Commons:Wikimedia UK

Wikimedia UK

Open knowledge for all

Wikimedia UK is the charity which promotes Wikimedia Commons and other Wikimedia projects in the United Kingdom.

That includes encouraging UK cultural institutions to release material to Commons.

How do we help?[edit]

Lending out photography equipment: The charity has a variety of Equipment available for Wikimedians to use in the UK, including cameras and tripods. See here for more details.

Project grants: Wikimedia UK has a grants programme (up to £2000) open to any member of the charity. We can support expenses such as travel costs, or event costs, so if you have an idea for improving Commons think about becoming a member and applying for a grant.

Running events: The charity also runs events such as Wiki Loves Monuments UK or Wikipedia Takes Coventry. They're open to anyone interested, so keep an eye on the events page. You can even borrow one of the charity's cameras cameras!

Liaising with institutions: Especially through our Wikimedians in Residence, the charity seeks to persuade cultural institutions to release their images under a Creative Commons license. If you have something on your wishlist, get in touch with glamwikimedia.org.uk

Supporting open knowledge[edit]

One of the charity's strategic goals is to develop open knowledge. One of the measures Wikimedia UK uses to assess the impact on the quality of open knowledge is the number of Featured (FP), Quality (QI), and Valued Images (VI) supported by the chapter. Below is a sample of some of the files which have been through the various quality assessment processes. More can be found here: FPs, QIs, and VIs.

Tour of Britain 2014 stage 8a - London time trial
Detail of railings at the Albert Memorial in London, Great Britain.
The sanctuary of Arundel Cathedral looking east, in West Sussex, England
12th Century Church in the Dunes behind Daymer Bay
Middleham Jewel front
Rhuddlan Castle
Leeds Castle from the air

Wiki Loves Monuments[edit]

In 2013, the UK took part in Wiki Loves Monuments for the first time. Over the course of two competitions nearly 20,000 photographs of historic sites have been uploaded. The photos from 2013 can be seen here, and those from 2014 here.

St Michaels Mount, Marazion in Cornwall UK (1st prize)
Houses of Parliament and Westminster Bridge, London (2nd prize)
Tower Bridge: pre-dawn light over London's most iconic landmark. (3rd prize)
Govanhill Baths, Glasgow (At Risk prize)
Victoria Baths, Manchester (At Risk prize)

Upload projects[edit]

Wikimedians in Residence[edit]

A 3D visualisation of the Roman fort at Templeborough near Rotherham, UK.
Portrait of Ada Byron, later to be known as Ada Lovelace (1815-1852)
A 17th-century map of Iceland form the Bodleian Libraries' collections
A view of the leaning tower at Caephilly castle

Supporting mass uploads 2014[edit]

Auld Brig O'Doon, Ayr, Scotland
College Green, Dublin. County Dublin, Ireland
Menu inside a Christmas Card from the Royal Army Medical Corps at No. 11 General Hospital - a part of the British Expeditionary Force in Italy, 1918
A Monk and a Mahasiddha (Great Adept), Folio from a Gyalpo Kachem

Picturing Canada 2013[edit]

We worked with the British Library to get the release of this collection of Canadian images.

Cree Indian - 1903 photograph by G. E. Fleming
Ski jumping. 1905 photograph by William Notman and Son
International Convention of Steam Engineers 1905 photograph by Galbraith Photograph Company
Prince Fushimi 1907 photograph by Herbert William Gallichan, in Wikipedia article Prince Fushimi Sadanaru
Lady Grey 1905 photograph by William Notman and Son

War art at the National Archives 2012[edit]

In 2012 WMUK worked with the National Archives to upload images from their collection of war art. Some of the images are below and the full batch can be seen here.