Meet the people making Wikimedia projects more equitable. Discover Open the Knowledge: Stories.

The nonprofit Wikimedia Foundation provides the essential infrastructure for free knowledge. We host Wikipedia, the free online encyclopedia, created, edited, and verified by volunteers around the world, as well as many other vital community projects. All of which is made possible thanks to donations from individuals like you. We welcome anyone who shares our vision to join us in collecting and sharing knowledge that fully represents human diversity.

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Wikimedia projects belong to everyone

You made it. It is yours to use. For free. That means you can use it, adapt it, or share what you find on Wikimedia sites. Just do not write your own bio, or copy/paste it into your homework.

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We respect your data and privacy

We do not sell your email address or any of your personal information to third parties. More information about our privacy practices are available at the Wikimedia Foundation privacy policy, donor privacy policy, and data retention guidelines.

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People like you keep Wikipedia accurate

Readers verify the facts. Articles are collaboratively created and edited by a community of volunteers using reliable sources, so no single person or company owns a Wikipedia article. The Wikimedia Foundation does not write or edit, but you and everyone you know can help.

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Not all wikis are Wikimedia

The word “wiki” refers to a website built using collaborative editing software. Projects with no past or existing affiliation with Wikipedia or the Wikimedia Foundation, such as Wikileaks and wikiHow, also use the term. Although these sites also use “wiki” in their name, they have nothing to do with Wikimedia.

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We conduct our own research and partner with researchers worldwide to address change in society and technology.

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From site reliability to machine learning, our open-source technology makes Wikipedia faster, more reliable, and more accessible worldwide.

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We fight to protect everyone’s right to access free and open knowledge.

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Collaborative projects are the core of the Wikimedia movement

Our volunteers build tools, share photos, write articles, and are working to connect all the knowledge that exists.

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Wikipedia

Free encyclopedia written in over 300 languages by volunteers around the world.

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Wikimedia Commons

The world’s largest free-to-use-library of illustrations, photos, drawings, videos and music.

See what we have been up to

Closing the gender gap: Women in Red’s efforts to add more women to Wikipedia

All of the information found on Wikipedia is created and shared by volunteers around the world. However, since 2020, only 15% of these contributors are women. This imbalance has a real impact on how information is covered and presented on the world’s largest online encyclopedia. This problem is often called the “gender gap” and is….

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Kelly Doyle Kim and this new Smithsonian museum are writing women into Wikipedia

It’s called the ‘great man theory‘: the idea that large swaths of human history can be explained by the actions of so-called great men.  These days, that theory has been resoundingly discredited—but popular history’s long reliance on it has contributed towards an imbalance of stories told about women in the history learned in schools and….

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Wikimedians are heroes of free knowledge

Photo of Pranayraj Vangari
Pranayraj Vangari
Editor since 2013, Wikimedia community
May Mohamed Hisham Hashem
May Hachem
Editor since 2013, Wikimedia community
Photo of Armine Aghayan
Arminé Aghayan
Editor since 2013, Wikimedia community

Throughout history, knowledge has been controlled by a powerful few. Wikipedia needs knowledge from all languages and cultures. The internet has become the default for accessing information—women, people of color, and the global south remain underrepresented. We invite you to help correct history.

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Image collage by Wikimedia Foundation, CC BY-SA 4.0. Image credits: Image 1; Image 2; Image 3; Image 4; Image 5; Image 6; Image 7; Image8.

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