Dear Tinu Cherian,<br><div class="gmail_quote"><br>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.<br>
<br>As always, I tirelessly invite everybody to get the latest on Wikipedia for World Heritage on the wikix-l-list or on <a href="http://ten.wikipedia.org" target="_blank">ten.wikipedia.org</a> ;-)<br><br>Best<br>Michael<br>
<br><p style="text-align:justify;line-height:normal">
<font size="2"><span style="color:black" lang="EN-US">PRESS RELEASE</span></font></p><p style="text-align:justify;line-height:normal">
<font size="2"><span style="color:black" lang="EN-US">Berlin, 26 May 2011</span><span style="color:black" lang="EN-US"> </span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;line-height:normal"><font size="2"><b><span style="color:black" lang="EN-US"><br>
</span></b><font size="4"><b><span style="color:black" lang="EN-US">Wikipedia for
World Heritage! </span></b></font><span lang="EN-US"></span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:normal"><font size="2"><b><span style="color:black" lang="EN-US"><br></span></b></font></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:normal"><font size="2"><b><span style="color:black" lang="EN-US">Wikipedia founder
Jimmy Wales calls for signatures to be collected and presented to the UNESCO.</span></b><span style="color:black" lang="EN-US"></span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:normal"><font size="2"><span style="color:black" lang="EN-US"><br></span></font></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:normal"><font size="2"><span style="color:black" lang="EN-US">On Monday, 23 May
2011, Wikimedia Deutschland started a worldwide collection of signatures for
the <a href="http://ten.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page" target="_blank"><span style="color:blue">Wikipedia
for World Heritage!</span></a> initiative. People are invited to join the
list now by signing an <a href="http://wikipedia.de/wke/Main_Page?setlang=en" target="_blank"><span style="color:blue">online form</span></a>. The list will ultimately be
presented to the <a href="http://whc.unesco.org/en/comittee" target="_blank"><span style="color:blue">World Heritage Committee</span></a> 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.</span></font></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:normal"><font size="2"><span style="color:black" lang="EN-US"><br></span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:normal"><font size="2"><span style="color:black" lang="EN-US"> </span><span style="color:black" lang="EN-US">“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.</span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:normal"><font size="2"><span style="color:black" lang="EN-US"><br></span></font></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:normal">
<font size="2"><span style="color:black" lang="EN-US">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.</span></font></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:normal"><font size="2"><span style="color:black" lang="EN-US"><br></span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:normal"><font size="2"><span style="color:black" lang="EN-US">Wikipedia founder
Jimmy Wales was the first to sign the petition. In a <a href="http://ten.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page" target="_blank"><span style="color:blue">video
statement</span></a> 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!”</span></font></p><br><br><br><br><br><div class="gmail_quote"><div class="im">
2011/6/6 CherianTinu Abraham <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:tinucherian@gmail.com" target="_blank">tinucherian@gmail.com</a>></span><br></div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">
<div class="im">
Wikipedia for World Heritage- A reporter is asking me when did the campaign idea came out and when it was officially started?<div><br></div><div>-Tinu Cherian</div>
<br></div>_______________________________________________<br>
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<br></blockquote></div><br><br clear="all"><br>-- <br>Öffentlichkeitsarbeit<br><br>Wikimedia Deutschland e.V. | Eisenacher Straße 2 | 10777 Berlin<br>Tel. (030) 219 158 260<br><br><a href="http://www.wikimedia.de" target="_blank">http://wikimedia.de</a><br>
<br>Stellen Sie sich eine Welt vor, in der jeder Mensch freien Zugang zu der Gesamtheit des Wissens der Menschheit hat. Helfen Sie uns dabei!<br><br><i>Helfen Sie mit, dass WIKIPEDIA von der UNESCO als erstes digitales Weltkulturerbe anerkannt wird. Unterzeichnen Sie die Online-Petition:</i><br>
<a href="http://wikipedia.de/wke/Main_Page?setlang=de" target="_blank">http://wikipedia.de/wke/Main_Page?setlang=de</a><br><br>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.<br>
<br><br><br>
</div><br><br clear="all"><br>-- <br>Öffentlichkeitsarbeit<br><br>Wikimedia Deutschland e.V. | Eisenacher Straße 2 | 10777 Berlin<br>Tel. (030) 219 158 260<br><br><a href="http://www.wikimedia.de" target="_blank">http://wikimedia.de</a><br>
<br>Stellen Sie sich eine Welt vor, in der jeder Mensch freien Zugang zu der Gesamtheit des Wissens der Menschheit hat. Helfen Sie uns dabei!<br><br><i>Helfen Sie mit, dass WIKIPEDIA von der UNESCO als erstes digitales Weltkulturerbe anerkannt wird. Unterzeichnen Sie die Online-Petition:</i><br>
<a href="http://wikipedia.de/wke/Main_Page?setlang=de" target="_blank">http://wikipedia.de/wke/Main_Page?setlang=de</a><br><br>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.<br>
<br><br><br>