Hello everyone,
Just wanted to take the time to introduce myself, I'm Sara Thomas, the new Wikimedian in Residence at Museums Galleries Scotland, currently on a four month secondment to Glasgow Museums. It's the second residency in Scotland, following Ally Crockford's at the National Library of Scotland, and I'm really happy to be on board. I'm going to be working with a number of different organisations, and if anyone has an interest in getting involved I'd invite you get in touch either here or through the project page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:GLAM/Museums_Galleries_Scotland
All the very best, and I look forward to getting to know you all better!
Sara Thomas
Wikimedian in Residence, Museums Galleries Scotland (seconded to Glasgow Museums)
Postponement of Volunteer Strategy Gathering
Wikimedia UK has reluctantly decided to postpone the volunteer strategy day
which was scheduled for Saturday 28 February. This will now happen later in
the year. The primary reason for this postponement is that there is more
value to the charity and its volunteers in holding the event later in the
year when a budget will be in place, when the charity has a new CEO and any
pending structural or other changes to the staff team have taken effect.
The event represents a significant investment of volunteer time and effort
and so it is appropriate that we value that time respectfully. Like all
other resources, volunteer time is limited and we do not wish to leave
anyone feeling that their time was wasted because the event took place too
soon.
Please do be assured that conversations that may have happened at the
gathering will still take place. The charity is still very keen to consult
with the volunteers and members on the proposed topics (and any others, of
course) but for the time being these will be focused online rather than in
person. We are looking at hosting regular group conversations online,
either by Google Hangout, Skype or conference call. More information about
the practical details will be made available presently.
Q: Why was the event postponed when it is only three weeks away?
A: We feel that the event will be more helpful later in the year. There
will be more substantial matters upon which volunteers can have a
meaningful influence.Furthermore, the new chief executive will be in post
and they will welcome the chance to engage with as many members of the
community as possible.
Q: When will the new event take place?
A: We are working on the basis that the next volunteer strategy gathering
<https://wikimedia.org.uk/wiki/Volunteer_Strategy_Gathering/2015> will take
place in September. This will give the new CEO plenty of time to establish
themself in the new role and have an understanding of our community and the
charity's needs.
Q: What about the topics up for discussion?
A: The postponement will allow these conversations to be developed, with
the Wikimedia UK Wiki, being the primary channel for this. We are also
piloting using the Education Program Extension
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:Education_Program_extension> at the Cinema
Museum editathon
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Education_Program:Wikimedia_UK/Cinema_Museum_…>,
Saturday 7th March and are looking at other opportunities to gain some
experience. If you would like to participate piloting the Education Program
Extension, or have some other innovation that you would like to see tested
please contact: fabian.tompsett(a)wikimedia.org.uk
Q: I have already booked my travel. What happens to my ticket?
A: If you are able to get a refund, please do so. However if a full refund
is not possible, please send us the documentation and we will ensure that
you are not out of pocket.
For all inquiries regarding the ongoing development of our volunteer
strategy, including the future gathering, please contact
fabian.tompsett(a)wikimedia.org.uk
all the best
Fabian Tompsett,
Volunteer Support Organiser,
Wikimedia UK,
Address: 56-64 Leonard St,
Shoreditch,
London EC2A 4LT
Phone:020 7065 0990
*Mobile: *07840 455 746
Wikimedia UK is a Company Limited by Guarantee registered in England and
Wales, Registered No. 6741827. Registered Charity No.1144513. Registered
Office 4th Floor, Development House, 56-64 Leonard Street, London EC2A 4LT.
United Kingdom. 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).
Visit http://www.wikimedia.org.uk/ and @wikimediauk
Dear friends of Wikimedia UK,
The Wikimedia Foundation Scholarships Program is offering a limited number
of scholarships to offset the cost of selected individuals' attendance at
Wikimania 2015 using funding provided by the foundation.
The deadline for submit an application is very near, February 16, 23:59 UTC!
Please apply at:
https://wikimania2015.wikimedia.org/wiki/Scholarships
Best,
--
*Iván Martínez*
*Wikimanía 2015 Chief CoordinatorUser:ProtoplasmaKid
@protoplasmakidhttp://wikimania2015.wikimedia.org
<http://wikimania2015.wikimedia.org>*
Hemos creado la más grande colección de conocimiento compartido. Ayuda a
proteger a Wikipedia, dona ahora:
https://donate.wikimedia.org
Hi all,
The world-class Hepworth Wakefield is proud to be hosting it's first
Wikipedia event.
Experienced Wikipedians of all backgrounds welcome to come and work on the
representation of women in art with experts from the Hepworth and
Yorkshire's other art museums.
Find out more on the Meetup page
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Meetup/Wakefield/ArtandFeminism/Hep…>
Hope to see some of you there!
