Newsletter/December2008

Wikimedia UK Newsletter

Draft December 2008 Issue

Summary: You can now join Wiki UK Ltd, which hopes soon to become the official UK chapter of Wikimedia. The organisation is planning its first Annual General Meeting, where members can vote on who is on the board, and put forward and vote on resolutions. The organisation is already supporting activities such as a bid to hold Wikimania 2010 in Oxford and the exciting Wikipedia Loves Art project at the Victoria and Albert Museum. We also bring you news of the the recent Wikimeet in London.

In this month's newsletter:

1. Membership
2. Status of Company Formation
3. AGM
4. Wikimania 2010 - Oxford bid
5. Wikipedia Loves Art
6. London Wikimeet

Membership

We have started accepting members

[we have started accepted members, target is to get xx members by the AGM, so far have ... Members get these benefits - .... and help to acheive these things...Tax-refundable donations]

Status of Company Formation

We are currently awaiting the decision of the board of the Wikimedia Foundation. The Chapters Committee has passed a resolution to support us becoming a chapter of Wikimedia, and the Foundation board will decide on this at their next meeting is from 9th-11th January. In the meantime, we are preparing for the rush of events which will happen immediately afterwards, and we are also supporting activities ranging from the bid to hold Wikimania 2010 in Oxford to Wikipedia Loves Art.

AGM

[date of AGM pencilled in for... plans for location, voting arrangements, resolutions, events, discussions...]

Wikimania 2010 - Oxford bid

Wiki UK Limited is keen to bring Wikimania to the UK, and the 2010 Oxford bid still seems like the best chance we will have for this in the next few years, since there is a common feeling that this is Europe's year. However, organising a conference on the scale of Wikimania is a lot of work, and we desperately need your help (see below for details of things you could do). A lot of progress was made on the bid over the summer, but since then the momentum has died down a little due to the other commitments of those who had been working on it. In the last few weeks, Seddon has once again begun work, obtaining the support of the local flickr group, and investigating a new source of sponsorship for us.

How you can help:

• work on the bid page (expand existing sections, fill in place holders)
• contact potential sponsors and partners on our behalf (see this list and the talk page)
• show your support by signing up as a member of the local team here

Wikipedia Loves Art

[talk about project, Wiki UK's involvement]

London Wikimeet

Sunday 14th December saw the. As the numbering suggests the meetups have been running for quite some time, with the first one in June 2004. The meetups currently take the form of a pub lunch at the Penderel's Oak in Holborn on the second Sunday of every month.

Attendees fell within the stereotypical Wikipedia demographic (15-45, higher education, involvement in a non-manual job) and were:

• en:User:Ironholds
• en:User:Jdforrester
• en:User:Peter cohen
• en:User:WJBscribe
• en:User:LoopZilla
• en:User:Geni
• en:User:The wub
• en:User:RHaworth

Topics discussed included Wikimedia UK and its current status, the (now concluded) Arbitration Committee elections, (briefly) contract law and various other tidbits. The meetups are excellent fun and a good opportunity to meet other Wikipedia contributors and get to know them; several projects I've worked on have come about as a result of interactions with people at these meetups. The is due to be held on Sunday 11th January 2009 at 13:00.