Re: [Wikimedia-l] Welcoming Lucy Crompton-Reid as new CEO of Wikimedia UK
Congratulations Lucy! A warm welcome in the Wikimedia movement :) Tanweer Morshed Wikimedia Bangladesh On Tue, Jul 14, 2015 at 2:51 AM, Pine W wiki.p...@gmail.com wrote: Thanks for this announcement, Michael. Lucy, welcome. I look forward to occasional collaborations with you across the Atlantic. Regards, Pine Executive Director Cascadia Wikimedians User Group (Oregon, Washington State and British Columbia) On Jul 13, 2015 10:44 AM, Michael Maggs mich...@maggs.name wrote: Dear all I am very pleased to be able to announce today that Wikimedia UK has been been fortunate enough to secure as our new CEO Lucy Crompton-Reid, currently Director of the national live literature charity Apples and Snakes. Lucy brings extensive experience in volunteer engagement, organisational development, working with strategic partners, media, education, and securing external fundraising from trusts and foundations. Over the course of her career Lucy has worked in both the charitable and public sectors, including most recently Head of Outreach at the House of Lords where she was strategic and operational lead for education and outreach activities. Before that, she worked at Arts Council England, initially developing strategic partnerships before setting up a new area office with local government and schools partnerships. As Refugee Week National Co-ordinator for the British Refugee Council, Lucy chaired the UK steering group of NGOs and charities, led on media activities, and facilitated hundreds of volunteer cultural events each year. Lucy is passionate about education and learning and is deeply committed to ensuring open access to knowledge and information. Lucy will be joining us in early October. In the meantime, our interim CEO, D'Arcy Myers, will remain in post and will be working with Lucy to ensure a smooth handover. Please join me in offering Lucy a very warm welcome. Lucy says /I'm delighted to be joining Wikimedia UK this October as the charity's new Chief Executive, and look forward to working with the staff team, board and volunteer community -- as well as national and international partners -- to develop the work of the organisation. This is a significant time for Wikimedia and for the open knowledge sector more broadly, with the potential to create unparalleled access to educational content, coupled with threats to limit public access to information and knowledge. With nearly 18 years' experience in the arts, charitable and public sectors, I'm passionate about participation, and excited about the opportunity to facilitate greater public engagement with online content and information through Wikipedia and its sister projects, and other Wikimedia UK initiatives./ Michael Maggs Chair, Wikimedia UK [The Wiki version of this announcement can be found here: https://wikimedia.org.uk/wiki/Engine_room#Welcoming_Lucy_Crompton-Reid_as_CEO ] ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe -- Regards, Tanweer Morshed ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe
Re: [Wikimedia-l] Future of Wikipedia
Hi Renata: Please don't despair. When I was growing up (I'm pushing 69) there were definitely encyclopedias but they surely were not the *only research tools*. Information was available, you just had to really dig for it - go to the library, comb through the card catalogue, go into the stacks, find the books, gather the information you needed, write it out by hand on paper (there were no copiers), and note the source for the information on the set of 3 x 5 index cards that you collected for the research project; or have the research librarian retrieve the newspapers, or periodicals, or white papers or mirco film and repeat what you did with the books; write it out by hand on paper (again, no copiers), and note the source for the information on the set of 3 x 5 index cards that you collected for the research project. Then you took all the information home, hand wrote the paper and once you were happy with it, you typed it out on a manual typewriter, making sure that you spaced it so that there would be enough room at the bottom for the footnotes for each particular page. If you had to make more than one copy, you put carbon paper in between the sheets of paper and if you made a mistake, you carefully corrected every page, making sure not to smudge the carbon or allow the papers and the carbon to shift out of alignment. If you needed more than 4 copies you typed the paper on a mimeograph stencil. If you made a mistake on the stencil, you used a mat knife and carefully scraped the error off the back of the top sheet, cut a corner off the stencil at the bottom and inserted that in the space between the top sheet and the stencil back and typed the letter(s) again, making sure that you did not accidentally let the top sheet or the stencil slip in the typewriter roller, because if you did all of your alignment would be off for the rest of the paper. There was a fluid to correct errors, but it never worked very well. When the paper was done, you put the stencil on a mimeograph machine and cranked it by hand until the stencil impression was no longer deep enough to make copies. If you needed more copies, you had to cut another stencil by re-typing the entire paper. I know this probably sounds like I had to hike 20 miles to school with snow up to my waist - which I didn't - but I offer it only to say that we humans are a pretty persistent and creative bunch and when determined enough we can make things work. Sometimes, having to really dig for something makes it all that much more precious. Take care, Amy On Tue, Jul 14, 2015 at 1:22 PM, Renata St renataw...