Affiliate-selected Board seats/2019/Nominations/Reda Kerbouche

Name:

Reda Kerbouche

Wikimedia username:

Reda Kerbouche

Questions for all candidates - Questions for this individual candidate that do not apply to other candidates

Statement

• Community support. As an active member of the community at the international level, and with my personal experience, I know that we can do better. many affiliates (especially user groups) cannot receive grants to meet their needs and struggle day and night to exist. This problem is very common in all open source movements. The big challenge will be to find a solution to help all volunteers around the world to do their work promoting our movement, especially our communities such as Turkey or Venezuela where access to our resources is difficult.
• More transparency, our community needs more transparency in the decisions that are made especially when approving new affiliation or new projects, to decrease frustration that volunteers may have. Update the correct information, especially in the job offer posted by the Wikimedia Foundation, so that those who are not concerned do not waste their time in applying.

When I see that my community is suffering, I can not stand by, and that's why I'm very sure of myself that I can be very useful for the WMF. This is the reason why I am nominating myself for the Affiliate-selected board seats.

Résumé

Professional career

My professional experience has always been related to management and leadership. I started by creating my own company working in the field of culture, then I was invited to work with large European retailers. in parallel with my personal projects in the cultural field. I am currently working with cultural associations in Algeria collaborating with UNESCO to promote the material and immaterial heritage.

Wikimedia Experience

I was born in Asia, I grew up in Africa, and I live in Europe (I feel like a son of the world). I am a founding member and manager of Wikimedians of Tamazight User Group and head of communication at Wikimedia Algeria since 2014. I am an active member in the community with various contributions to Wikimedia projects since 2010.I have organized and led several Wikimedia projects in the last few years (I am specifically proud of the Arabic Wikipedia MOOC). I support all communities, mostly indigenous languages. I have organized with my group several Wikimedia contests (Wiki Loves X). I presented several projects at several conferences around the world about Wikimedia, in 2018 I did a small presentation about Wikimedia movement at a UNESCO event in Tunis.

I speak French, Arabic, Russian, Tacawit, and English. I work for developing African and indigenous languages. I was in the organising committees of WikiIndaba and WikiArabia. I am also a member of Wiki Indaba Steering Committee and a new member of the Affiliations Committee.

I know how the Wikimedia community work and how to encourage new communities to start working. With my new user group, now we are about to start a new sister project of Wikipedia in a new language.

Eligibility

I am eligible to serve as a trustee of the Wikimedia Foundation.

Endorsements

Wikimedia Community User Group Georgia

• Endorsement from Wikimedia UG Georgia:

At the official media meeting (via Skype) Board of the Wikimedia UG Georgia on 18 April 2019, the Board Members unanimously decided:

• To endorse the candidacy of a Member of the Wikimedia Algeria Reda Kerbouche in the election of the Board of Trustees of the Wikimedia Foundation (WMF), for his next merits:

1. For the contribution he makes to the development of the Wikimedia movement in Algeria, which contributes to the development of the entire movement.
2. For the development of Wikimedia projects in different languages.
3. For attracting new users to Wikimedia projects, through the development of online platforms such as MOOC.
4. For his personal skills and for a personality that is sociable and friendly.

— On behalf of Wikimedia UG Georgia Board of Trustees. --Mehman 97 19:40, 18 April 2019 (UTC)

Wikimedia MA User Group

• Endorsement from Wikimedia MA User Group:

Following a local community discussion with the group active members, and an internal discussion within Wikimedia Morocco board, both happening between 19 and 21 April 2019, we are pleased to announce that Wikimedia Morocco strongly endorses the candidacy of our regional partner Reda Kerbouche, member of Wikimedia Algeria and Wikimedians of Tamazight User Group, in becoming a member of the Board of Trustees of the Wikimedia Foundation (WMF).

Our decision is based on our extensive working experience with Reda, and the qualities and abilities that we have noticed from him during all our several collaborations, either on a local, regional, or international level. We believe that these qualities are rare and necessary for a member in the Board of Trustees, especially when representing the community and affiliates. Among Reda's merits, we can mention:

• Knowledge of the movement - Reda is an Algerian wikimedian living in Russia. He speaks 5 languages and is an active member within different communities (Arabic speaking, French speaking, Russian speaking), making him a real link between these communities, and also giving him a wider understanding of the communities and the movement. By being a member of the Board of trustees, all the communities Reda closely knows will be sure to be represented, which is excellent, given the big number of communities he is working with simultaneously.
• Wikimedian experience and abilities - Reda has proven to be a true leader and an inspirational person that can make people sit together and work actively on several projects. The results that he had achieved are the best proof of his character. Besides that, Reda has an extensive experience in managing, participating and organizing many Wikimedia related events, and has been member of different committees and jurys related to them. The "MOOC" platform and the creation of the Tamazight User Group are examples of achievements made by Reda to empower various communities and help them grow.
• Excellent communication skills - Through his experience of living in different countries, and speaking a number of languages, Reda has created a big network worldwide, helping him to communicate clearly and directly with different actors and stakeholders. With his experience in the movement, and his multicultural background, Reda knows who to contact, when and how. He has also shown a great ability in listening, and transmitting the issues and challenges to the next level. This is a very important quality for a potential member of the Board of Trustees, who will represent the affiliates worldwide and make sure that their voice is heard and their feedback and opinions are taken into consideration.

In conclusion, we are confident that Reda Kerbouche is the right person to represent the affiliates in the Board of Trustees of Wikimedia Foundation, and re express our support to his candidacy for the role. — On behalf of Wikimedia MA User Group,

Anass Sedrati (talk) 09:23, 21 April 2019 (UTC)