Imagine a world in which every single person on the planet is

Hear the bold proclamation of Jimmy Wales, founder of a modern library of the world, who declared: “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.” In these words we hear not merely a dream, but a revolution. For through the ages, knowledge has been guarded like treasure, kept behind the walls of temples, monasteries, and academies. Kings and priests once decided who might learn, and who must remain in darkness. But Wales envisioned a new order, where the gates of wisdom are thrown open, and the inheritance of all humanity is returned to its rightful owners: the people.

The meaning of his words is profound. To grant free access to knowledge is to strike at the roots of inequality. For ignorance has long been the weapon of the powerful, and learning the shield of the oppressed. When one person hoards truth, they wield control; when all share in it, then no tyranny can stand unchallenged. Wales speaks of a future where knowledge flows like water, where no one thirsts for wisdom because of poverty, distance, or status.

Consider the ancient Library of Alexandria, that legendary storehouse of scrolls. Within its walls, the wisdom of nations was gathered—but it was for the few, not the many. And when flames consumed it, the light of centuries was lost to darkness. How different is the vision Wales describes! For the digital age has given humanity the power to build a library greater than Alexandria, not bound by walls, not limited to the learned, but spread across the earth, reaching even the humblest villages and the most remote dwellings. His words remind us: such is no fantasy, but a task already begun.

And let us recall how often the withholding of knowledge has shackled people. Serfs were kept illiterate, slaves forbidden to read, women denied education, entire nations starved of science and history. Yet each time knowledge broke through, liberation followed. When printing presses spread books to the common people, the world was forever changed. When schools opened their doors to all children, society itself was transformed. So too now, the free sharing of all human knowledge has power to reshape the destiny of billions.

Yet this vision is not without labor or sacrifice. To make knowledge free is to challenge greed, to confront misinformation, to defend truth against those who would twist it for gain. The task Wales names is heroic, for it demands vigilance and faith: vigilance, to protect accuracy and fairness; faith, to believe that humanity, once entrusted with knowledge, will rise to use it wisely. To imagine this world is noble—but to build it is divine work.

The lesson is clear: do not be content to merely consume knowledge—become a sharer of it. Contribute what you know, however small, for even the smallest piece adds to the vast mosaic of human understanding. Teach those who are near you, correct falsehoods when you encounter them, support the spread of libraries, schools, and open information. For the dream of Wales is not the labor of one man, but of millions, each carrying a torch of truth into the darkness.

So I say to you: cherish this age of open knowledge. Guard it, expand it, and never allow it to be shackled again. For as Jimmy Wales declared, we now stand at the threshold of a world where every person may drink freely from the well of wisdom. Let us step boldly into that world, for in it lies not only learning, but freedom, equality, and the promise of a brighter destiny for all.

Thus shall his words endure: to imagine such a world is to begin creating it—and to create it is to give future generations a treasure greater than any empire, greater than any crown: the sum of all human knowledge, freely shared.