Hi everybody,
please find a number of logos for "Wikipedia for World Heritage!" in
different languages here on Commons:
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Wikipedia_for_World_Heritage
That makes eight language versions so far. Yours is missing? No problem,
we're ready to add it to those logos whenever you send us a translation of
"Wikipedia for World Heritage!"
Hope to hear from you soon!
Regards
Michael
--
Michael Jahn
Öffentlichkeitsarbeit
Wikimedia Deutschland e.V. | Eisenacher Straße 2 | 10777 Berlin
Tel. (030) 219 158 260
http://wikimedia.de <http://www.wikimedia.de>
Stellen Sie sich eine Welt vor, in der jeder Mensch freien Zugang zu der
Gesamtheit des Wissens der Menschheit hat. Helfen Sie uns dabei!
*Helfen Sie mit, dass WIKIPEDIA von der UNESCO als erstes digitales
Weltkulturerbe anerkannt wird. Unterzeichnen Sie die Online-Petition:*
http://wikipedia.de/wke/Main_Page?setlang=de
Wikimedia Deutschland - Gesellschaft zur Förderung Freien Wissens e.V.
Eingetragen im Vereinsregister des Amtsgerichts Berlin-Charlottenburg unter
der Nummer 23855 B. Als gemeinnützig anerkannt durch das Finanzamt für
Körperschaften I Berlin, Steuernummer 27/681/51985.
Over the last weeks we generated a lot of media coverage - partly
international - in view of our initiative 'Wikipedia for World Heritage' and
the online petition already hit the milestone of 25.000!
In the meantime we prepared a draft with which we plan to contact people of
public interest and aks for their vocal support of "Wikipedia for World
Heritage!" Please find an English draft version attached! As always, please
feel free to modify it according to your needs. Furthermore, if anybody of
you need material or support of any kind just tell us. We'll be happy to
help!
The petition text has been translated into more than 30
languages<http://wikipedia.de/wke/Petition>by now. Wow! Thanks! It
would just be fantastic if we could also add
a few more subtitled
versions<http://www.universalsubtitles.org/de/videos/9ksMVEr831lm/>of
Jimmy's video message. Your contributions matter so much! By the way,
note that the number of people who have signed the petition has increased
significantly in the last days, especially with people from Italy signing
extensively. That's because Italian users put a side notice
<http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pagina_principale>in the Italian Wikipedia.
Thanks for this one! Might be a good idea to have more translation of
the petition
form <http://wikipedia.de/wke/Special:Petition?setlang=en> itself. Just send
it to me or Sebastian.
Here's the draft that I mentioned above:
Dear...,
when the free encyclopedia was founded in 2001 nobody could have dreamed of
the success story it would be ten years later. With more than those 18
million articles in 280 languages Wikipedia today accounts for the largest
collection of knowledge in the history of mankind. The concept of free
knowledge as a whole has grown with Wikipedia’s success.
It started with a simple idea: “Imagine a world in which every single human
being can freely share in the sum of all knowledge.”
In the beginning this idea was considered utopian, but in just ten years we
all have made big steps towards reaching this goal. Ten years in which the
vision of free knowledge has evolved into a system of sharing knowledge
beyond national und cultural borders. The enthusiastic work of volunteers
has already changed the global dissemination of information profoundly.
Wikipedia’s 10th anniversary is a wonderful event to mark all this and show
that the free encyclopedia today is so much more than a website where people
find free information.
Wikimedia Deutschland has recently started an initiative to convince the
UNESCO of recognizing Wikipedia as the first digital World Cultural Heritage
site. With “Wikipedia for World Heritage!” we want to discuss and to
pinpoint what it means that there are tens of thousands of activists all
over the world who spend their free time collecting mankind's knowledge and
freely sharing it with everyone else. Their efforts change society,
education and ways of thinking.
Wikipedia meets many of the UNESCO criteria for World Heritage recognition,
e.g. that "the site represent a masterpiece of human creative genius".
However, this initiative does not aim at meeting single UNESCO criteria but
at emphasizing the project as collective work and the greatest collection of
human knowledge in history. Please help us to convince the UNESCO of
recognizing Wikipedia as the first ever digital World Heritage site.
