About us | W3C

<!doctype html> <html dir="ltr" lang="en" class="no-js"> <head> <title>About us | W3C</title> <meta charset="utf-8"/> <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1"> <meta name="description" content="This page introduces the World Wide Web Consortium, a multi-stakeholder member-organization which develops web standards in the open."/> <meta name="thumbnail" content="https://www.w3.org/assets/website-2021/images/w3c-opengraph-image.png"/> <meta property="og:url" content="https://www.w3.org/about/"/> <meta property="og:type" content="website"/> <meta property="og:title" content="About us"/> <meta property="og:image" content="https://www.w3.org/assets/website-2021/images/w3c-opengraph-image.png"/> <meta property="og:image:width" content="1200"/> <meta property="og:image:height" content="630"/> <meta property="og:description" content="This page introduces the World Wide Web Consortium, a multi-stakeholder member-organization which develops web standards in the open."/> 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</div> </li> <li class="top-nav-item"> <a hreflang="en" href="https://www.w3.org/help/search/" class="nav-link icon-link"> <img class="icon" src="https://www.w3.org/assets/website-2021/svg/search.svg" width="24" height="24" alt aria-hidden="true"><span class="hide-at-max-width">Search</span> </a> </li> <li class="top-nav-item"> <a hreflang="en" href="https://www.w3.org/users/myprofile/" id="account-login-link" class="account-login icon-link with-icon--after"> My account <span class="avatar avatar--small icon"> <img src="https://www.w3.org/assets/website-2021/svg/avatar.svg" width="24" height="24" alt aria-hidden="true"/> </span> </a> </li> </ul> </div> </nav> </header> <nav id="breadcrumb" aria-label="Breadcrumb"> <div class="l-center"> <div class="l-cluster"> <ol class="breadcrumbs clean-list" role="list"> <li><a href="/">Home</a></li> <li><a href="/about/" aria-current="page">About us</a></li> </ol> </div> </div> </nav> <main id="main" > <div class="u-full-width hero"> <div class="l-center"> <div class="l-sidebar"> <div> <div class="not-sidebar"> <h1>About us</h1> <nav aria-label="Translations" class="translations"> <div class="l-sidebar"> <div> <div class="sidebar"> <span><span lange="en">Read this page in:</span></span> </div> <div class="not-sidebar"> <div class="l-cluster"> <ul class="clean-list translation-list"> <li> <a href="/zh-hans/about/" hreflang="zh-Hans" lang="zh-Hans" dir="auto" > 中文（简体） </a> </li> <li> <a href="/ja/about/" hreflang="ja" lang="ja" dir="auto" > 日本語 </a> </li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div> </nav> <p class="lead">Leading the web to its full potential</p> </div> <div class="sidebar"> <img src="https://www.w3.org/cms-uploads/Hero-illustrations/humaans-group.svg" alt/> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="component component--text"> <h2>Who we are</h2><p>The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) is an international public-interest non-profit organization where Member organizations, a full-time staff, and the public work together to develop Web standards. Founded by Web inventor Tim Berners-Lee and led by President & CEO <a href="/People/Seth/">Seth Dobbs</a> and a <a href="/groups/other/board">Board of Directors</a>, the Web Consortium's <a href="https://www.w3.org/mission/">mission</a> is to lead the web to its full potential.</p><h2>W3C's history</h2><p>Web inventor Tim Berners-Lee founded the World Wide Web Consortium in 1994 to ensure the long-term growth of the Web. He remains W3C's Emeritus Director and Honorary Member of the Board of Directors.</p><p>From the start the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) has been an international multi-stakeholder community where <a href="/membership/list/">member organizations</a>, a full-time <a href="/staff/">staff</a>, and the public work together to develop open <a href="https://www.w3.org/standards/">web standards</a>.