I came to the role of Education Lead at Wikimedia UK after 20 years of teaching A level Philosophy in a Further Education college. I had always strongly felt that critical thinking skills should be taught to all young people, regardless of social or educational background. This will enable us to move toward a more equitable society and see more diversity in politics, media and society in general.

The changing face of education in the digital age

Over my many years of teaching, I saw gradual changes in how young people engage with the digital world. I also saw how those changes became drastic over time. Students have always been passionate about causes, always curious and keen to learn about the world they lived in. But they were increasingly being exposed to more information than ever before. That information came from more sources and also arrived at a faster pace than ever before.

The philosophical skills I was teaching them had always been about critically engaging with information they are given, learning how to spot good from bad arguments, questioning what they are told and having the confidence to articulate their own thoughts and opinions. But now these skills are crucial in navigating the digital world in an age of misinformation, disinformation and conspiracy theories, and where developments in AI blur the boundaries of truth and fiction. Those students who did not develop these skills are increasingly at risk of polarisation, or at worst radicalisation. 

The digital divide and education.

During my time in education I was also involved in widening participation in Higher Education, running programmes to help students overcome barriers to reaching top universities. Many of our students were the first generation to go into post-compulsory education and came from a variety of challenging backgrounds. Socio-economic barriers had always existed, but now the digital divide added a new dimension to inequality.

Digital poverty includes a lack of access to technology and online information. It also needs to be understood as poor information literacy. If students cannot critically assess the digital information they encounter, they become vulnerable. They are more exposed to misinformation and disinformation. As a result, they are also more vulnerable to harm. Since 16-year-olds will soon be able to vote in general elections, they will become targets online. Fake news and conspiracy theories are likely to focus on them. Students also need to learn how to check sources. They must assess information for reliability. They also need to use AI responsibly and effectively. Without these skills, they may struggle academically at university. This can lead to higher dropout rates. It can also widen educational divides.

From the Classroom to Wikimedia UK

The move from teaching to Education Lead at Wikimedia UK was something that was very natural for me. Wikimedia UK is the UK chapter of the Wikimedia Foundation, a charity supporting all the Wiki projects and community of volunteers. The most well-known of these projects is of course Wikipedia. When I began teaching most teachers still warned against using Wikipedia as a research tool. Times have changed, although some misconceptions about Wikipedia do still exist.

Why Wikipedia should be used in the classroom

At the heart of Wikimedia UK’s work is the belief that every human should have free and equal access to the sum of all human knowledge. The charity works hard to break down barriers which prevent individuals and groups from accessing and shaping open knowledge. Wikipedia itself is the product of collaboration and the work of volunteers across the globe who produce, edit and monitor its content. Campaigns and projects work to increase representation on Wikipedia, both in those contributing and in the content, and young people play an important part in that process. 

Wikipedia also strives for the core principle of neutrality, with articles giving proportionate weight to different viewpoints when they exist and lacking bias or opinion. Combined with the principles of transparency (all edits are visible) and verifiability (articles strive to be clearly sourced) Wikipedia is one of the few places where young people can go for a neutral, unbiased perspective. In a world of fake news and influencers this is more important than ever. 

Where Wikimedia UK comes in

Wikimedia UK encourages critical evaluation of online information, including of Wikipedia itself. Some articles need improving in content or citation, and there are knowledge gaps to be filled. Debates occur on the talk pages about the best way to present information. But all of this encourages complexity resilience, being more comfortable with an increasingly ambiguous, complex, and difficult world, rather than simply offering definitive answers or actions (like conspiracies theories or answers given by AI often do). 

Following the Curriculum and Assessment Review of English schools, media and information literacy has been recognised as a crucial part of education. At Wikimedia UK we are committed to helping teachers and students navigate this increasingly complex and important topic by providing teacher training, classroom materials and workshops.

I am proud to be part of something that will empower young people to build digital resilience, safeguarding their wellbeing and allowing them to make informed decisions as they become the ones to shape the future. 

Interested in Workshops or Collaboration? Let’s Talk

My role as Education Lead at Wikimedia UK involves developing materials and workshops to teach young people crucial media literacy skills. If you are an educator interested in bringing this work to your school or college, or an organisation looking to collaborate on media literacy projects I would love to hear from you.

