If you thought that a world heritage site is something ancient and should have a physical form, wikipedians think otherwise. They are out to seek a world heritage site tag to their website.
An on-going petition, called “Wikipedia for World Heritage,” has garnered the support of 12,600 people. It aims at getting Wikipedia, the free online encyclopaedia in over 270 languages, tagged as a potential “World Heritage Site” by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO). The petition is based on the view that Wikipedia is “predestined to become the first ever digital World Heritage Site as it is a pioneer project of the digital age, carrying the ancient idea of common and free knowledge into the third millennium.”
“It is a brilliant idea. Wikipedia is an Internet property that deserves nomination [to the heritage list],” says Arun Ramarathnam, Executive Committee member, Wikimedia India chapter.
While he said it was time traditional definitions of heritage as buildings and monuments evolve to include digital resources, Cherian Tinu Abraham, Wikipedia administrator, who thought the site “represents a masterpiece of human creative genius” (a UNESCO criterion), says, “I am excited about the idea, it is unprecedented.” The site provides free access to knowledge to everyone, enabling cooperation beyond national and cultural barriers. “Can the world think of a life without Wikipedia? It is a truly global heritage project recording human history from every corner of the world,” he says.
Says Harinath Pudipeddi, a software professional: “Definitely, Wikipedia can claim a place. But it will take a little time to get there.”
One supporter (known as “FT2” on the site) said that Wikipedia should be included in the heritage list because it notes and stores, historical images and texts on culture, knowledge, and languages. The documentation is especially significant for India, he said. Languages and cultures, and, with them, our knowledge of peoples, their history and cultural perspectives, are vanishing at a frightening speed. “In 2009, UNESCO reported almost 200 Indian languages were going silent. With them die their heritage and culture — and a part of the soul of India,” says FT2.
That process is not limited to India. “It's a worldwide cultural heritage phenomenon,” he says. Ancient materials degrade and some are lost forever like “Bo,” one of the world's old languages, which went extinct in the Andaman Islands in 2010, when its last speaker died. Now, efforts are on to at least document the dying “Nuumte Oote” language in Mexico.
Jimmy Wales, Co-founder, Wikipedia, says: “Wikipedia is now a part of world culture in a way that no one could have anticipated several years ago. It is a voluntary humanitarian effort pursued as a charitable project to bring free knowledge to everyone. It is now a part of our shared heritage as human beings.”
“UNESCO has also recognised abstract ideas such as flamenco dancing and French cuisine. So we think it is time to think broadly about the meaning of culture and how we can support culture broadly in the digital age. A recognition of Wikipedia would signal that it is time to take digital culture seriously.”