Take a Stand,

Think about the Future

Not a lot of individuals are familiar with the fact that the most extreme form of poverty is hunger where people cannot meet their most basic need for food. "Over 16000 children under the age of 5 die from hunger - related causes every single day or one child every five seconds" states Bread for the World. 852 million people across the world are hungry which is ten million more than a year ago. Globalization lead to a greater perception of the problems around the world making more and more individuals aware of their significance and realize that they are the ones that need to stop this trend because children are the future. UNICEF, a non - for - profit organization, mandated by the United Nations to advocate for the protection of children's rights, to help meet their basic needs and to expand their opportunities to reach their full potential, tries to establish children's rights as enduring ethical principles and international standards of behavior towards children. UNICEF insists that "the survival, protection and development of children are universal development imperatives that are integral to human progress".

Having such a significant and positive vision, UNICEF have gained millions of supporters around the world leading to its Webby Awards nomination and being Webby People's Voice winner. Its website captures viewers' attention by making each individual who opens it to feel the hardship and pain of all those disadvantaged children who are victims of war, disasters, extreme poverty, and all forms of violence and exploitation. Relating to the Internet World Statistics, the growth of the Internet usage for the last six years is 200.9% , leading organizations such as UNICEF to create websites which will educate people around the world about their vision and hopefully gain support from individuals who believe that every single person can make a difference in helping the children in need. The criteria according to Webby Awards that makes a website frontrunner are implemented in UNICEF's website. It is successful in informing the audience and it is innovative with a distinctive design and engaging content that gives the viewer the chance to easily interact with its features without having any technological impediments. However, the manner of attaining its goal in helping the children in need by attracting people to give donations or get involved in some of UNICEF's campaigns is not completely clear at first glace. This issue needs to be addressed because according to Web Style Guide making "the tactical design decisions about what [the] audience wants from [ the site], and how to arrange the content to best meet [the] audience's needs" will lead to the overall experience which has the greatest impact on people's experience.

UNICEF's website, starting with a very attention getting animation accompanied by a very deep and sad - sounding song, depicts the state of the world's children in 2006 and how they make their way through life "impoverished, abandoned, uneducated, malnourished, discriminated against, neglected, and vulnerable". Its content is engaging and takes a very important stand that concerns the well - being of children not only in the developing countries such as Cambodia and Nepal but also those in the developed ones such as Great Britain and Venezuela which is exactly what Webby Awards judges seek in a website : "[a] good content [that] takes a stand." It does it in a manner that is informative giving an example of eight children who are struggling in life working or roaming the streets to get their basic necessities and who are looking for help so they can have the opportunity as the rest of the children to attend school and most importantly have a normal life which is adequate for their age. This information is supported by charts, graphs, maps, and tables both as a single file or in parts. Moreover, there is a 2006 State of the World's Children report focusing on the "excluded and invisible" children who have no access to essential services, protection and participation. Those children are called "excluded and invisible" because they are prematurely in adult roles and lack formal identity and parental care. The information on the site is credible because the domain type is for noncommercial purpose; however, when dealing with statistics we need to check how the data was gathered.

The visual design of UNICEF's website is very effective using contrasting colors such as blue, pink, and grey. It also incorporates a lot of photographs which are very helpful in showing the suffering of the disadvantaged children. There are tables that support the message the website conveys which can be customized for a specific continent, country, or even a region and whose data can be chosen from an array of options according to its importance. The web design completely supports UNICEF's framework which is informing people around the world about children in need and it meets users need of finding all the information and statistical data they want about those children. Moreover, it is done in a way that is clear and concise that does not overload the readers with unnecessary information. Web Style Guide emphasizes that "visual and functional continuity in your Web site organization, graphic design, and typography are essential to convince your audience that [the] web site offers them timely, accurate, and useful information". UNICEF is very successful in organizing the content of its website. The spatial organization of graphics and text is logical and creates a balance between the visual impression and the graphic information. In addition, the information on the website is prioritized leading to a more logical transition from one set of data to another.

