New Mercyworld.org online communications Platform

Today we are very happy to announce the first steps of the launch of the new Mercyworld platform. From 2nd August the site will be visible at www.mercyworld.org. The rollout will be on an incremental basis.

1. Go Live

On August 2nd the Public site will be launched. From August 2nd until September 27th, there will be, as it were a ‘tour of the site’. Each week in E-News one section of the website will be highlighted . The first step of the tour is presented in the current edition of E-news.

2. Additional functionality

On 24th September, Mercy Day, this additional functionality will be activated.  This will provide for a wide range of activities which were not available on the old site,

3. Implementation

The implementation phase of the site will continue for some months after Mercy Day as Mercy people across the world begin to see the possibilities for the implementation of the MIA vision and the promotion of Mercy Mission. Training in the use of the Web 2.0 communication tools and the content management system will take place during these months.

How it all began

At the AGM of MIA in May 2008, discussion began on re-developing the then outdated and limited website technology of the Mercyworld.org website to more interactive technologies.

In October of the same year at MIACOM workshop in Burlingame, attention was given to the changing audience for the website and to the utilisation of a technology platform through which the vision and the activities of MIA would be made manifest in new ways and in new places. An enhanced design with a new capacity for interactive communication was envisaged for the web platform. As the portal to Mercy International, the site would provide an entry to the MIA vision, particularly in relation to action on addressing global poverty while at the same time enabling the information about the Association to be readily available.

Fraynework was contracted to undertake the redevelopment of this new web platform and has now completed the work

The New Web

This new attractive, dynamic and engaging platform has three distinct parts:

1. Public Platform

This platform facilitates a means of access to and expression of many Mercy projects that are in place today to alleviate global poverty and it will be a key means of visibility with the world. It uses a story based approach and is geared towards attracting the broadest web audience who may or may not be aware of the work of the Sisters of Mercy. It clearly showcases the MIA vision in relation to action on addressing global poverty.

The public site also focuses on the Association and its vision, news, history and membership. The spirituality section provides a hub for reflection resources and on-line prayer requests. Other feature elements include rich multimedia content charting the history and growth of the mercy presence in the world and multimedia story elements about Catherine’s life and work to further promote the canonisation cause. The possibilities of this part of the platform are extraordinary and include a search facility to enable the user to access all on-line richness of the Mercy world, blog and other social networking capacities, e-commerce facilities for on-line purchase of resources, donations to projects and booking of programmes and facilities at MIC.

2. Members Area

This provides communication and collaborative opportunities for Sisters and selected groups and is password protected. It includes web conferencing capabilities along with document sharing and discussion forums and in time will have the capacity for the development of on-line education content and programmes

3. An integrated Content Management System

This system will enable authorised administrators and content providers to manage all site content, including uploading stories re ministry in particular areas, adding prayer resources to the spirituality section, updating news items, etc

We are proud today to begin the roll-out of the new web platform and see it as a very valuable resource in the Living, Telling and Supporting of the Mercy story and in promoting the image, vision and mission of Mercy today. We congratulate Fraynework on the excellence of the production and we pray that it will be a powerful media of keeping alive and promoting the founding spirit of Catherine worldwide.

Mary Reynolds rsm