WikiConference UK 2012/Elections/Questions/Junior Campbell

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Answers

(First of all apologies for this very late response to the questions. I have actually been considering withdrawing from the elections because of the pressures of previous commitments. Having put myself forward though, I feel obliged to at least let Wikimedians know who I am and what I'm about. Perhaps it may be best to think of me as a prospective representative for the future.)

1.What different groups and communities are you part of? --Filceolaire (talk) 08:22, 15 April 2012‎ (UTC)

The first group/community I recognize is my family - and this despite my wife and I being separated and probably destined to be divorced. We have two children (3 and 7 years old) and I am a hands-on dad, doing school rounds, volunteering at my 7 year-old's school and routine weekend custody chores.

My second major commitment (and probably a key contributor to my unfortunate marital status) is to the organization I founded, Intelek International (www.intelek.net), a holistic communications and education concern. Intelek is currently registered as a sole proprietorship in the UK but has a growing number of associates in England, the US, the Caribbean and beyond, who affiliate themselves with the organization through its Intelek Domino Effect Associates (IDEAs) project.

A third major group/community commitment is to Allvoices.com, the US-based citizen journalism blog I serve as an anchor. Intelek and Allvoices are currently collaborating on the IDEAs project.

My fourth major group/community commitment is to colleagues of my current "regular" employer Domino's Pizza. I recently launched a rather ambitious and risky public reformational project intended to improve conditions of employment for myself and my colleagues and our enhance Domino's capacity to offer the highest level of service its customers. The project was launched with a blog on the Allvoices.com website.

I'm also a member of Norwich Justice and Peace (NJ&P), one of a number of groups affiliated with the Roman Catholic Church's Justice and Peace Commission in Norfolk. I'm not as actively involved in NJ&P as I used to be. These days I mainly attend a devotional meeting organized by one of its members - the closest I come to church attendance. I retain some of the evangelical Pentecostal background that was my introduction to the pofound Christo-centric spirituality I now embrace but I am also profoundly skeptical about organized religion.

I'm also a member of Chapelfield Cricket Club which I serve mainly as a pace bowler (medium-fast), though I do have a highest batting score of 53...or is it 49? I am the only non-Muslim on the team (not intended to sound like "the only gay in the village" but I uppose there are parallels).

I was a member of Norfolk and Norwich Racial Equality Commission until it was dissolved in 2011.

2. What motivated you to stand for the board of Wikimedia UK? My belief in the Wikipedia concept of open access to knowledge.

3. Wikiversity has been set up as a sister project to serve as a platform for Open Educational Resources. Many people feel that it is not really meeting its potential. In light of a serious commitment to education probably emerging from the WMUK Strategic Plan, please name at least one element you feel might help take things forward.

Apologies again. I have not studied this issue enough to offer any serious suggestions.

4. What projects should WMUK pursue over the next five years. Where should we be in five years time? See Talk:Draft 2012 Five Year Plan/Counterproposal for some ideas. What's your idea? --Filceolaire (talk) 21:44, 19 April 2012 (UTC)

Off the top of my head, I'd like the organization to accelerate its global understanding of the evolution of knowledge, away from the Eurocentric focus of knowledge that retards the progress of many mainstream communications and educational organizations and institutions.

5. When Wikimedia UK submits information to the Charity Commission, a parliamentary committee, or another public authority, is it more important to present Wikimedia in a positive light or to answer questions as accurately and completely as possible even when this might cast WMUK, Wikipedia or the individual answering the questions in a negative light? --Peter cohen (talk) 16:50, 21 April 2012 (UTC) Accuracy is foremost.

6. If Wikimedia UK submits information to the Charity Commission, a parliamentary committee, or another public authority, and that information subsequently turns out to be inaccurate, incomplete or liable to be interpreted in a manner that places Wikimedia in an overly positive light then what action should WMUK take? --Peter cohen (talk) 16:50, 21 April 2012 (UTC) Correct the inaccuracy; acknowledge Wikimedia's fallibility.

7. As the elected representatives will be charity trustees, have they read and understood the legal requirements and obligations of being a charity trustee and have the current trustees brought these obligations to your attention? --77.100.19.115 07:43, 27 April 2012 (UTC) I have. They have.

8. The vast majority of Wikimedia UK's activities are undertaken by volunteers, who are the lifeblood of the organisation. How do you think you, as an individual trustee, and the board as a whole can better support those volunteers, especially those who live some distance from the chapter's headquarters in London? --Harry Mitchell | Penny for your thoughts? 19:06, 27 April 2012 (UTC) Off the top of my head, a regular newsletter sharing relevant information with volunteers and occasional personal visits by board members to the volunteers' locale could go some way to achieving this end.

9. Given that volunteers conduct so much of the charity's work, perhaps even fulfilling roles that would be fulfilled by paid staff in other organisations, what role do you feel trustees should play in ensuring that, as Wikimedia UK professionalises and its staff expands, volunteers remain at the heart of the charity's activities and actively participate in the running of the organisation? --Harry Mitchell | Penny for your thoughts? 19:06, 27 April 2012 (UTC) (see preceding)

10. While I have the utmost respect for our four current staff, only one had an extensive background as a Wikimedian before being employed by the chapter. How important do you think it is that Wikimedia UK seeks to recruit from within the Wikimedia community, and should it try harder to recruit staff who are Wikimedians as it expands? --Harry Mitchell | Penny for your thoughts? 19:06, 27 April 2012 (UTC) I think this is very important. I feel my own ignorance of the Wikimedia processes and protocols is a liability and am working to expand my knowledge thereof.

11. What role do you think Wikimedia UK could play in ensuring that Wikipedia's articles about living people are kept accurate and free of malice? This is quite a challenge I expect. And if I knew what checks adbalances are currently in place, I would be better qualified to make a suggestion or two. I'm working on it (see preceding answer).

12. What are your views on having an optional image filter installed on Wikimedia projects, to enable users to opt out of seeing images they feel are inappropriate? ----Andreas JN 23:09, 27 April 2012 (UTC) Sounds like a good thing. What are the constraints - costs, maintenance, ideological or technological compatibility issues,..?

13. With the current concerns over adult (up to R18 certificate and equivalent) content appearing unfiltered on Wikimedia projects, how would you advise UK schools and youth groups to handle access to Wikimedia sites? ----Andreas JN 23:09, 27 April 2012 (UTC) Off the top of my head, cautiously.

14. Do you agree with the Wikimedia Foundation board ([1]) that processes for ascertaining model consent for images taken in private situations need to be improved, and if so, what (if any) role do you think Wikimedia UK should play in this? ----Andreas JN 23:09, 27 April 2012 (UTC) This sounds like a reasonable suggestion but I don't feel I know enough about the issues to comment further.

15. Would the candidates agree that in this election and elections generally that a high "turnout" of voting members is necessary to give credibility to the final outcome/result and that the most worthy candidates are chosen? Are the candidates aware of what % are usually encountered in WikiMedia elections for board members? --Ravinglooney (talk) 18:35, 8 May 2012‎ (UTC) I believe strongly in high member participation in elections. I don't know what the average voter turn-out is for UK Wikimedians but wold urge that everything be done to ensure maximal voter participation. Is there a facility for members to vote from remote locations? Is it possible to have AGMs broadcasted as "webinars". I'm particularly keen to know this as my own attendance at the AGM this weekend now seems in doubt.