Dear GKD members,
We thought you might find the latest Gateway News of interest.
Development Gateway Team
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THE DEVELOPMENT GATEWAY NEWSLETTER
Volume 1, Number 4 English/Spanish April 2001
Technology and Content Development
On April 22, version 3.0 of the Development Gateway was released. Some
of the changes are behind the scenes, so the user will notice them only
indirectly in the improved functioning of the site. Below is a summary
of the new and improved features of this version, now available to
users:
� Keep informed about a topic community ? Once users join a
community, they are notified by email when new content is added to the
page. Users also receive "broadcasts" from the guide, e.g. about an
online discussion on a current issue or if another user is seeking
advice.
� The Bookstore is now live! To buy books online, read reviews, check
top sellers and new publications, visit the Gateway's bookstore at
http://www.worldbankinfoshop.org/ecommerce/
� Two New Guided Topic Pages ? E-Government, E-Learning. Click on
"Topics" for a full list of active pages, including these new additions
(http://www.developmentgateway.org/all-topics).
� Topic pages now give greater prominence to the organizations and
individuals that support them. Visit the Culture and Development page
for an example of how the Gateway features cooperating organizations
(http://www.developmentgateway.org/topic/?page_id=3639).
� Country Gateway teams have started working with the Gateway tools
and technology: Azerbaijan, Armenia, Bulgaria, Costa Rica, Dominican
Republic, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Ukraine, Romania,
Russia, West Bank/Gaza. As they switch to the Gateway platform, they
will gain access to a range of functions and features and be able to
share in the body of knowledge and other data that forms the heart of
the Gateway. More information at
http://www.developmentgateway.org/subsites/gatewaytech/
Country Gateways (CGs)
Many different partnership-building consultations were held, in Armenia,
Azerbaijan, Georgia, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Moldova, Pakistan, and
Russia. The meetings focused on attracting partners and identifying ways
to ensure project sustainability. Key issues discussed include content
development, financial sustainability, and technology use.
� The Pakistan Gateway is attracting partners for content
development. Team representatives met with the Television Business
Productions (Pvt) Ltd. (Tele-Biz) to discuss the possibility of Tele-Biz
managing the business and economic news section of the Pakistan Gateway.
� The Russia Gateway conducted consultations and workshops with
government officials, civil society, and business representatives. A
Memorandum of Understanding with the Ministry of Economic Development
and Trade and the Ministry of Telecommunications and IT was signed.
� The Armenia Gateway team created the Armenia Gateway Public Fund,
which will help establish the portal and provide a solid basis for the
financial sustainability of the project.
� infoDev approved 7 proposals in the last round: El Salvador,
Jamaica, Nicaragua, Tajikistan, Poland, Rwanda, India. infoDev has
received 71 proposals and the panel has now awarded a total of 32
grants. More information at http://www.infodev.org/
Partnerships and Outreach
Global Knowledge Partnership (GKP)
Newly appointed Country Gateway team leader, Robert Valantin, attended
the GKP meeting in Geneva (March), and gave a brief on the Gateway. As
former program coordinator for the Action Summit and coordinator of the
resulting Action Plan, Robert provided context and presented an update
on progress of the Action Plan. More info:
http://www.tomoye.com/simplify/gkp/ev.php.
UN Collaboration with the Economic Commission of Latin American and the
Caribbean (ECLAC)
Representing ECLAC, Juan Rojo visited the Gateway in April to discuss
content development for the region. ECLAC and the Gateway agreed in
principle to cooperate in specific areas of content collaboration and
the potential for ECLAC to serve as a content partner.
Information Technology Commerce Network (ITCN) Asia 2001 Conference and
Exhibition March 24-27, Karachi, Pakistan.
