Happy birthday, Wikipedia! 25 years of open knowledge.

Wikipedia went online on January 15, 2001. Originally intended as a supplement to the online encyclopaedia Nupedia, the project quickly developed into something independent: an encyclopaedia that is not written by an editorial team, but by an open community. The wiki approach of editing content jointly and transparently was radical at the time – and has remained so in parts to this day.

A quarter of a century later, Wikipedia has become an integral part of everyday digital life. For many, every search begins there, and often ends there – at least for the time being. Hardly any other project has had such a lasting impact on how knowledge is organized, evaluated and made accessible online.

An open system right from the start

A small anecdote from the early days shows just how experimental Wikipedia was in the early hours: the first documented edit did not concern a canonical body of knowledge, but a simple list of countries beginning with the letter “U”. Even this early entry makes it clear that Wikipedia was not intended as a finished reference work, but as an open system that would develop step by step.

Today, Wikipedia has over 65 million articles worldwide in more than 300 languages. The German-language Wikipedia has several million entries and is one of the most-used information offerings on the internet. The fact that such a project has been functioning for 25 years without a central editorial team is considered one of the most remarkable developments in digital cultural history.

Knowledge, but not just online

Wikipedia is used globally and maintained locally at the same time. People in Karlsruhe have also been actively working on articles for years. The work is rarely visible, but it is continuous: in regulars’ tables, writing workshops, workshops and thematic edit-a-thons.

A central location for this work is the ZKM | Center for Art and Media. Open writing workshops are regularly held there as part of the “Media Art on Wikipedia” project. The aim is to systematically depict media art topics in the encyclopaedia – an area that often remains incomplete without a targeted initiative.

From February 27 to March 1, 2026, another multi-day edit-a-thon is planned at the ZKM to continue this work. Further information on the writing workshop and edit-a-thons can be found on the Wikipedia project page: Wikipedia:GLAM/Media Art on Wikipedia – Writing workshop and edit-a-thons.

Openness as a working principle

A central feature of Wikipedia is its openness. In principle, anyone can contribute – regardless of formal qualifications. The decisive factors are verifiable sources, transparent discussions and the willingness to develop texts together.

Local meetings play an important role here. They make it easier to get started, enable exchange beyond discussion pages and make it clear that Wikipedia exists not only as a platform, but also as a social practice.

Open knowledge in transition

After 25 years, Wikipedia is facing new challenges. Today, content from the encyclopaedia forms a central knowledge base for search engines and AI models – often without these systems themselves being part of the community or its rules. At the same time, the number of active authors is decreasing in many areas, while the maintenance effort is increasing.

It is precisely against this background that local initiatives are gaining in importance. They keep the principle of collaborative knowledge work alive and translate it into concrete practice.

Communities of open knowledge

The Wikipedia anniversary also draws attention to a scene that has been present in Karlsruhe for years: open source, collaborative projects and voluntary commitment characterize the city just as much as its universities and research institutions.

This includes the Goulash Programming Night, which will take place for the 24th time in 2026 from June 4 to 7. Even if Wikipedia is not a separate focus of the program, many of the participants share a similar understanding of open knowledge, collaborative work and responsibility for digital infrastructures.

25 years of Wikipedia do not mark a conclusion, but an interim balance. Today, the project is an integral part of the digital public sphere – and at the same time relies on continuous collaboration. Wikipedia is used globally, maintained locally and hopefully developed further for a long time to come.

Cover picture: Adaptation by Rachidourkia, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons