Universal Code of Conduct/Newsletter/1

Welcome to the first issue of Universal Code of Conduct News! This newsletter will help Wikimedians stay involved with the development of the new code, and will distribute relevant news, research, and upcoming events related to the UCoC. Feedback or ideas for the next issue can be left on the UCoC News talk page. Thanks for reading and contributing.

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Affiliate consultations

In March and April 2021, Wikimedia Affiliates of all sizes, types, and experience backgrounds were invited to participate in discussions and share their experiences, thoughts, and concerns in different ways, to create clear definitions of enforcement pathways and reporting processes. More than 25 meetings have been conducted, and about 147 responses were received throughout the survey which was spread out in 8 languages, representing 27 different affiliates, in addition, some affiliates conducted internal discussions and included the UCoC text in the agendas of their regular official meetings and provided collective feedback.

The summary report of Affiliate engagement is available here.

2021 key questions consultations

In April and May, Wikimedia Foundation sought to gather input from as many participants as possible about the enforcement of the Universal Code of Conduct to remain inclusive and adaptable to the needs of our global and diverse communities. The 2021 key questions consultations summary report is now available.

Over 247 participants including administrators, functionaries, Arbitration Committee members, affiliate staff, and both new and established contributors from 16 different projects participated in these consultations, round-tables, and other ongoing conversations. The summary also includes material from other volunteer-led discussions and initiatives concerning the enforcement of the Universal Code of Conduct.

While the ideas, thoughts, and concerns raised by participants varied widely, it was possible to observe common themes among the communities. Participants voiced their opinions about the need and risks of private reporting systems, flaws present in current enforcement and review systems, the need for context sensitivity, and expressed a desire for additional support to be available for volunteers. Many participants felt communities should continue to have a meaningful role in the revision and approval process.

Roundtable discussions

The Universal Code of Conduct facilitation team hosted roundtable discussions for Wikimedians to discuss the enforcement of the Universal Code of Conduct on 15 and 29 May 2021. The calls lasted about 90 minutes calls and each involved around 20-25 Wikimedians discussing key questions and other topics of interest to generate input and new ideas to be shared with the UCoC phase 2 drafting committee.

Highlights from the round-tables include discussions about the possibilities and challenges of the multi-project Arbcom enforcement model, the transparency of the enforcement process, discussions about systemic bias, what the UCoC community approval process should look like, and in-depth conversations about ideal enforcement model and pathways.

The next round table session is scheduled for 12 June at 5:00 AM UTC.

Phase 2 drafting committee

The Universal Code of Conduct drafting committee for phase 2 has been assembled and started their work on May 13, 2021. The committee is a group of 15 members that includes Wikimedians from 9 different countries, who edit our projects in more than 11 languages. Collectively they hold sysop roles on 13 various projects and 11 higher functionary roles, including two global sysops, two sitting arbitrators on different projects, and one former steward.

Currently, the committee is moving from team and capacity-building exercises into modules and exercises that commence the drafting of the enforcement guidelines. Short summaries from the drafting meeting are available to view and translate here.

The Drafting Committee will have some draft recommendations for UCoC enforcement for community review in early August. More details will be available soon.

Diff blogs

The UCoC facilitators wrote several blog posts based on interesting findings and insights from each community during Local Language Consultations which took place in the 1st quarter of 2021.

Self-governance of older Wikimedia projects – the curious case of Polish Wikipedia – Over the course of the last 20 years, some communities individually developed extensive systems to deal with violations of conduct policies
Consulting the UCoC Enforcement Within an Intercultural Wikimedia Ecosystem – How can wikimedia movement's interculturality help it with enforcing the Universal Code of Conduct?
Lessons from the recent influx of teenagers in the Korean Community: How do we deal with them as active contributors? – Changing demographics of the Wikimedia Movement. What can we learn from the new generation of users?
Facilitating Wikimedia Communities in West Africa for the UCoC – The uniqueness of African communities and the challenges of engaging the continent in global movement conversations.
How the UCoC came to the Himalayas – What have we learned by engaging communities in their own language? How do smaller communities' insights differ from older and more prominent projects?
Are gamification, cream and a cookbook good ingredients for a community consultation? – Could gamification be a useful way to engage local communities? The Italian community was a test-case.
How Silence Speaks More Than Words – Why do our most complex and intercultural projects tend to stay quiet in major movement discussions?