User:Risker/Signpost draft Aug2023

Optional: Give a short WP:LEAD-like introduction statement here.

Who are you, and what's this about a charter?
The Movement Charter Drafting Committee was created in response to the Movement Strategy recommendations. had its first on-line meeting back in November 2021. It's a big challenge to start up a completely new committee with 15 initial members, scattered across 12 time zones. Most of us hadn't worked together before, and we were embarking on a task that had never been done before within the Wikimedia movement. It took us a while to figure out what we needed to do, how to carry out our responsibilities, and to come to some basic agreements on what the charter should say. After six months of bi-weekly online meetings, we had our first in-person meeting in June 2022, just after the Wikimedia Foundation lifted travel bans due to Covid. That meeting was critical in making decisions on processes, and developing some general agreements on content. Then, we started writing. We created drafting groups and subcommittees based on the interests and availability of our members, and the first two draft chapters and a statement of intention were shared with the broad Wikimedia community in November 2022. A proposed ratification process was published in April 2023. In July and early August 2023, we published the first draft of the chapters on Global Council, Hubs, and Roles & Responsibilities, as well as a draft glossary.

Each draft chapter is developed by its drafting group (4-7 members). After that, it is reviewed and commented on by the full committee and further revised. This can involve considerable discussion spread over a few weeks, because most of the work of the committee is done asynchronously (i.e., each person working on their own time). Once everyone is satisfied that the draft chapter is "good enough for outside review", it then undergoes legal review by two separate entities: the legal team of the Wikimedia Foundation, and an independent legal team that reports directly to the MCDC. The draft chapter is revised based on these legal reviews, and again the MCDC as a whole reviews to ensure that the draft is okay for the next level of review. It may go to volunteer advisors separate from the MCDC, and the draft is further revised based on those comments. The final review is with readability advisors, and the draft may be further tweaked, Any terms that may need further explanation are added to the draft glossary (which also undergoes legal review). Finally, the draft is sent out to translators, so that the majority of the Wikimedia community is able to read the draft, make comments, and ask questions. Then - we publish on Meta, and send out newsletters and other communications to invite community comment.