Vision for W3C is a W3C Statement

The W3C Advisory Board has published today as a W3C Statement the document Vision for W3C, which articulates W3C’s core vision for the Web. 

W3C’s core Vision is:

• The Web is for all humanity.
• The Web is designed for the good of all people.
• The Web must be safe to use.
• There is one interoperable world-wide Web.

The goal of the W3C Vision document is to:

• Help the world understand what W3C is, what it does, and why it matters
• Communicate shared values and principles of the W3C community
• Be opinionated enough to provide guidance and a framework for making decisions, particularly on controversial issues
• Be timeless enough to remain relevant without needing frequent revision, while being open to evolving based on the needs of the community

The World Wide Web Consortium is a community leader in defining technical standards and guidelines for a World Wide Web that connects and empowers humanity. We provide a neutral open forum where diverse voices from around the world work together by consensus. Our community understands that the web has had a tremendous impact on the world, and its impact will continue to grow in the future as it expands reach, knowledge, education, and services even more broadly. 

Written in the spirit of taking responsibility to address the impact of our work, Vision for W3C defines the values of W3C’s mission and the shared principles that guide our decisions as new technologies enable new actions and new possibilities. Vision for W3C allows us to take deliberate steps to address the many harmful unintended and undesirable consequences that arose from the web’s amazing success, and to continue to provide the consistent architecture that enables a World Wide Web that works, for everyone. 

W3C Statements provide a stable reference for documents not intended to be formal standards but that have been formally reviewed and are endorsed by W3C. 

Please read more in the W3C Vision document and our companion blog post.