Strategy/Wikimedia movement/2017/Organize

The following discussion is closed.

Cycle 1 of the discussion is now closed for analysis and sense-making, and the participation steps may change for Cycle 2. Please join us on May 5 for the next cycle of discussions.

This page explains how to organize a discussion about Movement strategy with your group or community.

What happens during the second discussion (cycle 2)?

1. Group discusses the future of the movement, exploring the five themes. There are 5 questions for each theme. Groups should prioritize their discussions on which theme is most important to them, in case there is not enough time to discuss all five themes.
2. For each question, someone should summarize the response and 1 key word or phrase (for preliminary sorting and translation across projects).
3. The Coordinator submits these answers and key words to meta for inclusion in the overall discussion.

Steps to organize a discussion

	1. Check if there is already a discussion Is there already a discussion happening in your group or community? You can check the list on the Participation page. Is someone else already organizing? You can check the List of organizers.

	2. Become a discussion organizer You can become a discussion organizer by filling out a short form. If you want, you can join the mailing list for discussion organizers.

	3. Plan the discussion You can create a Planning page for your group or community. Planning pages explain who your group is and when you are organizing the discussion. They help the other organizers understand who is discussing. Remember to add the Planning page to the List of organizers.

	4. Decide where to discuss You can discuss in several places with your group or community. You should choose the places that they prefer. For example, you can discuss on your wiki, and on an email mailing list, and on social media groups or chat apps, and in meetings in person, etc. For each place of discussion, create a Summary page. Then, add the Summary pages to the List of organizers.

	5. Prepare the discussion Send a "pre-announcement" message to explain that the discussion will start soon. Find other people to help you organize if possible. Prepare the wiki pages if necessary. Invite people to read information that they should know about the future and the movement.

	6. Start the discussion When you are ready, announce the start of the discussion in many places. Explain when the discussion will end. Invite participants, for example using the village pump, site notice, watchlist notice, mailing list, social media, or personal invitation. Ask the main question: "What do we want to build or achieve together over the next 15 years?" You can read advice for discussions on wikis, in meetings in person, in video meetings, and in other places online.

	7. Continue the discussion if it lasts longer If you are discussing online, write summaries on your Summary page during the discussion. Ask similar questions to help people understand the main question. Translate the summaries from other discussions and share what people in other discussions are saying.

	8. Summarize and finish the discussion Ask the participants to help write the summary of the discussion. Thank the participants for their contribution. Explain the next step in the process.