Thirty-one Wikimedians, eighteen countries, two days: what we did at the 11th Big Fat Brussels Meeting
Every autumn, Wikimedia Europe brings together a group of Wikimedians who care about policy — volunteer advocates, staff, and people from like-minded organisations. Last week we held the eleventh edition of what we have always called, half-jokingly, the Big Fat Brussels Meeting. Thirty-one people from eighteen countries. Two days. Here’s a quick recap. Day one: the state of the EU, and a sentence that stuck The first day was devoted to the current EU policy situation: the EU Kids Act and age verification, AI and copyright reform, the CSAM Regulation, open government data, and what is happening with the Digital Omnibus. Affiliates shared updates from their own countries, which is always useful — EU decision-making is a constant back-and-forth between Brussels and national capitals, and having advocates who can carry consistent narratives and asks in as many places as possible is a structural advantage the Wikimedia movement is actively leaning into. For the first time, advocacy staff from Wikimedia Czech Republic joined the meeting. They asked for and received input from peers to help shape the chapter’s first comprehensive advocacy strategy. A staff member from Wikimedia in Ireland also attended — that team is just beginning to build its policy reflex, and it was great to see them attend. A standout moment came from Signe Krantz of Wikimedia Sweden, who attempted to distil the movement’s core advocacy proposition into a single line — and, by the room’s reaction, largely succeeded: “Most people feel like they have a choice between the government or large corporations controlling their digital world. We have a third way for them.” The framing of community-governed and not-for-profit platforms as an alternative to both state control and commercial capture struck a cord. Day two, morning: how to hack AI? The second day… Read More »Thirty-one Wikimedians, eighteen countries, two days: what we did at the 11th Big Fat Brussels Meeting
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