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Welcome to the second issue of the AffCom News! The newsletter distributes relevant news and events about the work of Wikimedia's Affiliations Committee. This issue covers April-June 2024.

The AffCom News is delivered quarterly to all Wikimedia Affiliates and individual subscribers. You may leave comments or ideas for future newsletter on the talk page. You can also help us by translating the newsletter into your language(s). Subscribe to the newsletter by adding your talk page to this list.

If you have an interesting story about what your Affiliate has been doing, feel free to reach out to us at cst@wikimedia.org.

Affiliate Strategy Updates

Nat’s letter

Affiliate Recognition and Derecognition

AffCom is responsible for overseeing the recognition and derecognition process for Wikimedia movement affiliates (Chapters, Thematic Organizations, and User Groups).

Here are the new Wikimedia Affiliates that were recognized in the past quarter:

Wikimedia Community User Group Madagascar (2024-05-23)
Wikimedia Community User Group Senegal (2024-05-20)
Wikimedians Of Républic of Congo User group (2024-05-18)
Wikimedia Community User Group Namibia (2024-05-17)

Chapters Recognition Status Report

The following report covers the Chapters recognition pipeline:

Application		Status
thumb	Wikimedia Nigeria	The Bylaws review is complete. The Criteria review by AffCom is complete. Review by Trust and Safety and Human rights is complete. The next step is drafting recommendations for BoTs by AffCom.
thumb	WikiJournal	The Bylaws review is complete. The Criteria review by AffCom is complete. Review by Trust and Safety and Human rights is complete. The next step is drafting recommendations for BoTs by AffCom.
thumb	Wiki Movimento Brasil	AffCom has prepared recommendations for the Board of Trustees on Chapter application. The next step is the overall process & status review by staff and drafting recommendations before the application is submitted to the Board.
thumb	Wikimedia User Group Georgia	The Bylaws review is complete. The Criteria review by AffCom is complete. Review by Trust and Safety and Human rights is complete. The next step is a Criteria review by staff.
thumb	Wikimedia User Group of Aotearoa	The Bylaws review is complete. The templates for the Criteria review and Trust and Safety and Human rights review were shared with the affiliate. The requested details are awaited from the affiliate.
thumb	Wikimedia MKD	Pre-Application prep work with AffCom for recognition as a Chapter.

User Group Recognition Status Report

In the third quarter of 2023-24, the Affiliations Committee received 5 new User Group applications. There are no new recognitions, as the Wikimedia Board of Trustees approved a soft moratorium on applications. All applications received before Feb 7, 2024, can be processed for recognition using the current recognition requirements. All applications after this date will have to follow the new process for recognitions.

See the pipeline archive page for Q3 on Meta-wiki.

Affiliate Activities and Compliance Report

As of June 21, 2024, 35 Wikimedia Chapters (94.5%), 1 Thematic Organization (50%), and 121 active User Groups (80%) were compliant with the required reporting.

Compared to the previous quarter, there is a slight increase in compliance for Chapters (⬆2.5%) and a tangible one for User Groups (⬆9%), meanwhile compliance for Thematic Organizations remained the same (50%).

The Affiliates Status Report page on Meta is being updated following the submission of reports.

Here are the activity reports from Wikimedia Affiliates published within the past quarter:

User Groups	Chapters
Wikimedia Community User Group Tanzania	Wikimedia South Africa
Azerbaijani Wikimedians User Group	Wikimedia Korea
Egypt Wikimedians User Group	Wikimedia Thailand
Wikimedia Community User Group Côte d'Ivoire	Wikimedia New York City
Wikimedians of Democratic Republic of Congo User Group
Wikimedia Ghana User Group
Wikimedia Community User Group Guinea Conakry
Wikimedia Community Ireland User Group
Iranian Wikimedians User Group
Jenga Wikipedia ya Kiswahili
Wikimedians of Nepal
Wikimedia Community of Tatar language User Group
Cascadia Wikimedians User Group
Wikipedians of Slovenia User Group
Wikimedians of Los Angeles User Group
Wikimedians of the Caribbean User Group
Wikimujeres Grupo de Usuarias
WikiConference North America
Wikisource Community User Group
WikiJournal
Wikimedia User Group of Aotearoa New Zealand
Wikimedians of United Arab Emirates User Group
Wikimedia Community User Group CEE Spring
Wikimedia Community of Kazakh language User Group
Wikimedians of Western Armenian Language User Group
Kurdish Wikimedians User Group
Wikimedistas de Uruguay
Tajik Wikimedians User Group