</p><p><a class="button button--alt" href="https://www.w3.org/about/history/">Read the W3C history</a></p> </div> <div class="component component--text"> <h2>W3C Community</h2><p>W3C's global standards constitute the toolkit for web solutions that scale, enabling innovators to solve hard problems, providing the proper foundations to meet requirements for accessibility, internationalization, privacy, and security on the web.</p><p>Standards that meet the varied needs of society are created not by one company but through the work of the Web Consortium community:</p><ul><li><strong>Members</strong>: More than 350 <a href="/membership/list/">Members</a> from around the world lead the development and implementation of standards.</li><li><strong>Staff</strong>: W3C is a public-interest non-profit organization whose revenues come primarily from Membership dues. These and some grants support a <a href="/staff/">staff</a> of about 50 people who are direct employees or employees of W3C Partners (former Hosts): <a href="https://www.ercim.eu/">ERCIM</a> (Europe), <a href="https://www.keio.ac.jp/">Keio University</a> (Japan), <a href="https://ev.buaa.edu.cn/">Beihang University</a> (China). </li><li><strong>Developers</strong>: Over 14,700 developers worldwide participate in the standards development.</li></ul><p><a class="button button--alt" href="https://www.w3.org/about/leadership/">Learn how W3C is led</a></p> </div> <div class="component component--columns component--columns--icons"> <h2>Some of our unique advantages</h2> <ul class="clean-list" role="presentation"> <li> <div class="card"> <div class="card__text"> <h3 class="card__heading">Open standards that make a difference</h3> <p>Our community has developed several hundreds of open standards that have enabled the creation of two billion websites, the emergence of flourishing business ecosystems, and made the Web accessible to more people, inclusive, and secure.</p> </div> <svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 576 512" aria-hidden="true" class="icon icon--larger" focusable="false" height="1em" width="1em"><path d="M423.5 0C339.5.3 272 69.5 272 153.5V224H48c-26.5 0-48 21.5-48 48v192c0 26.5 21.5 48 48 48h352c26.5 0 48-21.5 48-48V272c0-26.5-21.5-48-48-48h-48v-71.1c0-39.6 31.7-72.5 71.3-72.9 40-.4 72.7 32.1 72.7 72v80c0 13.3 10.7 24 24 24h32c13.3 0 24-10.7 24-24v-80C576 68 507.5-.3 423.5 0z"/></svg> </div> </li> <li> <div class="card"> <div class="card__text"> <h3 class="card__heading">Royalty-free to boost adoption</h3> <p>W3C standards may be used by anyone at no cost: if they were not free, developers would ignore them.</p> </div> <svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 512 512" aria-hidden="true" class="icon icon--larger" focusable="false" height="1em" width="1em"><path d="M505.12019,19.09375c-1.18945-5.53125-6.65819-11-12.207-12.1875C460.716,0,435.507,0,410.40747,0,307.17523,0,245.26909,55.20312,199.05238,128H94.83772c-16.34763.01562-35.55658,11.875-42.88664,26.48438L2.51562,253.29688A28.4,28.4,0,0,0,0,264a24.00867,24.00867,0,0,0,24.00582,24H127.81618l-22.47457,22.46875c-11.36521,11.36133-12.99607,32.25781,0,45.25L156.24582,406.625c11.15623,11.1875,32.15619,13.15625,45.27726,0l22.47457-22.46875V488a24.00867,24.00867,0,0,0,24.00581,24,28.55934,28.55934,0,0,0,10.707-2.51562l98.72834-49.39063c14.62888-7.29687,26.50776-26.5,26.50776-42.85937V312.79688c72.59753-46.3125,128.03493-108.40626,128.03493-211.09376C512.07526,76.5,512.07526,51.29688,505.12019,19.09375ZM384.04033,168A40,40,0,1,1,424.05,128,40.02322,40.02322,0,0,1,384.04033,168Z"/></svg> </div> </li> <li> <div class="card"> <div class="card__text"> <h3 class="card__heading">Built-in inclusivity</h3> <p>W3C technologies and guidelines make it possible for people with disabilities to access the web. The web supports communication in many of the world's languages and writing systems.