Strategy/Wikimedia movement/2017/Cycle 2

Welcome to the strategy conversation.

Time to debate the themes.

The 1800 thematic statements we received from the first discussion have been grouped into 5 major themes with sub-themes. These are not the final themes, just an initial working draft of the core concepts.

We invite you to review the five themes summarized on this page and join the debate (May 11-June 12). The discussion is both online and offline, including with those who are not currently involved with the projects and may not have internet access. We will summarize the offline perspectives and share them as they become available. After you read them all, please click on the subject line to go to each individual theme. This will have more information about the theme and how to participate in that discussion. You can discuss as many as you like; we ask you to choose the ones that are most (or least) important to you.

For each theme, we ask five questions to understand the impact of these potential themes and the tradeoffs we will have to make. To succeed in any strategic venture, we must not only declare what we will do, but also what we will not. We ask you to support your arguments with research and other citable data and that you participate in an honest and respectful manner.

Revised dates
Cycle 1 (generate)	Sensemaking	Cycle 2 (debate)	Final sensemaking	Cycle 3 (Engage with New Voices content; drafting group drafts the strategic direction)	Share and finalize	Endorsement	Phase 2
March 14–April 18	April 18–May 5	May 11–June 12	June 12–June 30	July	August and September	October	Late 2017–2018

Step 1: Review all 5 themes

Healthy, inclusive communities

By 2030, the Wikimedia volunteer culture will be fun, rewarding, and inclusive for both existing contributors and newcomers. We will welcome new volunteers to our movement and mentor them to ensure that they have a great experience and continue to participate in the projects. People from every background will feel part of a network of groups and organizations with deep relationships. As a result, our movement will grow both in size and in nature, as our projects flourish under our collective care.

The augmented age (Advancing with technology)

By 2030, the Wikimedia movement will actively use technological innovations to help volunteers be much more creative and productive. We will use machine learning and design to make knowledge easy to access and easy to use. To greatly increase the quality and quantity of content in more languages, volunteers will, for example, have access to better machine translations. We will present and organize knowledge in ways that improve the way people learn and contribute — beyond the browser, the app, and the encyclopedia.

A truly global movement

By 2030, we will be a truly global movement. In particular, we will turn our attention toward regions we have not yet served well enough: Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and Latin America. We will work with communities of readers, contributors, and partners in these parts of the world. We will make space for new forms of contributions that reflect these regions (references, citations, and more). We will build awareness of the power of free knowledge and overcome barriers to access. We will build products adapted to the needs of these new members of our movement.

The most respected source of knowledge

We will work toward ever more accurate and verifiable content. By 2030, Wikimedia projects will be seen as the most high-quality, neutral, and relevant source of knowledge. We will increase the depth of knowledge available and maintain our standards for verifiable and neutral content. We will invite experts to join us. We will help people understand how our processes make us reliable. We will show the most relevant information to people when and where they need it.

Engaging the knowledge ecosystem (Participating in the knowledge network)

We will build relationships with a wide variety of organizations dedicated to the ideals of free knowledge. Wikimedia communities will work with allies that they didn’t know they had. Our content and technology will become a central part of formal and informal education around the world. We will partner with leading institutions in education, arts, entertainment, civil society, government, science, and technology. Together, we will invite a new generation of people who learn, create, and care for a growing library of free knowledge for all.

Step 2: Decide which themes are most important for you to contribute to the discussion

We recognize you may not have the time or interest in contributing to all of the themes. We understand that and value the contributions you are able to make. We encourage you to comment on as many themes as you want and focus on those questions you find most compelling. All comments will be included in the analysis and sensemaking.

Your contribution could be something simple, such as saying how your work will change if we go in a certain direction – what you might stop doing or start doing. Your contribution could also be something thought-provoking, such as challenging why a certain theme is important.

You have something valuable to add and we encourage you to get involved.

Step 3: Select where you want to discuss

On Meta-wiki: Click on the theme above to go to that theme page / discussion page
Find a discussion outside of Meta
Take an off-wiki survey (English only)

Step 4: Organized groups only

Summarize the main points of the discussion by theme and question number
Post to the sources page so that your summary is included