Pat
--
Pat Hadley
Yorkshire's open culture brain-for-hire
pathadley.net
@pathadley <http://twitter.com/pathadley>
Hello everyone,
One of our volunteers has just sent me the details of an interesting
looking project from the British Library called Save Our Sounds.
Essentially there are a lot of collections of sound in the UK that are at
risk from physical deterioration and they are looking at ways of preserving
the important stuff (basically, all of it). I wonder if this is of
interest? The two key links to look at are below.
http://www.bl.uk/projects/save-our-soundshttp://www.bl.uk/projects/uk-sound-directory
Thanks and regards,
Stevie
--
Stevie Benton
Head of External Relations
Wikimedia UK
+44 (0) 20 7065 0993 / +44 (0) 7803 505 173
@StevieBenton
Wikimedia UK is a Company Limited by Guarantee registered in England
and Wales, Registered No. 6741827. Registered Charity No.1144513.
Registered Office 4th Floor, Development House, 56-64 Leonard Street,
London EC2A 4LT. United Kingdom. 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.*
Hi all,
An article in this weeks observer (see http://www.theguardian.com/culture/2014/nov/01/magna-carta-800-celebrates-a… ) points out that it will be the 800th anniversary of the signing of the Magna Carta next year (15 June 2015) and suggests there will be various TV and radio programmes (and books etc) to coincide with the significant date. I note this article (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magna_Carta ) regularly gets 150,000+ page views per month and this is likely to increase. It was listed as a Good Article back in the early days but was delisted in 2006 and has gone downhill since then. It is also listed on the Vital Articles for Society and Social Sciences. A few of us are trying to get it to at least GA or even FA standard before the anniversary – any help would be appreciated.
The specific reason for this email is that I think WikimediaUK had some sort of relationship (possibly a wikimedian in residence or similar) with the British Library years ago. For that or other sources does anyone have a contact within the appropriate department (possibly manuscripts curator or similar) of the BL who would be willing to help advise on the development of this important article?
Rod
Dear all,
I've just posted our current draft of a revised Wikimedia UK Chief
Executive job description for and person specification on the chapter wiki.
https://wikimedia.org.uk/wiki/Chief_Executive_role_2015
Comments & suggestions from the community are welcome until 25 January
2015, after which this document will be finalised and we will start to
advertise.
This draft has been produced by a Board working group (myself, Michael
Maggs, Carol Campbell and Alastair McCapra) who will be handling the
selection process.
The changes to the job description compared to the last time the post was
advertised reflect the development of the organisation and its environment,
so there are some differences of emphasis. We are also focusing the person
specification more around competencies that someone will need to succeed in
the job, and as a result have less "essential experience".
Do let us know what you think, preferably on the talk page - if anyone
wants to give feedback in private please drop me a line via email and I'll
pass on to the rest of the selection panel.
There will be more details on the selection timeline and community
involvement in choosing the new Chief Exec in due course.
Regards,
Chris Keating
Trustee
Hi everyone,
Apethorpe Hall in Northamptonshire was in the news recently
<http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/art/architecture/11333447/French-baron-s…>
as
it's going to be substantially renovated. At the moment, there are only
three pictures of the hall on Commons
<https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Apethorpe_Hall>.
I thought I'd let you all know about it in case it's of interest and
someone has any good ideas.
Richard Nevell
--
Richard Nevell
Assistant Office Manager
Wikimedia UK
+44 (0) 20 7065 0753
Wikimedia UK is a Company Limited by Guarantee registered in England and
Wales, Registered No. 6741827. Registered Charity No.1144513. Registered
Office 4th Floor, Development House, 56-64 Leonard Street, London EC2A 4LT.
United Kingdom. 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.*
Hello everyone,
As you may have seen, the Speaker's Commission on Digital Democracy
launched its report today in Westminster. I was fortunate enough to be
invited since I'd been involved in the Commission's work.
There are a couple of announcements that could benefit Wikimedia UK. By
2016 Parliament wants all published information (and broadcast footage)
that it produces made freely available in formats suitable for re-use. It
also wants Hansard to be released as "open data" by the end of 2015.
I've written up a short blog post covering the key topics and it is
published here -
https://blog.wikimedia.org.uk/2015/01/report-from-the-speakers-commission-o…
Please let me know if you have any thoughts or questions, either on the
report, or the blog post. I'll be happy to help.
Thanks and regards,
Stevie
--
Stevie Benton
Head of External Relations
Wikimedia UK
+44 (0) 20 7065 0993 / +44 (0) 7803 505 173
@StevieBenton
Wikimedia UK is a Company Limited by Guarantee registered in England
and Wales, Registered No. 6741827. Registered Charity No.1144513.
Registered Office 4th Floor, Development House, 56-64 Leonard Street,
London EC2A 4LT. United Kingdom. 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.*