Looking for a better lead pic for the [[Ariel 1]] article (first
british satellite depending on how you define things). Unfortunately
the original is still in earth orbit which makes it difficult to
photograph. However an engineering model is in possession of the royal
society and currently hanging from the roof of their Atrium.
--
geni
Hi all, hope you're well
For the members <https://wikimedia.org.uk/wiki/Membership> of Wikimedia UK,
I wanted to let you know that at our (virtual) board meeting last Saturday,
we agreed that the 2020 Annual General Meeting will be held online, rather
than as an in-person event. We are following the Charity Commission's
guidelines
<https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/charities-and-meetings-cc48/char…>
so we can help keep everyone safe given the current pandemic:
The requirements for charitable companies to have meetings of their
members, and to transact certain items of business at meetings of their
members, can now be dispensed with in certain circumstances.
The date of the AGM will be Saturday 18th July. Given the move to an online
only event, we will need to work out how best to enable everyone to
participate, and what the format and schedule should look like. You can
expect to hear more details from us in a few months time, but for now we
would be grateful if you could put the date in your diaries.
I'll be sending another email to all members soon. If you do not receive
one and think you should, let me know so I can check your membership status.
Do get in touch with me by email if you have any questions or comments.
Best wishes
Katie
--
Katie Crampton
Communications & Governance Assistant
Wikimedia UK
+44 (0)203 372 0761
*Wikimedia UK* is the national chapter for the global Wikimedia open
knowledge movement. We rely on donations from individuals to support our
work to make knowledge open for all. Have you considered supporting
Wikimedia? https://donate.wikimedia.org.uk
Wikimedia UK is a Company Limited by Guarantee registered in England and
Wales, Registered No. 6741827. Registered Charity No.1144513. Registered
Office Ground Floor, Europoint, 5 - 11 Lavington Street, London SE1 0NZ
<https://maps.google.com/?q=5+-+11+Lavington+Street,+London+SE1+0NZ&entry=gm…>
.
Wikimedia UK is the UK chapter of a global Wikimedia movement. The
Wikimedia projects are run by the Wikimedia Foundation (who operate
Wikipedia, amongst other projects).
*Wikimedia UK is an independent non-profit charity with no legal control
over Wikipedia nor responsibility for its contents.*
Dear all
Firstly, I hope that everyone is staying well - physically and mentally -
during the Covid-19 pandemic. These are worrying and difficult times for
all of us, and I hope that everyone has a support network in place (online
or otherwise) to help them through it.
As the people on this list are very aware, although Wikimedia is an online
movement it has a strong face to face element, with meetups, editing
events, training sessions, conferences, and of course offices including the
UK chapter. We have been following the situation carefully over the past
few weeks, with many of our upcoming events cancelled or moved online and
staff preparing to work from home. Yesterday evening, following the new
government advice around reducing contact and non-essential travel, we
decided to *close the Wikimedia UK office in London as of
tomorrow (Wednesday 18th March).* This closure will last until at least
Monday 13th April (Easter Monday), but we will of course be reviewing the
situation on an ongoing basis.
The whole staff team met today to discuss some of the implications of the
office closure - and the wider Covid-19 situation - for us, our partners
and our volunteer community. We are already thinking about our programme
and partnerships, and considering what events and projects will need to be
cancelled but what can be rescheduled, moved online or re-imagined. We are
also keen to explore ways in which we can support editors and readers
during this period. Some of our ideas at this point include:
- Exploring video conferencing platforms, and considering taking out a
paid subscription/account which we could share for community members
organising online meetups or other virtual events
- Organising training in delivering online training/webinars for
interested volunteers, particularly our existing lead trainers
- Exploring the potential for online editing events specifically focused
on producing quality information about the pandemic and associated issues
- Joining wider advocacy efforts across the movement encouraging bodies
such as the WHO to release their content under open licences
- Thinking about how we can support educators - including parents - in
a move to online learning (at universities) and homeschooling (for the
schools sector)
- Encouraging applications to our small grants scheme for books and
other research materials, for those of you who suddenly have more time for
editing!
We realise that an increased emphasis on social distancing is likely to
impact on all of you, personally and professionally and within the context
of your Wikimedia activities. If you have any other ideas for how Wikimedia
UK may be able to support our community over the next few weeks and months,
please do get in touch. I would ask you all to bear in mind that this
situation is also affecting staff, some of whom are separated from their
families, or have underlying health conditions, or are being impacted
financially by what is happening. So please bear with us as we adjust to a
new reality in terms of our own lives as well as our work.
With very best wishes
Lucy
--
Lucy Crompton-Reid
Chief Executive
Wikimedia UK
+44 (0) 203 372 0762
*Wikimedia UK* is the national chapter for the global Wikimedia open
knowledge movement, and a registered charity. We rely on donations from
individuals to support our work to make knowledge open for all. Have you
considered supporting Wikimedia? https://donate.wikimedia.org.uk
Company Limited by Guarantee registered in England and Wales, Registered
No. 6741827
Registered Charity No.1144513
Registered Office Ground Floor, Europoint, 5 - 11 Lavington Street, London
SE1 0NZ
The Wikimedia projects are run by the Wikimedia Foundation (who operate
Wikipedia, amongst other projects). Wikimedia UK is an independent
non-profit charity with no legal control over Wikipedia nor responsibility
for its contents.
This meetup will take place in the Microsoft Research Lab near Cambridge station:
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Meetup/Cambridge/43
Please note the fine print about getting past the front door: this seems to be industry-standard, judging by our previous event hosted by Amazon.
This time we are being hosted by Andy Gordon of Microsoft Research. He has a couple of ideas related to Wikidata, including a use of Excel, so we'll be having some presentations at the beginning of the meetup.
Hope to see you there.
Charles