Participants presented developments in Web technology, and discussed
issues and challenges facing the ICT community in the region. Akbar
Khawaja represented the Development Gateway and the Pakistan Gateway
team played a key role in cosponsoring the conference program. More
information at http://www.developmentgateway.org/aboutus/mar2001
Latin American NGOs
The Gateway Civil Society team attended a workshop convened by ALOP
(Latin American Association of Developmental NGOs) in San Jose, Costa
Rica on April 17-18. The workshop, which brought together 26 NGO
representatives from 12 countries, had two principal objectives: to
consider the establishment of an autonomous NGO portal on civil society
in Latin America, and to discuss how the Gateway can support this
regional portal. For a report on the meeting and lists of participants,
please contact ALOP at [EMAIL PROTECTED] or visit their site:
http://www.alop.or.cr/
Responding to Feedback
The Gateway team is undertaking an effort to "close the feedback loop"
and effectively utilize comments and perspectives on the Gateway site
for substantive improvements. More on this process in the May issue.
Please continue to send your feedback to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
The Gateway Organization
Gateway Director Mike Potashnik retired from the World Bank at the end
of April, and Carlos Braga (who has been manager of the infoDev program)
has taken over management of the initiative.
Contact Us
� Comments about the newsletter, or to subscribe or unsubscribe?
Please send an email to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
� The general email address for the Gateway is
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
___________________________________________________________________
BOLETIN "PORTAL DEL DESARROLLO"
Volumen 1, Numero 4 Ingles/Espanol Abril 2001
En esta edicion destacamos:
> Tecnologia y desarrollo de contenidos
> Portales de Paises
> Colaboraciones y Campana de Difusion
> Respuestas a nuestros Usuarios
> Nuestra Organizacion
> Contactanos
Tecnologia y desarrollo de contenidos
El domingo 22 de abril estrenamos la version 3.0 del Portal del
Desarrollo. Algunos de los cambios que hemos realizado son evidentes
a primera vista, sin embargo podran notar los cambios indirectamente
en el mejor funcionamiento del portal. Entre los avances que se
incluyen en esta version, ahora a su disposicion, figuran:
. Mantiene informado sobre el tema de tu comunidad? Una vez que los
usuarios se unen a una comunidad, estos son avisados por medio de un
e-mail, sobre los nuevos contenidos que se agregan a la pagina. Los
usuarios tambien reciben ocasionalmente mensajes de su guia, por
ejemplo, en el caso de que la comunidad este por empezar una discusion
en linea o si otro usuario esta buscando un consejo.
. ! La libreria ya esta a su disposicion ! Pueden comprar libros en
linea, leer criticas, y estar al tanto de los libros mas vendidos y de
las nuevas publicaciones. Visita la libreria en la siguiente direccion
http://www.worldbankinfoshop.org/ecommerce/
. Dos nuevas paginas tematicas? E-Government, E-Learning. Haga click
en temas para ver el listado completo de las paginas tematicas activas,
y que incluye estas dos adiciones
(http://www.developmentgateway.org/all-topics).
. Las paginas tematicas ahora dan una mayor importancia a aquellas
organizaciones e individuos que las apoyan. Visita la pagina de Culture
and Development para ver un ejemplo
(http://www.developmentgateway.org/topic/?page_id=3639).
. Trece Portales de Paises han comenzado a utilizar la tecnologia y
herramientas del Portal: Azerbaijan, Armenia, Bulgaria, Costa Rica,
Republica Dominicana, Georgia, Kazajstan, Kirguiztan, Pakistan, Ucrania,
Rumania, Rusia, Banco del Oeste de Gaza. Para mas informacion y tener
acceso a las discusiones que se estan produciendo, por favor visita el
sitio del grupo de trabajo de tecnologia.
http://www.developmentgateway.org/subsites.gatewaytech/
El Portal de los Paises
Abril se distinguio por un gran numero y variedad de consultas
para crear asociaciones que tuvieron lugar en Armenia, Azerbaiyan,
Georgia, Indonesia, Kazajstan, Moldavia, Pakistan y Rusia. Las
reuniones giraron en torno a la captacion de asociados y la
identificacion de vias para asegurar la sustentabilidad del
proyecto. Los temas centrales incluyeron el desarrollo de contenidos,
la sustentabilidad financiera y el uso de las tecnologias.
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