Policy Innovations The central address for a fairer globalization

A publication of the Carnegie Council

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Jimmy Wales

Founder, Wikipedia

Jimmy Wales is the founder of Wikipedia, a free online encyclopedia, and Wikia, a privately owned free web-hosting service. Wikipedia's official spokesperson and promoter, Wales was named one of the most influential people in the world by TIME magazine. His project has become the world's largest encyclopedia, stimulating innovation and collaboration among users.

Wales holds the "community founder" seat on the Board of Trustees of the Wikimedia Foundation and joined the Board of Directors of the nonprofit organization Creative Commons in 2006. Together with Richard Baraniuk, founder of the free online scholarly content source Connexions, Wales launched the online Open Education initiative aimed at providing people around the world with the opportunity to access textbooks and publish scholarly materials for free.

Wales received his bachelor's degree in finance from Auburn University and continued his education as a finance graduate student at the University of Alabama, where he completed his Master's degree. While a postgraduate student, Wales taught at the University of Alabama and at Indiana University.

Focus: Culture, Education, Technology, United States, Americas, Global

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