Meeting:Committee (2012-02-19)

Meeting:Committee (2012-02-19)/Minutes


Start 15:00 hours (AEDST) [Log: 15:01] on #wmau-comm (irc//freenode.net/wmau-comm)

Attendance

  • Attendance: John (Chair), Anne (Minutes), Charles, Craig, Graham, Laura (left the meeting 17:02).
  • Apologies: Nil
  • Absences: Nil

John declared the meeting open seeking confirmation that all present would be available for the next two hours and thereto linked to the committee meeting Agenda and in so doing thanked the committee for assisting in its preparation.

Minutes

The meeting refined some of the wording of the Minutes and agreed to the changes.

Motion: That the Minutes of the Special Meeting held on December 29 be accepted.

  • Moved: Graham,
  • Seconded: Craig,
  • Support: Charles, Laura, Anne

Carried without dissent [Log: 15:15]

Motion: That the Minutes of the Committee Meeting held on January 15 be accepted subject to the change in item 4.5 which should read ‘two non-member accounts approved…’.

[1] [2]

  • Moved: John,
  • Seconded: Charles,
  • Support: Craig, Laura, Graham, Anne

Carried without dissent [Log: 15:28]

Reports

Membership Report

Anne reported that since the last meeting we have six new members. We have one application for membership that has been received and accepted by the committee but awaiting payment of fees prior to membership being confirmed.

John reported that there have been five new wiki accounts created since the last meeting.

[3]

Finance Report

Craig reported that reimbursements for the RCCamp grants are nearly completed; two people still to submit receipts.

Craig informed the meeting that the signed 'engagement letter' has been sent to the Auditors and that the audit is now under way and further that we have received a request for some documentation and BAS paperwork required in the preparation of the audit. Clarification on the documentation will be sought from the Auditor regarding the exact requirements of worksheets or signed forms.

Incoming Correspondence Report

The Committee linked to the Incoming Mail. John queried one email that was seeking a Perth contact and this was discussed and clarified.

Discussion took place about incoming emails being directed to OTRS, John sighting the German Chapter who have their own queues. Craig sought clarification as to the Foundation’s OTRS system or WMAU’s OTRS indicating we should use the latter for our own administrative processes. The meeting sought clarification on the advantages of such a move. The move is being made to encourage members to handle general contacts providing a personal touch and build knowledge about Australian Wikipedia issues; and that should committee involvement be required email can be put in a wmau-comm queue. Charles raised the issue of correspondence that is of a sensitive nature. John indicated in the past he had sent emails there were not specifically for WMAU to the WMF WMAU queue, and that its been past practice not to respond to non WMAU related emails but rather hand them over to the community. Craig agreed to forwarding non-chapter emails from contact@... to OTRS indicating it was also his past practice, and advised that if it is general correspondence such as enquiries about editing Wikipedia, etc then it should be redirected to OTRS. If the nature of the correspondence concerns membership enquiries they should be handled in-house without OTRS.

John tabled a motion that all incoming correspondence unrelated to Wikimedia Australia be forwarded to wmau@wikimedia.org to be handled by Wikimedia Australia members who are also OTRS volunteers. The meeting gave in-principle support for sending non-WMAU emails to OTRS, adding that some fine-tuning will be needed.

John advised that the reason for sending emails to our own OTRS queue references the Chapter having complete control over who can access the ‘wm-au’ queue, hence not needing to go through the normal request phrase.

Public Officer Report

Anne reported that after seeking clarification from Consumer Affairs & Fair Trading, Hobart, regarding their requirement of a change of details to the address of the principal office and the public officer that these were submitted on 6th February.

Charles queried his details as the contact person with Anne (as Public Officer) and was advised there was no change made in this respect. Charles advised the meeting that there may be a change of postal address mid-year and will let Anne know when that takes place.

Payments

Craig advised the meeting that apart from the pending grant reimbursements there is the anticipated audit fee and that we are awaiting an invoice from the Auditors.

At this point in the meeting the Chair informed the committee that the next item regarding the Chapter-selected Board seats is moved to the last item for discussion.

Conference Attendance

Wikimania scholarships

The meeting discussed applications for scholarships for the Wikimania Conference to be held in Washington DC in July. Charles Gregory, Graham Pearce and Mrs Pearce will attend as representatives of the committee.

Charles and Graham are to ascertain costs and flight details and to liaise with the Treasurer prior to proceeding with bookings.

Motion "That Wikimedia Australia will fund Charles Gregory, Graham Pearce and Mrs Pearce to attend Wikimania, as representatives of Wikimedia Australia"

  • Moved: John
  • Seconded: Laura,
  • Support: Craig, Anne
  • Abstain: Charles, Graham

Carried without dissent [Log: 16:20]

The meeting discussed the distribution of funds assigned for half-scholarships, commenting on the full financial commitment required by applicants to attend the USA conference, and also noting Wikimedia Polska's method of offering scholarship support to nearby nations with a lower gross domestic product.