</p> </div> <svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 448 512" aria-hidden="true" class="icon icon--larger" focusable="false" height="1em" width="1em"><path d="M423.9 255.8L411 413.1c-3.3 40.7-63.9 35.1-60.6-4.9l10-122.5-41.1 2.3c10.1 20.7 15.8 43.9 15.8 68.5 0 41.2-16.1 78.7-42.3 106.5l-39.3-39.3c57.9-63.7 13.1-167.2-74-167.2-25.9 0-49.5 9.9-67.2 26L73 243.2c22-20.7 50.1-35.1 81.4-40.2l75.3-85.7-42.6-24.8-51.6 46c-30 26.8-70.6-18.5-40.5-45.4l68-60.7c9.8-8.8 24.1-10.2 35.5-3.6 0 0 139.3 80.9 139.5 81.1 16.2 10.1 20.7 36 6.1 52.6L285.7 229l106.1-5.9c18.5-1.1 33.6 14.4 32.1 32.7zm-64.9-154c28.1 0 50.9-22.8 50.9-50.9C409.9 22.8 387.1 0 359 0c-28.1 0-50.9 22.8-50.9 50.9 0 28.1 22.8 50.9 50.9 50.9zM179.6 456.5c-80.6 0-127.4-90.6-82.7-156.1l-39.7-39.7C36.4 287 24 320.3 24 356.4c0 130.7 150.7 201.4 251.4 122.5l-39.7-39.7c-16 10.9-35.3 17.3-56.1 17.3z"/></svg> </div> </li> <li> <div class="card"> <div class="card__text"> <h3 class="card__heading">Securing the web</h3> <p>W3C standards improve web security through the development of authentication technologies that can replace weak passwords and reduce phishing and other sophisticated cyberattacks.</p> </div> <svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 640 512" aria-hidden="true" class="icon icon--larger" focusable="false" height="1em" width="1em"><path d="M434.7 64h-85.9c-8 0-15.7 3-21.6 8.4l-98.3 90c-.1.1-.2.3-.3.4-16.6 15.6-16.3 40.5-2.1 56 12.7 13.9 39.4 17.6 56.1 2.7.1-.1.3-.1.4-.2l79.9-73.2c6.5-5.9 16.7-5.5 22.6 1 6 6.5 5.5 16.6-1 22.6l-26.1 23.9L504 313.8c2.9 2.4 5.5 5 7.9 7.7V128l-54.6-54.6c-5.9-6-14.1-9.4-22.6-9.4zM544 128.2v223.9c0 17.7 14.3 32 32 32h64V128.2h-96zm48 223.9c-8.8 0-16-7.2-16-16s7.2-16 16-16 16 7.2 16 16-7.2 16-16 16zM0 384h64c17.7 0 32-14.3 32-32V128.2H0V384zm48-63.9c8.8 0 16 7.2 16 16s-7.2 16-16 16-16-7.2-16-16c0-8.9 7.2-16 16-16zm435.9 18.6L334.6 217.5l-30 27.5c-29.7 27.1-75.2 24.5-101.7-4.4-26.9-29.4-24.8-74.9 4.4-101.7L289.1 64h-83.8c-8.5 0-16.6 3.4-22.6 9.4L128 128v223.9h18.3l90.5 81.9c27.4 22.3 67.7 18.1 90-9.3l.2-.2 17.9 15.5c15.9 13 39.4 10.5 52.3-5.4l31.4-38.6 5.4 4.4c13.7 11.1 33.9 9.1 45-4.7l9.5-11.7c11.2-13.8 9.1-33.9-4.6-45.1z"/></svg> </div> </li> </ul> </div> <blockquote class="component component--quote"> <p> "The Web is humanity connected by technology." </p> <footer>Sir Tim Berners-Lee, inventor of the Web</footer> </blockquote> <div class="component component--text"> <h2>W3C standard development process</h2><p>The proven standards development process upheld at the Web Consortium promotes fairness and enables progress.</p><p>Our standards work is accomplished in the open, under the <a href="https://www.w3.org/policies/process/">W3C Process Document</a> and royalty-free <a href="https://www.w3.org/policies/patent-policy/">W3C Patent Policy</a>, with input from the broader community. Decisions are taken by consensus. Technical direction and Recommendations require review by W3C Members – large and small. The Advisory Board guides the community-driven enhancement of the Process Document. The Technical Architecture Group is our highest authority on technical matters.</p><h2 id="international">International Participation</h2><p>W3C conducts its work primarily in English. Organizations located all over the world and involved in many different fields join W3C as Members to participate in a vendor-neutral forum for the creation of Web standards. <a href="/membership/list/">W3C Members</a> and a dedicated <a href="/staff/">full-time staff of experts</a> have earned W3C international recognition for contributions to the Web. W3C's global efforts include:</p><ul><li><a href="https://www.w3.org/liaisons/">Liaisons</a> with national, regional and international organizations around the globe. These contacts help W3C maintain a culture of global participation in the development of the World Wide Web. W3C coordinates particularly closely with other organizations that are developing standards for the Web or Internet in order to enable clear progress.