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;Wikipedia and the Digital Enlightenment
;Reflections on two years in post


[[File:Peter_Murray-Rust_in_2008.jpg|left|thumb|150px|Peter Murray Rust]]
[[File:Staff_of_Wikimedia_UK_July_2013.JPG|right|thumb|200px|Stevie with staff colleagues (he's wearing number 12)]]


''[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Murray-Rust Peter Murray Rust] is a chemist at the University of Cambridge and a vocal campaigner for open knowledge. He will be speaking at this year’s [http://wikimania2014.wikimedia.org/wiki/Main_Page Wikimania] conference which will take place in London on 8-10 August. He was recently awarded a fellowship by the Shuttleworth Foundation “to make a real difference to the world”. The following is adapted from a [https://blogs.ch.cam.ac.uk/pmr/2014/03/07/ive-been-invited-to-speak-at-wikimania-london-2014-huge-honour-and-opportunity-to-contribute-to-the-digital-enlightenment/ post on his personal blog] and is reproduced under its CC-BY licence.''
This post was written by Stevie Benton, Wikimedia UK’s Head of External Relations


Wikipedia is one of the great and lasting achievements of this century and typifies the Digital Enlightenment. It epitomises so much – cooperation, democracy, meritocracy, innovation, challenge to authority. It represents the dream of the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Encyclop%C3%A9die Encyclopédie] of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denis_Diderot Denis Diderot] and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean_le_Rond_d%27Alembert Jean le Rond d’Alembert]. [Note - I'm using "Wikipedia" to include Wikimedia, Wikispecies, Wikidata, etc.]
They say that the passage of time is relative, and I agree. The last two years have passed both extremely quickly and yet slowly.


Note, I’ve used Wikipedia to reference these people and their creation. They are massive. You should read the pages.
I've been working for Wikimedia UK for two years now, having started on 19 March 2012. The process of recruitment happened in the blink of an eye. The advert had been shared with me by a friend, but it wasn't until the closing date I decided to apply. A week later I was rushing over from my previous job to get to the office for an interview – not having time to even change into a suit – and three days later, I’d been offered the position.


'''I have. I now use Wikipedia as my primary source for much of my knowledge.'''
I've always been an admirer of what Wikipedia represents – a great collective effort to share knowledge, for free, with everyone on the planet. My own meagre contributions to that effort had been to correct some typos when I found them, and to remove vandalism when I encountered it. I registered an account, but it seems I’d never used it, inadvertently editing as an IP. I didn't consider myself enough of a subject expert to make other kinds of contributions, but the opportunity to support Wikipedia and the other projects in a professional capacity was exciting. Two years later, it still is.


What??? an academic relies on Wikipedia? Sacrilege! Disaster! You should use your library. You should buy textbooks. You should sweat to get your knowledge. Wikipedia isn’t written by academics but common people. It must be rubbish.
Wikimedia UK has changed quite a lot since those days and we’ve been involved in some great successes, such as Wiki Loves Monuments. We've had some challenging times as well. Being involved in a growing, evolving organisation as its fourth member of staff has been a richly rewarding experience.
This was an almost universal reaction from academia when Wikipedia started. Lecturers banned students from using it and required them to read out-of-date textbooks instead. Only a few academics embraced the ideas. Here was the infrastructure for the Digital Enlightenment (I don’t know whether this phrase is in common use, but it should be).


<span class="plainlinks">[https://blog.wikimedia.org.uk/2014/03/wikipedia-and-the-digital-enlightenment/<nowiki>[</nowiki>Post continues...<nowiki>]</nowiki>]</span>
<span class="plainlinks">[https://blog.wikimedia.org.uk/2014/03/reflections-on-two-years-in-post-2/<nowiki>[</nowiki>Post continues...<nowiki>]</nowiki>]</span>


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Revision as of 16:42, 20 March 2014

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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General inquiries: infoatwikimedia.org.uk
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You can follow us on Twitter (@wikimediauk) or Like us on Facebook (WikimediaUK).

You can also sign up to the email discussion list for the Wikimedia community in the UK.

More contact details

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Join Wikimedia UK

Members play a key role in shaping the future of the Chapter. Membership is open to all and costs just £5 a year.

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Events

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

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Participate in one of our ongoing outreach projects, working with the cultural and education institutions of the UK.

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Request a project grant to help you with your editing or outreach activities on any Wikimedia project.

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Donate to Wikimedia UK to keep Wikipedia running free from advertising and support our work getting more people and institutions working with Wikipedia and its sister projects.

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
For the Ukrainian language Wikipedia please visit http://uk.wikipedia.org; for Wikimedia Ukraine please visit http://ua.wikimedia.org

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