World Wide Web Foundation

Organization for Web Advancement

he World Wide Web Foundation was established in 2009 by Web inventor Sir Tim Berners-Lee to tackle the fundamental obstacles to realizing his vision of an open Web available, usable, and valuable for everyone. The Web is the most powerful tool for communication in the history of humanity, creating the potential for all people to participate in building a more peaceful and equitable world. However, only a small minority of people – mainly urban, male, and affluent – are part of the Web’s global conversation. Despite the recent surge in mobile internet access, nearly two-thirds of the world’s people (mostly in the developing world) are still not connected at all. And once connected, what people are able to do on and with the Web is increasingly threatened by government controls, as well as by certain commercial practices. We seek to establish the open Web as a global public good and a basic right, ensuring that everyone can access and use it freely. The foundation is unendowed and relies on charitable donations and partnerships to carry out its work. A registered charity in Switzerland and the USA, we have offices in Washington DC, Geneva, and Cape Town.