October 22, 2007 - A humble grassroots effort that began just six years ago, Wikipedia has grown into an unparalleled global resource that is changing the way we share knowledge. The site draws visit from millions of people worldwide and is currently available in 250 languages.
Like most of the projects managed by the Wikimedia Foundation, the nonprofit behind the educational website, Wikipedia empowers world citizens with the ability to share in the sum of all human knowledge, while at the same time ensuring that diverse voices are represented equally. Needless to say, we are all quite proud of the positive influence Wikipedia and our other projects have had in the global community.
The global impact of Wikipedia, however, has opened the door to a growing set of responsibilities and challenges for the Wikimedia Foundation. In light of our international success, the Foundation has begun focusing its energy on those parts of the world that need our help the most - underrepresented
communities with limited access to educational resources. Considering that nearly two billion children in the developing world receive little to no education, we consider this very important work.
So far, given our limited resources, the Wikimedia Foundation has made great progress in this area. Through diverse partnerships, we have been able to bring Wikipedia to remote corners of the world, and instigate the creation of Wikipedias in languages like Yoruba and Swahili. Most importantly, however, this past year has been intrinsic in planting the seeds for future educational endeavors.
Despite all these accomplishments, we need to do more!
The Wikimedia Foundation needs your support to continue facilitating the exchange of knowledge worldwide.
In the coming weeks, we will be conducting our annual fundraiser. We hope that you can express your support through a donation - no matter how big or small it may be - and thus empower us to fulfill our mission of providing every single world citizen with free access to the sum of all human knowledge.
Florence Devouard Chair of the Wikimedia Foundation