Non-profit organisation Wikimedia has opened an online petition to garner support of people across the world for getting the open source site listed among UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
In the online petition (https://wke.wikimedia.de/wke/Main_Page), the statement reads, Wikipedia is a "pioneer of cultural change because Wikipedia transferred the tradition of knowledge exchange into the new, digital age. Thus creating a unique place of knowledge exchange in the history of civilisation."
It requests users to sign the online petition saying, "This is why as a cross-border cultural achievement, Wikipedia deserves recognition and protection as UNESCO’s first digital World Cultural Heritage Site. If you share this opinion, we appeal for you to sign the petition."
Wikipedia co-founder Jimmy Wales has backed the initiative.
"Of course, part of what we are trying to do is promote the idea of Wikipedia as a cultural phenomenon," he told the New York Times.
"Too often, people think about us purely in terms of technology, when this is about culture, high tech and learning."
