I. Introduction
1.The Topic
This web site concerns the association named “ Arco Latino” which was created in 1999 and which is currently composed by 65 members in Spain (16 County Councils and Island Councils), France (11 General Councils), and Italy (38 Provinces). This organization aims to promote its interests, work together in cooperation and also with other Mediterranean countries
2. Topicality - context
This web site is very useful, especially with the growing importance of the European Union and, in the meanwhile, with importance of local governments in France. That is why local governments, like the general council of Marseille, have decided to join this organization in order to lobbying European institutions.
3. Why I chose this web site
This web site is both very interesting for me because I would like to work in a local council later on, and also very useful because currently I am realizing an internship in a sector named “European and international relations”.
II. Complete inventory
1. Form
-
Design:
Concerning the first page of presentation and others, the design is very attractive. On the first page of presentation, we can see a beautiful picture. Under this picture we can choose between several languages (5): French, English, Italian, Spanish and Catalano.
On the second page there is also a picture, at the top, probably taken in Greece. We can see several parts on this page. On the left there is Arco Latino’s logo and under it there are 6 items:
An Introduction which is divided into four parts:
- About us
- Objectives
- Origins
- Members
- Working Groups
- Projects
- Current events composed by:
- News
- Press releases
- Bulletin
- Agenda
- Documents
Next, under the picture, this web site offers a presentation of the Arco Latino association. We may also view all the news about Arco Latino’s activities and other European news. We may observe that there are short summaries for each news item, with sometimes pictures to illustrate the articles and if we want read more about one of them, it is possible to click on the link “read more”. To conclude, on the right, there are two frames where two headings, “documentation” and “newsletter” are to be found. To my taste, the colors are very soft and pleasant.
- Functionality
We go from general to particular information; this web site provides both practical and specific information and, on the contrary, general information like documentation, description of future projects. If we want, it is possible to be informed on a daily basis, on activities or important events, thanks to a newsletter from the association.
2. Contents
At the top of the page, on the right, we can search for information by using a button entitled “search”.
- When we click on the link entitled “introduction”, 4 sub-links appear:
Ø About us
Ø Objectives
Ø Origins
Ø Members
The item “about us” is divided into 3 parts namely: the territory, the association and contact. Indeed, this part is composed by several short presentations concerning the territory, the association and gives some useful contacts like the mail address for Arco Latino’s president.
The item “objectives” presents the different advantages of this cooperation. We can learn why members cooperate in Arco Latino. Then, at the bottom of the page there are the most important objectives of the association.
In the item “origins”, there is a description of the association’s evolution and history which explains how it was created and who its members are. Next, there are some figures about Arco Latino.
In the item “members”, we can see a map of Arco Latino’s territory, which represents those of all its members, and then the list of the members themselves.
The second part concerns the working groups. Thus, we learn that Arco Latino is composed of 6 working groups and each of them has a special topic for debate and discussion. Then, there is an explication concerning working group organization. For example, I have learnt that the General Council of MARSEILLE is the vice-president of the Southern Shore working group. And a graphic explains working group missions.
Which are the 6 working groups?
Ø Citizenship
Ø Culture
Ø Territory and sustainable development
Ø Economy and innovation
Ø Equal opportunities
Ø Relations with the south shore
For each working group there are initial short explanations and then a graphic representing the different partners or departments of member states’ institutions and their missions.
Concerning the section “Projects”, many examples of initiatives in the territory are provided, for instance : Aquanet, Environmental Observatory, Good practices in the field of immigrant reception or Culture route. But there are no further explanations on the web site; indeed this section is currently empty.
The fourth part, entitled “current events”, is divided into three sections, news, press releases and bulletin. The only section which is complete is the news section, but the news we can view there is already on the front page.
For the item Agenda, all the important events concerning Arco Latino are listed.
In the last part entitled “Documents” three categories are to be found :
- Constitutive Documents
- Official Declarations
- Links
To conclude, if the reader wants to receive a newsletter about Arco Latino, all he or she has to do is register.
III. Critical analysis and verdict
I decided to make a third part with the critical analysis and also my personal verdict for each negative or positive point in order to be clearer and more efficient.
- Form
For this part, it seems to me to be unnecessary to divide the positive and negative points, because there are no negative points to be found.
Concerning design, it is a very elegant web site; it is pleasant with beautiful pictures and soft colors. The presentation is simple and this web site is easy and rapid to use. The links and the buttons are well signaled and useful.
So on these two points, to my mind, there are no criticisms to be made.
- Contents
Concerning the contents, I think there is not enough information about the different parts, but this can be explained by the recent creation of this web site, which will surely be improved and develop, because this association is new. But currently, to have more information or more details about actions or programs we must go onto other web sites, thanks to the links which are listed on the final page of a web site like www.europa.org, the European Union’s web site which is very complete.
It is a useful web site in order to discover Arco Latino, to quickly understand the functioning, the objectives…etc but to enter into the details it is not in-depth enough. To my mind, it is a very interesting and useful web site because in my internship I will be working on Arco Latino and I need to know and understand this association very well. For more Information, I will have to learn by working with my partners. There is a deficit of information
Some rubrics are inexplicably empty. Maybe because there is not yet any information about the topic concerned, or no available documents.
Agenda is a good idea for people who want to view the latest news or be informed about future events. But again, I must recognize that there is not a lot of news, there is only one event on the agenda. Nevertheless, several news items have already been posted on the first page of this web site. In order to improve the speed, I think. We arrive on this web site and immediately we can see what the main important issues are. It is not necessary to search in the different sections or between the links.
Concerning the global organization of this web site, it is well organized and classified.
A surprising, and also funny, thing : when we click on the Arco Latino logo we return to the first page “welcome to Arco Latino”.
IV. Personal project / Statement
This web site is especially useful and interesting for me because I am working on this topic for my internship. I have to understand and know in depth the competences of the association and also know the different working groups.
It a good and relevant tool for my internship and I sometimes use this web site, but I must recognize that is not yet complete enough. But I will probably make some recommendations about it, because my tutor wants to make some improvements and needs some help, so I will myself try to contribute to improving this web site.