Wikimedia UK v1.0
Should there be a local Wikimedia chapter to cover users living in UK/Britain and Ireland/British Isles/??
We need to consider what the point of it would be. Would it be fundraising? If so - would it be fundraising for local activity or for the foundation? Education is one of the "heads of charity" but things such as providing social events for British contributors wouldn't be. To fundraise we'd need to be a registered charity which has paperwork overheads and would need to have proper legal structures. We'd need to have accounts and have them approved by an independent examiner (we are unlikely to meet the threshold to require a full audit).
Basically - we would be running a not-for-profit business. Trustees would be liable for the appropriate spending of charitable funds. However this isn't as scary as it sounds.
The benefits are that we could do work in the UK that the foundation couldn't. We could bid for funds for UK specific projects such as work with schools. However projects need managing :(. I really don't see us to be at the level of employing staff at the moment but small projects could be managed by the trustees or a sub-committee.
If this is where we want to go then we'd need a charity to do it. We don't need to worry that we are not developed enough immediately - everyone starts off small. However we'd need to get agreement on what the overall aims would be.
Related languages:
Languages without a Wikipedia: Dgèrnésiais, Jèrriais, Scots, Ulster Scots
Points to consider:
- What effect would UK charity law have on this?
- How should it fit in with a European Wikimedia chapter if such a thing comes into existence?
Possible projects of a British Wikipedia Chapter - blue sky thinking
Naming issue
I was thinking the chapter should cover England and all the places round it, but it seems there is no non-controversial name for this place. It might be easier to do an England and Wales chapter since those two share the same charity law. However, it's going to be a while before Ireland, Scotland etc have enough Wikipedians to form their own chapter, so I think something combining those would be best, at least to begin with. I don't know if this would include the Channel Islands which are British Islands but not always seen as part of the British Isles.
The following articles show there is no sensible name for this chapter: England and Wales, United Kingdom, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, Britain, Great Britain, British Isles, British Islands, Ireland, Republic of Ireland, Britain and Ireland, Islands of the North Atlantic, Channel Islands.
Angela 23:06, 1 Oct 2004 (UTC)
- It might be better to set the aims of the chapter before choosing the geography that it encompasses: boundry merging would be less difficult if a common purpose was shared. Or else there'd be the inevitable split. rroddy
- Well... If we're going to at some point be a regional chapter of Wikimedia Europe, which itself is a regional chapter of the Wikimedia Foundation, I don't see the hugest problem in having Wikimedia Scotland, Wikimedia Republic of Ireland, Wikimedia Northern Ireland, Wikimedia British Dependencies, and, of course Wikimedia England & Wales, other than a bit more administrative hassle, if necessary. So, how about creating "Wikimedia England & Wales" at first, with a view to making Wikimedia British Isles (or something less unharmonious to some on the island of Ireland)?
- Of course, if all we end up doing is providing a channel for money back to the Wikimedia Foundation, we'd not be a charity, so...
- James F. (talk) 18:37, 11 Oct 2004 (UTC)
- The chapter will be far more than just a money channel to the Foundation. We need to think about UK-specific projects that we could apply for funding for. Printing WikiReaders and distributing those here seems an obvious option, and running Wikimedia event stands is something the chapter could co-ordinate and provide funding for, but I'm sure there is a lot more we could do besides that. Angela 20:39, 22 Oct 2004 (UTC)
- I have a decade of experience as a local and national organiser for go, much of which is perhaps not directly relevant; but I have run stalls, produced newsletters and flyers, been on committees, done local and national publicity, and so on. It doesn't actually make me want to sign up for more of the same - but I think I can claim to know the territory. The point I'd like to make at this stage is that communication with our own folks is something basic, which can get overlooked. Charles Matthews 06:44, 28 Oct 2004 (UTC)
People interested in helping to create a local chapter
Portal
A page like the Swiss portal could be set up for these languages.
