, we can connect to individuals, communities, and sources of knowledge more readily than was ever imaginable. We can also ensure that our platforms provide safe spaces and are inviting for those willing to contribute and consume knowledge, and deliver engaging, adaptable, and flexible experiences to them. We require support systems — community empowerment, agency, capacity, resources, infrastructure, and advocacy — to ensure togetherness and continued relevance, growth, and expansion.

As this is a strategic document, many of the ideas put forth will necessitate further exploration, assessment, consultation with stakeholders, and adaptation to meet the needs of the diverse communities of our ecosystem. This requires us to be experimental, collaborative, and remain open, adaptive, and flexible as we journey to 2030 and beyond.