Wikimedia Foundation/Legal/Global Advocacy/Work With Us

Global Advocacy

Get Involved

This page covers how the Wikimedia Foundation's Global Advocacy team works with members of the Wikimedia movement and allied organizations.

Examples can be found on this page and via our list of resources, which contains joint letters, law suits and campaigns that we've created with our partners.

Join the Advocacy Network

There is a core of Wikimedians who are interested in public policy advocacy work and actively pursue policy change via national and international campaigns. Some of these efforts include WMF, other do not. The group connects via recurring calls as well as a Telegram Channel ("Wiki Advocacy Meet-up") that is led by Wikimedia Chile.

The best way to get involved and learn more is to join the next call for your region or area of interest. To do so, sign up for the public policy mailing list and/or email Ziski (fputz@wikimedia.org). To join the Telegram channel, please email Wikimedia Chile.

Apply for grants for public policy advocacy work

This type of grant is included in the Wikimedia Community Fund - General Support Fund, which covers grant applications that include funding requests for public policy advocacy activities. This seeks to support movement members who wish to protect and promote free knowledge.

Useful information about grants:

More information on how to apply to the General Support Fund application process.
Guidelines containing essential information about how the program works.
Funding to support Wikimedia movement activities is supported across eight regional areas. Each regional grant program officers own the grant process.

How to work with us

The Global Advocacy team works with Wikimedia affiliates to strengthen public policy advocacy around issues that affect free knowledge.

The support we can offer is specific to each advocacy initiative. The best way to find out is to contact us with your goals and campaign ideas at globaladvocacywikimedia.org so that we can brainstorm together.

Depending on the issue, our strategic priorities, and available capacity, we may be able support in the following ways:

Policy monitoring and analysis: We track policy developments around the world, explain what they mean for Wikimedia projects, and share information about emerging trends and opportunities. These updates are shared via the public policy mailing list, select recurring calls with members of the advocacy network, and blog posts on Medium and Diff.
Resources and capacity building: We develop and share advocacy resources—such as policy positions, talking points, submissions, and training materials—that affiliates can adapt for their own work. These are shared via the public policy mailing list, our Meta-Wiki pages, and select recurring calls with members of the advocacy network. We also organize workshops and learning opportunities where they can benefit multiple communities; these are typically held online, as preconferences to Wikimania, or at regional events.
Coordination on priority advocacy initiatives: On issues that are central to the Wikimedia Foundation's policy priorities, we may work alongside affiliates on advocacy campaigns, consultations, multilateral engagement, or strategic litigation.
Convening and introductions: We help connect affiliates with policymakers, civil society organizations, researchers, journalists, and other partners working on issues relevant to Wikimedia's mission.
Advice on policy engagement: We can connect affiliates to relevant policy processes and offer feedback on submissions where appropriate.

Because our team has limited capacity and serves a global movement, we are not able to support every request. The level and type of support we provide depends on factors such as strategic alignment, potential impact, timing, and available resources.

FAQ related to working with us

Can you help me to contact lawmakers/ministers/other politicians?

The Global Advocacy team can help you identify relevant stakeholders to contact if you intend to align your advocacy efforts with the Wikimedia movement’s mission to support and advance free knowledge. Please reach out to us either by emailing the policy specialist responsible for your region — see staff — or by sending an inquiry to globaladvocacywikimedia.org.

Can you review our open letter? Can you review our policy submissions?

We may review your open letter and policy submission if you desire. However, this is not required, and our ability to review submissions or letters in a timely manner is restricted by our availability and workload. We therefore encourage all affiliates and volunteers to pursue their open letters and policy submissions without our review. You are advocates of free knowledge! We do not want to cause you to miss out on an advocacy opportunity.

You can also contact other Wikimedians who have published open letters and submitted public comments to their governments. For example:

Wikimedia Australia (Public comments example)
Wikimedia Chile (Open letter example)

How do I determine whether I can sign an open letter on behalf of my Chapter?

Chapters are completely free to decide whether to sign an open letter that is relevant to their work at the local level. Our tip, evaluate: how the letter aligns with the chapter’s defined objectives and positions; what risks, if any, exist for the chapter, its staff and the local community if the letter is signed; and, how signing serves to advance the Chapter's work.

How to use Wikimedia marks?

Wikipedia and many other Wikimedia projects are hosted and operated by the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) corporation. The Legal Team, serving under General Counsel Stephen LaPorte, oversee all legal matters for the Foundation and focus on key initiatives to help support the community consistent with our Foundation goals and values. We deal with a wide range projects, including trademark issues. We defend our trademark portfolio to promote and protect the brand that the communities built.

More information about how to use the Wikimedia marks can be found in the Trademark Policy.

