Wikimedia UK
Public outreach | |
Members | 255 (as of 1 August 2012)[3] |
---|---|
Key people |
|
Revenue | £734,671 (2019/20)[4] |
Employees | 14 |
Website | wikimedia |
Formerly called | Wiki UK Limited |
Wikimedia UK (WMUK), also known as Wikimedia United Kingdom, is a
Wikimedia UK started out as Wiki Educational Resources Limited (WER), but due to financial difficulties and other problems the organisation dissolved, and was replaced by Wiki UK Limited. After its first attempt to gain
The chapter has several collaborations with museums and other institutions, and has organised events for volunteers aimed at adding content to Foundation projects. In its early years, several of the organisation's board members were involved in controversies related to their contributions to Wikipedia, including claims that the Gibraltarpedia collaboration organised by a trustee was being used for promotional purposes.
History
The first iteration of Wikimedia UK (WMUK) was founded as Wiki Educational Resources Limited (WER) and was incorporated on 14 February 2006, with Alison Wheeler serving as chair of the board and
Wiki UK Limited was incorporated as a private not-for-profit company under the Companies Act 2006 on 5 November 2008 and, after the WMF terminated recognition of its predecessor, the organisation was officially recognised as a chapter in January 2009.[9][10] It applied for official recognition of charitable status to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) the same year, but was denied. HMRC argued that WMUK's purpose of freely disseminating information through Wikipedia would not qualify as charitable unless it included teaching and education as part of its activities. Andrew Turvey, secretary of the WMUK, responded to the ruling by pledging to seek legal advice before appealing the decision.[11] Following the rejection of its registration-application by HMRC, Wikimedia UK amended its constitution by adopting new Articles of Association derived from an approved model for charitable status and applied to the Charity Commission for registration as a charity, which was granted in November 2011 once WMUK had met the commission's minimum income requirement of £5,000.[12] The Charity Commission had initially rejected WMUK's application as an educational charity, but ultimately was able with a little help from WMUK's legal advisers to register it as a library-resource charity.[13]
A year later, Wikimedia UK hosted the three-day Wikimedia Fundraising Summit in Bristol. Christopher Brown of Bristol 24-7 described this as the first time the group had "hosted an event of this importance to the global movement".[15] The following January, WMUK organised a celebration of the 10th anniversary of Wikipedia's founding at University of Bristol, together with other groups such as the Bristol City Council and Bristol Festival of Ideas. Co-founder Jimmy Wales gave a public lecture at the celebration.[16] During its 2011 annual conference, Wikimedia UK announced its plans to open a permanent office and hire full-time staff within a year.[17]
During its efforts to establish a full-time staff, Wikimedia UK was assisted by several groups and individuals such as the president of Wikimedia Deutschland and prospect-us, a recruitment agency specialising in non-profits, who helped vet candidates for the position of CEO.[18] After introducing the final three CEO candidates to the community at a London 'wikimeet' in September, WMUK announced on the 26th of that month that it had chosen Jon Davies, former CEO of Families Need Fathers, for the position.[19]
In a renewed effort to gain official recognition of charitable status, the board of WMUK had called an EGM to approve amended Objects and related charitable clauses in its
At its 2012 annual conference on 12 May,
Activities
Wikimedia UK has organised or supported many volunteer efforts to contribute to Foundation projects. One such effort was a month-long competition in February 2010 called 'Britain Loves Wikipedia' aimed at increasing the amount of freely licensed images available for use on Wikimedia Commons and Wikipedia. Participants photographed exhibits at participating museums in order to win cash and other prizes.[28] WMUK has sponsored similar events since then, as well as 'edit-a-thons' in order to generate content for Foundation projects.[29][30][31]
The organisation has collaborations with other institutions such as The National Archives and the British Museum, with event attendees given tours of the institutions so that content can be added to Wikipedia and its sister sites. Wikimedia UK has also worked with the Herbert Art Gallery and Museum in Coventry.[29]
Wikimedia UK also operates
Controversies
After obtaining charitable status, Wikimedia UK was exposed to controversies that have received international attention.[35]
Chairman resigns
One such case concerned the group's previous chair, Ashley van Haeften. In July 2012, Wikipedia's
Gibraltarpedia
Another member of Wikimedia UK's board of trustees,
Bamkin's involvement with Wikimedia UK as a board member while performing work on the project prompted further concerns about his position with the group. Wikipedia co-founder Jimmy Wales stated on 17 September that, if the claims about paid editing were well-founded, it was inappropriate for Bamkin to sit on the board of Wikimedia UK given its charitable status. Wales then suggested he resign from the board of the organisation or end his work with the government of Gibraltar.[40][41] On 20 September, Bamkin resigned from the board of Wikimedia UK following a mutual decision by the board supporting the move in response to the concerns about Gibraltarpedia.[43][44]
The level of WMUK's participation was also brought into question regarding the situation with Gibraltarpedia.[41] While the organisation does not prohibit paid editing, its support of Bamkin's activities was criticised as potentially inconsistent with its charitable status.[40][45] In a press release following his resignation, the organisation stated that it had provided minimal material support for the effort, that Bamkin had disclosed his commercial interests, and that he had not been involved in the group's decisions regarding the project.[44]
Grant Shapps
In April 2015, a WMUK employee blocked an account on English Wikipedia he claimed was associated with then
Board of trustees
The current Board of Trustees for Wikimedia UK can be found on their site.
