A few weeks ago a Wikipedian came to me with a really great and really crazy idea and that
was for us to try to get Wikipedia recognized as one of UNESCO’s World Cultural Heritage
Sites. When I first heard the idea I thought “But does that even make sense?” And I
went and I looked at the criteria for what it takes to be one of these sites and Wikipedia
really fits it.
A lot of people think of Wikipedia as a technological phenomenon or a technical achievement but
in fact it isn’t. What Wikipedia is is a cultural change, a cultural achievement.
So what we’re trying to do now is: we got a petition going, we’re going to try to
get as many people to sign it as possible, we’re going to send it to UNESCO and try
to convince them that this is a really great idea that’s supported by all the people
of the world. And people are getting involved in the campaign, everywhere in the world,
across many many different languages.
But I want you to do more than just sign the petition. If you can share this with your
friends, send an email to people with this link. If you are on Twitter, put it on Twitter.
If you are on Facebook, put it on Facebook. If you have a blog, blog about it. All the
places where you are online: if you can help us just spread the message and get as many
people as possible, I think it’s gonna happen.
Just like Wikipedia itself: the more people will get involved, the greater chance that
we’ll achieve our goal.
Please, sign the petition.