Heads of Government shown online gateway to the Commonwealth
A new web portal offering a single window to the Commonwealth was launched at the Heads of Government meeting in Perth, Australia, on 28 October 2011.
The idea of a web portal was endorsed by Commonwealth leaders at the last Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM held in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, in 2009.
Commonwealth Connects was developed by the Commonwealth Secretariat in partnership with other Commonwealth organisations, with leading Canadian company OpenText providing the technology infrastructure.
The new portal will complement initiatives to bridge the digital divide and make information and communication technology widely available to Commonwealth citizens.
Commonwealth Secretary-General Kamalesh Sharma said: “Our ambitious new pan-Commonwealth internet workplace, Commonwealth Connects, will create an innovative and contemporary paradigm of partnership. There is a cascade of Commonwealth communities of practice enlisting to occupy this new platform. It will allow us all to be better informed, be more in touch and create real results."
Commonwealth Connects provides a gateway to information and resources from dozens of Commonwealth organisations and associations, supported by a powerful cross-website search engine.
It will also host a secure area for professionals across the Commonwealth to network, collaborate and share information, knowledge, good practice and experiences in real time through a ‘social workplace’ feature.
The web portal will feature news and events from Commonwealth organisations and will support interactive features such as blogs, as well as providing social networking capability.
Web visitors are able to join by becoming a ‘Friend of the Commonwealth’, giving them access to news alerts. Jobs, training and scholarship opportunities from across Commonwealth organisations will also be displayed on the portal.
The portal is thematically organised to reflect the Commonwealth’s core values of Democracy, Development and Community.
Commonwealth Connects is now live at www.commonwealthconnects.org.
Note to Editors:
1) Commonwealth Connects will not replace individual websites of organisations or associations. It will provide a single window to access these websites.
2) The web portal was developed by the Commonwealth Secretariat in partnership with the Commonwealth Foundation, Commonwealth Business Council, Royal Commonwealth Society and the Commonwealth Network of Information Technology for Development (COMNET).
