Archive notice: This article was originally published on November 12, 2007. Links and embedded videos are preserved as part of the historical record.
The 32-member international jury was impressed, alongside the diversity and structure of the content, above all by the use of Internet-specific functionalities (such as podcasts, streaming elements, user participation) and the quality of the implementation. The German websites were able to prevail over 600 competitors from 160 countries in the final round. At the gala held in parallel with the “Global Forum on ICT,” ministers and government representatives from four countries presented the WSA to the prizewinners who had traveled from all over the world.
The World Summit Award is regarded as a quiet giant among Internet competitions. From more than 24,000 thousand submissions worldwide, around 600 are nominated for the WSA in the national preliminary rounds (e.g. WSA-Germany). Under the premise of the WSA’s strict “Non-Lobbying Rules,” the jury, composed equally of members from all continents, selects the best e-content offerings in the eight WSA categories. For the first time, two German offerings have now also won this important international competition. In the e- Government category, the website of the German Bundestag prevailed, and in the e-Culture category, the Hessischer Rundfunk special topic “End of Silence” about the Auschwitz trial prevailed. “World of Physics,” a joint project of the German Physical Society and the Federal Ministry of Education and Research, also made it to the final. Ultimately, however, it was not able to convince the jury completely in terms of screen design.
Jury declares Bundestag.de the best website of its kind As the only international competition, the World Summit Award focuses on content aspects and above all on the objective and impact(-degree) of the offerings. The reasons given for the German offerings are corresponding. In its laudatory speech for the German Bundestag website, the jury emphasizes that above all the provider had succeeded in “meeting the requirements of the institution and citizens while maintaining integrity and high ethical principles.” Furthermore, the universal design was highlighted, which gives all users easy access to the content. The professional implementation and the use of all functionalities summarized under the term Web 2.0 were expressly praised, making the site a “Best of Breed” (best website of its kind) in the e-Government category.
In the eyes of Dr. Rainer Babiel, Managing Director of the responsible agency Babiel GmbH, the long-standing and constructive cooperation with those responsible at the German Bundestag is above all responsible for the success. “German e_Government offerings do not have to hide in international comparison. We are pleased that we were able to prove this on behalf of many German e-government offerings,” says Dr. Rainer Babiel.
HR’s Auschwitz documentation: Great cultural achievement “End of Silence” impressed the jury above all through the way history is processed here. The laudatory speech states that the offering makes it possible to bring a topic to mind across generations, thereby preventing history from repeating itself. The jury was also impressed by the visual treatment, the music and the language. In the jury’s opinion, the form of presentation from different perspectives in this Internet offering is a great cultural achievement. “We are especially delighted about the award. We were amazed that one can gain such great attention on the Internet with such subject. A really fantastic confirmation of our work,” comments Thomas Schernbeck of Hessischer Rundfunk on the WSA win. Tobias Kirchhofer , Managing Director of the agency Blue Mars, which conceived and implemented the project, shares this delight:“Despite the numerous other awards that we were able to snag for this project, an international competition like this still has a different significance. The fact that we were able to prevail over so many competitors speaks for the extraordinary quality.”
WSA-Germany the National Competiton
After the weak results in recent years, Germany is represented in the winners’ lists for the first time in 2007. On the one hand, the result shows that the Internet offerings (content and services) created in Germany can compete at the forefront in international comparison. On the other hand, however, it also shows how important it is to hold a national competition that independently identifies the best German Internet offerings and provides a platform for the top German offerings. Alexander Felsenberg, a board member of the WSA, says: “We are very happy about these results, which confirms the work of WSA Germany and above all the work of the German jury, to whom my special thanks go.” With regard to the significance of the international competition, jury member Prof. Eku Wand said: “Impressive – that the WSA has established a worldwide contest of strength that allows pecuniary interests to recede into the background.”
The award ceremoney took place in Venice at the Fondazione Giorgio Cin on the Isola di San Giorgio.
Further links:
- All prizewin