Motion "That two half scholarships of $1000 each to attend Wikimania for applicants Steve Zhang and Jutta von Dincklage be approved"

  • Moved: John
  • Seconded: Graham, Charles, Anne, Craig
  • Abstain: Laura

Carried without dissent [Log: 16:41]

Craig and John raised the issue of imposing a non-payment on expenses incurred by scholarship applicants pending the receipt of outstanding reports on earlier 'grants' received by the applicant which is a condition of an applicant receiving a grant. The discussion centered on this 'general principle' being a motivator to write reports on time. Craig pointed out that imposing a rule of this kind was a risk that could incur higher costs on airfares. Anne noted that the committee should follow up outstanding reports.

Proposals

Proposal for training sessions in Tasmania

Discussion on a proposal submitted by Leigh Blackall for WMAU to fund $1700 for two Wikimedia training days for Vocational Education and Training practitioners (VET) in Hobart and in Kingston on 28 and 29 February 2012. Other contributors are Skills Tasmania and the Australian Paralympic Committee.

Charles will be participating in the running of the workshop training days.

Moved: "That Wikimedia Australia allocates $1700 for two Workshops run by Leigh Blackall in Tasmania on 28th and 29th February"

  • Moved: John
  • Seconded: Charles
  • Support: Anne, Craig, Graham
  • Abstain: Laura

Carried without dissent [Log: 16:49]

The meeting discussed covering transport costs such as petrol for Tasmanian workshop volunteers and contributors, and broadcasting this through the members list. Receipts are to be provided to Craig for reimbursement.

Motion: "That Wikimedia Australia will provide up to $100 per day travel assistance for regular Wikimedia contributors who want to attend the workshops run by Leigh Blackall. Volunteers should apply via email to contact@wikimedia.org.au, and only need to supply their username."

  • Moved: John
  • Seconded: Graham
  • Support: Laura, Anne, Craig
  • Abstain: Charles

Carried without dissent [Log: 16:55]

Berlin Declaration and Open Access Conference, South Africa

John outlined the following matter seeking support from Wikimedia Australia's committee for the Berlin Declaration.

"The Berlin Declaration (officially the Declaration on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the signature of the Treaty of Rome) is a non-binding European Union (EU) text that was signed on 25 March 2007 in Berlin (Germany), celebrating the fiftieth anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Rome which founded the European Economic Community, the predecessor to the modern EU." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berlin_Declaration_(2007)

Threads: [members] Elsevier and the Berlin Declaration; [foundation-1] Journal Boycott

[4]

[5]


Motion: "That Wikimedia Australia hereby signs the Berlin Declaration"

  • Moved: John
  • Seconded: Graham,
  • Support: Charles, Craig, Laura, Anne

Carried without dissent [Log: 17:01]

Open Access Conference, South Africa

John discussed offering a scholarship for one Australian Wikimedian who has shown dedication to open access informing the committee that these conferences have been held annually since the Berlin Declaration. Costs would be in the vicinity of $2000 to $3000.

"On November 7 & 8, 2012 the Berlin 10 Open Access Conference will be held by Stellenbosch University, South Africa, in partnership with the Max Planck Society and the Academy of Science for South Africa. Further information will be given on the conference website at http://www.berlin10.org."

Current and previous conferences http://www.berlin10.org/about.html

The Chair set aside a motion based on a call for more information when available about the program and for discussion on the committee mailing list.

Media Policy

Charles led the discussion on WMAU's Media Policy arising out of the social media framework now nearing completion and currently awaiting the launch of the social media channels. The policy is currently in draft format, requiring a review to bring it up to date and formalised.

Charles suggested a 'soft' launch of facebook and twitter by activating the social media accounts and begin attracting followers. He informed the meeting that the content for the channels will be drawn from news and announcements posted to the wikimediaau-l list. He also highlighted that Wikimedia Australia's group (not page) on facebook has been 'upgraded'.

Charles is to place the draft policy on the WMAU website/members' list and when the document reaches a final draft stage then be presented to the committee on the comm list for finalising and formalising into WMAU policy.

General Discussion

WikiWomenCamp scholarships

The Chair tabled the December committee meeting resolution on Wikimedia Argentina GenderGap Conference, with Craig noting that the budget matched the stipulations of the December motion,'That Wikimedia re-allocate $10,000 of the budget from Wikimania to the WikiWomenCamp being planned for May 2012. At least 50% of the funds will be used for travel grants. Usage of the remaining funds will be determined after consultation with Wikimedia Argentina"

Motion: "That $6200 be allocated to transport and accommodation expenses for Laura Hale (WMAU), Kartika Sari Henry (WMID), and Charlene Foster (WMZA) to attend WikiWomenCamp.

  • Moved: John
  • Seconded: Graham
  • Support: Charles, Craig, Anne

Carried without dissent [Log 17:37]

Craig clarified that the $6200 in the motion is to be deducted from the $10000 previously allocated.

Meeting Closed at 17:37 hours (AEDST)

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