About us

Wikimedia District of Columbia is the regional Wikimedia chapter serving Maryland, Virginia, Delaware, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia. We are a nonprofit charitable organization dedicated to the advancement of general knowledge and the collection, development, and dissemination of educational content under a free license or in the public domain.

As an official Wikimedia chapter, we support the goals of the Wikimedia Foundation, including the work of volunteers on Wikipedia and other Wikimedia projects as well as numerous other free knowledge initiatives.

What we do

Participants at the Civil War and American Art Edit-a-Thon at the Smithsonian American Art Museum, February 15, 2013

Wikimedia DC reaches out to people and organizations in the greater Washington, D.C. area. We hold events, including training sessions and edit-a-thons, where experienced Wikipedians and newcomers alike have the opportunity to network and learn from each other's experiences. We also work with institutions share their knowledge with the rest of the world through Wikipedia, the world's most widely visited not-for-profit website. We are an all-volunteer organization.

Our work is categorized into five different areas:

• Academic and educational outreach: Wikimedia DC works with universities and other educational institutions to build awareness of our mission and promote academic contributions to free knowledge projects.
• Cultural outreach: Wikimedia DC collaborates with cultural institutions, including galleries, libraries, archives, and museums, to promote free knowledge and support digitization and open access projects.
• Government outreach and engagement: Wikimedia DC works with federal, state, and local government agencies to encourage adoption of free knowledge and free data practices. We also work with private organizations who share our goal of access to government data.
• International and diplomatic outreach: The Wikimedia movement spans across national borders, and Wikimedia DC works with embassies and international organizations in Washington to promote our mission around the world.
• Public outreach and education: Wikimedia DC holds a variety of public events, including training sessions and editing workshops, to increase awareness of our mission and build interest in contributing to free knowledge projects.

How you can get involved

Introduction Learn about our mission Our programs Learn more about our work Get involved Participate in our activities

Whether you're a free culture movement veteran, a newcomer interested in participating for the first time, or simply curious about our mission and programs, it's easy to get involved. Attend a local event Become a member Donate