Webby Awards' understanding of a good structure consists of qualities such "consistent, intuitive and transparent". UNICEF' s website has those qualities because it is consistent with the image of the reader's mind after following the set of information presented by the animation when the website is first opened. These features are reinforced by the ease of use of the navigation which helps the reader get the information they want fast. Consequently, the audience can take full advantage of the information and the features of the site. However, according to Web Style Guide the "rich set of graphic navigation and interactivity links within [the] Web pages [that] will pull users' attention down the page" are missing. The information is not dense but it lacks visual relief which would otherwise make every link stand out and give the first impression of its context. Graphical images are not present which does not draw any attention and motivate the audience to follow those links.

The technology on the site functions extremely well considering the fact that it starts with audio and video effects which is another criterion that Webby Awards judges consider. They highlight that "good functionality makes the experience center stage and the technology invisible". UNICEF's website downloads extremely fast no matter whether it is a dual - up connection or a broadband and the flow from one page to the other is almost invisible leaving the audience highly satisfied. All the links are functional and most important extremely relevant to the idea of the site.

UNICEF's site gives the reader the chance to interact with it by allowing choosing freely what page to be opened next and giving the option to make a personalized table. If the reader is interested in getting the facts fast but not adapted, he or she has the choice just clicking on Fast Facts option. As an example, the audience can get a summarized data about the least developed countries consisting of the most common indicators. Relating to Figure 3.6 , on average 30% of the children between 5 and 11 years of age, do at least one hour of economic activity or at least 28 hours of domestic work.However, to get a more personalized set of data, he or she can choose Customized Statistical Tables. This is a great option because it allows the audience to safe time looking for the exact information that it is interested in. The reader can choose only his home country and then select the statistics he or she wants to be displayed such as under 5 mortality rank or rate. There are only 3 easy and straightforward steps that will lead to the appropriate table. For example, Bulgaria ranks 131st among the countries with a high under - 5 mortality rate.

UNICEF's website is very interactive and an individual can learn a lot of interesting facts about the lifestyle of the children in the developing countries as well as choose whether to become a volunteer for the organization. UNICEF gives a chance to every person to act by joining the World Fit for Children Campaign or becoming a UNICEF UK Youth Voice advisor. Webby Awards criteria emphasize that "good interactivity is more than a rollover or choosing what to click on next; it allows [the] user, to give and receive". UNICEF's audience can observe videos of the profiles of some of the children which represent their unfortunate lives in a way that can be seen, heard, and accordingly felt. In addition, an individual can order a video news package that reveals the state of children in locations such as Cambodia and Uzbekistan. UNICEF's site also offers audio interviews with UNICEF experts such as The UNICEF's Editor of the State of the World's Children report and UNICEF's Senior Advisor on Child Protection. Just with one click, the audience can visit UNICEF Radio, featuring news and in-depth stories from around the world. The numerous options to be involved with UNICEF contribute to the audience overall experience as being a part and in a way responsible for the lives of the disadvantaged children. However, the viewers who intend to get involve have to browse many pages to get the proper one which may discourage them to look further. UNICEF's mission is to inform the audience about the hardship of the children in the developing countries in order to motivate people to aid them. However, UNICEF does not make its point clear because they do not accentuate the fact that they are non -for - profit organization based on external support since they do not provide a link on their homepage of the different options concerned people have. If this flaw is not corrected it may cost a loss of supporters.

What makes a website stand out is the overall experience that the audience gets when it surfs through it. Webby Awards emphasize that it is"more -- or less than the sum of their parts, the overall experience encompasses content, structure and navigation, visual design, functionality, and interactivity, but it also includes the intangibles that make one stay or leave". UNICEF's website is mostly design with this single criterion in mind. It makes the viewer sense something that is so distant to him or her such as the privation and the suffering of "the excluded and invisible" children around the world. Moreover, UNICEF does not only present to the audience these facts but it also provides the solutions of making this world a better place to live by giving options to get involved with the organization. Overall, UNICEF presents a hope for saving the lives of all disadvantaged children around the world.