AffCom scope of work story

In the doc

AffCom Conflict Intervention

AffCom is managing six (6) active conflicts, with no new reports in Q4. The AffCom safeguards good governance and collaboration within the Wikimedia network of chapters and user groups. Recent cases highlight their diverse interventions, addressing issues like misrepresentation in leadership, disengagement, restricted community participation, and potential conflicts of interest. They facilitate communication, review bylaws, and uphold standards of conduct within user groups.

Additionally, AffCom tackles internal conflicts regarding representation in grant access, reviews membership suspensions, and ensures compliance regarding engagement with banned user policies. AffCom strengthens the Wikimedia movement through these efforts by fostering transparency, communication, and a culture of inclusivity and respect within its affiliates.

AffCom Movement Contribution

Wikimedia Summit 2024 group photo

The new organising team

ESEAP Conference 2024 group photo

AffCom participates in Wikimedia movement conversations that relate to the affiliate system or where the Committee's experience and expertise would be otherwise beneficial, including answering questions about the affiliate system, providing advice relevant to affiliates or potential affiliates, and sharing knowledge and lessons related to operating as a committee with other movement bodies.

In the past quarter, AffCom members or the committee as a whole participated in these conversations:

Wikimedia Summit 2024 in Berlin, Germany

The Wikimedia Summit 2024, held in Berlin from April 19–21, 2024, focused on two primary objectives:

Bringing people together to make significant progress on designing future Wikimedia governance, including generating outputs on the Movement Charter (April 2024 version).
Discussing the future of global affiliate gatherings, as the summit marked its final occurrence in its current form.

By the summit's conclusion, a group of affiliates was formed with the commitment to design a new concept for future affiliate gatherings, with the working assumption that the next gathering would take place in 2026.

During the summit, AffCom had the opportunity to meet with some affiliates present.

ESEAP Conference in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia

This year's ESEAP Conference was the third regional conference for Wikimedia communities throughout the East, Southeast Asia, and the Pacific (ESEAP) region. The conference took place in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia on 10–12 May 2024 with the theme Collaboration beyond the horizon.

As part of AffCom's role in ensuring recognition, compliance, and collaboration among affiliates, Suyash Dwivedi AffCom's Vice-Chair and Treasurer, gave a presentation at the conference titled "Fostering Collaborative Growth: Non-Conventional Approaches to Engaging, Networking, and Affiliate Advancement."

AffCom Administration

Embracing change and building capacity

Officers Elections

In Q1 of the 2024-2025 period, AffCom will hold the Officers elections. AffCom advisors Aarya Joshi, Juan Alegre, and Lucas Teles will serve as members of the Officers Elections Committee.

The AffCom Officers positions up for election are Chair, Vice-Chair, and Secretary.

Departing Members

The terms of two AffCom members, Basak Tosun and Joy Agyepong, ended in Q4 of 2023-2024. AffCom expresses its gratitude for their long association with the committee and their significant contributions to advancing the affiliate strategy and supporting the usual workflows and beyond.

Where will you see us!! (Online/Virtually)

For the next quarter (July-September 2024), AffCom will be participating in the following events:

Wikimania- Mari (Member), Maciej (Member), Delphine (Advisor) and Hakan (Advisor)

Other Movement News

Call for candidates and questions for candidates for the 2024 board election

From May 8, 2024, to May 29, 2024, at 23:59 UTC, a call for candidates to join the Board of Trustees was made. The Board of Trustees oversees the Wikimedia Foundation's work. This is a volunteer position, with each Trustee serving a three-year term. In addition, there was a call for questions for candidates from May 8, 2024, to June 12, 2024. During this period, the community had the opportunity to submit questions for the Board of Trustees candidates to answer. The Election Committee will then select five questions from the list developed by the community for the candidates to answer.