Movement Charter/Summary

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Movement Charter

Supplementary documents

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This is a summary of the final Movement Charter text, shared by the Movement Charter Drafting Committee on June 10, 2024. This summary is not a part of the Movement Charter. It is simply a handy reference for understanding the full terms.

The Wikimedia Movement is an international, sociocultural movement, whose vision is to bring free knowledge to the whole world. There are three fundamental principles of the Wikimedia Movement: free and open licensing, self organization and collaboration, and factual and verifiable information. In addition, the governance of the Movement follows the following values: autonomy, equity, inclusivity, safety, accountability, and resilience.

The Wikimedia Movement Charter lays out the values, principles, roles, and responsibilities for the Wikimedia Movement. This Charter aims to produce a strategy for growth, expansion, and future possibilities for the Movement; guide its decision-making; give clarity to reduce internal conflict; facilitate constructive engagement between stakeholders, safeguard donor rights and the Movement’s financial interests; and provide a sense of belonging for those within the Movement.

The core of the Wikimedia Movement is its individual contributors, who contribute in an autonomous fashion as individuals or as communities. Individual contributors have the right to participate in the Wikimedia Movement projects; and they are responsible for their actions and accountable for their contributions to the Wikimedia projects. They may congregate together as Wikimedia communities, which have the editorial control of the online content in the Wikimedia projects; to resolve disputes among them; and to establish their own processes for this. Communities are collectively responsible to be fair and equitable in their governance and policy enforcement.

To support and coordinate their activities, individual contributors and communities may participate in organizations, called the Movement Bodies, which consist of the following entities:

• Wikimedia Movement Organizations, which promotes open and free knowledge in a given geographic or thematic context. It includes Wikimedia Chapters, Wikimedia Thematic Organizations, Wikimedia User Groups, and Wikimedia Hubs.
• Wikimedia Foundation, which safeguards and supports the Wikimedia Movement’s vision of free knowledge through the development and maintenance of platforms and technology.
• Global Council, which serves as a collaborative and representative decision-making body for the Wikimedia Movement on the topics of long-term strategic direction for the Movement, establishes standards for the functioning of Wikimedia Movement Organizations, oversees equitable distribution of resources, and guides the advancement of the Movement’s technology.

This Charter is designed to endure for many years and may be amended if needed.

This Charter is ratified and comes into effect after a global vote involving individual volunteers, Affiliates, and the Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees.

Supplementary documents to this Charter are not part of the Wikimedia Movement Charter. They include a glossary; information on topics related to this Charter; suggestions for policy or process development and consideration by the Global Council should the Charter be ratified; or explanation about processes related to the Charter ratification vote.