Colección: La Educación
Número: (122) III
Año: 1995
THE PRESENCE OF THE OAS ON THE INTERNET
[http://www.oas.org]
[http://www.oas.org]
Since the beginning of 1995, information regarding the OAS and its General Secretariat has been available on the Internet. All of the Organization’s initiatives, events, and activities have been timely and extensively covered, giving the large world-wide community of Internet users a clear, up-to-date vision of the Organization’s action. A major expansion and upgrade is in progress to expand the information coverage, improve the presentation and searching capabilities, and to incorporate the latest developments in Internet technology, all in order to offer the international community an instrument to consolidate the communication, cooperation and exchange of information.
The OAS presentation on the Internet has been visited by a significant number of users from the member states as well other international locations. Current statistics show more than 3,000 daily accesses to OAS-Intemet files. This represents close to 90,000 accesses per month. Statistics also show a trend of increasing user access over time.
The phase carried out during 1995 was to establish the presence of the OAS on the Internet by incorporating a substantial volume of information regarding the inter-American system, the Organization’s structure, history, programs and activities, major policy statements and initiatives, speeches and position papers, public information about current activities, calendars and directories, press releases, and major OAS official documents, including the Annual Report of the Secretary General.
As of 1996, the original Internet model will be expanded in order to increase the scope and coverage of information, improve the presentation by using the most updated Internet technology for graphic presentation, hyper text linking, and searching and locating information. The new home page will have four categories:
- Public information, including information about the OAS, the General Assembly, the Permanent Council and other Organizational bodies, calendars, directories, up-to-date activity reports, major OAS documents, speeches and general information.
- Programs and issues that correspond with the Organization’s priorities: trade, democracy, environment, human rights, drug abuse control, telecommunications, integral development, and other substantive programs and activities.
- Member states and observers, with information about the member states and permanent observer countries, and an extensive reference section about other Internet resources (Webs and Gophers) about the Americas.
- Current issues, including major documents, initiatives, position papers, and other information regarding important issues currently being addressed by the Organization.
In the course of leading a renewed institution toward fulfilling its new important priorities and objectives, we intend to continue the use of Internet as a dynamic vehicle in support of the Organization’s actions. The home page of the OAS represents a window of opportunity to present the contributions we will be making in the years to come in support of the hemisphere’s new agenda.
The Editor