Catalog

Web Watch
Navigating the Mekong More Easily
Cambodia, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, and Viet Nam resident missions revamp their web sites for greater impact

By Catherine Reyes ( cpreyes@adb.org )
Assistant Web Administrator

ADB’s Webmaster, Penelope Price, recently conducted web usability and content development workshops for ADB staff at resident missions in Cambodia, Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Lao PDR), and Viet Nam. “ADB’s work in these countries is very important and the web is an excellent medium to tell the story of our activities in the Mekong,” says Ms. Price.

These offices have now revamped their web sites, with the objective of being the entry point to learn about ADB’s activities in each country. There are location maps, articles on how ADB is helping the poor in the region, spotlight links to recent news—such as country strategy and program updates—as well as documents posted in Khmer, Lao, and Vietnamese.

Ms. Price also ran workshops for nongovernment organization and government staff at resident missions in Cambodia and the Lao PDR. She noted that “time and content matter in a world where Internet connection costs are high, where people scan rather than read, and where few users are prepared to scroll down a web page.”

The workshops focused on applying key guidelines for making an organization’s homepage easier for visitors to navigate; formatting and writing for busy, online readers; creating effective hyperlinks; using global English; and applying copyright correctly to web documents.

She also gave a tour of the ADB web site, one of the major channels through which ADB disseminates information about its poverty reduction work.

Navigate the Mekong yourself at http://www.adb.org/carm for Cambodia, http://www.adb.org/lrm for Lao PDR, http://www.adb.org/vrm for Viet Nam, and http://www.adb.org/gms for the Greater Mekong Subregion Program.

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