[Wikimediaindia-l] Long forward: Fwd: [cultural-partners] introduction and Wikipedia for World Heritage

Tue Jul 26 13:17:32 UTC 2011

hi,

Warning up front that the forward is very long. However, there was no
offline instance.

This was circulated on the Wikipedia GLAM list today. This is also something
that we hope to promote via the WikiConference India 2011 (though we do not
have concrete plans on how to do that - ideas welcome!) . What follows is
the press release for the "Wikipedia for World Heritage".

warm regards,
Pradeep

--mail begins--
Hi everybody,

I am new to this list. I've only read yesterday's and today's posts but
that's already been really, really interesting. I am a PR assistant at
Wikimedia Deutschland, mostly involved with our chapter publications and
supportive tasks for WMDE's projects, as well as press support of community
events. Ever since the initiative "Wikipedia for World Heritage" was
launched a couple of months ago I have also been involved there. I'd like to
keep you informed about the initiative's progress trying to convince the
UNESCO of declaring Wikipedia the first digital World Cultural Heritage. For
now, please find our initial press release below (a kind of introduction).

By the way, approaching 50k supporters who have signed the online petition:
http://wikipedia.de/wke/Main_Page?setlang=en

Best,
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.

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!”

Links:
Petition: http://wikipedia.de/wke/Main_Page?setlang=en

International website and video statement by Jimmy Wales:
http://ten.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page

*
*

*About the UNESCO World Heritage:*
UNESCO is the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization. Its list of World Heritage sites currently recognizes 911
properties as parts of the cultural and natural heritage of the world and
worthy of protection. The basis for this list is the World Heritage
Convention, established in 1975. The convention has been signed by 187
countries so far. By doing so they have committed to protect World Heritage
sites in their respective territories and to support each other’s efforts.
Further information: http://whc.unesco.org/

*About Wikimedia Deutschland:*
Wikimedia Deutschland is a non-profit organization that supports the
advancement of free knowledge. Since its foundation in 2004 the organization
has been supporting the Wikimedia projects, the most well-known of which is
Wikipedia. Wikimedia Deutschland promotes free of charge access to free
knowledge, thereby endorsing the fundamental human right to education.
Wikipedia, like its sister projects, is ad-free and independent. This is
only possible through volunteer dedication and donations.

Further information about Wikimedia Deutschland:
Website: www.wikimedia.de
Blog: www.blog.wikimedia.de
Twitter: www.twitter.com/WikimediaDE

Kind regards
Catrin Schoneville
spokeswoman
Wikimedia Deutschland e.V.

-- 
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.

_______________________________________________
cultural-partners mailing list
cultural-partners at wikimedia.ch
http://lists.wikimedia.ch/listinfo/cultural-partners

-- 
Pradeep Mohandas
How Pradeep uses email - http://goo.gl/6v1I9
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