The Ombudsman for Children's Office (OCO) was established to make sure that the government and other people who make decisions about young people really think about what is best for young people.
The Functions of the OCO set out in the Ombudsman for Children Act 2002 include:
- Communication & Participation
- Independent complaints handling
- Research & Policy
Arekibo were commissioned to redesign the Office of the Ombudsman for Children website, and create a series of complimentary services for the site including SMS and extranet functionality. The key deliverable was to design and deliver an internet presence for the OCO that appealed to its target audience young people. To achieve this Arekibo worked closely with the OCO’s Youth Advisory Panel (YAP) who helped Arekibo to plan the sites architecture, functionality and overall look and feel. The result of this partnership enabled Arekibo to create a site that met the approval of the target audience and was specifically tailored to their needs.
The consultation carried out in partnership with the YAP team resulted in findings that teens actually prefer the internet over Television and mobile. http://www.siliconrepublic.com/news/news.nv?storyid=single5957
This feedback was very beneficial in the subsequent work that has been undertaken on the website.
In October 2007 Arekibo developed and launched the Big Ballot campaign www.oco.ie/ballot/overview.aspx where the OCO ask children and young people up to 18 to tell them about the issues that are important to them. The results of the Ballot will shape the OCO’s programme for the future. The Big Ballot includes a blog, photo gallery and video area that were updated as the OCO team travelled around Ireland meeting children and schools. A Web Survey has also been recently added to the site to gain feedback on the website.
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