Wikimedia UK v1.0

A local Wikimedia chapter is proposed to cover Wikimedians living in the UK. Help to create the bylaws!

Points to consider

What effect would UK charity law have on this?
How should this fit in with a European Wikimedia chapter if such a thing comes into existence?
What are the Possible projects of Wikimedia UK? - blue sky thinking

Charitable aims and fundraising

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

Example language portal

See languages in the United Kingdom.

A page like the Swiss portal could be set up related languages and wikipedia.co.uk could redirect there.

Languages native to the UK: Cornish, English, Irish, Scottish Gaelic, Welsh, Scots, Ulster Scots, Shelta, British Sign Language, Irish Sign Language (not sure of progress on sign-language Wikipedias)

Immigrant languages: Bengali, Gujarati, Hindi, Punjabi, Urdu

Historic languages: Old English, Latin, Breton, Old Norse, Old Irish

Other relevant languages (Crown dependencies etc): Manx, Dgèrnésiais, Jèrriais, French, Yanito, Pitcairnese.

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

It seems that Ireland isn't included, except for Northern Ireland. Certainly I would not advocate including the Republic of Ireland, as it has different laws, and we would have a transnational organisation to administer, which may be more difficult. I would go for Wikimedia UK. Matthew Platts 00:44, 1 September 2005 (UTC)[reply]

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)

As one of the purposes will be to be a fundraiser, and it is intended to be a charity, why not set the "boundary", such as it is, at the level of UK charity law? Whilst it is true that the law varies between Scotland, Northern Ireland and England and Wales, a charity registered in any one of those three is recognised as such within the whole of the UK (in terms of tax status etc) - so, why not just go for that? Scott Keir

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)

Roadmap

A roadmap is used to begin envisaging the primary goals we need to fulfil to become a charity. This will hopefully inform us of short-term goals needed done. This roadmap is in very rough form, it is in no way official.

Investigate certain issues of charity law:
- the criteria needed to be fulfilled to become a charity
- whether we are responsible for content
- relationship to the non-UK foundation
Establish the fundamentals of the organisation:
- the functions and their legal viability
- the Chapter's geographical coverage (likely dictated by law)
- whether the Chapter legally represents the Foundation
Write a governing document, by-laws, &c.
- translate into non-English UK languages
Seek board approval for by-laws
Arrange a contract with the Foundation for trademark use
Registration

Miscellany

Domains

wikipedia.co.uk - owned by Bomis, redirect to the English Wikipedia
wikipedia.org.uk - owned by Chris Brooking, redirect to the English Wikipedia
wikimedia.co.uk - owned by James F., currently (a somewhat basic) Wikipedia portal
wikimedia.org.uk - owned by James F., currently (a somewhat basic) Wikipedia portal

Mailing list

WikimediaUK-l

People interested in helping to create a local chapter

Next meeting

Date: Sunday, 9th October
Time: 3pm (until 6pm at the latest when the pub closes)
Location: The Royal Oak (upstairs function room) 020 7357 7173
Location: The Royal Oak is at 44, Tabard Street, London SE1 4JU
Location: Near Borough Tube station. Close to London Bridge.

Agenda

Everything on this page (and more) could form part of the discussion, but just to delineate some points.

The creation of Wikimedia UK
The exact form of incorporation (e.g. limited company)
Date and venue for follow up meeting (real or virtual)
Grant opportunities - see Possible projects of Wikimedia UK
Charitable status - pros and cons

Wireless Access

Just an idealistic question: will there be internet access at all (to be able to refer to relevant pages while talking)?

Nothing at the pub: random open networks do exist, however LoopZilla 16:25, 7 October 2005 (UTC)[reply]

You mean open wireless hotspots, yes? Is there a list of these somewhere? (and not cafes that charge..)

[1] is a good start

Got wireless in my hostel, which is nearby. Cormaggio ^@ 19:59, 8 October 2005 (UTC)[reply]

Putative Attendees

LoopZilla
James F. (talk) 20:44, 5 October 2005 (UTC)[reply]
Cormaggio ^@ 23:10, 5 October 2005 (UTC) Yes, I'm coming now[reply]
Francstwothousand 23:40, 5 October 2005 (UTC)[reply]
Secretlondon 11:02, 6 October 2005 (UTC) (Thanks for the note - I rarely look on meta)[reply]

Non-attendees

David Gerard 11:03, 6 October 2005 (UTC) - I'm already firmly booked out for Sunday, I'm afraid. Buggre![reply]
The wub, I'd like to attend but I'm just starting at university, so more than a little busy with work and drinking!
Thryduulf I'm visiting relatives in Newcastle all weekend. Would like to have been able to make it :(
:-( Stewartadcock 12:39, 7 October 2005 (UTC)[reply]
Rich Farmbrough Rich Farmbrough 12:47, 7 October 2005 (UTC) Unfortunately not[reply]
notafish }<';> 13:31, 8 October 2005 (UTC) well, London *is* a bit far ;-)[reply]
Scott Keir: regret unable to attend. Recommend company limited by guarantee to start with, where the memo and articles of association are of a chairitable type. Formal registration as a charity takes time, and may require proof that the organisation has been undertaking activities that qualify as charitable - ie it would have to operate for a bit before gaining charity status.

Noted!