For Immediate Release:
For Immediate Release:
Contact: Gita Chandra (gita@pkpr.com)
Patrick Kowalczyk (patrick@pkpr.com)
PKPR, 212.627.8098
SIR TIM BERNERS-LEE, INVENTOR OF THE WORLD WIDE WEB,
TO RECEIVE WEBBY LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD AT
THE 13TH ANNUAL WEBBY AWARDS
New York, NY (May 26, 2009) –
The Webby Awards will pay tribute to Sir Tim Berners-Lee, the inventor of the World Wide Web, with a Webby Lifetime Achievement Award at the 13th Annual Webby Awards on June 8th in New York City, organizers announced today.
Berners-Lee created the first versions of the technologies – including HTML, URL, and HTTP — that turned the Internet, previously a domain of scientists and researchers only, into a mass medium. Since he invented the Web twenty years ago, Berners-Lee has remained its most active and passionate advocate, working tirelessly to ensure that it remains open, free, and a tool for helping humankind. He founded the World Wide Web Consortium in 1994 and currently serves as director of the World Wide Web Foundation and co-director of the Web Science Research Initiative (WSRI). He was knighted in 2004 and was elected as a foreign associate of the National Academy of Sciences earlier this year.
“Sir Tim Berners-Lee sealed his place in history with the creation of the Web, but more importantly, he guided its development as a tool for promoting creativity and humanitarian values,” said David-Michel Davies, executive director of The Webby Awards. “It is an honor to pay tribute to a brilliant pioneer responsible for creating the most influential mass medium the world has seen.”
At the June 8 gala in New York City, Berners-Lee will be saluted alongside Webby Award winners and other Special Achievement honorees, including Jimmy Fallon (Person of the Year), Trent Reznor (Artist of the Year), and Twitter (Breakout of the Year). Video highlights from the ceremony, including all of the winner’s famous five-word speeches, will be showcased on the official Webby Awards YouTube Channel at www.youtube.com/webby beginning June 9.
Hailed as the “Internet’s highest honor” by the New York Times, The Webby Awards is presented by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences, a 650-person judging academy whose members include David Bowie, Harvey Weinstein, Arianna Huffington, Matt Groening, Vinton Cerf, and Richard Branson.
About The Webby Awards
Hailed as the “Internet’s highest honor” by the New York Times, The Webby Awards is the leading international award honoring excellence on the Internet, including Websites, interactive advertising, online film and video, and mobile web sites. Established in 1996, the 13th Annual Webby Awards received over 10,000 entries from all 50 states and over 60 countries worldwide. The Webby Awards is presented by The International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences. Sponsors and Partners of The Webby Awards include: Microsoft Silverlight; The Creative Group; .ORG; YouTube; Getty Images; Wieden + Kennedy; The Barbarian Group; The New York Times Company; Behance; Limelight Networks; IDG; PricewaterhouseCoopers; 2advanced.Net; KobeMail and Museum of the Moving Image.
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