Wikipedia Monument


The Wikipedia Monument, located in Słubice, Poland, is a statue designed by Armenian sculptor Mihran Hakobyan honoring Wikipedia contributors. It was unveiled in Frankfurt Square on 22 October 2014 in a ceremony that included representatives from both local Wikimedia chapters and the Wikimedia Foundation.

Description

The monument depicts four nude figures holding aloft a globe based on the Wikipedia logo, reaching over up. The fiber-and-resin statue was designed by Armenian-born artist Mihran Hakobyan, who graduated from Collegium Polonicum. It cost about 50,000 złotys and was funded by Słubice regional authorities.

History

The monument was suggested around 2010 by, a university professor and director of the in Słubice. Polish Wikipedia is a popular website in Poland and, with over a million articles, the 12th-largest Wikipedia in the world. According to Piotr Łuczynski, deputy mayor, the memorial "will highlight the town’s importance as an academic centre". A Wikimedia Polska representative stated that the organization hopes that this project will "raise awareness of the website and encourage people to contribute."
It was unveiled on 22 October 2014, on the, becoming the world's first monument to the online encyclopedia. Representatives from the Wikimedia Foundation as well as from the Wikimedia chapters for Poland and Germany attended the dedication ceremony. Dariusz Jemielniak, a professor of management, Wikimedia activist, and an author of Common Knowledge? An Ethnography of Wikipedia, delivered an opening ceremony address.

Inscription

With this monument the citizens of Słubice would like to pay homage to thousands of anonymous editors all over the world, who have contributed voluntarily to the creation of Wikipedia, the greatest project co-created by people regardless of political, religious or cultural borders. In the year this monument is unveiled Wikipedia is available in more than 280 languages and contains about 30 million articles. The benefactors behind this monument feel certain that with Wikipedia as one of its pillars the knowledge society will be able to contribute to the sustainable development of our civilization, social justice and peace among nations.

Statement from Jimmy Wales