@gmail.com wrote: Hi. So I saw this YouTube video yesterday about kids reacting to printed encyclopedia: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X7aJ3xaDMuMnoredirect=1 It made me sad. And very fearful of the future of Wikipedia. These kids do not appreciate knowledge and information because they grew up with its abundance. When I was growing up (and I am only 30), printed encyclopedia was the only research tool. These kids will never know the frustration when you tried looking something up in those dusty volumes only to find minimal information (stub) or, worse yet, nothing on the topic. And the nagging feeling it left you with because your curiosity was not satisfied and you thirsted for more, but there was nothing else! And so when Wikipedia came around it was this wondrous thing where information was seemingly limitless and endless. And it was expanding at dizzying speeds. And you could add more! It was the answer to my childhood fantasy of having the limitless encyclopedia that answered every questions. And it filed my heart with joy and satisfaction not unlike the joy of a child in candy story (yes, I am a geek). Those kids never deprived of knowledge and information will never know how precious it is. They will not have the same love that is required to edit Wikipedia and write quality articles. And it makes me sad. Renata ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe -- *Amy Vossbrinck* *Executive Assistant to the* *Chief of Finance and Administration, Garfield Byrd* *Wikimedia Foundation* *149 New Montgomery Street* *San Francisco, CA 94105* *415.839.6885 ext 6628* *avossbri...@wikimedia.org avossbri...@wikimedia.org* ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe
Re: [Wikimedia-l] Future of Wikipedia
Thank you for sharing this, Renata -- cool video! But I think I'm taking the exact opposite from it. It makes me happy. It seems to me these kids love information -- and are eager to say so! -- and love books, too, most of them expressed sadness at the idea of books disappearing (but also, shock at the idea that an encyclopedia would cost $1500). I do think you have a good point, that the absence of Wikipedia in our early lives provided big motivation for many of us to devote energy to creating Wikipedia. I'm not sure that spells doom for Wikipedia, though -- rather, I'd say different kinds of motivation (more specific to one's passions and interests, rather than a general desire to build a comprehensive compendium) will fuel the next wave of Wikipedians. People will probably value knowledge in different ways as it becomes more abundant and less centralized, but I have a hard time believing they will *cease* to value knowledge. Pete [[User:Peteforsyth]] On Tue, Jul 14, 2015 at 1:22 PM, Renata St renataw...@gmail.com wrote: Hi. So I saw this YouTube video yesterday about kids reacting to printed encyclopedia: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X7aJ3xaDMuMnoredirect=1 It made me sad. And very fearful of the future of Wikipedia. These kids do not appreciate knowledge and information because they grew up with its abundance. When I was growing up (and I am only 30), printed encyclopedia was the only research tool. These kids will never know the frustration when you tried looking something up in those dusty volumes only to find minimal information (stub) or, worse yet, nothing on the topic. And the nagging feeling it left you with because your curiosity was not satisfied and you thirsted for more, but there was nothing else! And so when Wikipedia came around it was this wondrous thing where information was seemingly limitless and endless. And it was expanding at dizzying speeds. And you could add more! It was the answer to my childhood fantasy of having the limitless encyclopedia that answered every questions. And it filed my heart with joy and satisfaction not unlike the joy of a child in candy story (yes, I am a geek). Those kids never deprived of knowledge and information will never know how precious it is. They will not have the same love that is required to edit Wikipedia and write quality articles. And it makes me sad. Renata ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe
Re: [Wikimedia-l] Future of Wikipedia
On 14 July 2015 at 21:22, Renata St renataw...@gmail.com wrote: Hi. So I saw this YouTube video yesterday about kids reacting to printed encyclopedia: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X7aJ3xaDMuMnoredirect=1 It made me sad. And very fearful of the future of Wikipedia. These kids do not appreciate knowledge and information because they grew up with its abundance. When I was growing up (and I am only 30), printed encyclopedia was the only research tool. You would have been 8 years old when Encarta was launched. Those kids never deprived of knowledge and information will never know how precious it is. Eh you always hit walls sooner or later. A lot of information is still buried in libraries (the best soruce I'm aware of for theThe jewelry of roman Britain is a book written in 1996). Other stuff is behind paywalls or is commercially sensitive. Or simply doesn't exist (there doesn't seem to be a solid history of calshot castle anywhere). They will not have the same love that is required to edit Wikipedia and write quality articles. And it makes me sad. I think there will be other motivations. -- geni ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe
Re: [Wikimedia-l] Find Community Engagement sessions at Wikimania 2015!
