Affiliate-selected Board seats/2014/Nominations/Anders Wennersten

Name: Anders Wennersten

Wikimedia username: Anders Wennersten (talk · contribs) om meta, Yger (talk · contribs)

Questions for the candidate

Statement

I am a stern believer in the vision of the movement "free knowledge for all". I also a strong supporter of the Wikipedia way of working, a horizontal organisation with no managers.

As seen in my resumé I have thorough experience from both the projects and the movements entities.

What I want to achieve:

• that we evolve the support for the projects so they will enable more and better articles with higher quality. From my experience we have not taken in the full potential of new technologies like wikidata, maps, bots. Neither the power in closer cooperation between language versions and contributors of different background: volunteers, people from institutions like Universities & GLAM, and also with commercial business background
• that the entities in the movement maintains the creativity of the communities at the same time being professional. I see here the chapters and affiliates being key, being close to the communities and local actors. But I do not want our entities (including WMF) to become institutionalised and too big, loosing touch with our external partners and the projects.

Getting older I had planned to phase out being active in the movement outside sv.wp, but I put up my candidacy here, any way, as I believe my background makes me fit almost all criteria set up for this role. On the same time I must admit I have the highest regard and respect for Patricio and Alice and would myself welcome them both for a second term. But as it was asked for to be able to look at other candidates, I have entered this nomination.

Résumé

Civilian life

I am born 1948 living in Stockholm, being married with an Australian born wife and have two children and one grandchild. I started working with IT in 1969, being among first to implementing database-systems (1974), mail-systems (1983) and web (1993).

My main employment has been with telecom company Ericsson, where I from 1988 to 1995 was head of a department with 130 software engineers, making tools for the 4000 software designers making telecom switches at some 25 centers around the world. Both in this assignment and later at Corporate Technology I got very used working with groups from different countries and from other telecom companies. I also after Ericsson have experience from working in Boards of several different (smaller) NGOs.

Wikimedia movement

Stated editing 2006, more or less fulltime from 2007. I am now the most active editor on sv:wp and has some 180000 edits, this year checking and correcting all new articles on sv:wp.

I was one of four founders for WMSE in 2007 and its treasurer until 2009, now I am in its election committee.

I was member of chapcom (now affcom) 2008 and 2009 when very many new chapters were formed. I was part of the very early attempts to get a chapters coordination group established 2008-2009. I was a member of the Audit committee for the Board in 2009-2010

Since 2013 I am a member of FDC where my term ends now in June, and I will not ask for an extension.

Eligibility

I am eligible to serve in the Board of Trustees of the Wikimedia Foundation. Anders Wennersten

Endorsements

We, the board of Wikimedia Sverige, endorse hereby Anders Wennersten for one of the affiliated-selected board seats on the Board of Trustees of the Wikimedia Foundation and support his nomination.

Anders Wennersten is a long term wikimedian, who has long experience from the Swedish Wikipedia, and he is one of the most contributing editors there. He was one the founders of Wikimedia Sverige in 2007, and was board member for several years. Currently he is leading the nomination committee of our chapter, having a good insight into the board´s work, connection to the community and understanding of what kind of skills the board needs.

Anders Wennersten has a clear view of what he wants to achieve for the movement and can take the necessary discussions. He has from his long professional career a long term experience from large organisations and how decision making is done in those.

Anders Wennersten has a passion for free knowledge and is a person who is interested in how new technology can be used, including how for example Wikidata can be used to improve and extend the Wikimedia projects.

He has also experience from the global work in the Wikimedia movement, as formerly being one of the board members of the Chapcom (now Affcom) and has been member of the Audit Committee. Currently he is a member of the FDC. This gives him an insight in, and understanding of, our global movement, its diversity and its needs.

By this we endorse Anders Wennersten and think that he is the right person for the board in a situation when the Wikimedia movement faces several challenges as a growing organisation.

--Mattias Blomgren (chairman) for the Board of Wikimedia Sverige