Submissions:2022/Fostering open knowledge by providing effective support to volunteers - an introduction to Wikimedia Foundation's Committee Support Team

This submission has been accepted for WikiConference North America 2022.

Etherpad

Title:

Fostering open knowledge by providing effective support to volunteers - an introduction to Wikimedia Foundation's Committee Support Team

Theme:

Friday Lightning Talk Day

Type of session:

Lightning Talk

Abstract:

This lightning talk will introduce the Wikimedia Foundation Committee Support Team. This team is part of the Legal Department and supports movement governance and health. The team provides essential staff support to several volunteer committees including the Affiliations Committee, Ombuds Commission, Arbitration Committees, and the Case Review Committee, among others.

The Affiliations Committee (formerly known as Chapters Committee, colloquially AffCom) is a Wikimedia community-run committee entrusted with advising the Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees on the approval of new movement affiliates: national and subnational chapters, thematic organisations, and user groups. ( From "Affiliations Committee" on Meta-Wiki )

An Arbitration Committee (sometimes abbreviated as "ArbCom") is a small group of trusted users who serve as the last step of dispute resolution on some individual Wikimedia Foundation projects. Originally set up on the English Wikipedia by Jimmy Wales to take over his role in resolving complex disputes between users, Arbitration Committees are now used on eleven Wikipedia versions and the English Wikinews. ( From "Arbitration Committee" on Meta-Wiki )

The lightning talk will also serve as a notice / reminder about the open call for applicants for the Ombuds commission and the Case Review Committee.

The Ombuds commission (OC) works on all Wikimedia projects to investigate complaints about violations of the privacy policy, especially in use of CheckUser and Oversight (also known as Suppression) tools. The Commission mediates between the parties of the investigation and, when violations of the policies are identified, advises the Wikimedia Foundation on best handling.

The Case Review Committee (CRC) reviews appeals of eligible Trust & Safety office actions. The CRC is a critical layer of oversight to ensure that Wikimedia Foundation office actions are fair and unbiased. They also make sure the Wikimedia Foundation doesn’t overstep established practices or boundaries.

( Both from "2023 OC and CRC appointments process on Meta-Wiki" )

The lightning talk will be delivered by Xeno (WMF) [Jack Glover], Senior Committee Support Manager at Wikimedia Foundation.

Academic Peer Review option:

Author name:

Xeno (WMF) [Jack Glover]

E-mail address:

xenowikimedia.org

Wikimedia username:

Xeno (WMF)

Affiliated organization(s):

Wikimedia Foundation Inc.

Estimated time:

5-7 minutes

Special requests:

-

Have you presented on this topic previously? If yes, where/when?:

No

If your submission is not accepted, would you be open to presenting your topic in another part of the program? (e.g. lightning talk or unconference session)

Would be happy to shift to Unconference if it's not a suitable Lightning talk