Dr Sally Latham (sally.latham@wikimedia.org.uk)

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Adam Harangozó stepped into the role in December 2025, combining sharing openly licensed content, training and preparing learning resources, with bibliometrics tools to help researchers make their work more visible. The project will last for two years and aims to support LSE and the wider international social science community in developing open knowledge and sharing insights and expertise through the Wikimedia projects. Adam has previously worked as a Wikimedian in Residence for the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) and the Blinken Open Society Archives (based in Budapest).

At Wikimedia UK, we are very excited to be working with both LSE and Adam. This is the fourth residency active at a UK university – joining Edinburgh, Exeter, and Leeds – and the first to focus specifically on social science.

As well as joining LSE’s community, Adam joins Wikimedia UK’s community of Wikimedians in Residence who learn from and support each other. LSE’s ‘Research for the World’ strategy aligns closely with WMUK’s aims, setting out how LSE seeks to “generate the knowledge and insight the world needs to build a more sustainable, prosperous and equitable future.”

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Wikimedia UK demystifies and drives engagement in open knowledge, as the national charity for Wikipedia and the other Wikimedia projects. We have been delivering education activities for over ten years, with an explicit focus on the use of Wikimedia as a tool to develop information and media literacy skills. Our programme takes place online and in schools, universities, museums, libraries and community settings. 

Our research shows that learning to contribute to Wikimedia helps people better understand, assess, and navigate online information, with participants in our programme reporting increased confidence in their digital skills and media literacy. Learning to edit Wikipedia gives participants a chance to practice understanding content, verifying information, applying critical thinking skills, reflecting on one’s role within the online spaces, and using collaborative and group learning skills. 

Equipped with the essential tools to navigate the digital landscape, individuals are also empowered to become active contributors to the online world and increase their civic participation; strengthening UK society. 

While Wikimedia UK’s work demonstrably develops information literacy within its programme participants, this development happens with a strong focus on the intellectual, cognitive skills of the individual learner. In contrast, my research is inviting people to explore how emotion shows up in critical thinking, and how, if emotions are not considered in information literacy education, this can derail the learning process, while also fueling polarisation.  

We explore this by looking at misinformation and conspiracy theories. Conspiracies can drive polarisation in society and divide how we think and support a situation where we don’t even share the same view on reality. However, by promoting simplistic arguments about being cleverer than others, information literacy educators can encourage self-righteousness and possibly even closed mindedness, making it hard to consider or connect with those with different values and ideas (and conversely, the conspiracist side talks about others in a dismissive way too). 

If we resist taking a disdainful view towards those believing disinformation or conspiracy theories, and instead focus on recognising a common love of research or skillful use of emotions, we may be able to actually push against some of the polarising effects of misinformation.

There are things that information literacy educators and conspiracy theorists have in common. These similarities show up in phrasing used commonly by both sides:

1. Methods for assessing information – check sources, don’t immediately trust what you see, connect the dots, think about who funded the information, do your own research, etc.

2. Personality traits and features of those who ‘know better’ – love for research, desire to know the truth.

3. Active participation in learning.

What’s markedly different though is the use of emotion – in the conspiratorial realm, the research approach includes a strong element of excitement of investigation or discovery, but also of anxiety about the world. There is also the desire to belong (to a group that’s ‘in the know’), satisfaction of knowing something – and of correcting or enlightening others. Then there’s a deeper set of emotions such as shame of being proven wrong or needing to change opinion, discomfort and anxiety of not being certain. Conspiracy theories themselves also hold a captivating allure – they present a coherent and emotionally charged storyline, captivating and engaging audiences.

In contrast, emotions tend to be discredited in the domain of information literacy learning, as they are deemed not objective. But emotion guides our attention, and so it is not possible to completely separate them out from the activity of learning. While the general focus of literacy education has primarily been fixated on the pursuit and validation of facts, it is crucial to address the emotional dimensions entwined within these processes. We also need to consider how to confront and mitigate the emotional elements that propel individuals towards embracing disinformation. 

