Opposing Mass Surveillance on the Internet
We are pleased to announce that the Wikimedia Foundation is signing the Necessary and Proportionate Principles on the application of human rights to surveillance. Privacy on the Internet is closely connected to our mission to disseminate free knowledge.[1] We strive to provide a platform for users from all over the world to exercise their free….
Launching a Privacy Policy Built the Wiki Way
We are happy to announce that on April 25, 2014, the Wikimedia Foundation’s Board of Trustees approved a new privacy policy. The new privacy policy explains how we collect, use and manage the information of over twenty million registered users and 490 million monthly unique visitors to the Wikimedia projects. But the policy wouldn’t have been….
For Rexford Nkansah, Wikipedia represents the future of education for his country
Despite its growing economy, Ghana is not the first place one would associate with technology, but for 20-year-old native Rexford Nkansah, it’s second nature. “In Ghana you don’t have hobbies like skiing or going to restaurants,” he says. “So these are the little things I do to keep myself busy.” The youngest of five, Rexford….
Wikipedia Shows the Value of a Vibrant Public Domain
This post is part of Copyright Week held by the Electronic Frontier Foundation and other organizations in January 2014. While more commonly known as New Year’s Day, January 1 is also international Public Domain Day. It celebrates the day when creative works (such as books, images and songs) enter the public domain, which is the collective wealth of….
"Tech News": Fighting technical information overload for Wikimedians
Every week, tech ambassadors assemble, simplify and translate "Tech News," a curated newsletter then delivered to hundreds of subscribers across wikis. But how exactly did this start, how does it work behind the scenes, and how does it fit within our efforts to bring developers and users closer together?
Reaching the many deadlines of WikiAfrica: Iolanda Pensa profile
Iolanda Pensa is always on one deadline or another. This is not a source of stress, though. She embraces them. As scientific director of WikiAfrica – which the Swiss-born, Italian-based 38-year-old calls “Africanizing Wikipedia” – Pensa gave the project some challenging deadlines. “In 2010, we decided to create a quantitative milestone, to produce 30,000 African….
Wikimedia Foundation signs letter requesting more transparency from NSA on PRISM
A few weeks ago, the Wikimedia Foundation’s legal team published a blog post about the PRISM surveillance program. In particular, we made clear that the Foundation does not participate in PRISM, and that we wanted Wikimedia community feedback on what next steps you felt we should take. This post is an update for the broader….
Ten years of supporting free knowledge
Ten years ago today, on June 20, 2003, Jimmy Wales announced the founding of the Wikimedia Foundation. He entrusted the new nonprofit with the operation of Wikipedia, launched two and a half years prior.
Seven years after Nature, pilot study compares Wikipedia favorably to other encyclopedias in three languages
Improving the quality of articles has long been one of the primary aims of contributors to Wikipedia, and is one of the Wikimedia movement’s 2010-15 strategic priorities, but measuring it objectively has remained a challenge
Recent events with Russian Wikipedia
On Tuesday, July 10, the Russian Wikipedia community made a decision to blackout their project for 24 hours to protest a piece of legislation before the Russian Duma. The legislation, which has since been passed (although with important amendments) could threaten the mission of the Wikimedia projects in Russia – to spread free knowledge globally.….
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