Please join in and sign our online petition. It will be presented to the
UNESCO at the beginning of next year. More than 25000 people have already
expressed their appreciation for Wikipedia by signing the petition. We would
highly appreciate if you did the same. Every supporter is most welcome to
spread the word and the goals of the initiative. Feel free to send us a
video message, a letter of support or join us for an interview. Any kind of
support brought forward in your name will greatly increase the likehood of
this initiative reaching its goal.
--
Mit besten Grüßen
Catrin Schoneville
Pressesprecherin
-------------------------------------
Wikimedia Deutschland e.V.
Eisenacher Straße 2
10777 Berlin
Telefon 030 - 219 158 26-0
www.wikimedia.de
*Stellen Sie sich eine Welt vor, in der jeder Mensch freien Zugang zu der
Gesamtheit des Wissens der Menschheit hat. *
*
Helfen Sie mit, dass WIKIPEDIA von der UNESCO als erstes gloabales und
digitales Weltkulturerbe anerkannt wird. Unterzeichnen Sie die
Online-Petition:
http://wikipedia.de/wke/Main_Page?setlang=de
*
Wikimedia Deutschland - Gesellschaft zur Förderung Freien Wissens e.V.
Eingetragen im Vereinsregister des Amtsgerichts Berlin-Charlottenburg unter
der Nummer 23855 B. Als gemeinnützig anerkannt durch das Finanzamt für
Körperschaften I Berlin, Steuernummer 27/681/51985.
Hi!
Itzik Edri, on the Wikimania 2011 organizing team, is in the process
of putting together a few opening videos for Wikimania and we need
your help: if anyone has photos or video from Wikimanias of the past,
could you please send on? He'd like to include them in one of the
opening videos.
If there are great ones on commons that aren't categorized under
Wikimania, send on the links. And even if they are categorized, send
your favorite ones to: itzik(a)wikimedia.org.il
The team is moving fast on this, so please send photos as soon as you can!
--
Cheers,
Moka
Moka Pantages
415.839.6885 x 635
@moka
--
Cheers,
Moka
Moka Pantages
415.839.6885 x 635
@moka
Hello everybody,
media coverage of "Wikipedia for World Heritage!" increases and so do
questions from the press. Many of them are likely to reappear time after
time and internationally. Since Itzik and Ted asked for something like this,
here is a preliminary draft of FAQs about Wikipedia for World Heritage that
we adapted after the first media reactions came in last week. Maybe it is
useful to share some basic external communication outline.
Please, feel free to improve and extend this draft! Let's work on this
together.
Best
Michael
*Why do you want Wikipedia to be recognized as a World Cultural Heritage
site? The UNESCO Memory of the World seems more appropriate.*
We are convinced that Wikipedia fits all three UNESCO categories: World
Cultural Heritage, Intangible Cultural Heritage and Memory of the World.
However, we want to start the application for World Cultural Heritage
precisely because of the underlying World Heritage Convention. The
Convention dates back to 1972. It refers to "sites" as candidates for World
Heritage in a completely non-digital context. Enhanced meanings of the
concept, like the possibility of a "website", could not have been thought of
back then. Those evolved later. Today digital sites have a profound impact
on all areas of interest. Culture is one of them. Wikipedia allows for a
global collaborative interchange of knowledge. It is unprecedented and truly
a "masterpiece of human creative genius". These latter words are quoted from
the first UNESCO criterion for World Heritage recognition. It fits Wikipedia
today and had the free encyclopedia been what it is today in 1972, the World
Heritage Convention would likely have been composed differently.
*It is very unlikely that you will reach your goal. What if you fail?*
When Wikipedia came to life ten years ago, most people deemed it impossible
to create a valuable encyclopedia that could be edited by anyone. The
concepts of free knowledge and collaborative amateur work seemed
implausible. The critics have been proven wrong. We believe that it is also
possible to have the largest collection of human knowledge recognized as a
World Heritage. The formal application process takes years. If we fail, it
will be after years of careful consideration and valuable discussions about
the meaning that free knowledge has in modern society.
*
*
*World Heritage sites are meant to be preserved. What is it about Wikipedia
that you think should be protected?*
Wikipedia is the largest evolving collection of human knowledge. Its
defining quality is openness, the greatest good of free knowledge. We must
secure free access to Wikipedia in the future.
