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;Wikimedia UK’s members elect new trustees
;Science and Wikipedia - a round-up


[[File:Hstings_at_the_2015_Wikimedia_UK_AGM.jpg|thumb|right|220px|Candidates speaking to our members at the AGM]]
[[File:Entrance_to_Wellcome_Trust_building_Euston_Road_London.jpg|thumb|right|140px|The Wellcome Trust building, host to the upcoming Wikipedia Science Conference]]


''This post was written by Michael Maggs, Chair, Wikimedia UK''
''This post was written by Dr Martin Poulter, Wikimedia UK volunteer and convener of the Wikipedia Science Conference''


I am very pleased to announce that at our annual general meeting on Saturday 25 July the members of Wikimedia UK elected three new trustees to the board from a very strong slate of candidates. Please join me in offering a very warm welcome to Doug Taylor, Nick Poole and Josie Fraser.
The past year has been eventful and exciting for anyone interested in how Wikipedia can support the process and understanding of science. Here are a few stories that have caught my attention, plus a next step that anyone can take.


Doug Taylor will be well known to many readers as a long-standing active Wikimedia volunteer and Lead Trainer for WMUK. He previously served on the board during 2012-13. Doug is a retired teacher and IT professional.
We knew that the free encyclopedia is one of the top ten most-visited web sites, but [http://crosstech.crossref.org/2014/02/many-metrics-such-data-wow.html thanks to the charity CrossRef] we now know that it is in the top ten sites via which people reach scholarly papers.


Nick Poole is the Chief Executive Officer of the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals. His previous roles include serving as CEO of the Collections Trust and Chair of the Europeana Network. He brings extensive knowledge of and influence in the international GLAM community, and has strong connections to policymakers and funders in the UK and Europe.
However, not all links are equal. A [http://arxiv.org/abs/1506.07608 paper published on Arxiv] and [http://www.technologyreview.com/view/539001/why-wikipedia-open-access-revolution/ summarised in the MIT Technology Review] finds that open-access papers are 47% more likely to be cited on English Wikipedia than closed-access papers. The authors conclude “open access policies have a tremendous impact on the diffusion of science to the broader general public through an intermediary like Wikipedia.”


Josie Fraser has for the past five years worked in local government as the strategic technology lead of one of the country’s largest and most accelerated school building programmes. She is an expert in the relationship between education and technology and a vocal advocate for free and open knowledge.
Closed access versus open access can be a matter of life and death, as shown by a [http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/08/opinion/yes-we-were-warned-about-ebola.html?_r=1 New York Times article about the African Ebola outbreak], which noted that some crucial research was practically unavailable because “downloading one of the papers would cost a physician [in Liberia] $45, about half a week’s salary.”


Existing trustees Greyham Dawes (treasurer) and myself (chair) were re-elected.
The single most-used source on Ebola in affected countries at the peak of the African outbreak was Wikipedia, as we now know thanks to a Journal of Medical Internet Research paper about Wikipedia’s medical content. The paper,  [http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/impactofsocialsciences/2015/05/19/towards-health-information-for-all-wikipedia/ summarised on the LSE Impact of Social Science blog], found that Wikipedia is now “the single most used website for health information globally”. The authors surveyed Wikipedia’s top contributors to medical content (those with more than 250 edits). Of 117 respondents, more than half were professionals in, or students of, healthcare.


Three trustees have stepped down from the board: Alastair McCapra, Saad Choudri and Joseph Seddon. We thank them for their exceptional expertise, commitment and diligence, and we wish them well for the future.
<span class="plainlinks">[https://blog.wikimedia.org.uk/2015/08/science-and-wikipedia-a-round-up/<nowiki>[</nowiki>Post continues...<nowiki>]</nowiki>]</span>
 
With these changes, the new board is as follows:
Michael Maggs (board chair, and chair of governance committee), Simon Knight (vice chair), Greyham Dawes (treasurer, governance committee, audit and risk committee), Chris Keating (audit and risk committee), Carol Campbell (chair of audit and risk committee), Kate West (governance committee, audit and risk committee), Gill Hamilton, Doug Taylor, Nick Poole, Josie Fraser.
 
The new board will formally meet for the first time on Saturday 12 September at the Bodleian Library, Oxford, where officer roles will be reviewed. Please join me in welcoming the new board.
 
Michael Maggs
Chair, Wikimedia UK
 
<span class="plainlinks">[https://blog.wikimedia.org.uk/2015/07/wikimedia-uks-members-elect-new-trustees/<nowiki>[</nowiki>...<nowiki>]</nowiki>]</span>


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Revision as of 15:10, 4 August 2015

Cymraeg | English

Wikimedia UK

Open knowledge for all

Our website

If you'd like to see what Wikimedia UK is working on, our website is the best place for our community of volunteers, donors and members to stay up to date.

About Wikimedia UK

The Wikimedia projects are special: they are written and curated by thousands of volunteers. They are also supported by voluntary donations, through Wikimedia UK, the Wikimedia Foundation and other international chapters.

Wikimedia UK is a charity registered in England and Wales that supports and promotes Wikipedia and the other Wikimedia projects such as Wikimedia Commons. Our mission is to help people and organisations create and preserve open knowledge, and to help provide easy access for all. We do this by supporting volunteer editors and contributors ('Wikimedians'), by working in partnership with cultural and educational institutions, by hosting training sessions and editing events, and by acting to advocate the benefits of open knowledge generally.

There are several ways to get involved in the charity's work. You can become a member for just £5 per year. You can volunteer to work with us in a variety of ways, both online and offline. You can also make a donation (and if you're a UK taxpayer, we can claim Gift Aid). Subscribe to our Friends' Newsletter to stay in touch. Click the buttons below to learn more.

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We organise dozens of events each year, including meetups, editing events, "Backstage Pass" events at museums, workshops and conferences.

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We are always interested to hear from new volunteers. If you have an idea you'd like to help make happen, or time and skills you would like to offer Wikimedia UK, please get in touch on volunteeringatwikimedia.org.uk

Для української мови Вікіпедії ласка, відвідайте http://uk.wikipedia.org; для Вікімедіа Україна відвідайте http://ua.wikimedia.org
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