The W3C, or World Wide Web Consortium, is an international community that develops open standards to ensure the long-term growth of the Web. Founded in 1994 by Tim Berners-Lee, the inventor of the World Wide Web, W3C aims to make the web accessible and usable for everyone, regardless of their device or location. W3C creates guidelines and recommendations that help web developers and designers build better websites and applications. These standards cover various aspects of the web, including HTML, CSS, and XML, ensuring that different technologies work well together. By promoting best practices, W3C helps maintain a vibrant and innovative web ecosystem.