Wikimedia UK Blog

University of Edinburgh win higher education award for innovative use of Wikimedia in the curriculum

10 June 2019

Wikimedia UK is very pleased to announce that our partners at the University of Edinburgh have been awarded the Innovative Use of Technology award for their use of Wikipedia in the Curriculum at the Herald Higher Education Awards 2019. University of Edinburgh Wikimedian in Residence Ewan McAndrew has been leading on this work in Edinburgh,… read more »

Libraries, Librarians & Wikimedia: a round up of our favourite things for the CILIPS Annual Conference 2019

3 June 2019

This is a blog in two parts – the first is some session recommendations for the CILIPS conference, and the second is a list of cool stuff about library engagement with Wikimedia…. On 3-4 June, in the fair city of Dundee, it’s the CILIPS Annual Conference 2019, where the great and good of the Library and… read more »

Conway Hall collections helping to improve Wikipedia

24 May 2019

Last weekend Conway Hall in central London hosted a Wikipedia editathon to improve pages on Wikipedia about 19th century pamphleteers and the subjects they wrotr about. Hundreds of Victorian-era pamphlets have been digitised and placed on CC0 licenses by Conway Hall library, and these are now being uploaded to Commons at the Category:Conway Hall digital… read more »

Education in Wales and Wikipedia

16 May 2019

By Robin Owain, Wikimedia UK Wales Manager Wales has always had more than its fair share of ministers of religion, farmers… and educators! During the Medieval period, the training of a ‘Prifardd’ (a registered Chief Poet), took ten years, but educating ordinary folk was by word of mouth. Around 1402, the last Welsh Prince of… read more »

Self-harm and the internet

3 May 2019

Following a recent news report in a tabloid paper, which criticised websites including Wikipedia for not taking seriously enough the effects of online content on self-harm, Wikimedia UK would like to underscore the commitment of the Wikimedia community to addressing this issue. Wikipedia aims to provide neutral, reliable encyclopedic content to its readers around the… read more »

New Wikimedian in Residence at the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland

25 April 2019

By Jeff Sanders, Project Manager for Dig It! based at The Society of Antiquaries of Scotland. AN ANCIENT SOCIETY (WITH FRESH IDEAS) 1780: a time before the USA had gained its independence, before the first hot air balloon flights, and before Robert Burns had penned Auld Lang Syne. Also the year in which the Society… read more »

Wikimedia UK welcomes three new trustees

20 April 2019

We are very pleased to announce the recent appointment of three new trustees to Wikimedia UK’s board. Sangeet Bhullar, Jane Carlin and Marnie Woodward bring a range of skills and experience to the board including financial management, strategic partnerships and digital literacy. Sangeet Bhullar joined the Wikimedia UK board in January 2019. She is the… read more »

AutoWikiBrowser – find out how to automate mass edits on Wikipedia

17 April 2019

Wikimedia UK has started running events to encourage long-time Wikipedia editors and those interested in becoming technically proficient at more complex tasks to gain skills that will allow them to improve Wikimedia projects. In November we ran our first event on how to write a Featured Article. On May 7th, we will be running our… read more »

What happened on Wikipedia when Notre-Dame burned?

20 April 2019

By Richard Nevell, Wikimedia UK Project Coordinator Shortly before 7pm on April 15 in Paris a devastating fire broke out in one of France’s most iconic buildings. The fire was extinguished after more than 12 hours, and while the stone walls still stood and movable artwork had been removed, the spire and roof had collapsed,… read more »

The first Wikimedia + Education conference

12 April 2019

By Jason Evans, National Wikimedian for Wales. In April 2019 the Basque Wikimedians User Group hosted the first Wikimedia + Education conference in Donostia. Using Wikipedia, and other Wikimedia projects in education is nothing new. There is a vibrant and well established community already engaged in a diverse range of projects from Wiki Clubs in… read more »