WikiConference UK 2012/AGM Minutes

WikiConference UK 2012 AGM: Elections (Candidate statements · Candidate questions) — Resolutions — Minutes Miscellaneous: 2012 Annual Report — UK Wikimedian of the Year 2012 — Community reflections

These minutes were approved at the Annual General Meeting on 8 June 2013.

Minutes of the Wikimedia UK Annual General Meeting 2012 Saturday 12 May 2012, 1.30-3.30pm Science Museum, London

Present:

• 61 voting members (either in person or by proxy)
• Tellers: James Farrar (JF), Richard Symonds (RS)
• Current board members
• New board candidates
• WMUK staff

There were 330 members of the charity at the time of the election, meaning that the quorum of 33 was met by proxy votes and those present in person.

Approval of Minutes

The minutes of the 2011 Annual General Meeting were presented, and were approved unanimously.

The minutes of the 2011 Extraordinary General Meeting were presented and were approved unanimously.

Resolutions

Please note that for all resolutions except number 3, the actual tally of votes in favour was not kept as the show of hands and number of proxy votes given to the Tellers was sufficient to show an overwhelming majority in favour.

Change of name

This Special Resolution to change the legal name of the organisation from "Wiki UK Ltd" to "Wikimedia UK" was proposed by the Board. The text of the resolution is at Annual Conference 2012/AGM Resolutions#Change_of_name. The resolution was passed with two votes against and four abstentions.

Registration in Scotland

This Special Resolution to add an item to the Articles was proposed by the Board so that the company can register as a Charity in Scotland. The text of the resolution is at Annual Conference 2012/AGM Resolutions#Registration_in_Scotland. The resolution was passed with one vote against and five abstentions.

Increasing the term of Board members

This Special Resolution to amend the Articles and Election Rules to change Board member terms from one to two years was was proposed by the Board. The text of the resolution is at Annual Conference 2012/AGM Resolutions#A_motion_to_increase_the_term_of_Board_members_from_one_to_two_years. The resolution was passed with 46 votes in favour, 10 against and 5 abstentions.

Membership fees

This Ordinary Resolution to set membership fees at £5 for individuals and £100 for organisations was proposed by the Board. The text of the resolution is at Annual Conference 2012/AGM Resolutions#A_motion_to_set_membership_fees. The resolution was passed without objection, and with one abstention.

Appoint Board members

This Ordinary Resolution to appoint the Board members elected during this AGM was proposed by the Board. The text of the resolution is at Annual Conference 2012/AGM Resolutions#A_motion_to_appoint_board_members. The resolution was passed without objection, and with two abstentions.

Approve 2011 accounts

This Ordinary Resolution to approve Wiki UK Ltd's 2010-11 financial accounts was proposed by the Board. The text of the resolution is at Annual Conference 2012/AGM Resolutions#A_motion_to_approve_the_2011_annual_accounts. Copies of the accounts were made available online in digital form, and at the meeting in paper form, for members to peruse. This resolution was passed without objection, and with seven abstentions.

Approve 2012 accounts

This Ordinary Resolution to approve Wiki UK Ltd's 2011-12 financial accounts was proposed by the Board. The text of the resolution is at Annual Conference 2012/AGM Resolutions#A_motion_to_approve_the_2011_annual_accounts. The resolution was withdrawn as the accounts were not yet ready to be approved.

Re-appoint auditors

This Ordinary Resolution to appoint UHY Hacker Young as Wiki UK Ltd's auditors was proposed by the Board. The text of the resolution is at Annual Conference 2012/AGM Resolutions#A_motion_to_appoint_auditors. The resolution was passed without objection, and with six abstentions.

Election of Board members

The candidates for Board members were given two minutes to present to those attending the AGM. Following from these hustings, members cast their votes, and the tellers started counting the votes.

• Chris Keating

• Doug Taylor

• Ashley Van Haeften

• John Byrne

• Joscelyn Upendran

• Mike Peel

• Roger Bamkin

• Saad Choudri

Board Report for 2011-2012

Roger Bamkin, Chair of WMUK, presented a 10-minute report on the activities in 2011-12, based on 2011-12 annual report. The first board meeting of the year was held in Birmingham to decide where to locate the office, consider partnerships with other organisations, and develop strategy. At the second board meeting, this time in Haifa at Wikimania 2011 in August, WMUK were informed that they would not be part of the fundraiser. During the financial year, over £1 million was raised through fundraising.

The English-language Wikipedia was blacked out on 18 January 2012 in protest against SOPA and PIPA, two proposed laws the US, resulting in a lot of media coverage. In 2011-12 media inquiries were handled by Mike Peel and David Gerard, until the appointment of Stevie Benton as Communications Organiser.

GLAM events were held in six different locations, building relationships with GLAM institutions and broadening the reach of the charity beyond London. Progress was also made in the area of education, with a partnership with the University of Bristol. A Girl Geeks also helped addressed the issue of the gender gap. The report closed with a positive evaluation from Ting Chen, Chair of the Wikimedia Foundation.

After the report, Roger Bamkin thanked Andrew Turvey for serving as treasurer in 2011-12, and Andy Mabbett mentioned the use of QRpedia has spread round the world. Finally, Roger Bamkin was thanked for his role as Chair.

Discussion over the voting process

James Farrar led a discussion on the voting process for electing WMUK's board. The extant approval voting system adopted before first board was voted in when charity had 30 members. Mike Peel made the point that this was to ensure that elected trustees had the explicit support of at least half of the community. After the 2011 AGM it was suggested to change to single transferable vote system for electing trustees. Opinion of members was sought regarding change to STV and alternatives, whether there should be a motion at 2013 AGM to alter voting for 2014 AGM. A member pointed out that the approval system could be gamed. With time running short, Doug Taylor suggested moving the debate about voting systems onto the wiki. Fae proposed to hold an EGM before September 2012 to resolved election process of Board, and the motion to do so was passed.

Election results

The total number of votes cast was 61, and therefore candidates required a minimum of 31 votes to be eligible for election. The number of votes given for each candidate was as follows:

Candidate	Affirmative Votes	%	Elected
Christopher Keating	52	85%	Y (2 years)
Michael Peel	50	82%	Y (2 years)
Ashley Van Haeften	49	80%	Y (2 years)
Joscelyn Upendran	48	79%	Y (2 years)
John Byrne	46	75%	Y (1 year)
Roger Bamkin	46	75%	Y (1 year)
Doug Taylor	40	66%	Y (1 year)
Steve Virgin	38	62%	N
Saad Choudri	34	56%	N
Roshana Gammampila	27	44%	N
Katie Chan	26	43%	N
Alison Fayers-Kerr	11	18%	N
Christopher Allen	10	16%	N
Thomas Nichols	6	10%	N
Gary Hayes	2	3%	N
Junior Campbell	1	2%	N

Therefore Christopher Keating, Michael Peel, Ashley Van Haeften, Joscelyn Upendran, John Byrne, Roger Bamkin and Doug Taylor were duly elected to serve as Directors of Wikimedia UK.