</li><li>The <a href="https://chapters.w3.org/">W3C Chapters Program</a>, which promotes adoption of W3C recommendations among developers, application builders, and standards setters, and encourage inclusions of stakeholder organizations in the creation of future standards by joining W3C.</li><li><a href="/translations/">Translations</a> of <a href="https://www.w3.org/standards/">Web standards</a> and other materials from dedicated volunteers in the W3C community. W3C also has a <a href="https://www.w3.org/2005/02/TranslationPolicy.html">policy for authorized translations</a> of W3C materials. Authorized W3C Translations can be used for official purposes in languages other than English.</li><li><a href="/events/talks/">Talks</a> around the world in a variety of languages on Web standards by people closely involved in the creation of the standards.</li><li><a href="https://www.w3.org/mission/internationalization/">W3C's Internationalization activity</a> helps ensure that the Web is available to people.</li></ul><h2>Recognition</h2><p>In orchestrating these activities, the Web Consortium has earned a reputation for fairness, quality, and efficiency.</p><p>Though not well-known by the general public, the Web Consortium has earned recognition for its global impact: the Boston Globe <a href="https://archive.boston.com/news/education/higher/specials/mit150/mitlist/">ranked W3C the most important achievement</a> associated with MIT (the first W3C historical Host).</p><p>The Web Consortium's impact even extends beyond this planet: NASA regularly uses W3C standards in Mars and space exploration missions.</p><p>The organization has <a href="https://www.w3.org/news/">won three Emmy Awards</a>: in 2016 for its work to make online videos more accessible with captions and subtitles, in 2019 for standardization of a Full TV Experience on the web, and again in 2022 for standardizing<strong> </strong>font technology for custom downloadable fonts and typography for web and TV devices.</p><h2 id="org">Organizational Structure</h2><p>In administrative terms <a href="https://www.w3.org/news/2023/w3c-re-launched-as-a-public-interest-non-profit-organization/">W3C has become its own legal entity</a> in January 2023, moving to a <strong>public-interest non-profit organization</strong> after 28 years with an atypical organizational structure where legal and fiduciary roles were assumed by four host institutions across the planet. Read more about the <a href="https://www.w3.org/about/history/">W3C history</a>.</p><p>In process terms, the <a href="https://www.w3.org/policies/process">W3C Process Document</a>, <a href="https://www.w3.org/membership/agreement/">Member Agreement</a>, <a href="https://www.w3.org/policies/patent-policy/">Patent Policy</a>, and a few others documents establish the roles and responsibilities of the parties involved in the making of W3C standards.</p><p>The Process governs the standards-setting aspect of W3C. The <a href="https://www.w3.org/about/corporation/#documents-of-the-corporation">Bylaws</a> govern the operation of the corporation that supports the standards process and W3C’s other efforts to pursue its <a href="https://www.w3.org/mission/">mission</a>.