York graduate receives prestigious award for outstanding contributions to open knowledge

News

Posted on Monday 20 July 2026

A recent graduate from the Department of Archaeology has been recognised as one of the UK’s most influential champions of open knowledge.

Lucy Moore and Jimmy Wales. Picture by Simon crompton-reid. — Dr Lucy Moore and Jimmy Wales. Picture by Simon Crompton-Reid.

Dr Lucy Moore has been awarded a Wikimedia UK Silver Jubilee Award for her outstanding contributions to making information globally accessible and equitable.

Outstanding

The award recognises outstanding contributions to open knowledge. Only five awards were granted nationwide to celebrate individuals who have had the greatest impact on open knowledge across the UK over the last 25 years.

The award was presented to Dr Moore by Wikipedia co-founder Jimmy Wales at a national celebration event hosted by Wikimedia UK.

Dr Moore’s work in open knowledge includes leading initiatives to address systemic gender imbalance on open platforms. Through collaborative edit-a-thons and research-led campaigns, her efforts have actively raised the global profile of underrepresented historical figures, particularly women in heritage and academia.

Honour

Dr Moore said: "Receiving this award from Wikimedia UK and Jimmy Wales is an absolute honour. Open knowledge is about making sure everyone’s history and voice are accessible to all.

“I’m thrilled that the work we’ve done to improve representation and open access is being celebrated on a national scale."

Having recently completed her PhD at York, Dr Moore will return to campus this autumn to begin a fellowship as a Humanities Research Centre (HRC) Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Archaeology.

She will continue her research on metallurgy and early medieval coinage while embedding open-knowledge principles into academic outreach and digital heritage practices.