Wikipedia:Meetup/NYC/board meeting October 2017

The Wiki NYC board held a board meeting on Thursday 26 October 2017. The meeting was private for the board and their invited guests.

Topics of discussion in this meeting included a collaboration between Wiki NYC and Wikimedia Canada to present Wikimedia projects in NYC for attendees of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues on 16-27 April 2018

• Date: Thursday 26 October 2017
• Time: 6:00pm – 9:00 pm
• Location: South Brooklyn wiki meetup space

1. Discuss proposal for First Nations presentation at the United Nations (4/16-4/27)
2. Share ongoing projects at Wikimedia Canada and Wikimedia New York City
3. After Wikimedia Canada team leaves, Wiki NYC board discusses its own projects

• United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues on 16-27 April 2018
• Canadian Aboriginal Languages Wikipedia Coordination
• Wikimedia Indigenous Languages

6:30 Informal discussion about individual attendees projects

6:50 Nathalie introduced Karine, an expert on First Nations culture, and Jean-Philippe, vice president of Wikimedia Canada.

Nathalie presented Wikimedia Canada’s current First Nations project, "Atikamekw knowledge, culture and language in Wikimedia projects," which has been ongoing since 2016. Wikimedia Canada has received funding from the WMF and support from other organizations to develop the project. Participants include expert linguists and various highly experienced Wikipedians. They would like to develop a toolbox to replicate the project with other groups.

Jean-Philippe and Nathalie described how Wikimedia Canada has engaged various government agencies in Canada to share media including images in Wikimedia Commons.

Karine described how twice yearly the United Nations convenes an assembly for indigenous peoples. The goals of these meetings include language and cultural preservation. A theme at recent meetings is providing technological training to representatives of these cultures so that they can use technology to share their culture online.

Karine and Nathalie described that a challenge to collaborating on projects of this sort is that the people who provide technological training are often white and often providing the training in the context of being members of a post-colonial culture. Indigenous people are accustomed to having outsiders approach them for research, cultural capture, to sell them things, and otherwise to bring problems into their culture. Karine and Nathalie expressed that they feel that Wikimedia projects offer a fairer way for indigenous people to take leadership roles with less effort, take control of their group’s involvement, and manage how the project reflects their identity.

An Atikamekw Wikipedia (atj.wikipedia.org) has already been created/approved and is out of the Incubator. Nathalie explained that they have made decisions regarding inclusion/exclusion of particular types of knowledge.

7:05 Karine and Nathalie stated that the community leaders with whom they collaborate and the institutions with which they work are primarily French speaking. Wikimedia NYC and Wikipedia has a bias for English language and they said that for further outreach, their service users will need some dependable support from French speakers.

7:10 Ximena asked what Nathalie and Wikimedia Canada would ask of Wiki NYC. Nathalie replied that first she would ask what Wiki NYC has done in this space.

Sherry spoke up saying that her grandmother was first nations. She described how AfroCrowd does indigenous language outreach, such as for Garifuna. Also AfroCrowd has an oral history project with Indigenous people

Ideas listed:

John Cummings at UNESCO might support Wikimedia New York City has organized several projects with groups at the UN (UN OCHA, UN Women) Sherry has a professional relationship with the Commission on the Status of Women, who joined a Wikipedia event at the United Nations in 2016 Rosie may have a connection from being involved in the GEM-TECH prize she was shortlisted for UN Women Her Story

Karine said that one goal she had was to get a speaking slot at the United Nations Assembly to present Wikimedia collaboration for one hour

The toolkit will be a short document of (10?) pages, detailing information like how to get out of the Incubator.

Bob stated that he was familiar with the Wikimedia Canada project as he attended presentations by Wikimedia Canada’s invited speakers from indigenous cultures at Wikimania 2017 in Montreal. He shared his recollection of how those speakers talked about their challenges translating their languages, and how they need to have power to localize the technology which they use.

7:20 Sherry described some problems which she has addressed in Wikipedia with indigenous groups in the Caribbean, in India, and in Columbia.

The conference is 16-27 April 2018. http://www.un.org/development/desa/indigenouspeoples/uncategorized/2017/06/unpfii-seventeenth-session-16-27-april-2018/

Nathalie said that some goals including getting Most important/time-sensitive action item: Getting a good room at a time when most people will be there Invitation to an editathon

There was a discussion about what online training materials and tools exist which could be relevant.

7:30 David invited Wikimedia Canada to send project participants to NYC for the 14 January 2018 Wikipedia Day event, where 150+ people will convene for a one-day conference.

The Wiki Canada team expressed that they wished that they could send representatives of indigenous cultures to present. They said that at Wikimania Montreal they met people who had participated in WikiConference North America in 2016 and were then inspired to speak for themselves at this 2017 conference.

Karine further described the United Nations assemblies. Even though there are two yearly, one in NYC and one in Geneva, she said that the one in NYC was more important and better attended. Geneva is expensive, lacks American participation, and is less likely to discuss financial development issues which are a bigger draw.

7:40 Consideration of whether to reach out to WMF. Jean-Philippe mentions James Heilman on the board may be a good connection. Nathalie suggests Wikimedia Canada and Wikimedia NYC send letters of endorsement/support.

7:50 Nathalie asked how to stay in contact with Wiki NYC. The group advised her to continue to write to the board email list. Sherry also said to stay in touch.

Jean-Philippe says funding probably not an issue.

7:55 Wiki NYC and Wiki Canada say goodbye!

8:00 Wiki NYC starts its own internal discussion.

Topics of discussion:

1. Committees for Wiki NYC board functions
2. Central storage in a folder for all digital documents
3. Establishment of ongoing informal note taking, like a blog or newsletter
4. Choosing a logo and applying it
5. Wiki NYC board officers
6. Overdue Wiki NYC strategic plan