For trademark permissions and licensing questions, reach out to trademarks@wikimedia.org

Examples of our work with others

Specific examples across countries are listed below. General collaborations include:

Co-hosting sessions at events like ESEAP Conference, CEE Conference, WikiIndaba, and RightsCon
Organizing conversations where Wikimedians can share their work on topics like anti-surveillance or Copyright advocacy (see examples)
Helping Affiliates and individuals prepare for meetings, talks, or round-tables with policymakers and other local stakeholders (ex: helping to develop talking points)
Affiliates alerting the Foundation when a new bill or law is being discussed, which may impact the free knowledge movement
Collaborating on how to submit comments or responses to new bills or laws
Collaborating on analyzing bills and their legal implications for open knowledge projects like Wikipedia

Free Knowledge Advocacy Group EU

We have a longstanding partnership with the Free Knowledge Advocacy Group EU (FKAGEU). The FKAGEU is fully independent of the Wikimedia Foundation. They have two full-time staff who coordinate the European Wikimedia chapters so that they have a unified and clear position on major legislative and political changes affecting the vision, mission and values of the Wikimedia movement. In practice, the core group monitors EU processes, raises red flags in case of crucial issues, and discusses possible actions when necessary. A list of their work is available.

The Wikimedia Foundation’s Global Advocacy team meets regularly with the core group. Together we coordinate actions, provide advice to each other, and jointly consider how political or legislative developments may impact the free knowledge movement. Recent examples of our work include:

Digital Services Act: The WMF team relied heavily on the FKAGEU’s expertise related to these major European legislations. With their input, we wrote an update for the entire Foundation on the Digital Services Act. When the DSA deal was reached, our team coordinated our detailed analysis with that of our friends in Brussels.
Sharing community approaches on copyright advocacy: Dimi from FKAGEU was a guest speaker at the Global Advocacy team’s monthly conversation hours in August, which focused on movement approaches to copyright advocacy. See his slide deck, call notes, or even the recording (password: X@9FRG5k).

Wikimedia Chile

Wikimedia Chile is a leader on public policy initiatives in the region. As a result, the Chapter consistently updates the Wikimedia Foundation about regional developments and is a frequent partner on national issues. In 2022 for example, Wikimedia Chile was concerned about proposed legislation meant to regulate digital platforms. The Global Advocacy team supported the Chapter to analyze the bill and its legal implications for open knowledge projects like Wikipedia. The analysis was summarized in this blog post. The two also joined other civil rights groups in expressing their concern via an open letter.

In August 2022, Wikimedia Chile organized an advocacy tour to meet with policymakers and other local stakeholders, explain our operating model and identify common ground for collaboration and advocacy.

Wiki Movimento Brasil

Wiki Movimento Brasil’s advocacy work was very important in relation to a bill to control disinformation (PL 2630/20). The bill associated legal risks and liabilities with content moderation processes. But Wiki Movimento Brasil’s work made it possible for Wikipedia’s community-led model of content moderation to persist despite these legal risks. Members of Wiki Movimento Brazil and the Global Advocacy team worked with InternetLab to publish an analysis of how the bill could harm Wikimedia. Wiki Movimento Brasil is also a member of a digital rights coalition, Coalizão Direitos nas Redes, via which they ran a large campaign against the bill that included their own statements and additional publications and campaign material. As a result of this advocacy work, the community can continue to contribute knowledge online without excessive legal risks in the run-up to the next presidential campaign. This is a great example of how the Global Advocacy team could partner with Wiki Movimenti Brazil to support the advocacy work that the Brazilian Wikimedians were already doing with regional partners.

Wikimedia Argentina

Wikimedia Argentina alerted the Wikimedia Foundation about a court case (Denegri v. Google Inc.) that could possibly change rules related to the right to be forgotten. As a result of Wikimedia Argentina’s warning, the Wikimedia Foundation’s Global Advocacy Team was able to file an amicus brief. The court decision upheld freedom of expression and protected free access to public information. Our analysis is available. This collaboration is a great example of why it is important for the Foundation to work closely with Affiliates - Affiliates are best positioned to know when new bills, laws, or discussions are taking place that might impact the free knowledge movement.

Wikimedia Indonesia

Wikimedia Indonesia worked closely with the Wikimedia Foundation’s Global Advocacy Team to respond toward Ministerial Regulation no 5 that include provision on content and platform takedown. A session with the community in Indonesia was organized to inform how to maintain safety and respond toward the regulation.

Philippines

In collaboration with user groups in the Philippines and digital rights groups, the Wikimedia Foundation’s Global Advocacy Team contributed toward the joint advocacy effort which led to presidential veto on the SIM Card and Social Media Law. The SIM Card and Social Media Law includes provision that restricted pseudonymity and harsh regulation on content take down. We endorsed a joint statement against the regulation that will affect our models, and amplify it through our social media platforms. Details about how we respond to the regulation can be found in the Medium blog.