Forgot to add the link to the article http://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/internet/article2082467.ece
-TC On Tue, Jun 7, 2011 at 7:51 AM, CherianTinu Abraham <tinucher...@gmail.com>wrote: > > *The Hindu : "World heritage site tag sought for Wikipedia"* > http://wiki.wikimedia.in/In_the_news > > *If you thought that a world heritage site is something ancient and should > have a physical form, wikipedians think otherwise. They are out to seek a > world heritage site tag to their website.* > * > * > *An on-going petition, called “Wikipedia for World Heritage,” has garnered > the support of 12,600 people. It aims at getting Wikipedia, the free online > encyclopaedia in over 270 languages, tagged as a potential “World Heritage > Site” by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural > Organisation (UNESCO). The petition is based on the view that Wikipedia is > “predestined to become the first ever digital World Heritage Site as it is a > pioneer project of the digital age, carrying the ancient idea of common and > free knowledge into the third millennium.”* > * > * > *“It is a brilliant idea. Wikipedia is an Internet property that deserves > nomination [to the heritage list],” says Arun Ramarathnam, Executive > Committee member, Wikimedia India chapter.* > * > * > *While he said it was time traditional definitions of heritage as > buildings and monuments evolve to include digital resources, Cherian Tinu > Abraham, Wikipedia administrator, who thought the site “represents a > masterpiece of human creative genius” (a UNESCO criterion), says, “I am > excited about the idea, it is unprecedented.” The site provides free access > to knowledge to everyone, enabling cooperation beyond national and cultural > barriers. “Can the world think of a life without Wikipedia? It is a truly > global heritage project recording human history from every corner of the > world,” he says.* > * > * > *Says Harinath Pudipeddi, a software professional: “Definitely, Wikipedia > can claim a place. But it will take a little time to get there.”* > * > * > *One supporter (known as “FT2” on the site) said that Wikipedia should be > included in the heritage list because it notes and stores, historical images > and texts on culture, knowledge, and languages. The documentation is > especially significant for India, he said. Languages and cultures, and, with > them, our knowledge of peoples, their history and cultural perspectives, are > vanishing at a frightening speed. “In 2009, UNESCO reported almost 200 > Indian languages were going silent. With them die their heritage and culture > — and a part of the soul of India,” says FT2.* > * > * > *That process is not limited to India. “It's a worldwide cultural heritage > phenomenon,” he says. Ancient materials degrade and some are lost forever > like “Bo,” one of the world's old languages, which went extinct in the > Andaman Islands in 2010, when its last speaker died. Now, efforts are on to > at least document the dying “Nuumte Oote” language in Mexico.* > * > * > *Jimmy Wales, Co-founder, Wikipedia, says: “Wikipedia is now a part of > world culture in a way that no one could have anticipated several years ago. > It is a voluntary humanitarian effort pursued as a charitable project to > bring free knowledge to everyone. It is now a part of our shared heritage as > human beings.”* > * > * > *“UNESCO has also recognised abstract ideas such as flamenco dancing and > French cuisine. So we think it is time to think broadly about the meaning of > culture and how we can support culture broadly in the digital age. A > recognition of Wikipedia would signal that it is time to take digital > culture seriously.”* > > > Regards > Tinu Cherian > http://wiki.wikimedia.in/In_the_news > >
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