The Polish town of Slubice is to erect a monument in honor of Wikipedia, the Telegraph has reported.
The idea was proposed by Krzysztof Wojciechowski the director of the Collegium Polonicum, a local university in Slubice. The professor told the AP “I’m ready to drop to my knees before Wikipedia, that’s why I thought of a monument where I could do it.”
Wikipedia is incredibly popular in Poland. The Polish Wikipedia site is the 12th largest, with over 1 million entries. The online encyclopedia provides free information to anybody with a computer and internet access.
The statue which cost 47,000 zł ($14,000) is just under two meters in height and is built from a laminated material made to look like brass. It consists of four figures holding a version of the website’s puzzle-piece globe logo over their heads.
The town’s deputy mayor, Piotr Luczynski told the Telegraph that “The monument is a tribute to an entire community working selflessly for the benefit of others, we found it interesting and worthy of being in Slubice.” He hopes that the monument could become a tourist attraction, adding that the statue reflected the town’s ideals and aspirations, which “despite being small wanted to be unique.”
A Wikipedia spokeswoman said that she hoped the statue would help encourage people to contribute more information to the knowledge-sharing website.
The monument is scheduled to be unveiled on October 22.