The European Computer Manufacturers Association (ECMA) was founded in 1961 and based in Geneva. ‘European’ is to be taken as operating in Europe rather than European owned. The aims of ECMA are ‘to promote, in the general interest and in collaboration with national and international organizations, all ways and means destined to facilitate and standardize the utilization of data processing systems’. In 1994 it changed its name to ECMA International to reflect the fact that its activities were international rather than just European. Activities in which it is currently involved range from such software standards as C#, Eiffel, and ECMAScript (see JavaScript) to the standardization of optical disk formats.

http://www.ecma-international.org/ The ECMA International home page