Wikimedia Foundation joins Digital Public Goods Alliance to champion open knowledge infrastructure

13 May 2026 - The Wikimedia Foundation, the nonprofit organization that operates Wikipedia and other Wikimedia projects, celebrates becoming a member of the Digital Public Goods Alliance (DPGA), a multi-stakeholder initiative endorsed by the United Nations that promotes the discovery, development, and use of digital public goods (DPGs) - open-source software, dataset, AI models, and content - to advance the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

"The Wikimedia Foundation is honored to become an official member of the Digital Public Goods Alliance. This membership reaffirms our commitment to the importance of open knowledge as a public good, ensuring it remains accessible, rights-based, and governed in the public interest," said Jan Gerlach, Public Policy Director at the Wikimedia Foundation. "Wikipedia, Wikidata, and other Wikimedia projects show how hundreds of thousands of people working together across borders can create and maintain free and open knowledge infrastructure built in the public interest. As the host of these projects, we look forward to sharing our learnings and collaborating more closely with fellow DPGA members who share our vision of an internet that protects and promotes community-led spaces."

"We warmly welcome the Wikimedia Foundation to the Digital Public Goods Alliance. Wikipedia and Wikidata have long demonstrated the transformative power of open, community driven digital public goods to advance access to knowledge worldwide. The organization's leadership in strengthening open knowledge infrastructure and advocating for digital public goods will further strengthen the global DPG ecosystem and support more inclusive and equitable access to trusted knowledge online." said Liv Marte Nordhaug, CEO of the DPGA Secretariat.

As a DPGA member, the Wikimedia Foundation joins an impressive coalition of organizations working together to protect and expand digital public goods and infrastructure, including: the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), GitHub; United Nations Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF); the Inter-American Development Bank; and the governments of Norway, Brazil, Nigeria, France, South Africa, and Germany - to name but a few.

DPGA member activities to strengthen the infrastructure behind free knowledge

As part of the Wikimedia Foundation's membership to DPGA, we will conduct activities that demonstrate how we invest in digital public goods to achieve SDGs. These efforts will be published in the annual State of the DPG Ecosystem Report and listed on DPGA Roadmap webpage alongside other members. Our activities include:

Investing in Wikimedia Cloud Services: Wikimedia Cloud Services is the platform that supports open software for those who make free knowledge possible. Around 30% of all edits to Wikimedia projects rely on volunteer-developed tools hosted on Wikimedia Cloud Services. As part of our DPGA membership activities, the Wikimedia Foundation will strengthen Wikimedia Cloud Services and the core infrastructure used to host Wikimedia projects. This includes improving scalability, security, and usability; lowering barriers for new contributors; and expanding capabilities to support innovation. These investments demonstrate our commitment to stewarding Wikipedia and Wikidata as global DPGs, and help advance the DPGA's mission of inclusive digital participation.

Advocating the importance of Digital Public Goods: The Wikimedia Foundation will also continue to advocate the importance of open knowledge infrastructure in the global digital policy agenda. As a DPGA member, the Wikimedia Foundation will promote open-source-first approaches, responsible use of open data for public interest AI, and the role of DPGs for information integrity. We will do so through coordinated advocacy efforts, regional dialogues, global convenings, publications, and useful tools like the Wikipedia Test. By drawing from the experience of hosting Wikipedia, Wikidata, and other Wikimedia projects, the Wikimedia Foundation will guide and support policymakers, media, and industry in understanding and protecting DPGs.

The Wikimedia Foundation and Digital Public Goods

This membership is a natural next step in the Wikimedia Foundation's advocacy for policies that protect and support Wikipedia and other DPGs upon which the free knowledge ecosystem depends.

In 2024, the Wikimedia Foundation, volunteer affiliates, and other partners published an open letter about the Global Digital Compact - the UN's framework for global governance of digital technology and artificial intelligence (AI). The open letter called on UN Member States to include commitments in the Compact to empower and protect online public interest projects, such as Wikipedia and Wikidata, and also to develop and use AI to support people, not replace them.

In 2025, two Wikimedia projects - Wikipedia and Wikidata - were officially recognized as digital public goods by the DPGA. The recognition affirmed the important role that volunteer contributors to these projects play in building a better internet that serves the public interest.

About the Digital Public Goods Alliance

The DPGA is endorsed by the United Nations (UN) Secretary-General in support of open-source technologies that advance the SDGs. DPGA facilitates the discovery, development, use of and investment in digital public goods. Their work includes maintaining the DPG Registry with solutions such as open-source software, datasets, AI models, and content created for the public interest. Wikipedia and Wikidata were recognized as digital public goods and added to their registry in 2025.

About the Wikimedia Foundation

The Wikimedia Foundation is the nonprofit that operates Wikipedia and other Wikimedia projects. We support the people, technology, and policies that enable reliable information to be shared with the world. The Wikimedia Foundation is a United States 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization with offices in San Francisco, California, USA. Visit our website to learn more about the Wikimedia Foundation and Wikipedia.

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