Wikipedia:Meetup/UK EU edit-a-thon

Full Fact, the UK’s independent, non-partisan, factchecking charity, is organising an edit-a-thon on May 14 to improve the information available about the EU before the upcoming referendum.

Wikimedia UK and Full Fact are inviting both new and experienced editors to help makes sure pages related to the European Union and the referendum are accurate and up to date.

Full Fact staff are volunteering their time but they're a small team, so are inviting you to a day of editing in East London. If you’ve never edited Wikipedia before then they will show you how. If you’re experienced already we would really like your help!

The event is taking place 10.30am to 5pm at Newspeak House, just off Brick Lane. All you need is a laptop and some enthusiasm — Full Fact will provide food and advice and can help with up to £7.40 towards travel costs.

If you can't make it but would like to help Full Fact would appreciate suggestions for articles that need updating/creating, or any tips to help the day go well.

Event details

 * Date: Saturday, May 14, 2016
 * Time: 10:30 am - 5:00 pm
 * Location: Newspeak House, 133 Bethnal Green Road, London, E2 7DG
 * RSVP: Please fill in this form, and we’ll get back to you soon.
 * Hashtag: EUedit
 * Etherpad: https://etherpad.net/p/wikifullfact

Feed back!
Please would you write a couple of lines about what you've achieved today in this document? Thank you so much for coming!

Sign up

 * Please let us know you’re interested by sending us this form. We'll get back to you soon, then please sign up here with 4 tildes to let other Wikipedians know you're coming


 * Whilomish (talk) 11:18, 19 April 2016 (UTC)
 * Just created my account and trying to work out how this all works... but I'm coming. Adam.james870 (talk) 15:09, 3 May 2016 (UTC)
 * Not sure if I can make the Saturday event but I'll support this online and have made a start with Withdrawal of Greenland from the European Community. Andrew D. (talk) 08:44, 7 May 2016 (UTC)
 * LoopZilla (talk) 16:01, 8 May 2016 (UTC)
 * ClemRutter (talk) 19:00, 9 May 2016 (UTC)
 * AndrewTeal (talk) 21:31, 10 May 2016 (UTC) Will be on-line, all being well.
 * Taking part remotely from Bristol. MartinPoulter (talk) 10:56, 11 May 2016 (UTC)
 * Able to get there only from about midday. Jheald (talk) 12:10, 13 May 2016 (UTC)
 * I aim to be there too Julien Hartley (talk) 19:55, 13 May 2016 (UTC)
 * Andrew Gray (talk) 21:01, 13 May 2016 (UTC)
 * Coming for the pm. Johnbod (talk) 11:36, 14 May 2016 (UTC)
 * Edwardx (talk) 17:02, 14 May 2016 (UTC) remotely from west London
 * Pseudoskepsis (talk) 21:08, 14 May 2016 (UTC)

Orange table

 * Ditto, I will be there(Maddy). Thedaymanager (talk) 00:20, 14 May 2016 (UTC)
 * Wallacal (talk) 10:35, 14 May 2016 (UTC)
 * Pvgarnold (talk) 10:37, 14 May 2016 (UTC)
 * Judebear (talk) 10:39, 14 May 2016 (UTC)
 * Inhishonour (talk) 13:41, 13 May 2016 (UTC)
 * Leutha (talk) 15:42, 10 May 2016 (UTC)
 * Avwinter (talk) 11:08, 14 May 2016 (UTC)

Articles we can be focusing on:

Issues in the United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, 2016
 * Economy: relies almost exclusively on one BBC article Wallacal (talk) 14:11, 14 May 2016 (UTC)I have extended this section and sought to find the primary sources for the statements given, as well as reordering the text into clearer sections.
 * Immigration: update to latest figures (quarterly release), missing much from EU immigration to the UK article, e.g. nothing about British citizens living abroad, could contribute with NI numbers point.
 * Security, law enforcement & defence: sources needed,
 * Nothing about sovereignty- FF’s section on control? Inhishonour (talk)
 * Science: nothing about this topic. I will add a section. MartinPoulter (talk) 14:15, 14 May 2016 (UTC)