*But Wikipedia's content is edited all the time! How could you preserve it?
*
This is not about preserving the content of Wikipedia in a specific state.
What needs to be preserved is access to free knowledge. Every single article
can be edited or deleted. This has been the core of the free encyclopedia
from the very start. It has enabled a level of participation beyond anything
the sharing of knowledge has ever known. We need to preserve Wikipedia's
open character and the unique possibility it gives humanity to constantly
improve and share in the sum of its knowledge.
*Aren't you doing this for publicity reasons only?*
We are serious about the initiative. We want Wikipedia to be recognized as
World Heritage. Publicity means public awareness of Wikipedia and free
knowledge. Even today many people do not know how to contribute to the free
encyclopedia or its sister projects. Increased public awareness means more
information. The more people discuss the projects and get interest in
details, the better. Wikimedia Chapters all over the world support the
global community with numerous activities and projects. We want to create
awareness and acceptance for what Wikipedia really is. It is more than just
a convenient way to access tons of information for free. Wikipedia is at the
front of the free knowledge movement. We want to take the chance and educate
people regarding the concept behind Wikipedia.
*
*
*Only ten years have passed since Wikipedia was founded. Is it not too soon
to apply for World Heritage recognition?*
The fact that Wikipedia as a project is this young* *makes its
accomplishments all the more fascinating. Wikipedia is here to stay. In only
ten years Wikipedia has reshaped access to knowledge for millions and
millions of people all over the world. It is a pioneer of the digital
age.The ten year anniversary is a good opportunity to take a step back
and look
at what hundreds of thousands of volunteers have achieved so far. * *A
perfect opportunity to take a look ahead, as well. What can we do to realize
our vision of enabling each and everybody to share in the sum of all
knowledge!? One answer is: Make people aware of the cultural impact
Wikipedia has.
* *
*Why apply to this particular institution, the UNESCO?*
The UNESCO World Heritage agreement is the most successful agreement on the
protection of culture and nature that the international community has ever
reached. 187 countries have signed it.
* *
*Who is in charge of the project?*
The international community. The idea was developed in Germany, but this is
an international project. All Wikimedia Chapters are invited to participate.
Many of them have already joined the initiative.
*Which UNESCO World Heritage criteria does Wikipedia meet? *
Some, e.g. "the site represents a masterpiece of human creative genius".
Meeting one is already sufficient in theory. However, our main objective is
rather to emphasize Wikipedia’s overall cultural relevance.
*A petition has been started to support the initiative. That’s not the
formal way. Does Wikipedia also apply formally for World Heritage status? *
Yes! However, the formal process requires years of application via national
states. Right now a petition signed by people from all over the world
wonderfully represents the idea behind Wikipedia.
--
Öffentlichkeitsarbeit
Wikimedia Deutschland e.V. | Eisenacher Straße 2 | 10777 Berlin
Tel. (030) 219 158 260
Stellen Sie sich eine Welt vor, in der jeder Mensch freien Zugang zu der
Gesamtheit des Wissens der Menschheit hat. Helfen Sie uns dabei!
http://spenden.wikimedia.de/
****Unterstützen Sie Freies Wissen mit einer SMS. Senden Sie einfach WIKI an
81190. Mit 5 Euro sichern Sie so die Verfügbarkeit und Weiterentwicklung von
Wikipedia.****
Wikimedia Deutschland - Gesellschaft zur Förderung Freien Wissens e.V.
Eingetragen im Vereinsregister des Amtsgerichts Berlin-Charlottenburg unter
der Nummer 23855 B. Als gemeinnützig anerkannt durch das Finanzamt für
Körperschaften I Berlin, Steuernummer 27/681/51985.
--
Öffentlichkeitsarbeit
Wikimedia Deutschland e.V. | Eisenacher Straße 2 | 10777 Berlin
Tel. (030) 219 158 260
Stellen Sie sich eine Welt vor, in der jeder Mensch freien Zugang zu der
Gesamtheit des Wissens der Menschheit hat. Helfen Sie uns dabei!
http://spenden.wikimedia.de/
****Unterstützen Sie Freies Wissen mit einer SMS. Senden Sie einfach WIKI an
81190. Mit 5 Euro sichern Sie so die Verfügbarkeit und Weiterentwicklung von
Wikipedia.****
Wikimedia Deutschland - Gesellschaft zur Förderung Freien Wissens e.V.
