Strategy/Wikimedia movement/2017/Process/Premises

The goal of this page is to agree on premises that would be accepted as the basic propositions shared by all participants in the 2017 Movement strategy process, and upon which arguments are based. There shouldn't be too many of them and they should be uncontroversial. You're welcome to add some as well as discuss the existing ones on the talk page.

The premises will be part of the toolkit developed for discussions.

Please discuss the premises today. Once the process starts, it will be too late to discuss the basic premises.

Premises

As a movement,

We share a vision of world in which every single human being can freely share in the sum of all knowledge. (from the Vision; proposed by Guillaume)
We strive for excellence. (from the Values; proposed by Guillaume)

Meaning
We seek to continually improve ourselves, our projects, our communities and our world. With initiative and experimentation, we iterate our way toward making the world a better place, an excellent place. With curiosity and humility, we learn from our mistakes as well as our successes. We are duty-bound to steward our resources and deliver exceptional products and services.

We welcome and cherish our differences. (from the Values; proposed by Guillaume)

Meaning

The sum of all knowledge for every single human being; we can’t do that by leaving people out. Our vision is about more than providing universal access to all forms of knowledge. It’s about creating an inclusive culture. It’s about inviting others to join in and thrive with us. It’s about embracing human diversity. It’s about saying, “We see you and you belong with us.”

Our differences are precious; they make us smarter, stronger, more humble. They balance our biases and weaknesses. They open our minds. We do our best work when we understand a problem from all its perspectives.

We encourage others to do what we can’t, and we help them succeed. When voices are absent, ignored, or silenced, we seek them out. We are welcoming hosts, caring neighbors, and equitable allies. We don’t fear difference. We welcome it with curiosity, delight, and hope.

We are in this together. (from the Values; proposed by Guillaume)

Meaning
Collaboration is not always pretty. Sometimes we struggle. Working together is hard, but it’s worth it. We do it because it makes us stronger. We solve problems better together. For it to work well, each of us needs to be honest, accountable, and transparent to one another.

We engage in civil discourse. (from the Values; proposed by Guillaume)

Meaning

Our words have power. What we say has consequences. Engaging in civil discourse requires kindness, care, respect, tact, empathy, trust, and safety. It is key to getting, giving, and receiving good information. We must create space where people feel safe to express themselves and be heard. This is true especially when we disagree. If we do not understand what the other is feeling, we are still open-minded to where they are coming from.

We strive for empathy, we accept no less than civility.

We are inspired. (from the Values; proposed by Guillaume)

Meaning

We are guided by a vision of a better world. We make space for new ideas and new connections. Inquisitiveness arises when we’re having fun. It’s ok to wonder, to ponder. We don’t need to take ourselves too seriously.

When we are inspired, we do excellent work.

We are driven by results. (proposed by Frank Schulenburg)

Meaning
We're striving to effect positive change. That's why we're focused on achieving results and having impact. We hold each other accountable for an approach driven by results and encourage each other to continuously measure the effectiveness of our processes and programs, so we can correct our course along the way as needed.

In particular, as participants in this process:

We understand that our discussions need a definite conclusion. (proposed by Guillaume)

Meaning
Everyone within and outside the movement is encouraged to participate in this strategy process, but discussions can't be entirely open-ended in time and place. If someone decides to opt out of or accidentally misses a particular cycle of discussion, they are welcome to provide feedback afterwards. However, they may have to accept the outcome of a discussion that they did not participate in.

We acknowledge the reality of the resources needed to implement what we agree on. (proposed by Guillaume)

Meaning
This discussion requires both imagination and a sense of reality. To be acted upon, the direction and goals that emerge will require decisions and resources. One cannot simultaneously argue in favor of an outcome and against the means to implement it.

We are devising a joint strategy for the Wikimedia movement as a whole. (proposed by MichaelMaggs)

Meaning
The Wikimedia movement is made up of a large and diverse set of organisations, groups, communities and individuals (including the Wikimedia Foundation, affiliates, groups, editors, off-line volunteers, readers and so on), and we all have differing perspectives. Our focus here is to devise a joint strategy for movement as a whole, and not for any specific part of it.

We value our readers as much as our editors. (proposed by Libcub)

Meaning
We need contributors (editors, developers, etc.) in order to stay relevant. We equally need readers, people who use the content of WMF projects. We need to nourish both communities.