Wikimania 2025 Brings Affiliate Strategy Recommendations into Focus

In February, we shared Shaping the Future: Insights from the Affiliations Committee Strategy Retreat 2024, which outlined our strategic priorities for the year ahead.

That post reflected on our November 2024 strategy retreat, where the Affiliations Committee (AffCom) set in motion a focused year of work to strengthen the Wikimedia affiliate ecosystem. Guided by the AffCom charter and our responsibility to support the health of the movement’s affiliates, we have since been developing recommendations that will guide our conversations with the community at Wikimania 2025.

This update summarises our progress to date, highlights emerging recommendations from our three strategic working groups, and sets the stage for deeper conversations at Wikimania.

Context and Scope

Following our 2024 retreat, AffCom established three working groups:

• Affiliate Model: Exploring the future structure, roles, and expectations of Wikimedia affiliates.
• Conflict Management: Strengthening systems for conflict prevention and resolution in affiliates.
• Capacity Development: Supporting emerging and newly recognised affiliates in building governance, leadership, and community engagement skills.

These groups aim to recommend improvements to the affiliate model, enhance governance and support systems, and ensure that the affiliate structure continues to meet the needs of the movement now and into the future.

We are also reviewing the recently published paper Towards a Healthy Ecosystem of Wikimedia Organisations, which touches directly on topics within our scope. While AffCom was not involved in drafting the paper, we are engaging deeply with its findings to ensure that our experience and expertise inform future developments.

Working Group Updates

Affiliate Model

The group has been examining the purpose, scope, and evolving role of affiliates in the Wikimedia movement. Building on past community conversations, they have worked to clarify what constitutes a Wikimedia affiliate today and what expectations should look like in the future.

Why this matters:

A clear, future‑ready affiliate model will ensure alignment with Wikimedia’s vision, mission, and strategic direction while avoiding duplication and fostering sustainable growth.

Emerging Recommendations

• Define Wikimedia affiliation more precisely, linking it directly to the movement’s vision, mission, and strategic direction.
• Clarify roles, responsibilities, and boundaries for affiliates, including their scope of work and geographic or thematic focus.
• Articulate a clear value proposition for affiliates for project communities, knowledge consumers, and other stakeholders.
• Create room for flexibility and evolution in the model, while avoiding duplication or redundancy in the ecosystem.

Conflict Management

The group has examined recurring conflict patterns across affiliates and addressed systemic gaps in prevention and resolution. The approach is deliberately holistic, recognising that many conflicts stem from broader movement dynamics and governance challenges.

Why this matters:

Proactive conflict management helps affiliates operate more effectively, retain members, and maintain trust within their communities.

Emerging Recommendations

• Embed prevention as the primary focus– design systems and training that help affiliates address potential issues before they escalate.
• Embed core principles into AffCom’s approach: trust as a foundation, context sensitivity, clarity for action, respect and empathy, and early adoption of good practices.
• Enhance onboarding and preparedness for affiliates through improved onboarding, learning resources, and capacity‑building sessions focused on governance and communication.
• Improve communication clarity so affiliates clearly understand how to seek support, what steps will be taken, and the expected timelines for resolution.
• Integrate affiliate conflict management into a wider movement conflict ecosystem,  ensuring consistent standards, shared resources, and mutual learning rather than addressing issues in isolation.

Capacity Development

The group has been mapping capacity gaps in leadership, governance, and community engagement, with a focus on emerging and newly recognised affiliates. The Working Group have also begun shaping a pilot program to address these gaps.

Why this matters:

Targeted capacity development helps affiliates thrive, sustain leadership pipelines, and strengthen their role in the movement.

Emerging Recommendations

• Launch a capacity development pilot for newly recognised affiliates, offering targeted onboarding, governance training, and leadership support.
• Improve onboarding packages to be more practical and clear, supported by quarterly calls, 1:1 check‑ins based on request and necessity, and peer learning opportunities.
• Strengthen governance practices, leadership development, and community engagement as core areas for affiliate growth and sustainability.
• Connect affiliates with existing peer support networks to accelerate learning and collaboration.
  

Looking Ahead

These recommendations are in development and will evolve through discussions with the community at Wikimania 2025. AffCom members will share updates in their session on the 9th of August,  answer questions, and listen to feedback to ensure our work stays grounded in real‑world affiliate experiences.

Wikimania is a pivotal opportunity for affiliates, AffCom, and the broader movement to work together on strengthening the structures and relationships that sustain free knowledge. We invite you to connect with AffCom members during the conference, contribute your perspectives. Stay updated on AffCom’s work through our newsletter and social media channels.