References
- ^ "Charity framework". Charity Commission for England and Wales. Retrieved 24 February 2012.
- ^ "Annual report and financial statements for the year ended 31 January 2021" (PDF). Wikimedia.org.uk. Wikimedia UK. Retrieved 18 November 2021.
- ^ Symonds, Richard. "Re: [Wikimediauk-l] [WMUK Board] Statement regarding Ashley Van Haeften, Chair of Wikimedia UK". wikimediauk-l mailing list. Retrieved 18 August 2012.
- ^ "WIKIMEDIA UK - Charity 1144513". register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk. Retrieved 18 November 2021.
- ^ a b "WIKI EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES LIMITED". Companies House. Retrieved 24 September 2012.
- ^ "Alison Wheeler - Résumé". AlisonWheeler.net. Retrieved 24 September 2012.
- ^ "User:Alison Wheeler". Wikimedia Foundation. Retrieved 24 September 2012.
- ^ "[Wikimediauk-l] Resignation of Arkady Rose". Wikimedia Foundation. Retrieved 24 September 2012.
- ^ "WIKIMEDIA U.K." Companies House. Retrieved 24 September 2012.
- ^ "Resolution: Approval of Wikimedia UK". Wikimedia Foundation. Retrieved 20 September 2012.
- ^ Mason, Tania (29 May 2009). "Wikimedia UK denied charitable tax status". CivilSociety.co.uk. Retrieved 21 September 2012.
- ^ Jump, Paul (5 June 2009). "Wikimedia's UK charity application to be re-examined". Third Sector. Retrieved 21 September 2012.
- ^ a b Wiggins, Kaye (7 November 2011). "Wikimedia UK granted charity status". Third Sector. Retrieved 21 September 2012.
- ^ "Bristol". Ten.Wikipedia.org. Wikipedia 10. Retrieved 30 September 2013.
- ^ Brown, Christopher (7 May 2010). "Bristol plays host to Wikipedia's global gathering". Bristol 24-7. Retrieved 21 September 2012.
- ^ Brown, Christopher (13 January 2011). "Wikipedia founder in Bristol to celebrate 10th anniversary". Bristol 24-7. Archived from the original on 27 March 2012. Retrieved 21 September 2012.
- ^ a b Brian, Matt (20 April 2011). "Wikimedia UK to hire full-time staff, aims to increase content quality on Wikipedia". The Next Web. Retrieved 21 September 2012.
- ^ "Help us choose our Chief Executive". Wikimedia UK. 6 September 2011. Retrieved 24 September 2012.
- ^ "Welcoming our new Chief Executive". Wikimedia UK. 26 September 2011. Retrieved 24 September 2012.
- ^ "EGM 16th October – Help us become a charity!". The Wikimedia UK Blog!. Wikimedia UK. Retrieved 24 September 2012.
- ^ "Wikimedia UK one step closer to charitable status". Wikimedia UK. 27 October 2011. Retrieved 24 September 2012.
