The Guardian has always been devoted to journalism that perseveres after the truth, challenges the powerful and amplifies stories about people that might not otherwise be heard.

It’s a devotion that has now lasted two centuries. Few things make it to this ripe old age. We're older than most countries, almost all political parties and pretty much every animal on the planet.

In 200 years, the Guardian has grown from a weekly newspaper serving a few thousand Manchester liberals to a global operation with newsrooms in the UK, US and Australia, tens of millions of regular readers all over the world and more than 1.5 million supporters in 180 countries. These supporters protect our precious independence, power our investigative work and allow everyone to read, listen to and watch high-impact, quality journalism.

So this is a moment to celebrate, to take stock of where we have come from, what we are for and where we are going. A work in progress.

We hope you’ll join us as we mark this bicentenary throughout the month of May, starting with our very first digital festival. There are also three things we invite you to do, via this special page...