MacArthur has announced a grant of $250,000 to the OneWorld International Foundation in support of its online media network designed to help civil society organizations bring greater attention to human rights and sustainable development issues worldwide.

OneWorld is an online gateway into news and commentary from a network of 6,500 nongovernmental organizations, radio broadcasters and video producers working to improve peoples lives around the world. Using the newest communications technologies, OneWorld has made it possible for these organizations to upload information they have generatedincluding text, images, audio and video contentonto the OneWorld web portal, www.oneworld.net, for sharing with global and local audiences. OneWorld has become a resource for many mainstream media outlets looking for information and news stories from fresh perspectives.

Modern technology makes it possible to broaden the sources of reliable information and bring a greater diversity of voices into the public debate about such topics as human rights and environmental sustainability, said Jonathan Fanton, President of the MacArthur Foundation. In harnessing the power of new communications technologies, the OneWorld network allows thousands of organizations around the worldranging from community groups in rural Africa to large nongovernmental organizations such as Human Rights Watchto provide alternative perspectives on pressing global social issues.

Operating in 12 languages, OneWorld Centers in Africa, the Americas, Asia and Europe publish country and regional editions of the OneWorld web portal. A radio and video news service, thematic portal sites on HIV/AIDS and the digital divide, and the Open Knowledge Network (OKN) help complement OneWorlds work towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals, which commit the international community to an expanded vision of development. The OKN was designed to help remote communities access information to improve their lives and to help disseminate local knowledge to a global audience.

With MacArthur support, the OneWorld daily headline service and the OneWorld Yahoo service will be able to tap into a large audience with a hunger for authentic and diverse global voices and stories, said Larry Kirkman, chairman of the board of the OneWorld International Foundation and Dean of the School of Communications at American University. The events of 9/11 and the war in Iraq have triggered an upsurge of interest in international affairs, global interdependence, and multilateral problem solving. OneWorld is positioned to respond to this demand, with a focus on young peoplethose with the greatest stake in the future and those whose values are still taking shape. Finding new ways to inform, involve and equip college and university audiences in the United States lies at the heart of any long-range plan to build effective, articulate support for a just and sustainable world order.

OneWorld International Foundation is based in London, United Kingdom, and has regional centers in the Netherlands, Spain, Finland, Zambia, Canada, India, Costa Rica, Italy, Austria, and the U.S. Each center manages the partnerships with nonprofit organizations within the region and houses an editorial team that puts together the regional OneWorld website.