Event:Wikipedia 25/Authority, Legitimacy, and the Future of Knowledge

Wiki Education's Zoom-based Speaker Series:

Wikipedia at 25: Authority, Legitimacy, and the Future of Knowledge

Wednesday, January 14, 2026

9 am Pacific / 12 pm Eastern / 17:00 UTC

Twenty-five years ago, Wikipedia launched with the ambitious idea that knowledge could be created collaboratively and shared freely with the world. Just a quarter century later, the online encyclopedia has become a foundational part of the global information landscape, drawing billions of page views each month and impacting how people learn and make real-world decisions. But what have we learned about its role in our knowledge ecosystem — and what comes next?

Join Wiki Education as we kick off the new year of our Speaker Series with this special webinar celebrating Wikipedia’s 25th birthday on Wednesday, January 14, 2026!

Panelists will explore Wikipedia’s growth, evolution, and relationship to traditional knowledge institutions like universities, libraries, archives, and museums. Together they’ll consider questions of authority and legitimacy: How has Wikipedia challenged and complemented historic models of knowledge production? What responsibilities come with its incredible reach and power to shape public opinion? And how might the next 25 years reshape who creates knowledge, how it is validated, and who it serves?

Panelists:

Phoebe Ayers, Librarian, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Carwil Bjork-James, Associate Professor of Anthropology, Vanderbilt University
Ryan McGrady, Senior Research Fellow, Initiative for Digital Public Infrastructure, University of Massachusetts, Amherst
Steven Mintz, Professor of History, University of Texas at Austin

This edition of the Wiki Education Speaker Series will be moderated by LiAnna Davis, Wiki Education’s Chief Programs Officer and Deputy Director.

The event will include a public Q&A. We encourage you to bring your questions and join us in celebrating 25 years of Wikipedia — and looking ahead to what’s next