Movement Charter/Amendment
| This was a historical draft of the Wikimedia Movement Charter. The latest version of the Charter that is up for a global ratification vote from June 25 to July 9, 2024 is available in the main Meta page. We thank the stakeholders of the Wikimedia movement for their feedback and insights in producing this draft. |
Amendment
The Wikimedia Movement Charter is designed to endure for many years. Because of this, amendments to the Charter are to be made only in extraordinary circumstances. The exception to this are minor spelling and grammar changes that do not change the meaning or intent of the text of the Charter.
Categories of amendments
- Minor corrections.
- Spelling and grammar corrections that do not change the meaning or intent of the Charter.
- Changes affecting only the working processes of the Global Council.
- Changes that modify the overall responsibilities and membership of the GC.
- Changes that modify the values of the movement; or the responsibilities and rights of volunteers, projects, affiliates, hubs, the Wikimedia Foundation, future Wikimedia Movement Organizations, and the wider Wikimedia Movement.
- Changes proposed by the Wikimedia Movement.
| Amendment Category | Process | Change Approval Body | Notes |
| 1 | Two-thirds (⅔) support for proposed change | Global Council Board | |
| 2 | Two-thirds (⅔) support for proposed change | Global Council Assembly | Community consultation recommended |
| 3 | Mandatory community consultation, two-thirds (⅔) support for change in in vote following consultation | Global Council Assembly | |
| 4 | Movement-wide vote, majority support for change | Wikimedia Movement | Voting mechanism to follow the ratification process as closely as possible, including support vote from WMF Board of Trustees |
| 5 | Proposals must meet criteria to move on to voting. Movement-wide vote, majority support for change | Wikimedia Movement | Voting mechanism to follow the ratification process as closely as possible, including support vote from WMF Board of Trustees |
Process for proposing Wikimedia Movement Charter amendments
The Global Council Board may propose Category 1, 2, 3 or 4 amendments. The Global Council Assembly may propose Category 2, 3 and 4 amendments. Category 5 amendments are proposed by members of the Wikimedia Movement.