Affiliations Committee

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What we do Who we are Contact us
AffCom at work.JPG

The Affiliations Committee advises and makes recommendations regarding the recognition and existence of Wikimedia movement affiliates.

Contact:
AffCom at lists.wikimedia.org
Twitter @WikimediaAffCom



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.

The Committee was created on January 15, 2006, by a resolution of the Board of Trustees, along with several other Wikimedia committees. Its original mandate included coordination of the development of Wikimedia chapters—which at the time were at an early stage of organisation—, as well as facilitating communication among the chapters and between chapters and the Wikimedia Foundation.

In 2012, following a community discussion and a resulting Board of Trustees' resolution, the scope of the Committee was expanded to include thematic organisations and user groups. In accordance with the resolution, the Committee drafted its charter which was officially approved by the Board in August, finalising the transition into the Affiliations Committee.



What we do Who we are Contact us
The Affiliations Committee's process (PDF presentation in 2012).

The Affiliations Committee makes recommendations to the Board of Trustees on the recognition, approval and existence of Wikimedia movement affiliates, and for facilitating the creation of those organisations. In other words, the Committee helps Wikimedians from all around the world self-organise into chapters, thematic organisations and user groups, and to gain official recognition from the Wikimedia Foundation.

We can guide you through the founding process of your organisation by helping you to prepare bylaws, answering questions about what the Foundation expects from an affiliate, providing help and advice on solving common technical, trademark, administrative and community-building issues, and—if appropriate—by approving limited financial support for starting up your activities (such as covering the costs of registration and running initial projects).

If you're interested in getting in touch with local efforts in your area, feel free to contact us using any of the methods listed below, and we'll be happy to put you in contact with the right people.



What we do Who we are Contact us
Affiliations Committee after day two of annual meeting at Wikimedia Conference 2014 in Berlin, Germany.
For further information, see Affiliations Committee/Members.

The Affiliates Committee comprises volunteers selected for their enthusiasm and their skills in community organising, cross-cultural communication, reviewing bylaws, and providing governance advice for emerging organisations. There are currently ten voting members with terms of two years each; the terms are arranged so that half of the seats are up for election every year.

Voting members of the Committee are helped by an unspecified number of non-voting advisers, either appointed by the Board of Trustees (known as Board liaisons) or by the Committee itself. Advisers provide the Committee with on-the-ground experience, language skills, and governance advice, and are able to take part in discussions on an internal wiki and a non-public mailing list.

Certain Wikimedia Foundation staff members are also actively present on the Affiliations Committee's non-public mailing list and internal wiki acting as liaisons and providing insight and advice when needed. They are not formal members of the committee, and are present at the request of the Wikimedia Foundation and with permission from voting members of the committee.

All members of the Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees have access to the Affiliations Committee's internal wiki.

If you'd like to be a voting member of the Committee, please leave a note on the talk page, and you'll be notified when seats become available. The next selection is scheduled for the end of 2015, with new members joining the Committee in early 2016. New members and advisers may be added mid-term, as well.

Voting members
Member Languages Location (time zone) Term end Extra
Anirudh Singh Bhati hi-N, en-4, gu-2, km-1 Cambodia, Asia (UTC+7:00) December 31, 2016
Ting Chen de-?, zh-?, en-?, fr-? Germany, Europe (UTC+1/UTC+2) December 31, 2016
Carlos Colina es-N, en-5, lad-4, pt-4, de-3, he-3, ca-2, guc-2, af-2, it-2 Israel, Asia (UTC+2/UTC+3) December 31, 2015 Chair
Josh Lim en-N, tl-N, es-2, zh-2, pl-2, ja-1, fr-1 Philippines, Asia (UTC+8) December 31, 2015
Kirill Lokshin en-N, ru-N, fr-2 United States, North America (UTC-5/UTC-4) December 31, 2016
Salvador Alcántar Morán es-N, en-3, de-2 Mexico, North America (UTC-6) December 31, 2015 Treasurer
Ganesh Paudel ne-N, en-3, hi-4, bh-2, mai-2, sa-2, bn-1 Nepal, Asia (UTC+5:45) December 31, 2016
Tanvir Rahman bn-N, en-3, as-2, bpy-1 Bangladesh, Asia (UTC+6) December 31, 2015 Secretary
Manuel Schneider als-N, d-N, en-4, fr-1, sv-1, he-0 Germany, Europe (UTC+1/UTC+2) December 31, 2016
Emily Temple-Wood en-N, fr-3, ar-1, ko-1, es-1 United States, North America (UTC-6/UTC-5) December 31, 2016
Gregory Varnum en-N United States, North America (UTC-5/UTC-4) December 31, 2015 Vice-Chair
Galileo Vidoni es-N, en-3, fr-2, it-2, pt-1 Argentina, South America (UTC-3) December 31, 2015
Non-voting advisers
Able to access the committee's non-public mailing list and internal wiki.
Adviser Languages Location (time zone) Term end Extra
Bence Damokos hu-N, en-3, hr-2, et-1, it-1, sr-1 Hungary, Europe (UTC+1/UTC+2) December 31, 2016
Lodewijk Gelauff nl-N, en-3, de-2, fr-1 The Netherlands, Europe (UTC+1/UTC+2) December 31, 2016
Delphine Ménard fr-N, en-4, de-3, it-2, es-2 Germany, Europe (UTC+1/UTC+2) December 31, 2016
Dr. James Hellman en-N Canada, North America (UTC-7/UTC-6) Wikimania 2016 Board liaison
Alice Wiegand de-N, en-2 Germany, Europe (UTC+1/UTC+2) Wikimania 2016 Board liaison
Asaf Bartov United States, North America (UTC-8/UTC-7) Staff liaison
Stephen LaPorte United States, North America (UTC-8/UTC-7) Staff liaison
Winifred Olliff United States, North America (UTC-8/UTC-7) Staff liaison



What we do Who we are Contact us
  • The best way to contact the Committee is to write an e-mail to affcom at lists.wikimedia.org; please note that the Committee might be sometimes slow in responding to e-mails, so if you don't receive a reply to your message in a reasonable time, just send us a reminder.
  • You can also contact the members of the Committee individually by clicking on their usernames in the timeline above; feel free to use our talk pages and e-mails for any questions related to chapters, thematical organisations or user groups.
  • Sporadically, members of the Committee idle on the #wikimedia-affcomconnect IRC channel on Freenode; however, contacting us on the mailing list would almost always be a better choice.
  • You may also arrange a phone call (via Skype or Google Hangout) with members of the Committee.