"British Council Case Study" talk given at the
"Institutional Web Managment" WorkshopThe British Council promotes British expertise and learning world-wide. It has exploited the power of the Internet to disseminate information and services to a global audience through it's distributed Web services. At present it maintains 16,000 HTML files which are delivered from a network of approximately 200 Web authors based in 109 countries. This network is complimented by 20 local Web servers located in the larger offices overseas which are mirrored on a daily basis.
Despite the disparate nature of the operations the site has maintained a strong corporate identity. This has been achieved through a combination of training and centralised quality assurance procedures. The operation now enables between 50 and 300 Web pages to be updated daily, co-ordinated by a core team of six. The site is currently being redesigned according to the Council's new vision and brand identity. The challenge lies with promulgating new corporate standards and technologies to Web authors world-wide whilst keeping abreast of Web developments.
Paul Squires studied Film Studies and Information Technology at the University of North London and continued there as a lecturer and researcher into Web technologies. He joined the British Council in January 1998 as the Webmaster..