2019 Annual General Meeting/Candidate Statements
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AGM: Elections — Candidate Statements · Candidate Questions · Resolutions |
This page contains the statements of the candidates for the 2019 elections to the board of Wikimedia UK. Please submit questions for the candidates at 2019 Annual General Meeting/Candidate Questions.
Sangeet Bhullar
Proposed by Doug Taylor, seconded by Marnie Woodward
I was privileged to join the Wikimedia UK Board in Jan 2019, and would like very much to stand for re-election as I feel there is much I would like to contribute, having only recently joined. I am especially interested in strengthening Wikimedia’s education activities and profile – especially for young people and educators.
Over the last 20 years, I have delivered training and research, and worked with thousands of young people, educators (schools, FE and HE), youth workers, librarians, families, children’s services and other professionals - promoting the critical digital literacies and digital citizenship skills needed for effective online participation. I have done this through WISE KIDS, a company I founded in Wales 17 years ago. I have also had advisory roles: I was a member of the Welsh Government Digital Wales Advisory Board and the BBC Audience Council for Wales. I continue to serve on the Welsh Government’s Digital Inclusion Programme Board, and Wales Internet Safety Partnership. I am also a new trustee for Compassionate Mental Health.
In my experiences with schools and sometimes in FE and HE, I often find a mistrust, and a lack of understanding of the role and potential of Wikipedia, particularly as vital resource, and instrument for developing digital and information literacy. I would love the opportunity, as a trustee, to work with the Wikimedia team to redress this balance, and develop new partnerships and education projects for young people and educators. I believe this will drive deeper and longer term engagement with Wikimedia and raise its profile.
I am also passionate about open educational resources and computing more generally, having had to learn to code in the late 80s. I would be grateful to be considered for election, and will use my experience and networks to further the mission of Wikimedia UK.
Lorna M. Campbell
Proposed by Josie Fraser, seconded by Nick Poole
It has been a privilege to serve as a member of the Wikimedia UK Board since 2016. During this time I have worked to strengthen the relationship between Wikimedia UK and the education sector to highlight the benefits of integrating Wikipedia and Wikidata in the curriculum to develop critical digital and information literacy skills. This has involved collaborating with Wikimedians in Residence throughout the UK, and at the University of Edinburgh, where I work. I regularly raise awareness of the benefits of engaging with Wikipedia at education conferences and events within the UK and internationally, and have contributed to a number of papers and publications about the benefits of Wikipedia in education.
I am a member of the growing Wikimedia community in Scotland and work closely with the Wikimedia UK Scotland Coordinator to extend our outreach, expand the community and identify new opportunities for collaborative projects. I actively promoting the Wiki Loves Monuments competition in Scotland, resulting in a significant increase in the number of participants sharing images of Scottish monuments.
I am committed to improving the gender balance and diversity of the encyclopaedia, encouraging more women and marginalised groups to becoming editors and contributors, through initiatives such as Ada Lovelace Day, Wiki Women in Red and women’s history editathons. I have also recently joined the LGBT+ User Group and hope to make a positive contribution to their work.
As a passionate Open Knowledge advocate, I am keen to stand for election for a second term as I believe I can continue to use my networks and expertise in the areas of open education and open knowledge to benefit the Wikimedia UK community, nurturing the development of a mutually beneficial relationship between Wikimedia and the education sector, and make a positive contribution to improving equality and diversity in the community.
Andrea Chandler
Proposed by Josie Fraser, seconded by Doug Taylor
I would love the chance to be a part of Wikimedia, and to offer my support and experience to the organisation. I have a longstanding interest in digital solutions for non-profit organisations. As a systems librarian within academia I’m a champion of open source software, open access approaches to research and publishing, and collective approaches to sharing resources, problem solving and futureproofing.
I am also a ‘real’ librarian, so metadata standards, storage, copyright and availability are all part of my daily concerns. I hope to be able help Wikimedia to grow and thrive, and to use my position to strengthen links with existing academic digital collections and encourage collaborative projects and policies in the future.
My personal interests are in women’s health and wellbeing, and in the development and use of audio content so I would gravitate towards Wikiboards/projects working on these subjects.
Andrew Davidson
I am responding to the call for more members of the Wikimedia community to stand as trustees. I started editing Wikipedia in 2006 and have been quite active since, writing hundreds of articles and attending many outreach events, including twenty in the last year. I also attend the London Wikimeets, was one of the founder members of Wikimedia UK and have attended most of its AGMs. So, I am quite familiar with the organisation, its members, goals and needs. I have also engaged with the global Wikimedia community, attending the Wikimania in Hong Kong and participating in WMF initiatives such as the Wikimedia Education Project.
I have retired from full-time work in information technology and so have more time for volunteer work now. I have worked for major companies and corporations in the IT and education field and so am quite familiar with corporate accounting, finance, administration and company law. I also worked for the UK's Intellectual Property Office and so have a good understanding of copyright law and practice.
Wikimedia UK has done good work in facilitating outreach events, sponsoring Wikimedians in Residence and in partnering with other GLAM and academic institutions. My goal would be to encourage further development of these activities, while assisting in the liaison with the wider Wikimedia community.
Jason Evans
Proposed by Alice White, seconded by John Cummings
I put my name forward for the position of Trustee at Wikimedia UK as a passionate and energetic supporter of open access and a proactive, professional Wikimedian with nearly five years’ experience ranging from community outreach work to innovative Wikidata initiatives and project management.
