#Commons is blocked in #Iran

Commons, the biggest resource of freely licensed educational media-files has been blocked in Iran. Commons as you may know is the shared media repository used by all the projects of the Wikimedia Foundation, most notably Wikipedia.

With 6,489,509 freely usable media files Commons is the premier source for illustrations of projects of students of all ages worldwide. The pictures at Commons have been contributed by volunteers from all over the world and they give an unequalled coverage of every country and every culture.

The flag of the Islamic Republic of Iran as seen in Iran

In order to improve on the educational qualities of Commons, representatives of the Wikimedia Foundation are in ongoing discussions with museums to open up the cultural heritage of our world, we have welcomed several important collections in order to strengthen the free and educational nature of Commons.

The flag of the Islamic Republic of Iran as seen in the rest of the world

We are saddened that the Iranian students are deprived of such an important educational resource and we hope that the decision to block Wikimedia Commons will soon be reverted.
Thanks,
      GerardM