We believe that Galleries, Libraries, Archives and Museums (GLAMs) should constantly look for new and imaginative ways to maximise the impact of their collections and knowledge. While online collections are a popular and exciting route to engage with their audience, they typically only have small numbers of visitors—whereas working with the Wikimedia community can offer Galleries, Libraries, Archives and Museums a new window on a potential global audience of over half a billion people worldwide.

 This conference will have two main themes.

• On Friday, we are explaining the work Wikimedia UK has been doing with cultural organisations to showcase what partnerships and opportunities are available. You will hear first-hand how some Museums are already leveraging the connection between sharing a part of their own collections with Wikimedia and seeing some amazing benefits – such as a sharp increase in traffic to their websites and an increase in sales of merchandising. Attendees will be able to better understand the crossover of mutual interest that Wikimedians share with curators of cultural heritage to further each other's goals.

•  On Saturday, the conference will focus on more practical side of the Wikimedia-GLAM collaborations, with workshops and discussions to develop ideas.

•  We also have a Sunday unconference event, where the agenda and session topics are being determined by attendees, on the day. Prepare for inspiring workshops, and getting as involved as possible.

This event is particularly relevant to any representatives of cultural institutions interested in a partnership with Wikimedia UK. Any representatives from the licensing, web, curation and interpretation departments in cultural institutions are welcome.

Nick Poole, Chief Executive Officer at the Collections Trust, says:

“I am hugely excited to be speaking at the GLAM Wiki conference. Wikimedians and culture professionals share a common set of values and there is so much that our communities can learn from each other. Wikimedia can help bring cultural content to a global audience, and at the same time help us solve some of the most pressing questions about how we work with our communities to create and share knowledge about collections on equal terms.”

Sunday 14th Unconference

THATCamp London 2013 is an unconference exploring the humanities and technology. We’d love for you to join us! This one-day event is held at the British Library. It is free and open to all – whatever your background or level of knowledge and skill.

The unconference coincides with the GLAM-WIKI conference, which runs on Friday 12th and Saturday 13th April. We’re hoping for THATCamp London 2013 to see lots of exciting thoughts and creations around free-licensing and open access as a result of the preceding two days of activity.

What do I do now?

1) Book your ticket for THATCamp London 2013 here (and for the GLAM-WIKI conference if you’d like to attend that too).

2) Register here. This will give you a user account to create and share with other participants.

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