European Union
 * Budget: update figures, auditors article
 * Area of freedom, security and justice: New border and coast guard not mentioned- wiki article and FF article - Thedaymanager (talk) 14:44, 14 May 2016 (UTC)

Schengen Area:
 * Copy-editing
 * Add references
 * Check status of temporary border controls Wallacal (talk) checked and updated
 * Schengen Information System is also in use in some non-area states. FF Thedaymanager (talk) 14:46, 14 May 2016 (UTC)

Eurozone:
 * Add sentence or two on voting in EU council, FF Inhishonour (talk)
 * Update public debt table
 * Update information on European Fiscal Compact Wallacal (talk) - updated with info from the Wiki page
 * Update bail out provisions. Note than non-eurozone members have no responsibility (FF) Wallacal (talk)

Articles edited and other outcomes

 * Opinion polling for the United Kingdom European Union membership referendum -section added
 * Issues in the United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, 2016 -section added

Presentation on graphs

 * How to make bad charts in 7 simple rules

Articles we are focusing on

 * European Union
 * Opinion polling for the United Kingdom European Union membership referendum - page partly protected
 * Euro
 * United Kingdom withdrawal from the European Union
 * United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, 2016 - page partly protected
 * Member state of the European Union
 * Eurozone
 * European Economic Area
 * European Commission
 * UK rebate
 * Issues in the United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, 2016
 * UK renegotiation of EU membership, 2016

About the referendum

 * Campaigning in the United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, 2016
 * Euromyth
 * European Union Referendum Act 2015
 * European Union (Referendum) Act 2016 (Gibraltar)
 * Euroscepticism
 * Issues in the United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, 2016
 * Opinion polling for the United Kingdom European Union membership referendum - page partially protected
 * Pro-Europeanism
 * The European Union: In or Out
 * United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, 2016 - page partially protected
 * United Kingdom withdrawal from the European Union

Referendum campaign groups

 * Britain Stronger in Europe Official 'Remain' campaign
 * Campaign for an Independent Britain
 * Grassroots Out
 * Labour In for Britain
 * Labour Leave
 * Leave.EU
 * Vote Leave Official 'Leave' Campaign

European institutions including the EU

 * European Economic Area
 * European Free Trade Association
 * European Union - page partially protected
 * Freedom of movement for workers in the European Union
 * Opt-outs in the European Union
 * Politics of the United Kingdom
 * Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union
 * UK rebate
 * Withdrawal from the European Union

Trade with the European Union

 * Norway–European Union relations
 * Euro-Mediterranean free trade area
 * European Union Customs Union
 * European Union free trade agreements
 * Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership

History of the European Union

 * 1973 enlargement of the European Communities
 * 1981 enlargement of the European Communities
 * 1986 enlargement of the European Communities
 * Amsterdam Treaty
 * European Communities Act 1972 (UK)
 * Greenland Treaty
 * Maastricht Treaty
 * Schengen Agreement
 * Single European Act
 * Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe
 * Treaty of Accession 1972
 * Treaty of Nice
 * Treaty of Rome
 * Treaty on European Union
 * Withdrawal of Greenland from the European Communities

Previous membership referendums

 * Ålandic European Union membership referendum, 1994
 * Austrian European Union membership referendum, 1994
 * Czech European Union membership referendum, 2003
 * Danish European Communities membership referendum, 1972
 * Estonian European Union membership referendum, 2003
 * Finnish European Union membership referendum, 1994
 * French European Economic Community enlargement referendum, 1972
 * Greenlandic European Communities membership referendum, 1982
 * Hungarian European Union membership referendum, 2003
 * Icelandic European Union membership referendum
 * Latvian European Union membership referendum, 2003
 * Lithuanian European Union membership referendum, 2003
 * Maltese European Union membership referendum, 2003
 * Norwegian European Communities membership referendum, 1972
 * Norwegian European Union membership referendum, 1994
 * Polish European Union membership referendum, 2003
 * Slovak European Union membership referendum, 2003
 * Swedish European Union membership referendum, 1994
 * Third Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland
 * United Kingdom European Communities membership referendum, 1975

