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The New URI.org: What you need to know, part 1

We "flipped the switch" yesterday evening. As I write this post, the new URI.org is propagating throughout the Internet so it can replace the old web site and online community with something quite special, the site that you are viewing now.

Many thanks are in order to all who helped make this site possible. We appreciate the work of Kristin Swenson, Cory Robertson and Stephen Fuqua who helped create different aspects of URI's presence on the Internet in the early days of URI.

We appreciate the work of Deepak Jagannath, who continued to build and maintain the site that we have known in recent years and created a Members area then an Online Community. We especially appreciate all the members of the URI community who provided leadership and stories for these places on the web.

Now, with the creative and technical genius of Hot Studio and Emerge Interactive, and all those who supported the redesign project financially, creatively and with months and months of effort, URI has a website that will

• Show (not just tell) URI's global unity, bridge-building, peacebuilding, and interfaith purpose online.
• Attract new generations of members and donors by energizing and engaging audiences to take action through the website.
• Create reasons to give by demonstrating URI's effectiveness and mission.
• Be a resource for Cooperation Circles and Regional offices and help them effectively communicate and leverage the global unity of URI.
• Inspire all people to act for social change and create cultures ofpeace throughout the world that are inline with URI's Purpose, Preamble, and Principles.
• Help grow URI as an organization by expanding its outreach and impact throughout the world.

There is so much to explore in this version of the website. Over the coming days and weeks, I'll be posting here to highlight the different features and offer suggestions to make the most of your visit. If you haven't already done so, register to be a member of the new URI.org, so that you can comment on blog posts and participate in the forums.

On behalf of the website redesign team at URI (Barbara Hartford, Regan Murphy, Deepak Jagannath and I) and other staff (especially Debra Bernstein, Rory Brown, Michelle Clark, Brittany Hutchison, Sam Ruben) and volunteers (Meeta Arcuri, Chris Preimesberger) who helped with important tasks for moving this project forward...

Welcome to the new URI.org!