</p><h2>Funding model</h2><p>W3C sources of revenue include:</p><ul><li><a href="https://www.w3.org/Consortium/fees">W3C Member dues</a></li><li><a href="https://www.w3.org/Consortium/nmfunds/">Research grants and other sources of private and public funding</a></li><li><a href="/donate/">Sponsorship and donations</a></li></ul> </div> </main> <aside class="crosslinks"> <div class="l-center"> <div class="component component--columns component--columns--images"> <div class="component--columns__intro"> <h2>You may also be interested in</h2> <p></p> </div> <ul class="clean-list" role="presentation"> <li> <div class="card" data-component="card"> <div class="card__text"> <h3 class="card__heading"> <a href="/careers/" class="card__link">Careers</a> </h3> <p> Jobs and fellowships at W3C. </p> <p class="txt-pluto"> Page </p> </div> </div> </li> <li> <div class="card" data-component="card"> <div class="card__text"> <h3 class="card__heading"> <a href="/standards/" class="card__link">Web Standards</a> </h3> <p> This page introduces web standards at a high-level. </p> <p class="txt-pluto"> Page </p> </div> </div> </li> <li> <div class="card" data-component="card"> <div class="card__text"> <h3 class="card__heading"> <a href="/membership/" class="card__link">Why join W3C</a> </h3> <p> Discover the value of joining the Web Consortium. </p> <p class="txt-pluto"> Page </p> </div> </div> </li> <li> <div class="card" data-component="card"> <div class="card__text"> <h3 class="card__heading"> <a href="/ecosystems/" class="card__link">Business Ecosystems</a> </h3> <p> Learn about the various business ecosystems that the web transforms and how W3C meets particular industry needs. </p> <p class="txt-pluto"> Ecosystems </p> </div> </div> </li> </ul> </div> </div> </aside> </div> <footer class="global-footer"> <div class="l-center"> <div class="global-footer__links"> <div class="l-cluster"> <ul class="clean-list" role="list"> <li> <a href="https://www.w3.org/" hreflang="en"> <span lang="en" dir="ltr">Home</span> </a> </li> <li> <a href="https://www.w3.org/contact/" hreflang="en"> <span lang="en" dir="ltr">Contact</span> </a> </li> <li> <a href="https://www.w3.org/help/" hreflang="en"> <span lang="en" dir="ltr">Help</span> </a> </li> <li> <a href="https://www.w3.org/donate/" hreflang="en"> <span lang="en" dir="ltr">Donate</span> </a> </li> <li> <a href="https://www.w3.org/policies/" hreflang="en"> <span lang="en" dir="ltr">Legal & Policies</span> </a> </li> <li> <a href="https://www.w3.org/about/corporation/" hreflang="en"> <span lang="en" dir="ltr">Corporation</span> </a> </li> <li> <a href="https://status.w3.org/" hreflang="en"> <span lang="en" dir="ltr">System Status</span> </a> </li> </ul> </div> <ul class="clean-list" role="list"> <li><a class="with-icon--larger" href="https://w3c.social/@w3c" hreflang="en"> <img class="icon icon--larger" src="/assets/website-2021/svg/mastodon.svg" width="20" height="20" alt aria-hidden="true" loading="lazy"/> <span class="visuallyhidden"><span lang="en" dir="ltr">W3C on Mastodon</span></span></a> </li> <li><a class="with-icon--larger" href="https://github.com/w3c/" hreflang="en"> <img class="icon icon--larger" src="/assets/website-2021/svg/github.svg" width="20" height="20" alt aria-hidden="true" loading="lazy"/> <span class="visuallyhidden"><span lang="en" dir="ltr">W3C on GitHub</span></span></a> </li> </ul> </div> <p class="copyright"><span lang="en" dir="ltr">Copyright © 2024 <a href="https://www.w3.org/">World Wide Web Consortium</a>.<br> <abbr title="World Wide Web Consortium">W3C</abbr><sup>®</sup> <a href="https://www.w3.org/policies/#disclaimers">liability</a>, <a href="https://www.w3.org/policies/#trademarks">trademark</a> and <a rel="license" href="https://www.w3.org/copyright/document-license/" title="W3C Document License">permissive license</a> rules apply.</span></p> </div> </footer> </div> <script src="/assets/website-2021/js/translations-sorting.js"></script> </body> </html>

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