Wikimedia chapters are national or sub-national not-for-profit organizations created to promote the interests of Wikimedia projects locally, by members of the movement. Chapters are legally independent of the Wikimedia Foundation, entering into an agreement with the foundation following acceptance by the Affiliations Committee (formerly known as "Chapters Committee"), and have no control over Foundation websites. They organize regional conferences, outreach, and global events such as Wikimania.[1][2]
Wikimedia Deutschland (WMDE) is the oldest chapter, holding its first meeting in 2004. As of 2016, it had a budget of €20 million.[3][4] Some chapters such as WMDE get some of their funds directly from grants and supporting memberships. Some others get their funds primarily from annual plan grants from WMF. As of 2019, roughly 10% of the WMF budget is distributed in this way to chapters and thematic organizations.[5] As of August 2019 there were 40 recognized Wikimedia chapters in 38 countries.[6][7]
^The links go to the articles on Meta Wikimedia (the central wiki for coordinating across projects); extra links will also appear, if they exist, to articles on the English-language and respective language Wikipedias, in that order. Therefore, most of these links will not lead to encyclopedic pages aimed at the typical reader, and might even assume the reader is already a contributor.
^Originally "Wikimedia Serbia and Montenegro" until June 2006.
^"Resolution: Recognition of Wikimedia Uruguay". Wikimedia Foundation Governance Wiki. Archived from the original on Apr 1, 2024.
^Lokshin, Kirill (7 Feb 2017). "[Wikimedia-l] Chapter De-Recognition: Wikimedia Hong Kong". lists.wikimedia.org. Archived from the original on Oct 5, 2020.
^Malul, Maor (22 Apr 2017). "[Wikimedia-l] Chapter De-Recognition: Wikimedia Philippines". lists.wikimedia.org. Archived from the original on Sep 12, 2020.
^"Wikimedia movement affiliates/Formerly Active Affiliates". Meta-Wiki. Archived from the original on Oct 5, 2022.
Bibliography
Fuster Morell, Mayo (2011). "The Wikimedia Foundation and the Governance of Wikipedia's Infrastructure". In Geert Lovink; Nathaniel Tkacz (eds.). Critical Point of View: A Wikipedia Reader. Institute of Network Cultures. ISBN 978-90-78146-13-1.
Konieczny, P (November 2009). "Wikipedia: Community or Social Movement". Interface. 1 (2 ed.): 212–232.
Fontanills, David Gómez (May 2012). "Academic research into Wikipedia". Digithum (14): 77–87. ISSN 1575-2275.