Wikimedia Foundation Policy

Hello, and nice to meet you! 👋 We are the Global Advocacy team at the Wikimedia Foundation: a mix of regional policy and human rights, anti-disinformation, communications, and community-organizing experts. Our mission is to help reach the Foundation's vision of a world where everyone, everywhere, can safely create and share knowledge without fear of consequence or barriers to access. 🌐 In this space, we will share our work to promote and protect public policies, laws, and regulations that support the right to access free and open, reliable and accurate knowledge. Get to know our team: https://w.wiki/AxLu! We look forward to seeing you around!

🌐 How can we ensure that the internet of the future will be by the world's people and for the world's people? Join us to discuss this issue at the United Nations Summit of the Future Action Days. 🗓️ The Summit of the Future takes place right before the 2024 United Nations General Assembly. It's a time when world, industry, and civil society leaders will convene to debate and vote on documents to shape the future of the internet. Ahead of the summit, the Wikimedia Foundation and partners will host an event to explore the transformative potential of digital public goods like Wikipedia in fostering sustainable development around the world. Join the conversation live on 21 September, at 15:15 UTC. Learn more ➡️ https://lnkd.in/dtkpc48q 🤝🏾 In partnership with Office of the UN Secretary-General’s Envoy on Technology, Republic of Poland, United Mexican States, Federal Republic of Germany, Access Now, Wikimedia Deutschland e. V., Wikimedia CZ, Wikimedia Europe, Wikimedia Polska, TUM Think Tank, Global Network of Centers #SummitOfTheFuture #OurCommonFuture #UNGA79

¿Qué nuevos y persistentes retos y oportunidades trae el rápido desarrollo tecnológico a la región de Latinoamérica? 🌎 Amalia T., nuestra Especialista Líder en Políticas Públicas para América Latina y el Caribe, se unió a organizaciones, activistas y personas investigadoras de derechos digitales a discutir ésta y otras preguntas clave para la región en la 12ª edición del Taller Anual organizado por el Center for Studies in Freedom of Expression and Access to Information (CELE) de la Universidad de Palermo a finales de agosto. Las discusiones abarcaron: 🗞️ los códigos de negociación de medios de comunicación; 🤖 la inteligencia artificial; 🗺️ el impacto de la geopolítica en los debates internacionales sobre políticas relacionadas a Internet; ♀️la libertad de expresión y violencia política de género; 🌐 la regulación de plataformas y derechos humanos; 📶 la conectividad significativa y ecosistemas de información. El evento de dos días fue una valiosa oportunidad para conectar los puntos entre el trabajo que hacemos en la Wikimedia Foundation y las agendas de otras organizaciones latinoamericanas. Muchos de los intercambios se enfocaron en la libertad de expresión y asimismo en los desarrollos regulatorios y sus implicaciones a nivel regional y global. Dado el interés de las organizaciones de sociedad civil regionales en las evaluaciones de impacto en derechos humanos, presentamos los hallazgos de la Evaluación de Impacto sobre los Derechos de la Niñez (https://w.wiki/9g35) que la Fundación encargó. También explicamos lo que la Fundación y sus comunidades están haciendo para: 1️⃣ Mitigar los riesgos para el ejercicio de los derechos de la niñez en los proyectos Wikimedia; 2️⃣ Recibir y considerar comentarios sobre este trabajo; 3️⃣ Cumplir con nuestra obligación de consultar y compartir información con otras partes interesadas. Tuvimos discusiones estimulantes sobre cómo las aproximaciones de género, interseccionales, e indígenas pueden ser incorporadas en las evaluaciones de impacto a derechos humanos. Nos alegró cuánta curiosidad hay sobre la manera en que el modelo liderado por personas voluntarias y descentralizado de Wikimedia continuará respondiendo a las recomendaciones de la evaluación. Felicitaciones por el aniversario de los 15 años del CELE, y muchas gracias a su directora, Agustina Del Campo, y su equipo entero por la invitación y oportunidad de discutir nuestro trabajo. ¡Esperamos seguir la colaboración muchos años más!