Treaty referendums

 * Czech European Constitution referendum
 * Danish European Constitution referendum
 * Dutch European Constitution referendum, 2005
 * French European Constitution referendum, 2005
 * Irish European Constitution referendum
 * Luxembourgian European Constitution referendum, 2005
 * Polish European Constitution referendum
 * Portuguese European Constitution referendum
 * Spanish European Constitution referendum, 2005
 * United Kingdom European Constitution referendum

Editing Wikipedia resources

 * Wikipedia Adventure (interactive game; learn to edit in an hour)
 * Cheatsheet for editing Wikipedia
 * Five Pillars of Wikipedia (philosophical guidelines and best practices for Wikipedia editing)
 * Links to training booklets and sample charts

Links and resources

 * Full Fact’s Europe page
 * ac.europa.eu
 * Office of National Statistics
 * EUR-Lex
 * Review of the balance of competences
 * The UK in a changing Europe
 * House of Commons Library Reading list on UK-EU relations 2013-16: reform, renegotiation, withdrawal
 * UK Government's Balance of Competencies Review
 * WikiProject Elections and Referendums
 * WikiProject European Union
 * From PwC, the UK’s largest professional services firm: Leaving the EU: implications for the UK economy
 * From the London School of Economics:
 * Life after BREXIT: What are the UK’s options outside the European Union?
 * The consequences of Brexit for UK trade and living standards
 * The impact of Brexit on foreign investment in the UK
 * The UK Treasury analysis of 'The long-term economic impact of EU membership and the alternatives': CEP Commentary
 * Brexit and the Impact of Immigration on the UK
 * From the OECD:
 * From HM Treasury:
 * National Institute of Economic and Social Research: Commentary - The economic consequences of leaving the EU
 * National Farmers Union:
 * Human rights:
 * Reports from LSE about migration:
 * Public services (Chartered Institute of Public Finances and Accountancy):                Comment from an economist colleague: (Be careful in reading this, because they use the wrong numbers on the economy … they misrepresent LSE in saying that "The Treasury released a dossier in 2016 that estimated the UK’s GDP growth would reduce in the event of a Brexit. They predicted a loss of 6.2% by 2030 or £4,300 for each household. Research from the London School of Economics (LSE) in 2016 estimated this figure to be lower, between 1.3% to 2.6%."  Those numbers refer to static estimates which do not consider the dynamic effects of trade on productivity.  Factoring those in, LSE found that "our dynamic estimates of the cost of Brexit indicate a GDP loss of 6.3% to 9.5% in the case of moving from the EU to EFTA ... Treasury estimates are at the lower end of this range." –
 * Regional development: EU membership benefits and challenges for Wales
 * Science and innovation: Royal Society report on UK membership of EU

Outcomes
We:
 * Brought together 25 people to edit wikipedia.
 * Trained 12 new or inexperienced editors.
 * Created two new pages: one on the UK_renegotiation_of_EU_membership,_2016 and one on the European_Judicial_Network_in_criminal_matters.
 * Made improvements to 19 other pages: some small through improving references, some adding substantial new sections.

The complete list of edited articles:
 * UK rebate
 * Issues in the United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, 2016
 * Area of freedom, security and justice
 * Opinion polling for the United Kingdom European Union membership referendum
 * European Judicial Network in criminal matters
 * Issues in the United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, 2016
 * Norway–European Union relations
 * Member state of the European Union
 * European Communities Act 1972 (UK)
 * European Union Referendum Act 2015
 * United Kingdom European Communities membership referendum, 1975
 * Euromyth
 * Presidency of the Council of the European Union
 * Budget of the European Union
 * Council of the European Union
 * Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership
 * Eurozone
 * Schengen Area
 * Schengen Information System

Thank you to everyone who took part. Thanks especially to the Wikimedia trainers and experienced editors who taught us so much on the day. (If I've missed anything please let me know on the talk page or here.)