Wikipedia:GLAM/RAMM/Volunteering

Do you have a passion for Devon’s history?

Help RAMM create a community of local Wikipedians!

The RAMM is currently working with the University of Exeter’s GLAM-E Lab project and Wikimedia UK on a number of projects to make Exeter’s local history more accessible and available to all. We are looking for young people and adults 15+ who will add to, improve or create Wikipedia pages on local history, notable local people and historical events that took place in Devon.

In the first instance volunteers will be managed by a member of the RAMM team in order to set up a local Wikipedia community as well as regular edit-a-thon events. Once this community has been set up, it will then be self-led with little involvement from RAMM.

What and When

The time commitment for this role is at least 1 hour a week working remotely for at least 12 weeks.

If you are successful in your application, you will be able to choose your working pattern. However, you may be encouraged to attend regular Wikipedia edit-a-thons once every 8 weeks.

About You

The opportunity is open to anyone 15 years of age and over. The team will be a mixture of adults and young people. As with all our roles, we welcome applications from our globally diverse community. You should possess good written communication and research skills. An interest in local history is a must and you should be able to work both independently and as part of a community.

You’ll need to be confident and competent working on a computer and using the internet. Coding skills are not a requirement but you will develop and train in these skills as you will learn Wikitext (Wikimedia’s markup language).

The Role

You will be searching for, organising, evaluating and using information and images that are relevant to Devon’s local history in order to create or update Wikipedia pages. This will be self-led work with volunteers identifying gaps in Wikipedia content which will then lead to the creation and inclusion of well-researched and referenced information that you will then add to Wikipedia. Volunteers will form part of Devon’s community of Wikipedians and will attend both hybrid and remote editing events.

Recruitment and Training

Shortlisted applicants will be invited to a 30-minute online group introductory session on zoom. This will enable us to decide if you are right for the role and provide you with an opportunity to ask questions. If successful, you will complete a number of online training sessions delivered by RAMM’s Wikimedian-In-Residence and supported by the GLAM-E Lab research fellow. These sessions will cover creating a Wikipedia account, uploading content to Wikimedia Commons and editing and creating Wikipedia pages.

How to apply

There is no deadline and applications will be considered on an ad-hoc basis. We only accept on-line applications. Visit the RAMM website for more info