National contest WebTop reaches seventh edition

The virtual space in Moldova is now by several websites larger. The awarding of prizes to the winners of the seventh national contest of the best websites created in and for Moldova, WebTop, will take place on April 18 at the Cultural Center “Ginta Latina”, Info-Prim Neo reports. According to organizers, WebTop promotes the use of the Internet as space for presentation and promotion, as environment for business and online transactions and as place where one can gain knowledge, find information or express oneself freely. This year the contest is organized by Soros Foundation Moldova in partnership with UNDP’s Project “Building Electronic Governance in Moldova”, which also supported the previous editions of the competition. According to a press release, 236 applications had been filed for this year’s contest. Out of these, 204 applications have been validated. A number of 165 applications have been admitted to the main contest. The awarding ceremony will be attended by representatives of the Ministry of Information Development, UNDP Moldova, SOROS Foundation and other donor organizations. The members of the jury, the contest participants and experts in information technology and communications will also participate in the event. Singer Geta Burlacu and the band Snails will give a concert. WebTop was launched in 2001 by Soros Foundation Moldova, when it brought together 49 participants in two thematic categories. A number of 331 websites divided into 14 categories competed in the sixth edition of the contest. The contest is organized with joint efforts from Soros Foundation, UNDP Moldova, and the Ministry of Information Development. The partners of this year’s contest are DNT Association and the companies Simpals and Star Net. Among the media partners are Info-Prim Neo News Agency, the Techno Style magazine, Noroc Radio, Kiss FM Radio. The mass media representatives that want to take part in the WebTop awarding ceremony are asked to confirm their participation until April 18, by 13.00. The contact person is Lidia Marchitan, assistant of the UNDP Project “Building Electronic Governance in Moldova”, tel. 25 70 32; e-mail: lidia.marchitan@undp.org For additional information, contact the Communication Consultant Natalia Costas, tel. (373 22) 21 07 24; mobile 069221141; e-mail: natalia.costas@un.md