Strategy/Wikimedia movement/2017/Direction/Drafts/T2

Our strategic direction: Knowledge Unleashed

The goal of the Wikimedia movement for 2030 is to build an indispensable support system for sharing free knowledge among people everywhere.

We are committed to the idea that true knowledge is not something that can be owned—its most natural tendency is to be shared. Together we will build the communities, networks, and tools for supporting the collecting and spreading of free knowledge in the world. We are committed not to the tolerance of different perspectives but to their celebration. We will focus our efforts on the knowledge and communities that have been left out by structures of power, privilege and convenience. We will move from discrete projects and communities to a truly open ecosystem. Our communities and networks will enable individuals and organizations to share knowledge through open services and standards, building new interfaces, mediums, and experiences to meet the needs of users everywhere. We will break down the social, political, geographic and technical barriers preventing people from accessing and contributing to shared knowledge. We will become a leading advocate for increasing participation in free and open knowledge. In the end, our goal is really simple: we are going to help set knowledge free.

We are aiming higher. Our goal is no longer centered on collecting knowledge for an online encyclopedia. Now we are working to build an entire ecosystem of free knowledge, with information being collected and shared in ways we can only imagine.

Our focus going forward is to consider how to expand in almost all ways:

How knowledge is collected

From whom, where, in what form, using what tools

How knowledge is shared

To whom, where, in what form, using what tools

Ultimately the lines between collecting and sharing will become blurred and embedded into systems that can’t yet be described, so that the flow of knowledge goes in all directions: continuously updated and expanded, and delivered into highly specific contexts.

We believe that in the face of an uncertain future, a vast support system of freely shared knowledge marks a radical act in human evolution. The opportunity is here. Technology, connectedness, and a swelling of humanity across the globe have created the possibility for a shift in how humans embody knowledge. The culture of Wikipedia has set an important precedent for this non-commercial bank of knowledge, collected in the spirit of common good. The task before us is to grow into something so essential that it becomes embedded into countless modes of sharing, all while respecting all people, all perspectives. The time is right, and we are exactly the right people to do this important work.

We are glad that Wikipedia has settled so many bar bets over the years, but now we have our sights set on something so much higher. Join us.

[Tucker, August 31, 2017]