WIKI UK LTD (WIKIMEDIA UK)
ELECTION OF DIRECTORS
This message contains the following information pertaining to the election
of Directors of Wiki UK Limited (Wikimedia UK):
(1) Statement of Persons Nominated
(2) Electoral Procedure
(3) Candidate Statements
(4) Ballot Paper for absentee voting.
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(1) Statement of Persons Nominated
At the close of nominations, the following individuals stood validly
nominated for election as Directors of Wiki UK Limited:
Thomas Dalton
Zeyi He [1]
Thomas Holden
Michael Peel
Joseph Seddon [2]
Andrew Turvey
Steve Virgin [1]
Paul Williams
[1] - nominated by Andrew Turvey
[2] - nominated by Michael Peel
All other candidates were self-nominated.
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(2) Electoral Procedure
The Directors are elected under the approval voting system - for each
candidate, you should write "YES" or "NO" by his name on the ballot
paper.
Candidates will be ranked by the number of "YES" votes they receive. A
ballot paper on which the space by a candidate's name is left blank shall be
treated as though it were a "NO" vote.
The top three candidates will be elected as directors irrespective of the
number of "YES" votes they receive. In addition, a maximum of four more
candidates may be elected, provided that they receive a majority of "YES"
votes.
All candidates are over 18; therefore, the provisions made in the Election
Rules for candidates under 18 do not apply.
To vote, please email the completed ballot paper below to
tellers(a)wikimedia.org.uk before 18:00 BST (17:00 UTC) on Saturday 25th April
2000. Alternatively, ballot papers will be available at the AGM, and members
present will be entitled to supersede any electronic vote they may have cast
in advance of the meeting with a paper vote cast at the meeting.
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(3) Candidate Statements
Each candidate's name is followed by his date of birth and occupation. A
list of candidates' UK company directorships in the last five years is kept
on file and available on request.
Thomas Dalton (27/3/87, student)
I have been involved in the chapter for a long time, I spent a lot of time
trying to persuade the board of the previous attempt to get things moving
and as soon as they decided to dissolve the attempt I got involved with the
discussions for the new chapter. I stood for the initial board and lost by
one vote, so I'm trying again. I have been active in the chapter regardless
and have attended most board meetings and have helped out wherever I can. I
am writing this from Berlin where I am attending the Chapters meeting,
representing Wikimedia UK. If elected to the board I intend to concentrate
on the administration side of things in order to facilitate other people
working on the interesting stuff.
Zeyi He (11/7/82, student)
I have been participated Wikipedia and relevant project more than two years,
which I put much effort and passion on. As a registered user, I totally
agree Wikipedia and Wikimedia fundamental. Therefore, I am willing to be
part of this -amazing project.
As a PhD student in University of York, a majority of my study is mass
collaboration based on an analysis of Wikipedia and other Wiki projects.
During research, I have all-sided comprehended collaborative process in
Wikipedia not only as a user but also as a researcher, which supports me to
exhibit the advantages of Wikipedia to public as the trustee.
I have abundant experiences on marketing analysis and professional
communication as I have worked for two big press firms before including
Television company and news paper press. Thus, I am quite self-confident to
fulfill my duty as a trustee in this board.
Thomas Holden (13/4/83, student)
Although it is taken a little longer than I hoped, I’m proud of my role in
getting Wikimedia UK to this point. I have not had as much time as I
envisioned when I initially stood (a situation which is likely to continue),
but I hope my fellow directors would still agree that I’ve put in a more
than adequate amount of work over these months. In particular I’ve led the
search for sponsorship for WLA, acted as a legal intermediary between our
unofficial legal advisor, the WMF and us, continued to assist Seddon with
the Wikimania bid, and of course carried out my responsibilities as
treasurer, not least getting the bank account opened, something which many
feared would prove a stumbling block. If re-elected I intend to carry on
much as I have up till now, and would be happy to continue as treasurer. I
look forward to helping Wikimedia UK towards its goals in any way I can.
Michael Peel (12/8/84, postgraduate researcher)
As many of you already know, I have been an active participant in the
establishment of the chapter, and following the chapter's legal formation I
have served as its membership director. Additionally, I currently hold the
contact phone for the chapter and I have interacted with various members of
the press on behalf of the chapter. I have also helped construct the
chapter's website, and provoked the starting of the chapter's newsletter
(which I currently help write and distribute). I've also been encouraging
people to propose and start projects as part of the chapter.
Now that the chapter has been set up, it's time to start the interesting
stuff. I would like to see, and would actively encourage, the commencement
of various projects. I don't know which projects yet - I know that the
community has a number of possible projects in its collective mind that can
be brought to fruition with help from the chapter. I see the chapter more as
a facilitator than anything else, providing the supporting framework behind
each project, as well as finances where possible. I do, of course, have a
few of my own ideas that I'll put forward over time in the same way that any
member of the community would.
Finally, a little background about myself. I've been active on Wikipedia for
over 4 years, during which time I've made around 15,000 edits. I'm also
active on the Commons, where I have made over 2000 edits and uploaded nearly
400 images of my own creation (I haven't kept track of how many other images
I've uploaded). In real life, I'm a PhD candidate at Jodrell Bank, and as
such I'm currently carrying out research and writing a thesis. This will
limit the amount of time I can spend with the chapter, but I hope that I can
still be of use. Please don't hesitate to ask me any questions you might
have.
