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25/01/2010

We are pleased to announce The African Economic Outlook (AEO) received the Interactive Media Award (IMA) for its website.

This state-of-the-art website brings the trusted, high quality content of the report into the digital age and puts it at the fingertips of the public, for free. Data, analysis and forecasts are displayed online in a user-friendly manner, while remaining accessible through lower-band connections. The aim is to spark policy dialogue, at all levels of society.

Olivier Puech, Head of Publications & New Media at the OECD Development Centre, said: ‘ Updated on a regular basis and published in four languages, our aim is to keep content fresh, relevant and easily accessible from everywhere on the continent, even through a mobile device.'.

Site visitors will find the AEO report’s content as well as databases that can be searched, GIS-mapped, downloaded, plotted and printed; information on economic developments; country notes on 47 African economies ; analysis on a thematic – ICTs in 2009; news and events; and ongoing research by our partner institutions including the African Development Bank, the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa and a network of African think tanks and research centres.

‘The AfricanEconomicOutlook.org is useful not only to academics, investors, entrepreneurs, humanitarian practitioners, but— perhaps most importantly— to average citizens who want to know how their  country is doing from year-to-year’, Oliver Puech added.

All the IMA judges are distinguished professionals and members of the Interactive Media Council, Inc. (IMC). Judges included representatives from The New York Times, Microsoft, Time Inc., American Express Company, and Hill & Knowlton.

The website was designed, entered by the appointed web design agency Liquidlight under the category ‘Reference’, won the IMA Best in Class Award, the biggest honor bestowed by the IMA, with an overall score of 500. This is the highest scoring entry of all entries submitted in 2009.

The site rated 100 on the five different categories including: Design, Content, Feature Functionality, Usability, and Standards Compliance and Cross-Browser Compatibility. It is also the first perfect score in the five year history of IMA. The Outlook is therefore nominated for the IMA top 10 website of the year award.

Gain access to the profiles of 50 of the 53 countries in Africa. Each profile includes synopses of the overall state of the country.