On behalf of the UK community I would like to thank the support and patience from the board and foundation with regards to the UK community being successful in forming a working chapter. I believe that the chapter's member base is stronger now than it has ever been before. We all hope to learn from the mistakes and challenges from the previous incarnation, and that we can build upon the successes they had. The UK is one of the largest contributors to the Wikimedia projects and we hope that the chapter can better that in its accomplishments in representing the Foundation with in the United Kingdom. We will ensure that we work closely and communicate with the the Chapters committee, the Foundation office and board and also our sibling chapters across the globe. We will hopefully receive pro bono legal advice from within the UK and we will ensure that the board is in the best position possible, but if the foundation has any advice to offer, we would welcome it. Milestones have been set in place to ensure that the momentum we have to kept going. It is hoped that incorporation, a bank account, and tax exemption could be achieved within6 months if all goes well. We look forward to working with you in the near future, and even more so to our success. Many thanks again from the UK User:Seddon @ en-wiki _________________________________________________________________ Win New York holidays with Kellogg’s & Live Search http://clk.atdmt.com/UKM/go/107571440/direct/01/

Michael Snow wrote:

On behalf of the Board of Trustees, the Wikimedia Foundation and its staff, I would like to thank those who put their efforts into organising a local chapter for the United Kingdom. It's unfortunate that this initial effort is not working out as hoped. In addition to Alison, I know that a number of other people, both in and outside the board of Wiki Educational Resources, have tried to tackle the various obstacles that have come up. We appreciate their patience and their diligence.

It is good to see that people are still interested and enthusiastic about creating a UK chapter, and I wish them the best in this endeavour. I hope those who experienced the first attempt will share their knowledge and consider staying involved to support the new team. In addition, Mike Godwin has mentioned that he will look into having some legal research done in this area, in the hopes that we can better understand the regulatory context and deal with any obstacles. If there is anything else the foundation can do to help the process along, we would love to hear about it.

Michael Snow Chair, Wikimedia Foundation

I'd like to add my thanks to Michael's.

I'm sorry the chapter feels it needs to dissolve, but I'd like to say a strong thanks to the people who I know put so much time & energy into it over the years: Alison Wheeler, David Gerard, James Forrester and Arkady Rose. (I am sure there are others who were active, and I don't mean to ignore anyone's contributions; those are just the people I personally am most aware of.) We at the Foundation appreciate your patience and your hard work, and we hope you'll want to stay involved and help the folks who're picking up the torch now.

Please get in touch with me offlist if there's anything I can do to ease the closure of the former chapter, or help the new one grow. I know you've been talking a lot with Delphine, obviously, and Mike is indeed starting to get some legal research underway, as well :-)

Thanks, Sue