What new and persistent challenges and opportunities does rapid technological development bring to the Latin American region? 🌎 Amalia T., our Lead Public Policy Specialist for Latin America and the Caribbean, joined digital rights organizations, activists, and researchers to discuss this and other key questions for the region at the 12th Annual Workshop organized by the Center for Studies in Freedom of Expression and Access to Information (CELE) at the Universidad de Palermo in late August. The discussions covered: 🗞️ news media bargaining codes; 🤖 artificial intelligence; 🗺️ geopolitical impacts on international internet-related policy debates; ♀️freedom of expression and gender-based political violence; 🌐 platform regulation and human rights; 📶 meaningful connectivity and information ecosystems. The two-day event was a valuable opportunity to connect the dots between the work we do at the Wikimedia Foundation and the agendas of other Latin American organizations. Many exchanges focused on challenges to freedom of expression as well as regulatory developments and their implications at the regional and global levels. Given the interest that regional civil society organizations have in the creation and details of independent impact and risk assessments, we presented the findings of the Child Rights Impact Assessment (https://w.wiki/9g35) that the Foundation commissioned. We also explained what the Foundation and volunteer communities do to: 1️⃣ Mitigate risks to the exercise of children's rights in Wikimedia projects; 2️⃣ Receive and consider feedback on these efforts; 3️⃣ Fulfill our obligation to consult and share information with other stakeholders. We had stimulating discussions on how gender, intersectional, and Indigenous approaches can be incorporated into human rights impact assessments. We were pleased with how much curiosity there is about the way in which the volunteer-led, decentralized Wikimedia model will continue responding to the assessment's recommendations. Congratulations to the CELE on its 15th anniversary, and many thanks to its director, Agustina Del Campo, and her entire team for the invitation and chance to share and discuss our work. We look forward to continuing our collaboration for many years to come!

¡No se pierdan la oportunidad de participar en el Diplomado Internacional sobre Procesos Políticos de Política Pública en Sociedades Digitales, que organizan en alianza Flacso México Oficial, Wikimedia México y Wikimedia Foundation! El diplomado cubre temas de relevancia para los debates actuales en torno a la cuarta revolución digital, sus impactos en nuestras sociedades y el papel que pueden jugar las políticas públicas. 📖🤓 El diplomado dura 4 meses (5 de septiembre–19 de diciembre), se llevará a cabo en español y de manera virtual. 🔎👉🏼 Más información: https://bit.ly/DIPPPP6G 👈🏼🔍

The Wikimedia Foundation is one actor in a larger ecosystem that promotes freely accessible and open knowledge. We sponsor regional digital rights organizations, individuals, and events to give back to those who advocate expanding access to reliable information online and promoting knowledge equity in historically underserved regions. For three years in a row, we have supported the Digital Rights and Inclusion Forum (DRIF), hosted by the Paradigm Initiative. This annual conference brings together digital rights activists and scholars from across Africa to work toward a rights-respecting and digitally inclusive online future for the African continent. In 2024, DRIF had the largest attendance of Wikimedia volunteers ever. We also granted scholarships for the first time so volunteers could attend. 🌍🥳 Hosted this past April in Accra, Ghana, the conference also brought together organizations such as UNICEF Ghana, the Mozilla Foundation, ARTICLE 19, and Women of Uganda Network. Over 20 Wikimedia volunteers attended DRIF, speaking about preventing electoral disinformation, promoting access to education in offline environments, and supporting the inclusion of women in online spaces. We talked with the people who represented the Wikimedia community there: booth organizers, speakers, and scholarship recipients. Learn about their experiences, what they took away, and why they think supporting regional conferences like DRIF is important. ✊🏾 https://w.wiki/_rxFw

Do you care about the future of free, reliable, and open knowledge? Last April, the Wikimedia Foundation and Wikimedia affiliates (independent organizations supporting volunteers who contribute to Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia, and other free knowledge projects) published an open letter to shape the future of the internet. The Global Digital Compact is a process led by UN member states to establish principles and commitments that can help channel the immense potential benefits of digital technologies. 🌎🌍🌏🌐 We called on governments worldwide to include 3 key commitments in the Compact to help public interest projects not only continue to exist, but also thrive in our shared, digital future: 1️⃣ Protect and empower communities to govern online public interest projects. 2️⃣ Promote and protect digital public goods by supporting a robust digital commons from which everyone, everywhere can benefit. 3️⃣ Build and deploy artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) to support and empower, not replace, people who create content and make decisions in the public interest. Over 20 Wikimedia affiliates, 4 other organizations, and more than 650 individuals from 80+ countries have signed the letter already. Read our blog post for more details: https://lnkd.in/eVsPE57K And, if you want to help shape the future of the internet in a way that protects free and open knowledge, please sign the letter! ✍🏽