Hi all, a few more sessions that were missed in the last email: *Wednesday (hackathon):* * *Education Program Extension Hackathon.* https://phabricator.wikimedia.org/T103623* Workplace 2, Don Genaro, 1 pm. Hosted by Sage Ross.* *Friday* * Pitfalls, protocols and prior planning: A panel on making the most of Education Program. https://wikimania2015.wikimedia.org/wiki/Submissions/Pitfalls,_Protocols_and_Prior_Planning:_a_Panel_on_Making_the_Most_of_the_Education_Program* 16:30 - 17 hs. Panel hosted by Anna Koval. *This session will help Wikimedians, educators, those who are already running Wikipedia Education Programs, and those who are already using the Wikimedia projects in educational settings, as well as those who are curious about it. This session will present successful models, pitfalls, and protocols that will help everyone make the most of their education program. *Saturday* * *Communicating your projects: Wikipedia Education program as an example. https://wikimania2015.wikimedia.org/wiki/Submissions/Communicating_your_projects_-_Wikipedia_Education_Program_as_an_example 16 - 16:30 hs. Tutorial hosted by Samir Elsharbaty.* Many wikimedians come to great ideas, plan and implement them in a great way but no one else hears about, other than those involved in the activity. This tutorial will try to cover how event organizers can reach out to bigger (and the right) audience, among other things. Cheers! *María Cruz * \\ Communications and Outreach Coordinator, LE Team \\ Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. mc...@wikimedia.org | : @marianarra_ https://twitter.com/marianarra_ On Mon, Jul 13, 2015 at 4:59 PM, Maria Cruz mc...@wikimedia.org wrote: Hi all! As Wikimanía México is just around the corner, I wanted to share with you all an overview of sessions hosted by Community Engagement department at WMF. There are hacks, workshops, panels, presentations and discussions covering a range of topics! We will be happy to have you join us in them =) I hope this breakdown is clear and not too confusing. *Thursday (Hackathon)* * *Visual Editor Translathon. https://phabricator.wikimedia.org/T91108 16 hs, Workplace 1 (Don Américo). Hosted by Erica Litrenta and Benoît Evellin. * *Friday* * *Engaging Wikipedia's Natural Ally: How to unlock and amplify the access, knowledge, skills and resources of University and Research Libraries. https://wikimania2015.wikimedia.org/wiki/Submissions/Engaging_Wikipedia%27s_Natural_Ally:_How_to_unlock_and_amplify_the_access,_knowledge,_skills_and_resources_of_University_and_Research_Libraries 11:30 - 12 hs. Presentation and discussion hosted by Alex Stinson.* The presentation will focus on experimental Wikipedia Library programs and tools growing out of these conversations that are focused on university and other research libraries. The discussion will seek to answer: How effective are our reference materials for our readers? Can readers really leverage higher quality scholarly references to help further their research? * *It's (Not) all about the money: The Funds Dissemination Committee Unveiled. https://wikimania2015.wikimedia.org/wiki/Submissions/Funding_the_movement%27s_dreams:_How_FDC_works_and_help_build_strong_organizations 17 - 17:30 hs. Presentation with panel, hosted by Matanya Moses (FDC member) Katy Love (FDC staff member) Dariusz Jemielniak (FDC member). * Come meet this unique group of community members, understand their process and learn about how they make decisions. Hear their reflections on the past year overseeing the Annual Plan Grants. *Saturday* * *Engaging with Community Engagement. https://wikimania2015.wikimedia.org/wiki/Submissions/Engaging_with_Community_Engagement 9 - 10 hs. Panel hosted by Luis Villa.* Come meet some of the key members of this new team and ask them questions about the new group and where it is headed. * *IdeLab workshop: Making ideas into action. https://wikimania2015.wikimedia.org/wiki/Submissions/IdeaLab_Workshop:_Making_Ideas_into_Action11 - 12:30 hs. Workshop hosted by Siko Bouterse, Jonathan Morgan and Marti Johnson. * Have an idea for a project to improve Wikimedia? Want feedback or help obtaining funding to turn your idea into action? Bring your ideas and and let’s turn ideas into actionable projects together! * *GLAM Learning Circle. https://wikimania2015.wikimedia.org/wiki/Submissions/GLAM_Learning_Circle 14 - 15:30 hs. Panel Hosted by Jaime Anstee and María Cruz.* A follow-up to learning circles facilitated at GLAM Wiki Conference in the Hague and next step in the learning journey to capture best practices and lessons learned in GLAM-wiki partnering. * *Free as in Free: Strategies for advancing open access on Wikipedia. https://wikimania2015.wikimedia.org/wiki/Submissions/Free_as_in_Free:_Strategies_for_Advancing_Open_Access_on_Wikipedia 15 - 15:30 hs. Panel presentation and discussion hosted by Nick Shockey and Jake Orlowitz.* Highlighted topics include:
