New website on “Forests for People” highlights celebrations worldwide

The redesigned International Year of Forests (Forests 2011) website features streamlined access to useful information related to the year’s theme of “Forests for People” and highlights success stories and events that have occurred throughout the year.

The website now features key forest publications, forest graphs and feature pages on each of the four global objectives on forests. Among the site’s assets is a campaign tools section showcasing photos and videos, as well as messages from Ministers, international organizations and the wider public.

The International Year of Forests 2011 logo, which has been translated into over 50 local languages, is housed in this section. Also featured in campaign tools are the news centre, Collaborative Partnership on Forests (CPF) materials and International Forest Film Festival (IFFF) page.

The film festival page has been revamped to include clips of the 2011 winners of this groundbreaking initiative. Each film clip provides further insight on the diverse values and benefits of forests, their relation to people and the planet we share.

Promotional products are now readily accessible in the new design products page, with downloadable templates that feature the Logo for use at forest-related events.

Awards and contests and hundreds of forest related events are currently being collected and recorded on the site to offer a glimpse of the inspiring actions that create meaningful change in how we interact with our natural environment. The contests featured on the site were launched for people for all age groups, these include: the Forest Heroes Programme and Awards, World Future Council 2011 Future Policy Award, Children’s Art Contest and United Postal Union’s Letter Writing Contest.

While some of these contests have already ended, others, such as the Children’s Art Contest held in partnership with the Gabarron Foundation are still ongoing until 30 December 2011.

The site also showcases Forests 2011 celebrations happening all over the world with a more  accessible calendar that enables visitors to register their events. Overall, the new website also creates a more user-friendly experience through the addition of sidebars that link to other areas of interest on the site, a frequently asked questions page with answers to common questions and an RSS feed with the latest forest headlines.