2024:Meetups/The Movement Charter Farewell Gathering
After seven years of Movement Strategy it is time to say farewell to a companion we have lost way too soon. The first time most of us met you, you were just a little kernel of an idea, nurtured by the Roles & Responsibilities Working Group but cared for by many others too from other working groups. At the time we didn't know yet what kind of commotion you would create, but we had a pretty good idea that you would become quite important to us.
You were a key building block of the recommendation Ensure Equity in Decision-Making, giving us all hope that we might actually change the way Wikimedia works and is governed by, giving the communities of Wikimedia a global voice that could offer us a bolder and brighter vision of the future. As all of us, you suffered through the COVID-19 pandemic, just as you turned out to be more than just an idea. We are all very sorry for neglecting you for a while, looking back it is clear we should have spent more time with you, cared for you, helping you get through some tough times.
You fully came into our lives in 2021, when we set about to start shaping you into a document we could all be proud of. We admit, it wasn't always easy with you, sometimes the enormity of the task of shaping you confused us a lot, to the point where we didn't quite know where or how to start. But we eventually got going, entrusting your health and prosperity to an eventually diverse group of people who worked for the next 2 and a half years to give you a purpose that would inspire all of us.
While that process wasn't always easy, we never doubted that you belonged in this world, taking your place as the document that would bind us all together, hold each other accountable, and let us grow as organisations and human beings. It is therefore with a heavy heart that we are sad to see you leave us so soon, just as we were getting to know you and appreciate you. But please know that you were loved, that 3 out of 4 users from online communities and 4 out of 5 Wikimedia affiliates thought that you were our hope for the future.
Many of us will take a while to deal with your loss, to understand what your absence means and how to keep on living without you. Maybe we will see you again in some other shape or form, built on a healthier foundation that will be strong enough to support you. But for now, know that you will be sorely missed and this congregation here, this gathering, will commemorate and celebrate you as befits the hopes and dreams we instilled in you.
Bring your own...
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This meetup is not organised in any way - attendees (or mourners/celebrants) are free to bring their own coping mechanism, farewell gift or custom from their culture that commemorates the life of the Movement Charter in a befitting way. As would usually be the case, attendees are welcome to share stories - ones that made them laugh or cry, happy or sad, that remind everyone of how the Movement Charter touched their lives and share their memories with others.
In case a more ceremonial approach is needed, here are a few suggestions, reminiscent of an Irish Wake or a Polish Stypa.
- A playlist!
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