Volunteering Portal

edit   Volunteer with Wikimedia UK Welcome to the Wikimedia UK volunteer portal! Volunteers are at the very heart of the Wikimedia projects and the global Wikimedia movement. This portal is a resource for all of our volunteers, whether you're an experienced Wikimedian or are new to the movement. As the UK chapter of the international movement, we support and assist those who are working in a way that benefits the Wikimedia projects such as Wikipedia, Wikimedia Commons, Wikidata and Wikinews. You'll find information about editing the projects, and our events and programmes. There are experienced Wikimedians on hand to help you so don't be nervous about asking for help. There's a virtual library where you can download our publications, such as guides to editing and wiki mark-up, our annual reviews, and booklets about our outreach work with education and GLAM (galleries, libraries, archives and museums). You can subscribe to our newsletter and learn more about the charity's staff and board of trustees here. If you'd like to learn more about how to volunteer with Wikimedia UK, or learn about any aspect of the charity and its work, please email volunteer@wikimedia.org.uk. Wikimedian Deryck Chan on being a volunteer Wikimedian Natalie Chan on being a volunteer edit   I have been a contributor to Wikimedia projects Wikimedia UK works with volunteers to help them deliver projects that improve the content of Wikipedia and its sister sites. We help them to deliver events, to gain access to cultural and educational materials, and to find new ways to make good use of the projects, such as in higher education. We deliver training sessions for people who would like to learn to edit, and we work closely with partner institutions to provide access to cultural materials that can improve the content of the projects. We encourage the use of open licenses for cultural and educational materials so that they be freely shared. We also offer project grants to members of the chapter, to help pay for equipment, source materials and other resources that will help them with their editing or outreach work. edit   Featured volunteer story Chris McKenna is an experienced Wikipedian and has helped staff work on a survey of the chapter's members. I think I found out about the chapter from the mailing list or UK meetups. It was from attending meetups, primarily the London ones, that I became more aware that Wikimedia UK was active and functioning. I am the sort of person who really enjoys helping people and I was at a point in my life where I had time available, so I was always ripe for recruitment as a volunteer! The specific event that I became involved through was an invite to a discussion on-wiki. As part of that discussion I asked a question about what we know about our members. Little did I know at that point but Katherine - one of the staff - was preparing to run a survey to find out exactly that - and had been looking for help developing it. Before I knew it I had been co-opted! Having previously worked in an office environment I would not have predicted my enjoying it as much as I have. The WMUK office is filled with a vibrant group of people who ensure that the atmosphere is friendly and welcoming to all-comers while still being productive. My work has been around developing and analysing the membership survey. This has involved working closely with Katherine, the staff member responsible, and also independent research and on-wiki discussions. I've also analysed the results from the survey and produced a report about what this tells us. This gives us valuable input into future projects etc. Successfully working on the membership survey was the first success of this volunteering. The main one of course will be the final results, which are still in progress. By a coincidence of timing I have been able to outline the very initial findings to the governance committee which will provide input into their work to. Volunteering with Wikimedia UK has been valuable. Speaking from a personal point of view I've gained valuable experience for getting a job (volunteering looks good on a CV), and I've met some wonderful people both staff and volunteers. I would definitely recommend others volunteer, too. Chris can be contacted on his user talk page. edit   I am new to Wikimedia projects If you're new to Wikimedia projects then you're in good company. You're joining the estimated 75,000 people around the world that regularly contribute to the largest reference work the world has ever seen. As one of the 14,000 new editors new to Wikimedia projects, there's a variety of ways that you can become involved in sharing the world's knowledge. Whether you are simply interested in editing Wikipedia, or you're an expert in education looking to support the development and utilisation of open educational resources in formal education settings we can help you to enjoy contributing in a way that suits you. edit   Featured volunteer project The Wikipedia voice intro project is a project by Wikipedia editor Andy Mabbett to make audio recordings in which Wikipedia subjects - whether they are celebrities like Stephen Fry, or those notable for other activities like scientists or artists - say their name and introduce themselves in a short segment lasting around ten seconds or so. The recordings are then uploaded to Wikimedia Commons and shown on the subject's Wikipedia article, so that readers know what the person sounds like and how to correctly pronounce their names. Aside from Stephen Fry, contributors to the project so far include lunar astronaut Charlie Duke and British peer Jim Knight. You can find all of the voice recording made for the project so far on Wikimedia Commons. A related project that Andy has been working on is the BBC voice project where the corporation is releasing hundreds of audio snippets of notable people talking recorded on some of their radio programmes over the years. At an event at New Broadcasting House on 18 January 2014, over three hundred suitable clips were identified by volunteers, which the BBC are in the process of reviewing, processing, and uploading to Wikimedia Commons. Examples of clips that have been uploaded and used on the English Wikipedia include that of World Wide Web inventor Sir Tim Berners-Lee and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi. edit   Things you can do Sign up to Wikimedia UK monthly online newsletters Come to one of our upcoming events Apply for a project grants to help with your Wikimedia work Borrow some volunteer equipment, for example to take pictures for Wikimedia Commons Contact the office about arranging a training event Contact Us General inquiries: info@wikimedia.org.uk Fundraising or donations: fundraising@wikimedia.org.uk Membership enquiries: membership@wikimedia.org.uk Volunteering: volunteering@wikimedia.org.uk