One aspect emerges as absolutely crucial: complexity resilience – being more comfortable with an increasingly ambiguous, complex, and difficult world. Rather than simply offering definitive answers or actions (like conspiracies do), educators should seek to emphasise the proposition of diverse ideas, perspectives, and narratives – and be comfortable with that diversity and complexity.

Teachers hold an important key in guiding information literacy, but cannot do it alone. A multidisciplinary, collaborative approach is called for – including a psychologist to account for the emotional layer (both for learning, and teaching), librarian to guide how the knowledge ecosystem is built, and a journalist with reliability strategies. 

This could be considered while we debate the overall shape of information literacy education in the UK. Wikimedia UK sees the current provision for the development of media and information literacy skills within English secondary schools as patchy at best. From our experience we hear that teachers themselves may never have received any formal training in relation to media and information literacy. But it is more vital than ever that young people have the knowledge, skills and confidence to question what they see online, whilst understanding what constitutes reliable, trustworthy information. 

We welcome comments on how the approach to ‘complexity resilience’ and the role of emotion in education could be included in teaching of information literacy in schools, please feedback.

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For the first time, the course included both in-person and online international training, expanding access and supporting Wikimedia’s global mission. Participants took part in a WikiLearn course, hands-on workshops, and interactive sessions led by Programme Manager Dr Sara Thomas and UK Wikimedian of the Year Fran Allfrey.

Feedback was overwhelmingly positive. 100% of respondents said they felt better equipped to make positive change in their communities. New mentoring opportunities and regular online edit-a-thons are now being introduced to help new trainers continue developing their skills and confidence.

The post Train the Trainer 2025: Building confidence, community, and inclusion appeared first on Wikimedia UK.

I’m delighted to be joining Wikimedia UK as the new Education Lead. It’s an honour to work with a charity that champions free and open knowledge for all, equality in online representation, digital democracy, and critical thinking. I look forward to working with schools to develop a programme of information literacy that reflects these values.

My background is in Further Education, where I taught philosophy in Birmingham for more than 22 years. I recently completed a PhD exploring philosophy and mental health, building on my long-standing interest in how ideas shape the way we live and learn.

Alongside my teaching, I serve on the Executive Committee of the Children’s Media Foundation. I am especially interested in how media can be used to promote critical thinking in an age of increasing misinformation and fake news.

Having worked with young people for many years, I’ve seen first-hand how rapidly the ways they consume information are changing and how urgent it is to make information literacy an integral part of education.I would love to connect with others who share these interests. Please feel free to get in touch at sally.latham@wikimedia.org.uk .

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The topic was ‘Building resilience to future emergencies and disinformation through adult media literacy’, and the aim was to develop a set of recommendations for policy makers and organisations working in related fields. Wikimedia UK brought our extensive network within information literacy and worked closely with the Royal Society to shape the agenda, while also acting as hosts and facilitators for the event which our Chief Executive, Lucy Crompton-Reid, chaired alongside the BBC’s Ros Atkins.

We are delighted to share the summary note from the workshop here.

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The Wikimedia Project at Durham University has been a remarkable journey of collaboration, learning, and community engagement. It all began when one of us, Merak, got involved through the university’s volunteering platform. Merak was quite active in various volunteering projects, and the Wikimedia Project caught his interest due to its approach to open knowledge. After coming back from one of the sessions, he introduced his roommate, Hoh Shan, to the volunteering project within the university. Hoh Shan had started editing Wikipedia in 2015 but had been inactive for a long time. Being able to volunteer this way within the university rekindled his interest in contributing. Mindy, another key member of the team, had no previous experience with Wikipedia editing before this. She heard about the project through Merak and Hoh Shan and was happy to help out.  

Before our sessions, we regularly update our spreadsheet of Wikipedia article edit suggestions, with different topics to improve the quality of Wikimedia content related to North-East England and Durham, while also catering to the personal interests of volunteers. We organised various workshops and sessions to keep the Wikimedia Project alive at Durham. These included regular Wikipedia edit-a-thons, WikiData workshops and WikiCommons workshops. These events were aimed at students and academic staff at Durham who had an interest in Wikimedia. The project also benefited from connections with people in London who were involved with Wikimedia UK, as well as other volunteers in the academic space. Notable collaborators included the previous project supervisor Sophie Whitfield, and Lucy Moore who helped run the Wikidata and WikiCommons workshop. The support from the academic staff at Durham University was invaluable. 

