When: Thursday 7 January, 7.30pm
Where: Online via Zoom: click link here
What’s Wikimedia? And why is it so important today?
I bet last time you looked up something, Wikipedia was used. And I bet you’re aware that its entries are written and edited by volunteers… indeed, maybe, that you too can contribute to it! When Wikipedia, the free, multilingual internet encyclopedia started in 2001 there was scepticism, but now it is seen as pretty reliable. The English-language covid-19 page had already received over 73 million page views by the end of July.
Wikipedia is a project of Wikimedia – so what’s that and why is it important? Where does Wikimedia sit in today’s media environment where fake news is rife and powerful players from governments to global corporations are trying to wrest the narrative to suit them?
Wikimedia volunteer and trustee Doug Taylor is going to explain what Wikimedia does and how individuals can contribute.
Doug is a long-standing active volunteer and trainer for Wikimedia UK, and a trustee since 2015. Now retired, he has been a life-long educator, teaching and lecturing in secondary, further, higher and adult education. He also worked as an IT manager and systems analyst. He started as an editor of Wikipedia pages in 2008 and his current roles include Chair of Wikimedia Medicine.
