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tl;dr
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The EU Policy initiative aims at coordinating mainly the European Wikimedia chapters so they can have a unified and clear position on major legislative and political changes affecting the vision, mission and values of the Wikimedia movement.
The Free Knowledge Advocacy Group EU wants to spare chapters’ resources as far as possible: the core group will monitor the EU processes closely, raise red flags you in case of crucial issues and discuss possible actions if necessary.
See the short Statement of Intent.
History
editThe question of lobbying for free knowledge is far from being new in the Wikimedia movement. During the Wikimania 2009 in Buenos Aires, a group of activists suggested some core issues which should be monitored on a regular basis.
During the Wikimania 2011 in Haifa and the Wikimania 2012 in Washington D.C. Lodewijk Gelauff from WMNL presented a variety of Chapters’ projects which indicated clearly that there is a constant level of advocacy work.
Furthermore, one of the strategic goals of the Wikimedia movement is to stabilise infrastructure, which explicitly includes building "increased capacity to safeguard the movement's reputation and support the advancement of legal conditions that enable unimpeded access to information online, worldwide." Another list of stated mid-to-long term priorities of the movement that this initiative wants to pursue is it's Advocacy agenda.
EU Policy Meeting in April 2013
editA call for participation was sent out in February asking interested wikimedians to meet for a weekend in Brussels to constitute an EU Policy Advocacy group. 12 interested participants agreed on meeting on the 6th and 7th April in Brussels.
The agenda included setting up tools and agreeing on methods of communication, formulating organisational, infrastructural and policy goals. Read the minutes of the EU-Policy-Meeting.
Statement of Intent
editBased on the meeting in Brussel, members of the group came together in London to work out a document that defines the three major priorities, namely Freedom of Panorama, Orphan Works and Government Works.
See the short Statement of Intent.
EU Policy Meeting in April 2014
editAt a second Big Fat Brussels Meeting participants of the group came together to refine our strategy and think up projects and define working packages. The second meeting also ensures that the process is a long-term, continuous effort. Read the minutes.
Mission
editThe mission of the Free Knowledge Advocacy Group EU is to build and create the infrastructure necessary to monitor EU policy proceedings and initiatives, inform the participant chapters and community in an understandable way, stage discussions about what is desirable or dangerous and take action, mainly by making ourselves heard.
Commons
editMascot
editWendy the Weasel has been appointed as the official mascot of the Free Knowledge Advocacy Group EU at the Big Fat Brussels Meeting Vol.2.
Members of the Free Knowledge Advocacy Group EU are referred to as WEASELS. This is an acronym for Wikimedia European Action System for Enthusiastic Lobbying.
Wendy likes networking, but she might get a bit snippy when she's having a bad day. She loves participating in events, especially when talking about licensing and limitations to copyright. In the evening she enjoys a beer or two around Place de Londres. Place de Luxembourg she considers to be "too mainstream". Wendy is a go-getter. She doesn't like to "talk things to death" but prefers a "just go for it" approach. She is laborious and hardly ever gets discouraged when things don't work out at first. Wendy is a full member of the Wikimedia Cuteness Association. Apart from working on increasing cuteness participation, she would like to tackle the cute gender gap within the cuteness family. Wendy has her own photo book on Wikimedia Commons where she collects her selfies and photos of her with others at activities and events throughout Europe: Wendy on Wikimedia Commons.