Ecma International is an industry association founded in 1961 and dedicated to the standardization of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Systems.
Their aims are (from their website)
- To develop, in co-operation with the appropriate National, European and International organizations Standards and Technical Reports in order to facilitate and standardize the use of ICT systems.
- To encourage the correct use of Standards by influencing the environment in which they are applied.
- To publish these Standards and Technical Reports in electronic and printed form; the publications can be freely copied by all interested parties without restrictions.
Interesting standards published by the ECMA include ECMAScript and C#.
(ECMA originally stood for European Computer Manufacturers Association.)