Viewable online at
<http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_chapters/Reports/Wikimedia_Australia/2009-01>
Wikimedia Australia chapter report
Edition 4, January-May 2009
By Brianna Laugher, President (blaugher at wikimedia dot org dot au)
==Annual General Meeting==
Wikimedia Australia had its first AGM on January 11th. Three groups
participated via conference call: Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney.
Other members from different locations participated via IRC. Elections
for committee positions were held, with results as following:
* President: Brianna Laugher (uncontested)
* Vice President: Liam Wyatt
* Secretary: Sarah Ewart (uncontested)
* Treasurer: Brian Salter-Duke (uncontested)
* Ordinary members: John Vandenberg, Nathan Carter.
<http://wikimedia.org.au/wiki/2008-2009_AGM>
==Free as in Freedom miniconf==
A miniconf called "Free as in Freedom" was held in Hobart, on 20th
January, as part of the national Linux conference, linux.conf.au
(LCA). This miniconf was organised by Brianna Laugher (although not as
a Wikimedia Australia event); one of the speakers was Liam Wyatt and
one of the Keynote speakers of the whole conference was Wikimedia
Foundation advisory board chair Angela Beesley. It included talks on
open access, copyright law, geodata and citizen journalism. The first
Tasmanian Wikimedia meetup was also held, and a Wikimedia Australia
table was present at the LCA Open Day.
<http://freeasinfreedom.modernthings.org/d/doku.php?id=schedule>
==Submission on Australian Digital Future Directions==
In February we made a submission to the federal government Department
of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy (DBCDE) on the
"Digital Economy Future Directions Consultation Paper". This is our
second submission to government, following our submission in September
2008 to the Victorian parliament's "Inquiry into Improving Access to
Victorian Public Sector Information and Data".
<http://wikimedia.org.au/wiki/Submission_on_Australian_Digital_Future_Directions>
==Backstage Pass==
This was an event held on March 13th, with the Powerhouse Museum (PHM)
in Sydney. It involved giving Wikimedia Australia members a private
tour of the PHM's collections, followed by group editing of articles
relating to PHM topics. It was a very successful pilot event, leading
the PHM to license their collection documentation under a variety of
Creative Commons licenses.
<http://wikimedia.org.au/wiki/Backstage_pass>
PHM blog:
<http://www.powerhousemuseum.com/dmsblog/index.php/2009/04/02/working-with-wikipedia-backstage-pass-at-the-powerhouse-museum/>
==Berlin chapters meeting==
During April 3-5, Brianna Laugher and Liam Wyatt took part in the
first all chapters meeting in Berlin. It was an excellent opportunity
to present Wikimedia Australia and learn about what the other chapters
are doing.
<http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Chapters_meeting_2009>
Our introductory presentation:
<http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Chapters_meeting_2009/Preparation/Wikimedia_Australia>
==Unlocking IP==
On April 16-17 Brianna Laugher and Liam Wyatt attended the 'Unlocking
IP' conference at the Cyberspace Law and Policy Centre at the
University of NSW. Our talk was called "Wikimedia in copyright /
Copyright in Wikimedia" and touched on a variety of topics: how the
Wikimedia Commons community reconciles many national copyright laws;
the license switch; derivative works/the right to fork and the
non-commercial paradox.
As a consequence, we were invited to sit on a steering committee to
set up a national peak body to represent the public interest in
copyright law.
Abstract: <http://www.cyberlawcentre.org/unlocking-ip/2009/papers.htm#5ABL>
Video: <http://blip.tv/file/2008295/>
==EDNA ICT workshop==
On 22nd May Brianna Laugher gave a talk at an EDNA workshop at the
State Library of Victoria, about using Wikipedia in the classroom.
EDNA is a government-funded "network of the education and training
community".
<http://www.edna.edu.au/edna/go/events/workshops/VIC>
==Coming up==
GLAM-WIKI is a major event planned for August 6-7 at the Australian
War Memorial in Canberra. This will bring together members of the
Gallery, Library, Archive & Museum sector (GLAM) with people from our
community to discuss how we can collaborate and learn from each other.
In the first week of being open for attendees one third of all places
have been already been registered.
<http://wikimedia.org.au/wiki/GLAM>
==Press==
* The Age, 'Many minds make Wiki work'. Mandy Salomon, January 15, 2009.
**
<http://www.theage.com.au/news/entertainment/tv--radio/many-minds-make-wiki-work/2009/01/14/1231608762605.html>
* Sydney Morning Herald, 'Watch out Wikipedia, here comes Britannica
2.0'. Stephen Hutcheon, January 22, 2009.
**
<http://www.smh.com.au/news/technology/biztech/here-comes-britannica-20/2009/01/22/1232471469973.html>
* ABC PM (radio), 'Biography hacking prompts Wikipedia review'.
Rachael Brown, 27 January, 2009. [&]
** <http://www.abc.net.au/pm/content/2008/s2475604.htm>
* Sydney Morning Herald, 'Obama Wiki fiddler caught red-handed'. Asher
Moses, March 11, 2009.
** <http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2009/03/11/1236447270592.html>
* Sydney Morning Herald, 'Parents warned of Wikiporn risk'. Caroline
Marcus, May 24, 2009. [&]
**
<http://www.smh.com.au/news/home/technology/parents-warned-of-wikiporn-risk/2009/05/23/1242498976065.html>
[&] = quotes from Wikimedia Australia member
==Committee==
Meetings:
* 15 January
* 8 February
* 15 February
* 28 February - 1 March - strategic planning meeting
* 26 March
* 4 May
Minutes can be found at <http://wikimedia.org.au/wiki/Meetings>.
Some training has also been undertaken. Brianna Laugher attended a
seminar on "Secrets of Successful Boards" in February, and Brianna
Laugher and Brian Salter-Duke attended a PILCH seminar on tax
concessions for non-profits in May.
The committee submitted several grants to the WMF grants scheme. The
submissions can be seen here:
<http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:PrefixIndex/Wikimedia_chapters/WMF_grants/WM_AU>
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