User:Megs/sandbox

Wikimedia NYC aims to connect the peoples and institutions of the New York Metropolitan area with Wikipedia, Wikimedia, and the larger free culture movement. This year is particularly significant for the Chapter as it marks the ten year anniversary of the chapter and its first edit-a-thon, arguably the first edit-a-thon anywhere.

Since it was established, the Wikimedia NYC chapter has aimed to:

• partner with libraries, museums, and educational institutions that share its work in providing access to knowledge.
• to increase the representation of marginalized peoples in the content of Wikipedia and in its community of editors
• to support the larger free culture movement through Wikimedia projects

The Chapter demonstrates these commitments at our monthly WikiWednesday Salon and Skillshare, our regular edit-a-thons, and our partnerships with higher education and GLAM institutions. Of the XX events held between July 1st and December 31st, we wish to highlight three that are representative of our local and global activities.

Wikipedia Asian Month

The Wikipedia Asian Month is an international initiative to add new and improved Wikipedia articles on Asia and Asian cultural topics. The primary organizers at 1 for the whole project report 7,458 articles submitted for Wikipedia Asian Month 2017 with 668 participants internationally. Wikimedia NYC is proud to be the fiscal sponsor of this international project, which aligns with its commitment to the people of the New York Metropolitan Area, which includes the second highest concentration of Asians in the USA at over 1.8 million.

Wikimedia NYC supported this international initiative with a local Wikipedia Asian Month Edit-a-thon at The Metropolitan Museum of Art on November 19, 2017. Attendees contributed to both Wikipedia and Wikidata, and the Chapter used this opportunity to record a series of videos which can be used to further promote this work specifically and Wikipedia more broadly.

The Met said that the "...initiative provides potential to seed new articles about Asian artworks, artwork types, and art traditions. These can be illustrated with thousands of its recently-released images of public domain artworks available for Wikipedia and Wikimedia Commons from the museum’s collection spanning 5,000 years of art. The event is an opportunity for Wikimedia communities to engage The Met's diverse Asian collections onsite and remotely."

• Propaganda kimono
• Rural art in Central India
• Met supports wiki editing
• Chinese tombs
• event report
• came from other wiki event

World AIDS Day Wikipedia Edit-a-thon

Wikimedia NYC supports events of all sizes, and, in doing so, establishes relationships with new partners and projects which then grow into larger initiatives. In November, the Chapter held a World AIDS Day edit-a-thon at The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center located in the West Village. Attendance was modest at 7 editors, but the event marks its an important step in establishing more regular programming about LGBT+ issues in addition to the annual Wiki Loves Pride edit-a-thon. It also served as a model during initial outreach conversations with New York Public Radio, which has expressed interest in co-hosting an edit-a-thon at SXSW with its podcast Nancy, promoted as “stories and conversations about the queer experience today.” Wikimedia NYC is well positioned to serve as a leader in LGBT+ initiatives.

Board Retreat and Strategic Planning Process

As the Wikimedia NYC Board supports the ongoing activities of the Chapter, it is planning for its future as well. In July of this year, it launched a strategic planning process at a day long retreat held at the Ace Hotel. The meeting was open to board members, partners at AfroCrowd and invited guests. It was facilitated by Chuck Bell, a Programs Director for W:Consumers Union with experience assisting nonprofit organizations with their governance.

This meeting was the first time the Board met to discuss its vision and goals at length. In an effort to include a broader representation of the chapter membership in this process, a series of committees were established to coordinate various organizational aspects of the Chapter and to invite direct responses to a strategic plan. As part of an iterative process, the board will invite comments in February and March and approve a final draft in May.

• 
  WMNYC Board Members
• 
  Brainstorming
• 
  Objectives and strategy
• 
  Action Commitments blackboard notes
• 
  Facilitating while brainstorming mission and strategic plan
• 
  Organizing post it notes while brainstorming
• 
  Participants]]