Hubs/Ongoing
< Hubs
This page contains a list of the ongoing discussions, research or plans related to hubs.
Status
editThe list in this page tries to define the rough status of each hub. If you think the status for a certain hub is incorrect, feel free to edit it. Here are their proposed definitions:
- Research: There is an individual or a group conducting surveys or discussions about an idea for a hub. There is a grants track dedicated for this stage.
- Planning / Discussion: The hub idea is fairly-defined from previous preparation, and the leading individuals or group have started a conversation to decide the next steps. Planning and discussions are overlapping, since a lot of the planning may require public discussions. There is a grants track dedicated for this stage.
- Pilot: There is a resourced and operating hub at an experimental scale.
- Implementation: Systematic steps to create the organisation.
Ongoing hub projects
edit| Type | Scope | Rough map | Status | Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Regional | Central and Eastern Europe | Implementation | The hub is run as a decentralised organisation with Wikimedia Polska as the fiscal sponsor. The hub has hired two staff members and is running its Year 2 plan in 2024, which also includes financing of community support staff for, so far, two language communities in the CEE region. | |
| Regional & Thematic | EA Regional and Thematic Hub (EARTH) | 
|
Planning | The East Africa Regional and Thematic Hub (EARTH) seeks to bring together Wiki communities in the East Africa region and will also cover various thematic areas as identified by members.There are some back ground activities that have been already happening as part of collaboration between these wiki communities from these countries, however several discussions are still ongoing that seeks to launch more research to better understand the community needs around this region. So far the main countries involved in this hub based on geographical region are 6 (Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Congo, and South Sudan); however there are also other neighboring countries that have been/and are still collaborating with these East Africa Wiki communities that we strongly hope and anticipate they will be part of this hub, these are (Ethiopia, Somalia, Zambia, and Botswana). |
| Regional | East, Southeast Asia and the Pacific Hub | 
|
Discussion | Established in 2014, ESEAP community has been coming to together regularly to discuss, promote, and represent the needs of the Community locally and globally. ESEAP held its first conference in 2018 and was the first hub as the host organisation for Wikimania 2020. Organising the 2022 ESEAP Conference in Sydney with Wikimedia Australia and host of Wikimania 2023 in Singapore. |
| Regional | Europe | Implementation | Restructuring of the Free Knowledge Advocacy Group EU after 10 years of successful cooperation. Wikimedia Europe is an organisation formed out of 27 European affiliates. Registration of an AISBL (L'association internationale sans but lucratif or International Non-profit Association) pending in Belgium. | |
| Regional | North America or United States | 
|
Discussion | A draft agreement for the regional user groups and chapters to form a hub is under discussion. An earlier research project report characterized various views and opportunities to work together. Discussion has also been ongoing at WALRUS and WikiConference North America. The NARWHAL group meets most months informally, usually on a Monday evening. The long-standing conference and NARWHAL discussions would be a natural basis for a Hub partnership. |
| Linguistic | Arabic-speaking region | 
|
Research | Middle East and North Africa hub research was funded by Movement Strategy grants |
| Linguistic & Thematic | Bengali-speaking world (Bangla Wikimaitree) | 
|
Implementation | Bangla WikiMaitree intends to be a thematic-linguistic partnership and collaboration network among Wikimedia communities, affiliates and informal groups which share the common Bengali cultural identity, heritage and/or speak in Bengali language. |
| Linguistic | French-speaking world (WikiFranca) | 
|
Implementation | The governance structure is in place. Financial procedures will be created in 2022 (international micro-grant committee, shared budget, etc.). There is a statutes page, a 2021-22 Strategy and a governance charter. |
| Linguistic | Portuguese-speaking region | 
|
Research | A research project on governance and equity in the Portuguese-speaking Wikimedia, including the general idea of thinking about a Lusophone Hub, was funded by a Movement Strategy grant. |
| Linguistic | Spanish-speaking region | 
|
Discussion | The community has just held its first workshop to discuss a future hub, and the idea of a research grant is also being considered. |
| Thematic | Content Partnerships |
|
Discussion | Experimentation has started in 2021 in six different areas, where the future hub might be active: (1) Research and understanding the needs of the Wikimedia community, (2) launching a Helpdesk to support volunteers and affiliates hands on with staff time, (3) providing and supporting capacity building, (4) supporting coordination and cooperation around international partnerships (in the spirit of how WikiGap has been organized), (5) improving, maintaining and building crucial software tools, (6) working on strategic data uploads that support future content partnerships. |
| Thematic | Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Hub (DEIH) |
|
Discussion | Ideated by WikiDonne User Group, the hub aims to put together affiliates and volunteers who are working on equity, gender gap and gender communities, minorities, languages, culture, etnicity, age, disability, in one word: diversity in Wikimedia projects. The idea came looking back to all the work done by the Wikimedia Diversity Working Group during Wikimedia 2030 Movement Strategy process, presentations, reports, panels and sessions during WikiWomenCamp, Wikimedia Diversity Conference, CEE and others regional meetings and Wikimania, strategy calls, SWAN, projects and people deeply involved. We like to see DEIH as a global alliance on diversity, a wiki union and engagement to fill the gaps, the community's diversity department. Discussion or restricting - for now - our diversity focus to gender diversity. |
| Thematic | Education |
|
Research | Wiki Education Foundation started exploring the option of serving the global Education community as a thematic hub. An initial research report on the needs of the education community is available at Toward a theory of change for Wikimedia & Education (mid-2023). In February 2024, a second phase of the research was published: the Wikimedia & Education Theory of Change. |
| Thematic | Language Diversity |
|
Research | The Wikimedia Languages Diversity Hub is a proposed Wikimedia hub to affiliates and volunteers who are working on new language versions of Wikipedia or other Wikimedia projects, typically including indigenous, minority, marginalized and under-resourced language communities. The hub is an extension and continuation of the Wikimedia Language Diversity initiative. |
| Thematic | Sustainable development |
|
Discussion | Discussion ongoing for more than a year between the user group Wikimedians for Sustainable Development and various chapters. |
| Thematic | Volunteer Support |
|
Implementation | The Volunteer Supporters Network (VSN) is an open network of Wikimedians supporting Wikimedia volunteers with the goal of enhancing volunteer support in the Wikimedia movement. |
| Regional | West Africa Hub | 
|
Planning | Wikimedia West Africa Hub is a regional collaboration of communities and Wikimedia affiliates that are based in the West African subregion. The hub aims to bring together all Wikimedia communities in the region to collectively create a thriving collaborative environment that maximizes the impact of Wikimedia projects in the region, foster cooperation and promote knowledge transfer through encouraging joint projects that span multiple West African countries, addressing regional topics and promoting cross-cultural understanding.
West Africa is made up of 16 countries, these are: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Côte D'Ivoire, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Togo. |
| Regional | Latin America and the Caribbean Hub | .svg)
|
Discussion | The LAC community seeks to discuss, promote and represent the needs and interests of the regional community in the Wikimedia movement. Its preparation phase (discussion and planning) began on March 6, 2024 with the search for recognized and emerging affiliates who wish to join its Foundational Council. |