Jimmy Wales
"Imagine a world in which every single person on the planet is given free access to the sum of all human knowledge. That's what we're doing."
Jimmy Wales is an American internet entrepreneur and digital visionary best known for founding Wikipedia, the world’s largest collaborative encyclopedia. A pioneer of open knowledge, Wales has been a central figure in shaping the architecture and ethics of the modern internet, advancing the idea that information should be freely accessible to all.
Through the Wikimedia Foundation, which he founded to support Wikipedia and its sister projects, Wales helped establish a volunteer-driven model of knowledge creation grounded in neutrality, transparency, and public service. His work has influenced debates on digital commons, online governance, and the future of information in democratic societies.
"From the beginning, astonishingly revolutionary." — Rory Stewart