I applaud the participation of the West Bengal Wikimedia Users Group in this sustainability initiative. It is heartening to see their leadership in this regard. How wonderful it would be if all the user groups and country communities in India think beyond immediate concerns and align their values with the needs of the World.
AshLin On Sun, 19 Dec 2021 at 13:13, Bodhisattwa Mandal < [email protected]> wrote: > Hello all, > > In response to the climate crisis, the West Bengal Wikimedians User Group > has joined hands with other affiliates from around the world and committed > to a cross-affiliate initiative to reduce the environmental impact of the > Wikimedia movement. The initiative can be looked at as one of the first > steps to implement Movement Strategy Recommendation #1.8 > <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Strategy/Wikimedia_movement/2018-20/Recommendations/Increase_the_Sustainability_of_Our_Movement>- > "*While we grow and become more sustainable as a Movement, we will also > align our practices to support the environmental sustainability of our > planet.*" > > The user group took part in drafting a document which we call as Wikimedia > Affiliates Environmental Sustainability Covenant > <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Affiliates_Environmental_Sustainability_Covenant> > and became one of the first signatories of the agreement along with > Wikimedians for Sustainable Development, Wikimedia Deutschland, Wikimedia > France, Wikimedia South Africa, Wikimedia Italia, Wikimedia UK and > Wikimedians of Tamazight User Group. > > The agreement till now is as follows - > > 1. Affiliates commit to reducing their carbon footprint through a > variety of measures, including but not limited to: > - drastically limiting the number of kerosene-based flights taken > by affiliate staff and representatives and community members, through > measures such as > - caps for flights taken on behalf of the affiliate, > - increased technical and organisational support for remote > events, > - travel policies that discourage flights over other means of > transport and that encourage the use of public transportation, and/or > - travel policies that require compensation for the > environmental cost of air travel, > - switching to renewable energy for their electricity consumption, > where possible, > - divesting their financial investments from carbon-intensive > industries, > - when engaging in carbon offset programmes, supporting only the > planting of native trees in uninhabited areas and not using offsets as > an > ‘excuse’ for their carbon emissions, > - implementing other practices listed below. > Affiliates related to Most Affected People and Areas shall only have > limited responsibilities in this regard, and shall receive support from > other affiliates to meet them. > 2. Affiliates call on other Wikimedia Movement entities, including and > especially the Wikimedia Foundation, to follow their example, specifically > concerning the sustainable operation of the Wikimedia Foundation’s data > centres. > 3. Affiliates commit to supporting initiatives aimed at improving the > coverage of the climate crisis on Wikimedia projects. > 4. Affiliates commit to regularly (at least yearly) sharing their > experiences adhering to this covenant to inspire each other and others > inside and outside of the Wikimedia Movement. > > As an affiliate with very limited capacity and resources and from a > developing nation, the user group will have technical and infrastructural > limitations implementing many of the clauses, but during the next AGM which > is going to happen in mid January 2022, a travel policy will be formulated > in compliance with this agreement. As before and with agreement with the > covenant, the UG will also keep committing to actively promote remote > virtual events including conferences, workshops, meetups whenever a > physical event can be avoided or deemed unnecessary. The UG will also > continue to support projects which focus on digital conservation of nature > like Wiki Loves Butterfly etc. There might be some more plans which can > come up gradually as our commitment to the agreement. > > You can learn about this initiative presented by different speakers at > different virtual conferences from this year. > > - Wikimania 2021: > > https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Towards_a_more_environmentally_sustainable_Wikimedia_Movement.webm > - WikiIndaba 2021: https://www.youtube.com/watch? > <http://goog_766684395>v=uXIVCUNoGu4 <http:///> > - WikiArabia 2021: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aENERdAmdAo > - CEE meeting 2021: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-oAIMDlc13M > - WikiConference North America: > https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zbJ7IO9cJYg (at 3:33:10) > - WikiConvention francophone 2021: > https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jlUD8MVPsyU (at 3:53:00) > - German-language WikiCon 2021: > > https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:2021-10-01_Klimaschutz_in_der_Community_(WikiCon_2021).webm > > Many affiliates are internally discussing the document and reviewing it > right now. If you as an affiliate are also interested, you are welcome to > do the same and join this effort. We look forward to your active > participation. > > Regards, > Bodhisattwa > (On behalf of West Bengal Wikimedians User Group) > > _______________________________________________ > Wikimediaindia-l mailing list -- [email protected] > To unsubscribe send an email to [email protected] > To unsubscribe from the list / change mailing preferences visit -- Warm regards, Ashwin Baindur
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