The World Zionist Organization (; HaHistadrut HaTzionit Ha'Olamit), or WZO, was founded as the Zionist Organization (ZO; 1897-1960) at the initiative of Theodor Herzl at the First World Zionist Congress, which took place in August 1897 in Basel, Switzerland. When it was founded, the goals of the Zionist movement were stated in a resolution that came of that Congress and came to be known as the “Basel Program.”