The Korean National Commission for UNESCO (KNCU) hosted the Training Workshop for the 2016 Website Development Project in Seoul, Republic of Korea, from 6^th to 9^th September. Seven participants attended this workshop from 5 different National Commissions for UNESCO in the Asian region.

For the last four years, KNCU has been implementing the Website Development Project to assist fellow National Commissions to create their own websites and to increase their capacities to manage those websites since the number of National Commissions with functioning websites remains limited. The project was first implemented in the Pacific Region in 2013, followed by the Caribbean region in 2014, and then extended to the Latin American and Caribbean regions in 2015.

In 2016, the project was implemented in the Asian region with five participating National Commissions: Afghanistan, Bhutan, Indonesia, Laos and the Philippines. Starting in April, KNCU dispatched step-by-step guidance materials to help participating National Commissions to organize their website structure and produce website content. Thanks to the active participation and contributions made by each National Commission, the new websites were created by the end of August 2016.

From 6 to 9 September, KNCU organized a Training Workshop in Seoul, Republic of Korea. The workshop participants included representatives from each of the participating National Commissions (Afghanistan, Bhutan, Indonesia, Laos and the Philippines).

During the workshop, the website managers from the participating National Commissions learned how to maintain their Commission’s website. The workshop consisted of lectures on various subjects, including how to use WordPress and how to edit multimedia contents, such as pictures and videos, to upload them to a website, as well as practical sessions allowing participants to put into practice what they had learned in the lectures.

This year, bilingual websites have been created under this project – in both English and the local language of each Commission. The websites were initially created in English, but participants were able to begin the translation process into their own local languages during the course of the workshop.

At the end of the above-mentioned sessions, participants spent time working individually to make their own websites and videos to introduce their Commissions to present in front of other colleagues. In addition to the lectures and presentations, participants had an opportunity to experience the operations and activities of KNCU as well as make visits to Jongmyo Shrine and Changdeokgung Palace, UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Korea.

KNCU will continue to collaborate with the participating National Commissions until the end of this year, answering technical inquiries and assisting them with improving their websites. The new websites will officially launch at the end of this year, once all the necessary information has been uploaded and final technical checks have been completed.

* This Project is funded by the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Korea.