Advance the Web to Empower People

Our Vision and Mission

We envision a world where all people are empowered Content Gap. Creation of locally-relevant content on the by the Web. Everyone – regardless of language, ability, Web is impeded for many people by the lack of knowledge location, gender, age or income – will be able to and technology. Life-critical information and services are in communicate and collaborate, create valued content, limited supply, especially for those who need help the most. and access the information that they need to improve their lives and communities. Technology Gap. More than one billion people who read poorly, read only languages not well-supported on the Web, The creativity of the billions of new Web users will be or have disabilities are blocked from creating and exploring unleashed. The Web’s capabilities will multiply, and play Web content because of inadequate Web technology an increasingly vital role in reducing poverty and conflict, and practice. In addition, incompatible and proprietary improving healthcare and education, reversing global technologies, uninformed policies, censorship and other warming, spreading good governance and addressing challenges threaten the vision of the Web as a single, all challenges, local and global. universal medium for the sharing of information.

The unique mission of the Foundation Research Gap. The Web is not just technology, but is to realize our vision through transformative programs “humanity connected by technology”. Even experts do that advance the Web as a medium that empowers people not fully comprehend the complexity and potential of this to bring about positive change. evolving system of people, informaiton and links. This is a risk to the creative, yet responsible, evolution of the Web. Challenges Until now, there has been no coordinated effort to address Many organizations focus on distributing computers or these significant challenges and to promote the Web as an extending fixed and mobile capabilities around the agent of human empowerment. To fill this , Tim world. The World Wide Web enhances the value of computers Berners-Lee, the inventor of the Web, created the Web and the Internet, by making it easy to create, link and find Foundation to realize the potential of the Web as an information anywhere in the world. However, only 25% of empowering medium, and as a place to gather a growing the world’s population uses the Web, despite the fact that community of people with the knowledge, creativity and more than 70% (and growing) have access to mobile or fixed passion to realize this vision. communications. The following challenges contribute to this discrepancy and keep the Web from reaching its full potential.

Our success will be measured by how well we foster the creativity of our children. Whether future scientists have the tools to cure diseases. Whether people, in developed and developing economies alike, can distinguish reliable information from propaganda or commercial chaff. Whether the next generation will build systems that support democracy and promote accountable debate. I hope that you will join this global effort to advance the Web to empower people.

Sir Tim Berners-Lee, inventor of the World Wide Web, Founder of the World Wide Web Foundation. All current citizens of the Web are invited to support the Web Foundations efforts to advance the capabilities and health of the Web, expand the community of Webcitizens around the world, and make it possible for people to improve their lives through this incredible technology.

Steve Bratt, CEO of the World Wide Web Foundation.

Programs

The Web Foundation provides global leadership, project coordination, training, and tools; fosters advancement of technology; and builds communities around our programs throughout the world. Our work centers around three integrated programs:

WEB IN SOCIETY: Leverage the Web for Social and Economic Change. A first step toward filling the content gap, the Web Foundation works directly in the field to provide grass roots organizations, governments, NGOs and entrepreneurs with the knowledge, training and tools to share locally-relevant information more effectively. Our initial focus is to support projects that foster social and economic progress in developing countries, and within sectors such as agriculture, health care, education, institutional transparency, women’s issues. Enabling content that is accessible using browsers and voice on mobile phones will be key, especially in developing countries.

Anticipated outcomes: • Projects directly supported by the Foundation will be more effective, thanks to the improved communication, and creativity. • New challenges encountered will motivate new work in the Web Standards and Science programs, leading to future Web technologies that serve people better. • Growth of the Web will be accelerated globally: ◦ Our projects will become examples that many others emulate, ◦ Tools and training materials will be available for free, ◦ People trained by the Foundation will have the capacity to independently leverage the Web for future projects.

WEB STANDARDS: Advance One Web that Works for All. Web technology serves users as well as it does because the fundamental technologies that make it work are free to use, open for review and globally agreed. To ensure that Web technologies fill identified gaps, and that technologies work together, the Foundation works with the World Wide Web Consortium, which develops free and open technical specifications and guidelines. Particularly important is accelerating standards work that removes barriers to Web use for those people now blocked because of literacy, language and ability. We must ensure that existing and new Web technologies work increasingly better across an expanding variety of devices used around the world. We also facilitate community-driven solutions to complex technology and policy issues.

WEB SCIENCE: Understand the Web and Explore New Ideas. To address the knowledge gap, the Web Foundation collaborates with the Trust and its development of a new field of study: Web Science. Web Science seeks to educate the next generation of scientists who will improve our understanding of the Webʼs complex nature, and explore new technologies that could ultimately make the Web even more powerful for all people on the planet. The Foundation is also developing a Web Index, designed to measure growth and usage of the Web, and guide future investment in the Web.

How You Can Help

The John S and James L Knight Foundation is providing a generous $5 million grant over 5 years to seed Web Foundation operations. Your support, in the form of donations and community participation, is essential to ensure the work of the Web Foundation will be truly transformational and empower the lives of billions of people around the world. Visit http://webfoundation.org or contact us for more information.

Information: [email protected] • Help us: [email protected] • Press contact: [email protected]