Wikipedia for World Heritage refers to the efforts put forth to get Wikipedia listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The idea was originally proposed to the Wikimedia chapter by the Wikimedia Foundation at the 2011 Wikimedia Conference in Berlin.[1] [2] An online petition was started at the German Wikipedia on May 23, 2011.[3] That same day the Edmonton Journal published a piece in which it called the bid 'a long-shot bet' inferring the platform was not a culturally defining artefact.[4] Wikipedia was also argued to be 'lacking the effect or maturity for listing' as World Heritage. The bid is considered to be the first for a digital entity and is expected to be controversial with the list's maintainers who are notably conservative.[2]
Jimbo Wales has stated that "the basic idea is to recognize that Wikipedia is this amazing global cultural phenomena that has transformed the lives of hundreds of thousands of people."[2]
If Wikipedia does not get listed as a World Heritage Site, and UNESCO has denied its application as it does not meet most criteria, it has been suggested that they apply for UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage Lists.[3]