We learnt through trial and error how to explain the importance of Wikimedia to others and gained a deeper understanding of the broader Wikimedia ecosystem beyond just Wikipedia. We were eager to contribute our knowledge and time through research and editing. We also gained valuable experience organising workshops through the WMUK Train the Trainer course and promoting events through social media platforms

Despite the successes, the project faced significant challenges. It was difficult to find someone to pass the project on to, and attracting more volunteers and students was a constant struggle. The team found it challenging to identify the best way to promote Wiki events and the best way to ‘sell’ the Wikimedia Project to potential volunteers. Despite the challenges, the journey has been rewarding, and the project continues to grow, with another student taking over the project, offering valuable opportunities for those who wish to contribute.  

For those interested in getting involved with the Wikimedia Project at Durham, the team can be contacted at wikimedia.dusvo@durham.ac.uk. The project offers a unique opportunity to contribute to open knowledge, develop valuable skills, and be part of a vibrant community dedicated to improving the quality of Wikimedia content.

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This year marks the 10^th Anniversary of the merger of New College Lanarkshire and as part of this the college offered a large number of free evening courses. One of these courses was the Become a Wikimedian Course which was an 11 week course that was conducted online. Throughout this course 10 students learned how to make positive contributions to multiple Wiki platforms, such as Wikipedia and Wikimedia Commons.

For many years Wikipedia has been viewed in a negative light by educators, however, this course has highlighted what a positive tool Wikipedia can be for learners.  Knowing how to use the platform properly to bolster research is key to its success.  The students quickly understand how Wikipedia can be used as a springboard to delve deep into research on a specific topic. This course used the 12 week syllabus available on Wikimedia Commons to provide a basic structure to the course. We spent the first week exploring the ‘5 Pillars of Wikipedia’ and subsequent weeks looked at creative writing techniques, critical evaluation of Wikipedia articles and research materials. The course also focussed on research skills and allowed the students ample opportunity to work in small groups and peer reviewed each other’s research and edits. 

Furthermore, the course allowed plenty of time for students to make their contributions to Wikipedia. They all felt a great sense of achievement once their edits went live and enjoyed watching the dashboard and seeing the impact their edits were having. 

Lesley-Anne, a student on the course, stated “throughout the course, my eyes have been opened to the world of Wikipedia, and my previous negative perception of how useful a tool it can be has been blown out of the water. From a further education point of view, I can’t emphasise enough how useful this would have been when I was studying for my social sciences HND. It would have been incredible to have been able to enhance my research, writing, referencing and critical analysis skills by putting them into practice at the same time as making meaningful contributions to Wikipedia. I also feel it would be a really useful module for students to take alongside various Access/NC/HNC/HND courses, and I think that the group work and peer review element would undoubtedly help so many students build up their confidence in going forward in their studies. There is genuinely so much that can be gained from participating in the course.” While Ben said he “really enjoyed the course, going through college and university you are taught that using Wikipedia is wrong… however, it is clear that we need to be taught how to use it correctly instead of being shunned away from it. This course offered me the opportunity to be taught a new skill… Fundamentally, I believe that this course… would offer an accessible and easy to use stepping stone to more academic websites for research.”

Hopefully, this course will be offered again at New College Lanarkshire and we can build on the success of this one! Personally, I felt that the student engagement on this course was brilliant. They thoroughly enjoyed the whole research process and having a tangible outcome kept them motived to continue with their edits. 

The post New College Lanarkshire: Become a Wikimedian Course appeared first on Wikimedia UK.

The UK’s Online Safety Bill (OSB) addresses important safety issues to protect children and adults online. However, in its current state, the Bill unduly threatens the survival and welfare of projects that prioritise the public interest over profits. The Bill neglects to protect free knowledge, privacy, freedom of speech, and the strength of civic society in the UK.  

