2025:Program/Affiliate + Communities = lt3: How to improve the relationships between movement building blocks?

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Session title: Affiliate + Communities = <3: How to improve the relationships between movement building blocks?

Session type: Poster

Track: Community Engagement

Language: en

This session will present the outcomes of a workshop on Affiliate-Communities relationships, organized by European affiliates. It aims to empower local groups to initiate similar formats in their regional contexts. The goal of these discussions is to explore ways to strengthen ties between affiliates and communities and discuss how distributed conversations could contribute to the global pilot around the Ecosystem of Movement Organizations.

Description

Why do we think that strengthening the relationships between affiliates and communities is key to the sustainability of the Wikimedia movement? The Wikimedia projects thrive thanks to the dedication and contributions of thousands of volunteers around the world. Wikimedia Affiliates play a pivotal role in supporting and empowering local communities, and linking them to the global Wikimedia Movement. While these two groups are deeply interdependent, their relationships can sometimes be challenged by tensions and unclear expectations, which may undermine our collective mission and our ability to make essential decisions as a Movement

25 European affiliates joined a full day workshop in April in Prague to discuss the relationships between affiliates and the communities they engage with and reflect together on what can be done to strengthen ties between both groups.

The outcomes of the workshop will be presented during this session to benefit the broader Wikimedia movement. The expected outcomes of the workshop are: - a map of the current state of this relationship in the European context - overview of rather positive and rather negative elements in these relationships - list of resources and best practices to improve these relationships

This workshop was designed with a professional facilitator, who helped us create a how-to guide to enable other local groups to organize similar workshops and adapt them to their needs. Our ambition is to empower others to continue exploring the relationship between affiliates and communities in different regional contexts within the Wikimedia movement, to gather some insights on how to improve collaboration between these two essential building blocks of Wikimedia.

How does your session relate to the event theme, Wikimania@20 – Inclusivity. Impact. Sustainability?

While Communities and Affiliates are deeply interdependent, their relationships can sometimes be challenged by tensions and unclear expectations, which may undermine our collective impact, our ability to make essential decisions as a Movement. Our ambition is to empower others to continue exploring the relationship between affiliates and communities in different regional contexts within the Wikimedia movement, to gather some insights on how to improve collaboration and contribute to the sustainability of our movement together.

What is the experience level needed for the audience for your session?

Everyone can participate in this session

Speakers

• Nicole Ebber

Nicole Ebber has been shaping the Wikimedia Movement since joining Wikimedia Deutschland in 2010. She has led key initiatives such as the Chapters Dialogue and Wikimedia Summit, and played a central role in developing the Wikimedia Movement’s Strategic Direction in 2017. From 2018 to 2020, Nicole led the global Wikimedia 2030 Open Strategy process, bringing together hundreds of Wikimedians to chart the movement’s future. Since 2020, she is leading Wikimedia Deutschland’s Governance & Movement Relations team, focusing on strengthening governance, collaboration, and movement building across the Wikiverse.