Wikimedia UK and the British Museum would like to invite all Wikipedians to a very special event taking place from 11am on Friday 4 June – a “Backstage Pass” to the British Museum!

“You may have heard of the British Museum’s exciting initiative, a Wikipedian-in-Residence, with Liam Wyatt joining us in June to work with museum staff and Wikipedia editors to encourage mutual understanding and improve the encyclopaedia in areas relevant to the Museum’s collection. In order to kick off the residency, I’d like to invite you to join us at the British Museum Wikipedia Backstage Pass Day, on Friday 4 June.”

“In the morning we have arranged a number of behind-the-scenes and gallery tours for Wikipedians. Then, after lunch together in the staff canteen, we will get together in the Clore Education Centre to talk about collaboration, have a question and answer sessions, hear pitches for adding notable objects and developing featured articles, and hopefully also forming some relationships for future working, during and beyond Liam’s residency. I hope you can come; there’s a lot of interest here at the Museum about it.”

“I look forward to welcoming you to the Museum. Matthew Cock, Head of Web at the British Museum.”

This will be an exciting, incredibly important, and – most of all – fun event, so we encourage you to attend if you are able to. You can find out more information about what will be happening, and sign up to say that you are coming, at:
http://uk.wikimedia.org/wiki/Backstage_Pass

The Wikimedia chapters, including Wikimedia UK, have issued the following open letter. Wikimedia UK thinks it is extremely important that the chapters make good choices for board members so ask you to read the letter and see if you can help.

Wikimedia UK host the global Wikimedia Fundraising Summit in Bristol May 14-16 – HP Labs Bristol & The Watershed offer generous support

From Friday 14th to Sunday 16th May 2010, Wikimedia UK will host Wikimedia delegates from across the world as they meet in Bristol.

This meeting is a three-day summit to discuss technical and strategic issues that cover the work the global Wikimedia Foundation and its national chapters do in relation to the worldwide fundraising effort for the Wikimedia Foundation’s projects, including the online encyclopaedia, Wikipedia. The summit will be attended by delegates from the Wikimedia Foundation’s office in San Francisco and various chapters from around the world, including the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Russia and Australia.

It is the first time that Wikimedia UK, the chapter responsible for supporting the work and goals of the Wikimedia projects in the UK, has hosted an event of this importance to the global movement. It recognises the growing importance of this Chapter, now entering its second full year since its creation.

Wikimedia UK would like to recognise that the event has been made possible by the generosity of both HP, which is donating the costs of room hire, entertainment and lunches, and the Watershed, where some of the meetings will be held.

Although delegates are here mainly on business, there will be an opportunity on both Friday and Saturday evenings for Wikimedia delegates to mix with and learn more about Bristol and its plans to build on its growing reputation as a thriving regional hub for media and digital expertise.

Editor’s notes and contact details for this announcement