Editorial
Dear friends of Wikimedia Deutschland!
2024 has shown more clearly than ever before how important free access to reliable and verified knowledge is. People around the world are increasingly being manipulated by targeted disinformation on the internet – whether in the run-up to elections or in connection with current crises and wars. At the same time, large social media platforms are abandoning their responsibility for reliable content. This creates a dangerous vacuum where misinformation can spread unhindered.
In view of this development, Wikipedia is becoming increasingly important as a free and independent source of knowledge. It is already one of the last places on the internet where we can access fact-based knowledge that has been verified by a large community. Wikimedia Deutschland has been working for over 20 years to protect the independence of Wikipedia and other Free Knowledge projects and to strengthen the communities behind them.
2024 was an important year during which we faced up to the major changes in the digital world. First and foremost, the question how Wikipedia can and should evolve for it to remain relevant in times of changing media usage and confronted with the challenges posed by artificial intelligence? At the first Wikipedia Future Congress, the contributors put forward numerous ideas and approaches. At the same time, we developed a new strategy for Wikimedia Deutschland that will guide our work in the coming years.
Particularly given the rapidly growing importance of artificial intelligence, we were able to launch a pioneering project in 2024. The development of AI applications is still dominated by large companies, while non-profit projects often lack the necessary resources. That is why we will facilitate access to the open data in the Free Knowledge database Wikidata in a way that enables everyone – not just tech giants – to use it, and above all make it easier to use.
But read for yourself: This annual report summarizes the most important successes and challenges of 2024 and shows what we were able to achieve for Free Knowledge together with our volunteers and our partners – and also thanks to the growing support of our members and donors.
We are delighted to have you with us!
Yours,
Alice Wiegand
Chair of the Supervisory Board
Franziska Heine
Executive Director