Foreign Ministry’s web portal wins UN prize

Today the Foreign Ministry’s web portal,Norway– the official site, won the WorldSummitAward Norge for the best government web portal.

“It is very gratifying that the Ministry’s communication with the public through the Internet has been noticed and appreciated,” said Foreign Minister Jan Petersen in response to the news that Norway– the official site, which won the Norwegian Design Council’s Award for Design Excellence last year, has now received the World Summit Award Norge in the e-Government category.

“The web portal is an excellent showcase, which presents Norway and the Ministry to the rest of the world and helps us to communicate with Norwegian citizens more effectively,” said the Minister.

Norway – the official site came first in the e-Government category in Norway. The category is for projects that aid the state in serving its citizens more effectively, using the new media. The projects are judged on whether they have high-quality content and design, provide easy access to public information and services, contribute to the efficiency of the government administration, and improve the ability of the public at large to participate in decision-making processes.

The web portal is the Government’s official site, which provides information about Norway to other countries, and was officially opened by Queen Sonja in October 2003. The system consists of approximately 100 websites in as many countries. The portal has about 300 000 unique visitors a month. Nearly 2 million web pages and articles were published on the website in May. Information is available in 18 different languages and there is a specially adapted version for each country.

The system is technically advanced even by international standards. Great emphasis has been given to user-friendliness and design, and the portal has already received an important design award, in 2004. The solution has been developed using Microsoft Content Management Server and in co-operation with the design agency APT and Objectware AS.

The World Summit Award is a global contest whose purpose is to identify and promote the world’s best digital information systems, and the overall objective is to reduce the digital divide in the world today. The award is being held within the framework of the World Summit on the Information Society. The European Academy of Digital Media and the International Center for New Media took the initiative to set up the contest.

The Norwegian winners will go forward to the global contest, whose winners will be announced at the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) in Tunis in November 2005. Norway is actively involved in the WSIS and has been a driving force in efforts to ensure that not just technology but also content, especially freedom of expression, is high on the Summit’s agenda.

For further information see:

1. Norway – the official site: www.norway.info
2. World Summit Award Norge: www.wsan.no
3. World Summit on the Information Society: www.wsis.no
4. APT: www.apt.no
5. Objectware: www.objectware.no