15 October is recognised as Ada Lovelace Day and is dedicated to celebrating the contributions of women in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).
Wikimedia UK is proud to be a part of those celebrations. Along with Jisc, we’re supporting an editathon focusing on women in science which takes place today at the University of Oxford. Additionally, there is another editathon taking place on Saturday at Conway Hall, London. This session will work to create articles about notable and historic women. There are still some spaces available for this free event, so sign up on the project page linked above.
As if to illustrate that the ongoing campaign to encourage greater recognition of women in STEM, BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour show featured a discussion of this topic, featuring our very own Daria Cybulska. UK readers of this blog can listen to the show here. The section about Ada Lovelace Day begins after around 7:45 of the recording.
This is an important issue and we thank and congratulate everyone working in this area. Happy Ada Lovelace Day!
York Museums Trust has appointed its first Wikimedian in Residence, becoming the latest cultural institution to strike up a partnership with Wikimedia UK.
Pat Hadley, from York, will help champion the use of Wikipedia – and other Wikimedia projects like the media repository Wikimedia Commons – across the Trust and beyond. Pat’s role will see him become Wikimedian in Residence for two days a week for a six month period.
Martin Fell, digital team leader at YMT, said: “We are delighted that Pat has accepted this new role. An archaeologist for the last decade who has been a regular contributor to Wikipedia for the last two years, he brings with him the ideal mix of a passion for history and an understanding of the huge potential of sharing knowledge online.”
Pat will work with YMT’s Digital Team, curators, volunteers, the Wikimedia community and Wikimedia UK to facilitate the release of more of the Trust’s collections onto Wikimedia Commons under open licenses. He will also help develop an open digital strategy for the Trust that will include a revamp of licensing of digital assets and continued engagement with the Wikimedia community.
To begin with Pat will work with the Trust’s Tempest Anderson collection which includes some 5,000 glass slides as well as numerous significant books and scientific papers. Topics covered by the collection include – but are not limited to – early mountaineering in Europe, volcanology, social history, geology, local history, travel, photography, the magic lantern, colonialism, shipping and medicine. The images alone have the potential to improve a wide range of Wikipedia articles and will also be of great value to Wikipedians editing in other languages.
Pat will also be looking at institutional engagement with Wikimedia projects and will build on the very successful residencies at other institutions such as the British Museum, the British Library, Tyne and Wear Archives & Museums and the Natural History Museum.
The post is supported by a grant from Wikimedia UK.
Recently Wikimedia UK announced the co-option of two new Trustees to the Board of our charity, Kate West and Carol Campbell. Kate and Carol have provided brief biographies to introduce themselves to the community.
Kate is an operations and resource management professional and has worked for a variety of high-profile, non-profit organisations. She is Chief Operating Officer at the Electoral Reform Society and responsible for the smooth running of the Society’s finances, governance systems and internal operations. Kate previously managed operations at the political think tank Demos and worked for six years at the Charity Commission.
Kate said: “I am delighted to be joining the Wikimedia UK Board and am looking forward to helping the charity continue to grow and achieve its mission of supporting free and open knowledge for all.”
Carol is a former charity CEO who has worked in the hospice sector, the arts, a special school and a cathedral. She is currently involved in voluntary work mentoring a new senior manager and putting a quinquennial programme in place for a church. She is married, has a daughter living in Tokyo and is owned by Gem, a curly guide dog.
Carol said: “I am looking forward to working with Wikimedia UK, particularly in the field of strategy, governance and working with volunteers. I have been involved in the charity sector for most of my working life, in both a managerial and a voluntary capacity. One of my abiding passions is empowerment and the role of Wikimedia in supporting this agenda is particularly exciting to me.”
Welcoming Kate and Carol, Chris Keating, Chair of Wikimedia UK, said: “I’m delighted to welcome Carol and Kate to our Board. They each have a wealth of experience of governance, gained in community-driven organisations, and will bring very valuable perspectives to Wikimedia UK.”
The terms of both Carol and Kate run until the end of September 2015.
Earlier in 2013 Wikimedia (parent to Wikipedia) was engaged in North East England through Tyne and Wear Archives and Museums. This was with the first Wikimedian in Residence in the region. Robert Forsythe was the fortunate candidate and it proved to be fascinating. An interesting follow on has been arranged for the 6th November 2013.
An editathon is being held in the North of England Institute of Mining and Mechanical Engineers just a very short walk east of Newcastle Upon Tyne Central station. I will be participating and it ought to appeal to a wide spread of people. It is a magnificent venue, a major piece of Victorian Gothic Revival. Lunch and a guided tour are part of the package provided. There is already Wikimedia content but once you see the collections, you will understand just how much connectivity between the Institute and Wikimedia there might be. If you feel you are a Wikimedia beginner, there will be experienced editors on hand. And if “mining” phases you reflect how much local and regional social history runs with the subject.