Eingetragen im Vereinsregister des Amtsgerichts Berlin-Charlottenburg unter
der Nummer 23855 B. Als gemeinnützig anerkannt durch das Finanzamt für
Körperschaften I Berlin, Steuernummer 27/681/51985.
--
Öffentlichkeitsarbeit
Wikimedia Deutschland e.V. | Eisenacher Straße 2 | 10777 Berlin
Tel. (030) 219 158 260
Stellen Sie sich eine Welt vor, in der jeder Mensch freien Zugang zu der
Gesamtheit des Wissens der Menschheit hat. Helfen Sie uns dabei!
http://spenden.wikimedia.de/
****Unterstützen Sie Freies Wissen mit einer SMS. Senden Sie einfach WIKI an
81190. Mit 5 Euro sichern Sie so die Verfügbarkeit und Weiterentwicklung von
Wikipedia.****
Wikimedia Deutschland - Gesellschaft zur Förderung Freien Wissens e.V.
Eingetragen im Vereinsregister des Amtsgerichts Berlin-Charlottenburg unter
der Nummer 23855 B. Als gemeinnützig anerkannt durch das Finanzamt für
Körperschaften I Berlin, Steuernummer 27/681/51985.
Hello everybody,
just curious to know about this press release and the FAQ regarding
"Wikipedia for World Heritage" that we posted here. (Thanks for those
helpful comments again!) To those who had the opportunity to spread the
release and/or further information: How was media response in your areas? Do
you have further suggestions or experience you'd like to share?
Regards
Michael
--
Öffentlichkeitsarbeit
Wikimedia Deutschland e.V. | Eisenacher Straße 2 | 10777 Berlin
Tel. (030) 219 158 260
http://wikimedia.de <http://www.wikimedia.de>
Stellen Sie sich eine Welt vor, in der jeder Mensch freien Zugang zu der
Gesamtheit des Wissens der Menschheit hat. Helfen Sie uns dabei!
*Helfen Sie mit, dass WIKIPEDIA von der UNESCO als erstes digitales
Weltkulturerbe anerkannt wird. Unterzeichnen Sie die Online-Petition:*
http://wikipedia.de/wke/Main_Page?setlang=de
Wikimedia Deutschland - Gesellschaft zur Förderung Freien Wissens e.V.
Eingetragen im Vereinsregister des Amtsgerichts Berlin-Charlottenburg unter
der Nummer 23855 B. Als gemeinnützig anerkannt durch das Finanzamt für
Körperschaften I Berlin, Steuernummer 27/681/51985.
Dear Tinu Cherian,
the concept was first introduced to the Wikimedia chapters at the Wikimedia
Conference in Berlin, March 2011. The initial idea goes back to plannings
for the 10th anniversary of Wikipedia. That's when it was brought up. I'll
just paste the English version of our press release (see wikix-l) below, for
further information.
As always, I tirelessly invite everybody to get the latest on Wikipedia for
World Heritage on the wikix-l-list or on ten.wikipedia.org ;-)
Best
Michael
PRESS RELEASE
Berlin, 26 May 2011
*
**Wikipedia for World Heritage! *
*
*
*Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales calls for signatures to be collected and
presented to the UNESCO.*
On Monday, 23 May 2011, Wikimedia Deutschland started a worldwide collection
of signatures for the Wikipedia for World
Heritage!<http://ten.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page>initiative. People
are invited to join the list now by signing an online
form <http://wikipedia.de/wke/Main_Page?setlang=en>. The list will
ultimately be presented to the World Heritage
Committee<http://whc.unesco.org/en/comittee>at the beginning of 2012.
To date more than 7000 people from over 100
countries have already signed the petition. Each signature supports the
initiative’s claim that Wikipedia as the largest collection of human
knowledge should be recognized as the first ever global and digital World
Heritage site. Altogether there are ten UNESCO criteria for recognition as a
World Heritage site. The first of those criteria demands that World Heritage
sites “represent a masterpiece of human creative genius”. The online
petition is quoting these exact words. By signing it participants confirm
that Wikipedia has universal value and that the claim is true in its case.
