Please find forwarded below the message that was sent to all the
members of Wikimedia UK this morning.
If you're not a member of the chapter yet and would like to get
involved in the AGM, it's not too late. The easiest way is through the
online application form at
http://uk.wikimedia.org/wiki/Membership
If you are a member but haven't received the message below please let
me know as we may have an error in your records.
Regards,
Andrew Turvey
Chair & Company Secretary, Wikimedia UK
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Andrew Turvey <andrewrturvey(a)googlemail.com>
Date: Thu, Mar 24, 2011 at 7:25 AM
Subject: Wikimedia UK Annual Conference & AGM
To: office(a)wikimedia.org.uk
Bcc: [memberslist]
Dear Member,
Thank you for being a member of Wikimedia UK - the movement promoting
and supporting Wikipedia, its sister projects and open content here in
the UK. We are now over two years old. We have made a real impact in
the last year, hosting a major GLAM-WIKI conference, celebrations
around the 10th Anniversary of Wikipedia and, last month, BRIS-WIKI -
a conference about Wikipedia in Bristol.
This year has also seen significant growth in Wikimedia UK: our income
has topped £500,000, our membership is now close to 200 and we
employed our first member of staff. Next year we have many exciting
plans, but we need you to be involved to make that happen!
Our Annual Conference and Annual General Meeting will be held on
Saturday 16th April at the The Watershed Media Centre, Bristol. There
will be a full programme of events starting at 9:30am and finishing at
5:00pm, including speakers, panel discussions and the business of the
AGM itself at 1pm. Please come along to hear what we have achieved and
help us plan our activities for the future.
The address of the venue is:
Watershed Media Centre
1 Canon's Rd, Harbourside
Bristol, BS1 5TX
Bristol is easy to get to via car, bus, train or airplane. Directions
to the venue can be found on Watershed's website at
http://www.watershed.co.uk/info/access.php. For National Express buses
to Bristol, see their website at
http://www.nationalexpress.com/coach/destinations/england/south-west/bristo….
Hotel options if you plan to stay over are shown on our main wiki page
at
http://uk.wikimedia.org/wiki/WikiConference_UK_2011#Getting_to_the_conferen…
If you need financial support to attend the conference, please contact
User:Mike Peel via the wiki page.
So that we can plan for the right number of people, if you are
attending, it would help us if you could register for the event via
EventBrite at
http://wikiconferenceuk2011.eventbrite.com/
AGM
The official AGM will run from 1pm to 3pm and cover the annual report,
election of a new Board of Trustees and five official motions listed
below. Would you like to stand as a member of the board?
Next year is set to be another big and exciting year of growth for
Wikimedia UK: we plan to recruit several more members of staff so we
can scale up our activities, enable more activity by volunteers and
professionalise the chapter. Our own developer, events organiser, a
full time office manager and a chapter manager pulling everything
together will no doubt transform Wikimedia UK. This is an exciting
time to be part of the board of trustees and there will be a real
opportunity to make a difference and influence the future direction of
the chapter.
We expect that being a board member will take up at least three hours
per week. We expect that the Board will meet once every four to six
weeks, with one meeting in person every three months. We also hope
that directors take
a lead in chapter projects outside meetings. However, there is no
requirement to dedicate a certain amount of time to the chapter or to
have any particular skills - just disclose what you can bring to the
table and let the members decide!
Board members legally act as the chapter's Directors and Trustees. The
eligibility criteria and duties are set out at
http://uk.wikimedia.org/wiki/Board#Duties - please check that you are
eligible and accept these duties before putting yourself forward for
election. If you have any questions you are welcome to contact me,
another board member or take your own legal advice.
To nominate yourself as a candidate, simply email
tellers(a)wikimedia.org.uk by 23:59 on Saturday 2nd April with the
following:
* a statement that you would like to nominate yourself to serve as
a director and trustee of Wikimedia UK and you fulfill the legal
criteria for appointment
* Full name
* any previous names
* date of birth
* business occupation
* the names of any other UK companies which you have been director
of in the last five years
During the election only your name will be made public. If you are
successful these other details will be filed with Companies House as a
public record. You will also be required to file your usual
residential address with the Company Secretary, but this will be kept
confidential.
You may also enclose a candidate statement of up to 500 words if you
wish. This will be sent out with the ballot paper to the voters and
published on the Wikimedia UK wiki. Alternatively, you may send this
separately to the Tellers before the 2nd April. The Tellers will
confirm receipt and acceptance of the nomination. The list of validly
approved candidates will be sent to all members within a week of the
close of nominations on the 2nd April. Candidates can withdraw their
nomination any time before the results of the election are announced.
