Our History

Our History

World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) staff starts informal discussions on how to accelerate access to the Web for the then 80% (at the time) of the world not using it, and how to accelerate the use of the Web for making positive social and economic change

January-April: Developing concept and plan for creating an international, not-for-profit organization, independent of W3C
April: Present concept for a “World Wide Web Foundation” to the W3C Advisory Committee in Beijing, China
May: Tim Berners-Lee and Gary Kebbel, Knight Foundation Journalism Program Director discuss concept for the Web Foundation. Days later, Steve Bratt and Rosemary Leith explore interest with Alberto Ibargüen, Knight Foundation President and CEO and Gary Kebbel
June: World Wide Web Foundation incorporates in the United States
September (14th): Alberto Ibargüen, Knight Foundation President and CEO, announces decision to award a grant of $5 million over 5 years to seed creation of the World Wide Web Foundation
September: First meeting of the Friends of the Web Foundation/US Board of Directors
October: Web Foundation receives grant from the Knight Foundation to develop a plan for creating the new organization

January: First installment of the seed grant arrives from the Knight Foundation
April: Switzerland and the United States grant tax-exempt status
June: First meeting of the Web Foundation/Switzerland Board of Directors
July: Steve Bratt moves from W3C to become full-time CEO of the Web Foundation and to ramp up creation of the Foundation
November (15th): Tim Berners-Lee announces launch of Web Foundation operations and its first two programs at the Internet Governance Forum in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt

2010+

Please see the rest of the Web Foundation site, and especially the News and Projects sections.