This petition is the starting point for a global discussion of Wikipedia’s
cultural meaning. Currently the free encyclopedia provides free access to
more than 18 million articles in over 280 languages. Since the beginning of
the new millennium Wikipedia has evolved into the collective memory of the
world. Having Wikipedia recognized as a Unesco World Heritage site is a huge
step towards preserving its cumulative knowledge for future generations.
“Millions of people take Wikipedia for granted. They use it each and every
day. Still, free access to the sum of human knowledge is not a matter of
course in many places. It is a global challenge to recognize, support and
preserve the work that hundreds of thousands of volunteers invest in this
community project. The key to free exchange of knowledge is public
recognition”, says Pavel Richter, CEO of Wikimedia Deutschland.
The initiative was introduced in March 2011 at the international Wikimedia
Chapters Conference in Berlin. Chapters from all over the world will
accompany the initiative's activities regarding Wikipedia’s recognition as a
World Heritage site. Wikimedia Deutschland will entertain an expert round on
the subject on 31 May 2011 at the Deutsches Technikmuseum Berlin. The event
will be a public kick-off. Further activities with the international
community will follow. Additionally, public discussion provides a chance to
explain how to deal with free knowledge and to stress its meaning for
society. The advertising agency Leo Burnett supports Wikimedia Deutschland
in the initiative’s realization.
Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales was the first to sign the petition. In a video
statement <http://ten.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page> he calls for support of
the initiative. In his appeal Jimmy Wales puts emphasis on how important
international awareness is to the free encyclopedia: “A lot of people think
of Wikipedia as a technical phenomenon, a technical achievement. But in fact
it isn't. What Wikipedia is, is a cultural change, a cultural achievement.
We are going to try to get as many people as possible to sign the petition.
Just like Wikipedia itself, the more people we get involved, the greater the
chance that we'll achieve our goal. Please sign the petition!”
2011/6/6 CherianTinu Abraham <tinucherian(a)gmail.com>
> Wikipedia for World Heritage- A reporter is asking me when did the campaign
> idea came out and when it was officially started?
>
> -Tinu Cherian
>
> _______________________________________________
> Wmfcc-l mailing list
> Wmfcc-l(a)lists.wikimedia.org
> https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wmfcc-l
>
>
--
Öffentlichkeitsarbeit
Wikimedia Deutschland e.V. | Eisenacher Straße 2 | 10777 Berlin
Tel. (030) 219 158 260
http://wikimedia.de <http://www.wikimedia.de>
Stellen Sie sich eine Welt vor, in der jeder Mensch freien Zugang zu der
Gesamtheit des Wissens der Menschheit hat. Helfen Sie uns dabei!
*Helfen Sie mit, dass WIKIPEDIA von der UNESCO als erstes digitales
Weltkulturerbe anerkannt wird. Unterzeichnen Sie die Online-Petition:*
http://wikipedia.de/wke/Main_Page?setlang=de
Wikimedia Deutschland - Gesellschaft zur Förderung Freien Wissens e.V.
Eingetragen im Vereinsregister des Amtsgerichts Berlin-Charlottenburg unter
der Nummer 23855 B. Als gemeinnützig anerkannt durch das Finanzamt für
Körperschaften I Berlin, Steuernummer 27/681/51985.
--
Öffentlichkeitsarbeit
Wikimedia Deutschland e.V. | Eisenacher Straße 2 | 10777 Berlin
Tel. (030) 219 158 260
http://wikimedia.de <http://www.wikimedia.de>
Stellen Sie sich eine Welt vor, in der jeder Mensch freien Zugang zu der
Gesamtheit des Wissens der Menschheit hat. Helfen Sie uns dabei!
*Helfen Sie mit, dass WIKIPEDIA von der UNESCO als erstes digitales
Weltkulturerbe anerkannt wird. Unterzeichnen Sie die Online-Petition:*
http://wikipedia.de/wke/Main_Page?setlang=de
Wikimedia Deutschland - Gesellschaft zur Förderung Freien Wissens e.V.
Eingetragen im Vereinsregister des Amtsgerichts Berlin-Charlottenburg unter
der Nummer 23855 B. Als gemeinnützig anerkannt durch das Finanzamt für
Körperschaften I Berlin, Steuernummer 27/681/51985.