Presentation of Portal Dominicanaonline.org at Santo Domingo International Book Fair

With a simple click of the mouse, Dominicanaonlinge.org. allows its users to get to know the Dominican Republic not only from a historic and geographic standpoint, but from an economic, political and social standpoint as well. The detailed, comprehensive and interactive website on the Dominican Republic, launched by Global Foundation for Democracy and Development (GFDD) and Fundación Democracia y Desarrollo (FUNGLODE) in 2005, was presented this past Wednesday, April 22 at the GFDD/FUNGLODE pavilion during the 2009 Santo Domingo International Book Fair.

“Dominicanaonline.org users feel compelled to actively participate in the projects that the website makes available to its visitors,”

Semiramis de Miranda, GFDD ICT Manager and Portal Technology Coordinator, presented the Portal during the Book Fair. She highlighted the important roles played by the entire Portal staff in ensuring that a varied selection of materials is posted in a timely manner.  In addition to news stories, the site features audiovisual materials, statistical data, interactive maps and discussion forums that present the diverse facets of the Dominican Republic. The ICT Manager discussed the methodical manner by which the Portal’s international team of staff members selects the materials that are posted on the site.

The Dominicanaonline.org team only utilizes articles and audiovisual materials from reliable and accredited sources in order to assure that students, professors, scholars, tourists, investors, visitors and Dominican residents living abroad are able to access quality information about the country.

De Miranda spoke about the high-level of interactivity that the Portal has achieved over the last four years thanks to the involvement of the sites many users. “Dominicanaonline.org users feel compelled to actively participate in the projects that the website makes available to its visitors,” stated De Miranda.

She stressed the important role the Portal plays in providing coverage to events that are of interest to Dominicans such as Major League Baseball season and carnival in February. She also discussed the development of a variety of educational and cultural projects that form part of Dominicanaonline.org including the Dominican Encyclopedic Dictionary of the Environment; the Virtual Library, which features digitalized editions of Dominican classic literary works; and the audio dictionary Dominican Idioms and Popular Expressions, which allows users to listen to a vast quantity of words and phrases that are unique to the Dominican Republic. De Miranda also discussed how Portal visitors can send electronic postcards featuring aerial views of the country and download digital calendars.
The comprehensive and interactive site acclaimed for its diverse content receives an average of 3.5 million hits per month. De Miranda expressed that the growing number of visitors to the Portal each month is the result of the site’s wealth of content, constantly evolving projects and interactive, user-friendly format.

The Portal Technology Coordinator explained that the number of registered users also plays a fundamental role in attracting sponsors and collaborators. Through the Portal, sponsors and collaborators can help to promote the economic and social development of the country. De Miranda encouraged visitors to register and become part of the Portal’s community of friends.

Register and invite your friends to register at: /Portal/english/signup.asp

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Date of Publication: April 24, 2009