- ^ Mair, Vibeka (7 November 2011). "Charity Commission approves promoting Wikipedia as a charitable purpose". Civil Society. Retrieved 24 September 2012.
- ^ "Change of registered office address". OpenCorporates. Retrieved 24 September 2012.
- ^ Public Relations Consultants Association. 15 May 2012. Retrieved 21 September 2012.
- The Telegraph. Retrieved 3 October 2012.
- ^ Young, Niki May (2 October 2012). "Investigation into governance at Wikimedia UK launched". Civil Society. Archived from the original on 4 November 2014. Retrieved 27 April 2022.
- ^ Young, Niki May (8 February 2013). "Wikimedia UK trustees have been 'too involved' to effectively govern charity". Archived from the original on 11 February 2013. Retrieved 9 February 2013.
- ^ "Britain Loves Wikipedia". Wikimedia UK. 28 January 2010. Retrieved 21 September 2012.
- ^ Leamington Courier. 1 September 2012. Retrieved 21 September 2012.
- Koerth-Baker, Maggie (5 September 2012). "Wikipedia edit-a-thon at the library of the Royal Society". Boing Boing. Retrieved 21 September 2012.
- ^ "Wikimedia UK and JISC join forces for World War One editathon". Wikimedia UK. 19 July 2012. Retrieved 21 September 2012.
- ^ Geere, Duncan (9 February 2012). "Culture The British Library is looking for a Wikipedian in Residence". Wired UK. Retrieved 21 September 2012.
- ^ "The world's first Wikipedia city". GBC News. 18 July 2012. Archived from the original on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 21 September 2012.
- ^ "Gib to be the world's first Wikipedia city". Gibraltar Chronicle. 14 July 2012. Archived from the original on 17 July 2012. Retrieved 21 September 2012.
- ^ McCambridge, Ruth; Lester, Aaron (21 September 2012). "Wikipedia UK and charges of conflicts of interest". Nonprofit Quarterly. Retrieved 22 September 2012.
- ^ Williams, Christopher (31 July 2012). "Chairman of Wikipedia charity banned after pornography row". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 21 September 2012.
- ^ Williams, Christopher (2 August 2012). "Wikipedia charity chairman resigns after pornography row". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 21 September 2012.
- ^ Young, Niki May (3 August 2012). "Wikimedia UK chair resigns following ban from Wikipedia". Civil Society. Retrieved 21 September 2012.
- ^ Stothart, Chloe (3 August 2012). "Wikimedia UK chair quits after being banned from editing Wikipedia". Third Sector. Retrieved 21 September 2012.
- ^ a b c "Jimmy Wales 'disgusted' as trustee accused of editing for profit". Fox News. 19 September 2012. Retrieved 22 September 2012.
- ^ PCWorld. Archivedfrom the original on 6 September 2015. Retrieved 22 September 2012.
- ^ Reyes, Brian (21 September 2012). "Govt rejects 'wiki-nobble' claim". Gibraltar Chronicle. Archived from the original on 20 October 2013. Retrieved 22 September 2012.
- ^ "Board update". Wikimedia UK. 20 September 2012. Retrieved 22 September 2012.
- ^ a b "Gibraltarpedia: WMUK press release". Wikimedia UK. 21 September 2012. Retrieved 22 September 2012.
- ^ Orlowski, Andrew (20 September 2012). "Conflict-of-interest scandal could imperil Wikimedia charity status". The Register. Retrieved 22 September 2012.
- Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 18 November 2021.
- ^ a b c Orlowski, Andrew (13 June 2015). "Shapps launches probe into Wikimedia UK over self-pluggery allegs". The Register. Retrieved 1 September 2015.
- ^ Ramesh, Randeep (9 June 2015). "Wikipedia: account at centre of row 'not linked' to Grant Shapps". The Guardian. Retrieved 10 June 2015.
- ^ McSmith, Andy (23 August 2015). "Grant Shapps unable to unmask mystery Wikipedia contributor". The Independent. Retrieved 1 September 2015.
- ^ Payne, Sebastian (28 August 2015). "Revealed: Wikipedia's panic over Shapps fiasco". The Spectator. Retrieved 1 September 2015.