Resolutions
Following the election of the board, the AGM will discuss five formal
motions as follows:
1. A motion to increase the term of Board members from one to two years
2. A motion to set membership fees
3. A motion to appoint board members
4. A motion to approve the annual accounts
5. A motion to appoint auditors
More details of these motions is given below and on the AGM wiki page
above. If you would like to propose any amendments please get in touch
by emailing chair(a)wikimedia.org.uk to discuss.
Please vote on these motions by forwarding this email to
"tellers(a)wikimedia.org.uk" and putting "Yes" or "No" against
each of
the motions above. You may also vote in person at the AGM and you may
change your vote at any time. Email votes must be received by 2pm on
Friday 15th April. By forwarding this email with your instructions to
the tellers you are agreeing to appoint the tellers as your proxy and
they will cast your vote on your behalf. The wording of the proxy
declaration is as follows:
"I, the above named member, of the above email address, being a member
of Wikimedia UK, hereby appoint James Farrar ("the Teller") as my
proxy to vote in my name on my behalf at the general meeting of the
charity to be held on 16th April 2011 and at any adjournment thereof
according to my instruction above. Unless otherwise instructed, the
proxy may vote as they think fit where consistent with my instruction
or abstain."
Alternatively you have a right to appoint someone else as your proxy
to attend the meeting and vote on your behalf. Please use the same
wording as above and email it to tellers(a)wikimedia.org.uk.
We look forward to seeing you on 16th!
Regards,
Company Secretary
Wikimedia UK
Wikimedia UK is the operating name of Wiki UK Limited.
Wiki UK Ltd is a Company Limited by Guarantee registered in England
and Wales, Registered No. 6741827.
The Registered Office is at 23 Cartwright Way, Nottingham, NG9 1RL,
United Kingdom.
Details of Resolutions
1. A motion to increase the term of Board members from one to two years
This motion is a Special Resolution and therefore requires a 75%
majority to pass
Whereas Article 16 currently states that:
"16.1 Providing that one or more valid nominations for Directors
are received, all the Directors shall retire from office at each
Annual General Meeting "
"16.2 If a Director is required to retire at an Annual General
Meeting by a provision of these articles the retirement shall take
effect upon the conclusion of the meeting.";
Believing the resultant uncertainty around the election each year
disrupts the effectiveness of the Board's planning, and interim
functionality;
Believing that longer terms for the Directors would produce a positive
impact in improved stability of the Board;
Resolves to replace Article 16 with the following:
16.1 Providing that one or more valid nominations for Directors
are received, Directors shall retire from office at the second Annual
General Meeting since their last appointment, unless by the close of
the meeting the members have failed to elect sufficient Directors to
hold a quorate meeting of the Directors.
16.2 At the first Annual General Meeting following the adoption of
this article, fifty percent of directors shall retire from office. If
the number of directors is not a multiple of two, the number of
retiring directors shall be fifty percent plus a half.
16.3 The directors who are to resign under Article 16.2 at the
first AGM following from the adoption of this Article shall be
determined as the directors who obtained the fewest votes at their
election.
16.4 If a Director is appointed to fill a vacancy under Article
17.4, they shall retire from office at the subsequent Annual General
Meeting
16.5 If a Director is required to retire at an Annual General
Meeting by a provision of these articles the retirement shall take
effect upon the conclusion of the meeting.
This resolution has been put forward by Mike Peel, and has been
seconded by Thomas Dalton.
2. A motion to set membership fees
Whereas, the Membership Rules require the membership fees to be
reviewed by each AGM.
This meeting resolves by Ordinary Resolution to maintain the
membership fees unchanged for Individual Members at £5 per year and
for all Member Organisations at £100 per year.
3. A motion to appoint board members
Whereas, the Board of Trustees have all resigned effective at the end
of this meeting, as required by the Articles of Association. Whereas,
the Election Rules require an election of board members at this
meeting.
This meeting resolves by Ordinary Resolution to hold an election in
accordance with the Election Rules and then appoint the elected
candidates as members of the Board of Trustees for the next year.
4. A motion to approve the annual accounts
Whereas the Financial Accounts for the periods ended 31 January 2010
and 31 January 2011 have been previously approved by the directors,
This meeting resolved to adopt these accounts.
5. A motion to appoint auditors
Whereas Messrs UHY Hacker Young of 22 The Ropewalk Nottingham have
been appointed by the directors as auditors of the company,
This Meeting resolves to reappoint them as auditors until the
conclusion of the next Annual General Meeting.
** END **