By Esma Gjertsen, Volunteer Coordinator at Wikimedia UK
I am very excited to join the Wikimedia community as a Volunteer Coordinator and look forward to contributing to volunteer engagement and diversity across the community.
I moved to the UK from Turkey where I worked as a freelance translator and civil servant for more than a decade. I studied translation for my undergraduate degree and continued my formal education with masters degrees in human rights and social policy.
I am driven by social justice and equal opportunities. I have been volunteering in the education, environment and family non-profits for almost twenty years, most recently in a UK based charity as a volunteer coordinator. I’m very happy about the career change I’m going through and joining the third sector as a professional to make a meaningful impact with my experience and skills. I am hoping to advance Wikimedia UK’s efforts to reach out and bring in more people from underrepresented communities and support them to share their knowledge and expertise through open and free platforms.
I am currently familiarising myself with our work (reading lots of articles and documents and talking to colleagues) – and am very eager to join in the mission.
I’m very open to new ideas and brainstorming – just reach out and say hello at esma.gjertsen@wikimedia.org.uk.