Let's Connect Newsletter/Archive/2023/Issue 8

Let’s Connect Newsletter Issue 8

What is happening in Let’s Connect this month edit

Welcome to July’s issue of the Let’s Connect monthly newsletter.

The last month was a rather insightful month for us at Let’s Connect. We hosted 3 Open Learning Clinics around key issues that organisers and affiliates find important in volunteer retention, managing communications crisis and community health. We also held 3 Regional Learning Clinics focused on learning from grantee reporting and collectively thinking of regional challenges and opportunities, particularly about how to measure impact. There will be two very important training sessions to learn how to use a tool to track editor retention. Check out the other learning opportunities below to join!

This month seeks to bring you something different, our first-ever Wikimania learning days clinics in partnership with the Leadership Working Group.

Did you miss Learning Clinics - no worries! edit

Let's Connect Learning Clinic: Motivating and retaining volunteers with Asaf Bartov. Find this session's resources here: Video recording: in English, Spanish, French, and Portuguese. Presentations in .
Let's Connect Learning Clinic: Thriving as Wikimedians in a good working atmosphere with Christel Steigenberger. Session resources: Video, Audio recording in French, Etherpad.
Let's Connect Learning Clinic: Communications crisis prevention and management. Find this session's resources here; Video recording (in the session's main language, audio recording (in interpreted languages) and Presentation. WMF Crisis Workshop, Case Study 1, Case Study 2.
LAC Learning Clinic: Collective Learning around grantee reporting: Partial video recording: Spanish, audio recording for interpreted languages, etherpad with all the session material and notes.
MENA Learning Clinic: Collective Learning around grantee reporting: Partial video recording: English, etherpad with all the session material and notes.
Sub-Saharan Africa Learning Clinic: Collective Learning around grantee reporting: Partial video recording: English, French audio, etherpad with all the session material and notes.

What Learning Clinics can you start getting excited about? edit

Until the 30th of August, there will be no learning clinic from us at Let’s Connect or our monthly Connectathon; instead, we are doing clinics at Wikimania details below! 🤸‍♀️🤸‍♀️🤸‍♀️

🧠 Let’s Connect and the Leadership Development Working Group are pleased to announce a selection of Learning Clinics for Wikimania 2023. You can register for any and all of these Clinics using this link Wikimania Learning Clinics! 👏

Other learning opportunities in the Movement edit

Happening this month!! 👀

Struggling with how to capture data to measure editor retention? This training is for you!!!!
- In English: Volunteer Supporters Network: Aug 10, 2023, 2 - 3 pm (UTC). More information and sign up.
- In Spanish: Wikiherramientas: Aug 9, 2023, 6-7 pm (UTC), 12 pm - 1 pm (CST) Broadcast live on Youtube.

News from Movement Strategy edit

The Core Organizing Team would like to invite you to register for Wikimania 2023. You can register for the online event anytime. This year Wikimania will be held in person from 16—19 August at the Suntec Convention Centre and online on Eventyay, an open-source virtual and hybrid event platform.
From July to September, the Movement Charter Drafting Committee will host a series of community consultations with the Wikimedia movement. Everyone is welcome to share feedback and opinions on the Meta talk page, local community forums, the Movement Strategy Forum, and during community conversations. Regional specialists from the Movement Communications team will distribute invitations to the community venues.

Story from Let’s Connect edit

Ester Bonet: Wikimedia España
I heard about the "Peer Learning Program Let's Connect" in early 2022. I joined the Let’s Connect orientation session in April.
This initial experience was profoundly rewarding, and I immediately grasped that Let’s Connect aligned seamlessly with my learning and improvement needs. I realised that it provided a conducive environment for sharing and acquiring diverse skills that would contribute to my personal development within the Wikimedia community, harmonising perfectly with the Movement Strategy.
Given my previous involvement in other initiatives as a volunteer, I was already acquainted with the concept of peer learning. I held a deep passion for this approach to knowledge acquisition. This learning mode offered me a comfortable and secure setting, extending beyond the mere acquisition of knowledge to encompass practical application, the assimilation of constructive feedback, and contemplation upon what was learned.
This knowledge exchange and transfer process, operating in a horizontal and adaptable dimension among colleagues, volunteers, and fellow community members who share joint missions and confront similar challenges, presented an immensely fulfilling experience for me.
Since 2016, my work as a Wikimedian has been dedicated to bridging gender, organising workshops, edit-a-tons, and delivering talks within feminist contexts to promote female participation. Initially, I considered focusing on sessions related to the gender gap. Still, I quickly realised that virtually all topics somehow applied to my work, motivating me to engage in even more sessions.
I must underscore the program's most impressive aspect, which lies in its focus on presenting practical and contextualised case studies, exploring relevant themes with the necessary depth for their application in diverse settings. In this regard, I have found sessions such as "Identifying and managing team and volunteer burnout" with Natacha Rault and "Motivating and retaining volunteers” with Asaf Bartov to be particularly enriching.
Furthermore, the program's essential emphasis on analyzing both successful and unsuccessful elements is noteworthy. In pursuit of extracting lessons from adverse experiences, I had the honour of co-presenting, along with Florencia Claes, the session titled "Experiences and strategies for dealing with a team crisis."
In this session, as members of a board of directors, we shared a case in which we confronted tensions with a team member and how, despite emotional and financial challenges, the crisis yielded valuable insights that fortified our team.
I wish to convey my sincere gratitude for the tireless efforts of the Let's Connect team in providing interpretation in multiple languages. This step is paramount for fully integrating the community, as expressing concerns and emotions in a foreign language can be frustrating and limiting. Sometimes, one may feel like a child attempting to express oneself, as words fail to capture the intended message fully.
In my perspective, Let’s Connect represents an invaluable treasure trove of knowledge to address the challenges I encounter. On its platform, I discover resources adaptable to my specific context and individuals leading regional and thematic initiatives who can offer valuable advice and inspiration.
Each day, I am amazed by the new session proposals that address emerging interests of the 2030 Strategy. I am consistently motivated to participate, as I am confident I will continually learn something new. Even when I cannot attend in real-time, I am pleased to know that sessions are recorded and available, complete with all materials in my language. Additionally, I appreciate the program's flexibility, allowing me to participate based on my availability, without becoming an additional work burden.
I express my deepest gratitude for your efforts and ability to continually astonish me with your exceptional work. Indeed, you are an outstanding team.

Resource to check out: edit

🔈 Are you a speaker at Wikimania or any other upcoming Wikimedia conference? Or do just want to improve your presentation skills? Check out this excellent guide for speakers and this recording developed by the Community Development team at the Wikimedia Foundation.

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