Irish Aid is the Government of Ireland’s programme of assistance to developing countries. Ireland has had an official development assistance programme since 1974. It has grown steadily over the years from modest beginnings to its current size (total ODA in 2007 is €813). Ireland’s development cooperation policy is an integral part of Ireland’s wider foreign policy.
Irish Aid and the internet
Arekibo and Irish Aid began working with each other in 2003 on the design and development of the programmes website. To begin with Arekibo met with a broad range of Irish Aid’s team to discuss their aims and objectives for the new site. Arekibo also consulted with an external audience to assess their requirements for the new site. The results of this consultation approach enabled Arekibo and Irish Aid to design and develop a site that met both internal and external requirements while positioning the programme as progressive and forward thinking.
Arekibo designed and developed the site upon the IMS Framework and the site uses the Arekibo CMS that enables all site management to be managed internally. The CMS also contains an integrated Newsletter, a rich photographic archive and is fully compliant Metatags with Public Sector guidelines (IPSMS) . The IMS also supports multiple languages, Intranet and Extranet capabilities. The site showcases the work of Irish Aid by:
- Capturing the commitment of the programme and the organisation
- Highlight the countries where the programme is in operation and show the beauty of these countries.
- Help with the dissemination of a large amount of information and communications to target audiences and partners.
- Highlights where Irish Aid is working. An Interactive Map that contained information on 88 countries where Irish Aid programmes is in operation was created to highlight this.
Since the launch of www.irishaid.gov.ie Arekibo have continued to support Irish Aid on the development of their internet presence. In 2005 Arekibo developed the 'Faraway Up Close' http://www.farawayupclose.ie/ internet site that supported a television series which was aired on RTÉ Television that showed how Irish Aid funding is helping some of the poorest countries in the world. Arekibo have continued to develop this site in 2006 and 2007. Arekibo continue to work closely with Irish Aid and have developed a suite of sites for the programme including
Irish Aid Volunteering & Information Centre
At the beginning of 2008, Irish Aid opened the Irish Aid Volunteering and Information Centre on O’Connell St. Dublin, Ireland. This centre is a state of the art, multi-media exhibition space designed to raise awareness of development issues and the role of Irish Aid in tackling global poverty. It offers a dynamic environment for individuals and groups to learn about and engage with the work of Irish Aid and provides information on development-related volunteering opportunities. It features a range of interactive displays, an exhibition area, a workshop area for approximately 30 people and a conference area with capacity to host 100 people. Arekibo has developed an interactive Kiosk and a supporting website for the centre www.irishaid.gov.ie/centre . The kiosk presentation uses flash to introduce the concept of volunteering and an integrated Google map (http://www.irishaid.gov.ie/volunteering/maponly.aspx ) to showcase the depth of Irish Aid’s work across the globe.
“Irish Aid has a great working relationship with Arekibo and the proof of this is in the quality and popularity of our website with the public and the development sector,”
Owen Feeney, Irish Aid press officer
"I would like to pay a warm tribute to all those who have helped to create our new website over the last six months. Our designers have done a wonderful job"
Minister Tom Kitt, Former Minister of State at the Department of the Taoiseach with special responsibility as Government Chief Whip and for the Information Society and at the Department of Defence.
“Arekibo came through the tender process mainly because of their people, each, from their own perspectives; be that creative, technical or business and each had a clear and concise view of how they could contribute to the project. With hindsight we are delighted with the relationship we have developed with Arekibo and the work they have produced has been excellent."
Rory Coveney, Information Office, Irish Aid
Glossary of Terms
CMS | Accessible Websites | Meta tags