Re: [Wikimedia-l] Future of Wikipedia
I know this probably sounds like I had to hike 20 miles to school with snow up to my waist - which I didn't - but I offer it only to say that we humans are a pretty persistent and creative bunch and when determined enough we can make things work. Sometimes, having to really dig for something makes it all that much more precious. That is my point exactly. The kids these days don't struggle like that - type in google, hit enter, and boom! No digging required. Served on a silver platter. And you don't develop appreciation for something you don't struggle for. No struggle = no appreciation = no labor of love creating it for others. ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe
Re: [Wikimedia-l] Future of Wikipedia
These kids do not appreciate knowledge and information because they grew up with its abundance. When I was growing up (and I am only 30), printed encyclopedia was the only research tool. You would have been 8 years old when Encarta was launched. I am from a small non-English speaking country. There was lack of even general books on topics because on how small the population (3.5 million). I remember I had to do a long research paper on India (history, geography, culture, religion, etc.). You would think easy - India is a big, interesting country. Surely there must be books on it. Not so much... Unless you wanted to read someone's travel impressions from 30 years ago for 300 pages. Finding the info was the biggest struggle. And so we had this 12-volume encyclopedia. And it was was like the crown jewel of our possessions. My mom forbade me to mark anything (even with a pencil) at all on the pages. Those kids never deprived of knowledge and information will never know how precious it is. Eh you always hit walls sooner or later. A lot of information is still buried in libraries (the best soruce I'm aware of for theThe jewelry of roman Britain is a book written in 1996). Other stuff is behind paywalls or is commercially sensitive. Or simply doesn't exist (there doesn't seem to be a solid history of calshot castle anywhere). You are talking about niche, specialized topics graduate students might care. Yes, there is still a lot of info locked in the dead-tree world, but anything that an average high school kid might need is in overabundance on the Internet (Wikipedia included). In fact, I am becoming convinced that for this new generation filtering the info from the flood out there will be a lot more valuable skill than finding info. ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe
Re: [Wikimedia-l] Future of Wikipedia
I agree that finding correct, accurate, current, and NPOV information can be a challenging task, and media literacy is an important skill these days. Good research tasks today go beyond the goal of finding just any book, magazine, journal or webpage that asserts a certain fact. Pine ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe
Re: [Wikimedia-l] Future of Wikipedia
On Tue, Jul 14, 2015 at 3:41 PM, Pete Forsyth petefors...@gmail.com wrote: Thank you for sharing this, Renata -- cool video! But I think I'm taking the exact opposite from it. It makes me happy. It seems to me these kids love information -- and are eager to say so! -- and love books, too, most of them expressed sadness at the idea of books disappearing (but also, shock at the idea that an encyclopedia would cost $1500). I do think you have a good point, that the absence of Wikipedia in our early lives provided big motivation for many of us to devote energy to creating Wikipedia. I'm not sure that spells doom for Wikipedia, though -- rather, I'd say different kinds of motivation (more specific to one's passions and interests, rather than a general desire to build a comprehensive compendium) will fuel the next wave of Wikipedians. People will probably value knowledge in different ways as it becomes more abundant and less centralized, but I have a hard time believing they will *cease* to value knowledge. Pete [[User:Peteforsyth]] +1 -- ~Keegan https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Keegan This is my personal email address. Everything sent from this email address is in a personal capacity. ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe
