Feb 10, 2009 – The Nelson Mandela Foundation website will soon have a new look.
Originally launched on July 22, 2007, to coincide with the Annual Lecture delivered by Kofi Annan, the website is a resource for thousands of monthly visitors interested in news about Mr Mandela, as well as the work of the Foundation and its Centre of Dialogue and Memory.
The new site will make it easier for users to find information, splitting the news feeds into three areas: Organisation and Governance, Dialogue and Memory.
“Since we launched the site in 2007 we’ve been inundated with increased traffic,” said Head of Dialogue Mothomang Diaho, “and what we’ve realised is that there are different types of users. Some are looking for news on Mr Mandela, and some are looking to see what work we do as the Nelson Mandela Foundation.
“The revised website will direct people to look at the work the Foundation does, making the content easier to find and more attractive.”
Allowing visitors easier access to content is a key component of the redesign, said the Foundation’s Head of Memory, Verne Harris.
“There are three reasons for the redesign of the site, in my view. The first is shifting the interface with the user from an events orientation to one of content. In doing so we are hoping to achieve the second reason, which is to draw users into a deeper examination of the richer content rather than flitting through the surface of the site.”
The ultimate aim, said Harris, is to ensure that the site becomes a one-stop shop for people trying to find information relevant to the Foundation and Mr Mandela.
“The third reason we are redesigning the site is that we’re moving towards a portal which in our conceptualisation does several things,” said Harris.
“It’s a one-stop shop. It doesn’t matter what your question might be, you can come to the portal and either receive an immediate answer or be pointed in the right direction. The portal will have multiple links to other sites. The aim is that you as the user can seamlessly move from our site into the content of other sites. Also, through digitisation projects, people will be able to hear, view and read the physical repository of the Foundation and other organisations.”
“We will be looking with interest in the next few months to see if the redesign is having the desired effect,” said Diaho.