Mission & Vision Statement
This document defines Craftpedia’s core purpose, long-term direction, and foundational values. It applies to the entire Craftpedia ecosystem, including all regional portals, all languages, and all editorial processes.
Craftpedia functions simultaneously as a digital encyclopedia, a cross-cultural bridge, and a global museum of traditional crafts.
Mission
[edit]Craftpedia’s mission is to document, preserve, and present the world’s traditional crafts and artisanal techniques with academic rigor, cultural respect, and open accessibility.
Craftpedia aims to:
- provide accurate, reliable, and well-organized knowledge about global craft traditions;
- create a multilingual resource accessible to learners, researchers, and educators;
- present cultural heritage in a respectful and non-commercial way;
- support cross-cultural understanding through clear and consistent documentation;
- enable global collaboration among translators, proofreaders, fact-checkers, and contributors;
- serve as a digital preservation platform for craft traditions facing decline or transformation;
- follow museum-grade standards in classification, terminology, and editorial structure.
Craftpedia is committed to neutrality, accuracy, and cultural integrity in all its content.
Vision
[edit]Craftpedia envisions a world where traditional crafts are recognized, understood, and valued as essential components of global cultural heritage.
Our long-term vision includes:
- becoming the most comprehensive, multilingual digital encyclopedia of traditional crafts;
- providing a permanent, well-structured reference for educators, museums, scholars, and communities;
- enabling informed appreciation of craft traditions across cultures and languages;
- acting as a digital companion to real-world museum collections and ethnographic archives;
- ensuring that all craft traditions—major or minor—receive equal respect and documentation;
- establishing standards that may be adopted by institutions, researchers, and cultural organizations.
Craftpedia seeks to be a bridge between cultures, emphasizing shared human creativity across geography and time.
Values
[edit]Craftpedia is guided by the following core values:
- Accuracy – Information must be factually correct and supported by reliable sources.
- Accessibility – Knowledge must be readable and available in many languages.
- Neutrality – Articles must be written without bias, judgment, or promotion.
- Respect – Cultural traditions, terms, and communities must be represented with care.
- Transparency – Sources and editorial decisions must be clear and traceable.
- Collaboration – It is built by an open community of volunteers and contributors.
- Preservation – It supports safeguarding intangible and material cultural heritage.
- Consistency – The entire ecosystem must follow a uniform structure and editorial rules.
Scope
[edit]The scope of Craftpedia includes:
- traditional craft techniques;
- artisanal production methods;
- historical craft traditions;
- regional schools and variations;
- materials and tools used in craft-making;
- object types with cultural or ritual functions;
- biographies of significant artisans, workshops, or schools;
- ethnographic and historical context when relevant.
Craftpedia does not cover:
- industrial mass production;
- purely contemporary design without traditional roots;
- commercial product listings;
- unsourced or speculative narratives.
Audience
[edit]Craftpedia serves a diverse global audience, including:
- researchers and scholars;
- museum professionals and curators;
- educators and students;
- craft practitioners and artisans;
- cultural organizations;
- translators and linguists;
- general readers interested in world heritage.
The editorial guidelines ensure that content remains accessible while maintaining academic and museum-level precision.
Long-term Objectives
[edit]Craftpedia strives to:
- expand coverage across continents, regions, and craft traditions;
- develop a complete multilingual taxonomy of materials, techniques, periods, and regions;
- collaborate with museums, universities, and cultural institutions;
- build a permanent repository for endangered craft knowledge;
- maintain an editorial infrastructure that supports translation and research workflows;
- encourage contributions from local communities who hold traditional knowledge.
Institutional Position
[edit]Craftpedia positions itself as:
- a digital museum,
- an academic reference,
- an encyclopedia,
- a multilingual educational platform.
It does not operate commercially, does not promote specific artisans or products, and does not express opinions about artistic value or market relevance.
Version History
[edit]- 1.0 – Initial release (English)