I joined the Wikimedia movement in 2015 when I was appointed Wikipedian in Residence at the National Library of Wales. During a two year residency I led many outreach events and shared open content with Wikimedia projects. I have worked closely with Welsh universities and the main examining body to develop and deliver Wiki initiatives in Welsh Education. Since my appointment as National Wikimedian at NLW I have focused on delivering a number of government funded projects to improve the Welsh Wikipedia in areas such as pop culture and health and wellbeing as well as sharing collection metadata as Wikidata and exploring the possibilities for round tripping that data back into our core services.
My work is as much about advocating and communicating the value of open access as it is about delivering projects. I regularly blog, tweet, publish and broadcast in order to demonstrate the importance of Wikipedia and the value of sharing content. I regularly attend major Wikimedia conferences and GLAM sector conferences in order to network, share skills and knowledge and to build new partnerships, and have recently worked closely with Histropedia, Europeana, CILIP and CADW on Wikimedia related projects
I believe that this experience would allow me to contribute constructively and positively to the strategic direction of Wikimedia UK. The charity excels at partnership building, supporting minority communities and in communicating the value of its extensive outreach programs and as a trustee I would give my full attention and energy to help support develop and shape the great work of Wikimedia UK.
Josie Fraser
Proposed by Michael Maggs, seconded by Marnie Woodward
I've been privileged to have been elected to the Wikimedia UK Board twice now, initially in 2015, and then again in 2016. Since 2017 I have been especially proud to have been nominated by my fellow trustees to serve as Chair. I am very happy to be able to stand for election again, and would happy to continue to serve for the two years I have left before reaching the maximum six years allowed by the company’s articles.
My background is in social and educational technology. I have been an open knowledge advocate for the last 16 years. In particular, I have carried out significant open licensing policy for Government and open education resource work in the schools sector.
For the last two years I have worked in Whitehall as a Senior Technology Adviser, supporting government on a wide range of topics including open data and online harms. Currently, I work on international digital policy. I am committed to the principles of public life, equality, diversity and social justice. I'm a hearty advocate of the core principles of the foundation - to help people and organisations create and share knowledge accessible and openly for public and social benefit.
During my two years as Chair I’ve served the organisation and community through both my formal duties and through involvement with a range of community projects.
I chair committee meetings and the Governance Committee, and ensure the progress of our strategic direction. I help ensure the professionalism of the organisation and ensure it continues to demonstrate leadership to the worldwide Wikimedia movement. I support our CEO and represent our organisation.
In addition to the duties of the Chair I have helped build our international links and influence, including establishing healthy working partnerships with a wide range of chapters and affiliate groups internationally. I am an active member of the Wikimedia Affiliate Chairs Group and the LGBT+ group.
If re-elected I will continue to work hard to ensure the stability and good standing of the organisation, to push ambitiously for growth and development, and to raise our reputation both across the UK and Internationally.
Edward Saperia
Proposed by Josie Fraser, seconded by John Lubbock
I have been an evangelist and organiser for the open movement for about seven years. I was conference director and programme lead for Wikimania 2014 in London. I am founder and dean of The London College of Political Technologists at Newspeak House, the primary hub for the open movement in the UK, hosting of hundreds of tech-for-good events each year and a programme of residential fellowships for emerging leaders in the field. I also serve on the board of Compass, a cross-party thinktank promoting an equal, open, sustainable and democratic society. In the past I have had a career in the financial industry, worked as a software developer, run a digital agency, and consulted on community strategy.
Wikimedia has created an incredible set of projects that are largely overlooked and misunderstood, despite being widely recognised and extremely relevant to current public discourse. There's enormous potential for the charity to develop significant partnerships that would weave it into the daily life of people and institutions across the country, empowering them to deeply benefit from and contribute to the sum of open knowledge. I look forward to serving the organisation and community to this end.
Rod Ward
Proposed by Martin Poulter, seconded by Andy Mabbett
(User:Rodw on Wikipedia and other projects)
Having put my first web page up in 1992, I discovered Wikipedia in 2004 and thought it was a great idea. During the 15 years since then I have made over 200,000 edits which have included being primary author and nominating over 50 pieces of featured content, 150 good articles etc. During this time I have been a member of various wikiprojects and other collaborative groups, taking the lead on setting up Wikiproject Somerset. I have volunteered for media interviews related to achievements and challenges. I have also participated in various activities organised by Wikimedia UK, including Wiki Loves Monuments, and I became a trainer for the charity in 2014. I have also contributed to wikicommons including uploading several thousand photographs I have taken. I still think the wiki is a great idea.
Outside my Wikipedia editing, I worked in NHS A&E departments as a charge nurse for several years before moving into higher education. My teaching and research has largely been around information literacy for evidence based practice in healthcare, including the importance of open knowledge. Project participation and leadership has included externally funded work on the quality of information on the web and a collaboration with industry for the use of electronic patient record systems in education. My current roles include being the admissions tutor for one of the largest courses in higher education and leading the European Union Nurse Adaptation programme.
I support the mission of the charity and would wish to support its activity in a range of areas. I would hope to enhance the relationship between the charity and the volunteers editing the various wiki projects and that my experience will also be useful in developing work in collaboration with the higher education sector.