Advocacy
Wikimedia UK is becoming increasingly involved in work around advocacy and policy. Much of this is aimed at promoting copyright reform at a UK and European level. The charity has also been involved in some work around digital democracy and open policy. We were also the first organisation to fund the work of the Open Coalition project.
As a part of this work we are members of various groups and have signed some specific policy papers.
Open Coalition
Wikimedia UK is a proud member of the Open Coalition and was a part of the working group that co-founded the project.
Free Knowledge Advocacy Group EU
We are a founding member of the Free Knowledge Advocacy Group EU which works towards legislative and regulatory reform to copyright in the European Union. The group initially comprised a group if European Wikimedia chapters but has now expanded to include some other open knowledge groups. The founding statement of intent is here. In October 2014 we acted as a signatory to the latest position paper on copyright reform. You can see this here. The main portal for the group and its work can be found on Meta, here.
Lyon Declaration on Access to Information and Development
Wikimedia UK is a signatory of the Lyon Declaration. This is a strong statement outlining a belief in the importance of access to information for all.
Public Domain Manifesto
Wikimedia UK is an organisational signatory of the Public Domain Manifesto. This is a statement on the importance and value of the public domain.
EU Transparency Register
The charity is registered as a signatory of the European Union Transparency Register, listed in the register as number 743281012752-12.
Digital democracy
Wikimedia UK has undertaken some work with Demos which worked to see if the principles underlying Wikipedia could be applied to digital democracy. You can view some of the work here. The project is ongoing.
After the launch of the Commission's report we published a blog post highlighting some of the recommendations. We are currently exploring the possibility of hosting an event elated to digital democracy after the 2015 UK general election. An outline is being prepared and efforts to attract funding will follow. More details will follow in due course.
Open policy
Wikimedia UK is currently developing an open policy event to take place in January 2014. More information will follow as it emerges.
Right to be forgotten
In October 2014 Wikimedia UK board member Alastair McCapra took part in a debate at the Cambridge Union on the Right to be Forgotten. He has provided a useful report, summary of arguments and conclusion on his Wikipedia user page here.
Freedom of Panorama
In January 2015 Julia Reda MEP published a draft paper on copyright reform. On review, it was felt that we could really press the Freedom of Panorama element. As a result, Wikimedia UK wrote to two appropriate MEPs - Sajjad Karim (Con) and Catherine Stihler (Lab) - who had relevant levels of influence in this area. The letters were sent at the end of January and followed up with email. Responses will be noted here.
House of Lords Select Committee on Digital Skills
A group of volunteers, trustees and staff put together a detailed submission to the Committee's public consultation on digital skills on behalf of Wikimedia UK. Key contributors included Simon Knight, Charles Matthews and Toni Sant. You can see the evidence here which was submitted in September 2014. In February 2015 the Committee published its full report which can be found here.