Ada Lovelace Day 2012

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Historical
This page is kept as an archival reference.
If you want to raise a point about it, please start a discussion thread on the community forum.

This page was used for reference after the event. The coordination page for the event, including the list of articles to be worked on, is here

Ada Lovelace color.svg


It was Ada Lovelace Day on 16 October, and Wikimedia UK was really keen to get involved! In general, the day exists to celebrate the contributions of women in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics. As you may know, Ada Lovelace is considered the first programmer, due to her work on Charles Babbage's analytical engine. As such, she's someone we can very much hold up as a role model. Wikimedia UK organised a Women in Science themed editing event for Ada Lovelace Day on Friday 19 October 2012 in London.

Basics

  • Date: Friday 19 October, in two sessions - 2:30pm-6pm, 6:30pm-8pm
  • Venue: The library of the Royal Society, 6-9 Carlton House Terrace London SW1Y 5AG
  • Cost: Free
  • Etherpad: http://etherpad.wikimedia.org/Ada
  • Twitter hashtag: #WomenSciWP
  • Participants: The afternoon session was for Wikipedia newcomers to learn how to edit. Evening panel discussion was open to anyone with the interest in the topic.
  • Registration: was handled by the Royal Society.
  • Photos from the day: here.
  • Any questions: Daria Cybulska on daria.cybulskaatwikimedia.org.uk, 0207 065 0994

We had an afternoon editathon bringing in new contributors from academia, and some existing volunteers. Female editors were particularly encouraged to attend. The event was hosted by the Royal Society, who have a very strong history-of-science and biographical library which was made available to us for the day. The Society's library holds a rich collection of printed works about women in science, including biographies and works authored by scientists. At the event the Society's librarians were present to explain more about the collections and provide guidance on finding sources.

Topics for the editathon

We had a "target list" of topics for people to work on beforehand, community was also encouraged to add suggestions.

Panel discussion

We recapped the achievements of the editathon and moved onto the evening session which aimed to show the wider perspective of the issues around the Ada Lovelace Day. We had a panel discussion with Uta Frith FRS and other female scientists on women in science. The panel discussion took place from 6:30pm - 8:00pm.

Online participation

Venue

  • Room for 20 people in boardroom style for the editathon, located in a beautiful library of the Royal Society
  • Most of the materials needed for the editing session were available at hand. We also had the staff of the library joining us to support the event and share information
  • Wi-Fi and numerous power points provided
  • Refreshments provided
  • Participants were asked to bring own laptops (not provided at the venue)

Trainers

  1. Daria Cybulska (WMUK) (talk)
  2. Andrew Gray (talk)
  3. KTC (talk)
  4. Tom Morris

Outcomes

Main entry: Wikipedia:WikiProject Women's History/Royal Society


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