The signatory coalition represented in this letter includes organisations from across the cultural, scientific, and charitable landscape. They run or support projects that are used by and benefit a wide cross-section of the UK public: from young people to retirees; professionals to amateurs; and those with global, national, or hyper-local interests. Wikipedia, open science initiatives, crowdsourced UK heritage catalogues, and other public interest projects are the most socially, culturally, and scientifically valuable parts of the web.  

In an attempt to weed out the worst parts of the internet, the OSB jeopardises the best parts of the internet. So, we are calling on the UK Government and Parliament to exempt public interest projects from the OSB. 

Our coalition, and supportive members of the House of Lords, are urging the UK Government to act. Fixing this is simple; it requires adding a new paragraph to Schedule 1 of the Bill, exempting public interest projects (see this letter’s accompanying FAQ). Should the Government fail to act, Parliament will need to make the necessary changes itself. The Bill’s upcoming Lords “Report Stage” voting, starting July 6^th, is the UK’s best and final opportunity to enact this change. 

We hope the UK Government will take swift action to protect the best parts of the internet — public interest projects that uplift civic society and promote access to knowledge online. 

Yours faithfully

The signatories

• Arcadia Fund
• Big Brother Watch
• CILIP
• CILIP Scotland
• Code The City
• Creative Commons
• FixMyStreet / mySociety
• Flickr Foundation
• Global Partners Digital
• Inspire High Energy Physics
• Liberty
• London College of Communication
• Open Plaques
• Open Rights Group
• Open Scotland
• The Heritage Alliance
• The Mixed Museum
• Wellcome Sanger Institute
• Wikimedia Foundation
• Wikimedia Italia
• Wikimedia UK
• Zooniverse

• Dr Andrea Wallace, The GLAM-E Lab & SCuLE at the University of Exeter, Exeter Law School
• Dr Amanda Crawley-Jackson, Associate Dean Knowledge Exchange, University of the Arts London: London College of Communication
• Jimmy Wales, Founder of Wikipedia
• Oliver Creighton, Professor of Archaeology and President of the Society for Medieval Archaeology, University of Exeter
• Professor Peter Cox, Director of the Global Systems Institute, University of Exeter

Co-signatories

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Attending the World Literacy Summit 2023 at Baliol’s College in Oxford was a dream come true for me, and it wouldn’t have been possible without the accommodation support from Wikimedia UK. As a passionate advocate for literacy and a Wikimedian, I was thrilled to be surrounded by like-minded individuals who share the same passion for promoting literacy for all.

Throughout the conference, I had the privilege of meeting literacy ambassadors and advocates who are spearheading interesting projects and programs to make literacy accessible to everyone. I was inspired by their dedication and learned so much from their experiences.

One of the highlights of the summit was my encounter with Frank Schulenburg, the executive director of WikiEducation US & Canada. His presentation on the work of the organization and how Wikipedia fosters information literacy in higher education classrooms was truly insightful. After the presentation, we had a productive conversation over coffee where we discussed how some of the programs and initiatives could be adopted for WikiEducation projects in Nigeria.

During the summit, I had the opportunity to present my Reading Wikipedia in the Classroom project in East Room 14. It was a great feeling to share my work with the attendees and receive positive feedback. I also attended the plenary session at the Sheldonian Theater, as well as several tracks on World Literacy presentations. These sessions were highly informative and engaging, and I gained a wealth of knowledge about literacy programs and initiatives from around the world.

For me, some of the sessions that stood out were those that focused on the intersection of technology and literacy, and how we can leverage digital tools to make literacy more accessible and engaging for all. Another session that left a lasting impression on me highlighted the importance of promoting multilingual literacy and preserving endangered languages.

The World Literacy Summit 2023 was an enriching experience that reminded me of the transformative power of literacy. It reinforced my commitment to promoting literacy for all and ensuring that every person, regardless of their background, has access to the tools and resources they need to succeed.

As I return to Nigeria, I am excited to bring back the knowledge and ideas I gained from the World Literacy Summit and continue working towards free knowledge for all. I want to express my deepest gratitude to Wikimedia UK for their support throughout my stay in Oxford. I look forward to staying in touch and collaborating on future projects that will advance the cause of literacy around the world.

WikiHugs

Bukola James

User:Bukky658

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