Additionally the library hosts the collections of local Stephenson Locomotive Society and Railway Correspondence & Travel Society branches. It has become a place where many volunteers interested in industrial heritage in the region gather (not least because it has a license and offers excellent coffee). More details are available on the registration page.
Inside Abbey Mills Pumping Station. Before WLM Commons didn’t have any images of the interior, and this picture by User:Msemmett really captures the state of the building.
This post was written by Richard Nevell
September 2013 will always be the month the UK took part in Wiki Loves Monuments for the first time. We missed out in 2012, and planning began in January this year because we didn’t want the same to happen again. It has been a long process, but now the dust is settling and we can look back at WLM in the UK.
The first few minutes of 1 September were nervous. Would everything work? Would we have long to wait for our first upload? What did the month ahead hold? I nearly wore out the F5 looking for that first image, but only had to wait a few minutes. Thirty days later we had 11,995 photos from 573 people.
Both of those numbers are encouraging. The sheer number of photos meant the UK was the eighth biggest contributor to the global competition, but if anything those 573 people are more encouraging. Looking at the names of people who took part, there is a mix of old and new faces, and lots of people who have never edited before.
Buildings are the stage on which history happens, and WLM was a chance for people to engage with history as well as Wikimedia. And it worked. The fact nearly 600 people got involved speaks for itself, and several people have been in touch with the office saying how much they enjoyed the competition and adding something to Wikipedia. Some people wanted to know more about how it all works. It got people interested.
The competition is over as far as submissions is concerned, but now the judging stage starts. Volunteers have been integral to getting the infrastructure in place for WLM to work, and now they are helping by whittling down 11,995 photographs to around 1,000 for the final judging panel. The volunteer community have been outstanding. There are too many names to list here, but their efforts were invaluable and I owe them thanks.
As October wears on, keep an eye out for those listed buildings. Commons always needs good pictures, so don’t put away the camera just yet. The winners will be announced in early November, so watch this space.
The board of Wikimedia UK is pleased to be able to announce today the co-option for a two year term of two new trustees, Carol Campbell and Kate West, both of whom have specialist expertise.
Carol has extensive experience of volunteer organisations and brings strong conflict-management and relationship-building skills to the board. She was previously Cathedral Executive Officer at Ely Cathedral. Kate is Chief Operating Officer at the Electoral Reform Society, and brings strong governance, management, policy and planning skills. We welcome them both.
Further extension of the board can be expected soon, particularly with a view to increasing the proportion of trustees who are active members of the Wikimedia community.
This post was written by Jon Davies, Chief Executive
Exactly two years ago today I started working for Wikimedia UK and what a memorable day that was.
It was a Saturday and I took an early train to Coventry to find out what exactly a ‘backstage pass’ meant and what Wikimedians actually looked like in the flesh. I had met a few at the London meetup but this was the first time I was there as their new CEO and could spend the day working with them. I met some amazing people that day. Rock drum, Roger Bamkin and Harry Mitchell were particularly memorable and everyone made me feel welcome. At lunchtime I popped over to Warwick University and met Richard Symonds and Fiona Apps who were running a stall at the Fresher’s Fair recruiting students. After that back to the Herbert Art Gallery & Museum to watch the process of creating and improving pages and then to the pub wearing my brand new Wikimedia UK t-shirt.
Looking back all the elements of what makes us successful were there. Volunteers, co-operation with other institutions, enthusiasm, t-shirts and beer. This was a sociable organisation that had wonderful people in it.
On Friday I completed our application for next year’s funding and was amazed at the distance we had all traveled together. Certainly there have been frustrating moments and a few detours I regret we had to make, but we are now doing so much more. One look at the Wikimedia UK website or list of events demonstrates that. I have very high hopes for the next year.
Thanks to everyone, volunteers, trustees and staff who have contributed.
This photograph of historic Bridge Street in Chester is one of several hundred taken during the event.
This post was written by Wikimedia UK volunteer User:Rock drum
On 7 September 2013, Wikimedians and amateur photographers gathered in the Grade II-listed St Michael’s Church for Wikipedia Takes Chester, a day-long photo scavenger hunt, held to increase participation in Wiki Loves Monuments UK (which you can still take part in!). Events like this are always good fun; you get a chance to explore a new city with a view to improving coverage of it on Wikimedia projects (and because of the free licence – potentially anywhere).
They’re also valuable in several ways. Like much of the UK, there were many images of Chester already on Wikimedia Commons. However, many were of poor quality, and more still were poorly categorised. The aim of the day was to produce high quality photos of Chester, but specifically of the Grade I and Grade II* listed buildings that qualified for entrance to Wiki Loves Monuments.