Joseph Seddon (24/8/89, full-time student and part-time employment with NHS)
I shall try to keep this as brief as possible as I have left this candidacy
rather late. I have been around on wikimedia projects since November 2006
although didnt really become active till June 2007 and since then I have
become an administrator and become a member of the Mediation Committee on
the English Wikipedia. I have been a regular contributor to the chapters
mailing list and although not standing previously for the inter board, I
assisted along with others in the reboot of WMUK. Since then most of my work
has been with the Oxford 2010 Wikimania Bid. Although I have had no
experience with the running of a charitable organisation/company I believe
that I have the experience, drive and dedication to learn quickly along with
having many ideas which I hope to look into making a reality through WMUK. I
welcome any questions you may have for me on my talk page at the chapter
website, my talk page at the english wiki, through email or the mailing list
or on irc but only when under the hostmask "(name)@Wikimedia/Seddon". Lastly
I thank you all for participating in these elections whether i get on the
board or not.
Andrew Turvey (3/6/77, chartered accountant)
My candidate statement will be set out at
http://uk.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:AndrewRT/2009_candidate_statement
Steve Virgin (20/4/62, International Media Consultant at Dow Jones)
I have put more details on my skills and experience on my wikipedia page and
have a Linked In page with even more details that I will be happy to ‘open’
to anyone from the Wikimedia membership that wishes to have access to it
I am in the unusual position of being able to offer high level business
contacts (through my client network) that can be of use to Wikimedia UK and
to the organisation generally. I want to be able to bring these contacts to
the Boards attention, help raise the profile of the UK Chapter, help make
the events and projects that we run more successful, and lead to a bigger,
wider and deeper number of active UK Chapter members over the mid term
As someone fresh and new to what we do – and someone from a slightly older
age range – I can act as a bridge between the business world and the social
media world that is currently engaging more and more users from the 35-45
age range.
I can fully see the potential of the Wikimedia organisation over the short
terms, mid term and longer term – and I view it as exciting. I would like
to play a leading role in helping the Board to shape this future. I also
have a large number of contacts overseas – and would like to see if I can
assist the UK Chapter in driving dialogue internationally too.
Conflict of Interest – I’d like to address this issue head-on if I may. If
I were fortunate enough to be elected, I would stand down on all votes
regarding Dow Jones as a company in any way shape or form. I’d be delighted
to act as a conduit between Dow Jones and Wikimedia UK – but would play
absolutely no part in any decision making with regard to any final action
that the UK Chapter takes with regards to the company I currently work for.
Paul Williams (22/2/90, IT technician)
My name is Paul Wiilliams, and I have been active on Wikimedia projects
since August 2005. My home project is the English Wikinews, on which I am an
administrator, accredited reporter, ArbCom member, Checkuser, and
Bureaucrat. More descriptive biographies of me are listed on my Meta
Userpage (
http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Skenmy).
I believe I would be suitable for the Wikimedia UK Board, as I have a basic
background in business accounting, thorugh my A Level in Accounting
(although not sufficient experience to act as a treasurer), and I also have
business management experience through the "Young Enterprise" system offered
to Sixth Form students at my high school, where a small group of students
set up and run a limited company for a year. I served as Managing Director
of the business, and we ended up making a profit! I also have experience as
a Chairman of the Board, where I served as Chair of the Student Council and
Head Boy for the 2007-2008 school year. I served as a student council member
for 4 of the 6 years preceeding my appointment as Chairman. I have
significant experience in speaking to public audiences, having taken part in
numerous public speaking competitions, as well as making presentations in my
aforementioned capacities as Chairman of the Student Council and Head Boy.
I am interested in developing some projects with Wikimedia UK, including the
Schools project, Wikimania 2010, and involvement of Wikimedia UK in *all*
Wikimedia projects, not just the ever-growing Wikipedia. I am proud of, and
extend my congratulations and thanks to, the current Board, and, while not
wishing to see any of them leave us, wish to continue on their hard work and
success in getting the chapter started - a task that was attempted
previously and did not succeed. I wish to develop the reach of Wikimedia UK
into something that supports Wikimedia-based activities in the UK, whether
it be large conference such as Wikimania, or smaller meetings, or
user-initiated projects. I see a UK chapter as having significant value to
all Wikimedia projects, and the current board has laid some fantastic
foundations, and the new Boad has the responsibility of developing on top of
those foundations. I am a firm believer in transparency wherever possible,
and this involves not only informing the community of decisions, but getting
it involved in them too.
I urge voters to vote for a Board that has a wide range of experiences and
values to bring to the Chapter, as a strong Board will be a necessity for
the coming months, during which I would aim to obtain charitable status, and
develop and begin some of our Projects.
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(4) Ballot Paper
If you wish to cast your vote before the AGM, please send the following
ballot paper to tellers(a)wikimedia.org.uk before 18:00 BST on Saturday 25
April 2009.
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WIKI UK LIMITED (WIKIMEDIA UK)
ELECTION OF DIRECTORS
Name:
Membership number:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ballot Paper
Write "YES" or "NO" beside name of each candidate.
Thomas Dalton [ ]
Zeyi He [ ]
Thomas Holden [ ]
Michael Peel [ ]
Joseph Seddon [ ]
Andrew Turvey [ ]
Steve Virgin [ ]
Paul Williams [ ]
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As ever, any questions about the elections should be directed to
tellers(a)wikimedia.org.uk.
James Farrar
Teller, Wikimedia UK