#WMFboard; The role of #Wikimedia chapters and the Foundation

When a model for representation is chosen, that model should at least be consistent. Probably my most contentious opinion is that at this moment the chapter model is broken by design. Broken because the Wikimedia Foundation activities in the United States includes activities that are considered exclusive activities for chapters in the rest of the world.

A United States chapter would be a rich chapter and, it would be in the same position to experiment with new programs as the WMF is at the moment. Like the chapters in Europe or the communities India its projects can start on an appropriate scale and eventually fill the whole space.

GLAM activities are considered to be a chapter activity and consequently people who want to reach out to museums and archives are often hindered by a lack of an organisational basis. As the Foundation has a monopoly on software development and excludes practical involvement in the GLAM area, crucial functionality for our GLAM partners like timely statistics do not get the attention it needs.

The appreciation for our chapters needs improvement. This will be helped by a better definition of responsibilities and by assigning room for the development and integration of the tools needed to run chapter activities.
Thanks,
        GerardM