This sort of event is great for outreach. At Wikipedia Takes Chester, and at Wikipedia Takes Coventry this time last year, many people attended who would not normally come along to Wikimedia events. A huge range of photographers attend these events, from the point-and-shoot-wielding amateur to the very-expensive-DSLR-toting professionals. And of course – as with anywhere in the Wikimedia movement – each group and their contributions are as welcome as the other.
I would urge anyone reading this to consider making the most of the last few few days of September and go out into your town or city and contribute to the world’s largest photography competition.
This post was written by Dr Martin Poulter as part of the collaboration between Jisc and Wikimedia UK
Two projects that provide free information about animal health and disease are joining forces in an event this November, for the benefit of the veterinary profession and the wider public.
Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, has around a thousand articles in English related to veterinary science, from reverse sneezing to wobbly hedgehog syndrome. It has many more articles on related topics including animals, birds, and agriculture. MediaWiki—the software powering Wikipedia—is free for anyone to take, adapt, and use. One of the projects doing this most successfully is WikiVet.
Whereas Wikipedia is open for the public to edit, WikiVet is written and reviewed exclusively by professionals and students in veterinary science. Registration is free and is available to veterinarians, veterinary students, veterinary nurses and academic staff at veterinary schools in any country.
WikiVet integrates educational material such as flashcards with its reference material, as the Royal Veterinary College’s Chris Trace showed at the EduWiki 2012 Conference. Just as Wikipedia draws images and media from Wikimedia Commons, WikiVet has its own image and video repository, WikiVet Commons. Despite being a smaller project, WikiVet shares Wikipedia’s aim of providing information in multiple languages (French and Spanish as well as English).
Their different approaches mean that WikiVet and Wikipedia complement each other in many ways. WikiVet’s restricted editing means that it can be used as a source by other reference works, including Wikipedia, where it is already cited by many veterinary articles. In turn, images from Wikimedia Commons illustrate topics in WikiVet such as equine breeds.
As part of the Jisc/Wikimedia UK collaboration, there will be a WikiVet/Wikipedia joint editathon event, improving both projects, at the Royal Veterinary College’s Camden Campus in London on the afternoon of Wednesday 20th November, the day before the London Vet Show. There will be presentations and in-person help from both projects, and training for newcomers to wiki-editing.
Lord Weymouth, one of the people who has added his voice to the project
Wikimedia UK recently lent its support to an innovative project to record the voices of notable people as an accompaniment to their Wikipedia articles. The project, being led by Wikipedian Andy Mabbett (User:Pigsonthewing) and supported by a Wikimedia UK microgrant, involves taking a sound recording of article subjects introducing themselves and adding the file to the Wikipedia article. Recent examples that you can listen to include television mogul Sir Peter Bazalgette and Lord Weymouth, a former MP and the project’s first peer of the realm.
Andy explained the project in a little more detail. He said: “The idea is to let Wikipedia readers find out what the people we write about sound like, and how they pronounce their names. It’s great that we can hear the voices of people like Gandhi and Alexander Graham Bell, but what about all the other historic figures, whose voices are lost forever? We shouldn’t let that happen when we have the technology and resources so easily available. Sure, some of our subjects are known for media appearances, but those aren’t necessarily available globally nor under an open licence. And most have never appeared on radio or TV.”
One of the most useful benefits is being able to actually hear how people pronounce their own names. This is particularly helpful for unusual names and for readers for whom English is not their first language.
“With a surname name like mine,” Andy said, “I know how often mispronunciations occur, so we ask the subjects to introduce themselves by name, giving us a definitive record of their preferred pronunciation. Even a name like “Bill Smith” might be problematic, to a kid from China or Peru, never mind saying Phoebe Featherstonhaugh!”
In July Andy applied for a microgrant of just under £150 to buy sound recording equipment to help make the project happen. This was approved and the project continues with an aim to record 50 audio introductions over the coming year.
“Wikimedia UK’s support has been invaluable,” said Andy. “They’ve already purchased a digital recorder so I can record subjects, in person. I’ll be approaching theatres, sports clubs and other places where numerous notable people congregate. And the tech team are looking at making a web tool or app which will make the process simpler for Wikipedia subjects who want to contribute via their own computer, but don’t understand the technicalities of ogg files and Commons uploads. But anyone can help – most people know or meet someone (their MP, an academic, or sportsperson, for example) who has a Wikipedia biography. Why not ask them to record their voice for Wikipedia?”
You can learn more about how the project came about here and listen to the recordings uploaded so far here
Wikimedia UK’s microgrants programme awards grants of between £5 and £250 to help support the improvement of Wikipedia content. You need to be a member of the charity to apply but joining is easy and you can learn more about membership here.
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