New Wegora Software Platform Powers Africa Rural Connect

Online, October 15, 2009 (Newswire.com) - National Peace Corps Association
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 15, 2009
PRESS RELEASE

Contact: Alison Beckwith, 202-536-4077, [email protected]

New Wegora™ Software Platform Powers Africa Rural Connect
Unique technology fuels collaborative thinking to help African farmers be more sustainable

Washington, D.C. - Hosted by The National Peace Corps Association (NPCA), Africa Rural Connect (ARC) is a unique online community that's powered by a new software platform called Wegora™. This program fosters collaborative thinking by allowing users to engage with each other and share ideas to develop ways to solve rural Africa's greatest challenges. Built on the premise that collaboration leads to the best and most innovative ideas, ARC is building on the experience of people all around the world who want to share their expertise and personal insight to help create long-term, sustainable solutions that remedy hunger and poverty in Africa.

"We think Africa Rural Connect will be the first of many Web sites that use the Wegora platform to create online discussions surrounding international development issues," adds Rory Kelly, founder and CEO of Wegora. "Collaborative thinking about problems like hunger and poverty no longer needs to be around a conference table-it can all happen just the same online."

There are two distinct features that make the Wegora platform unique: First, this platform helps new ideas proliferate through non-linear, market-based remixing, which empowers users to build off each other's ideas instead of merely creating new versions of them. Second, innovative semantic analytics, targeted search and ranking algorithms focus users' creativity to deliver clear, comprehensible messages to organizations and businesses fostering a dynamic and creative interaction between users.

Because the Wegora platform allows users to edit content unlike any other software program available, NPCA licensed Wegora earlier in the summer to power the ARC Web site, which launched in July. Wegora has helped the association bring together current and returned Peace Corps volunteers, the African diaspora and others interested in developing new and effective ways to tackle a host of challenges facing rural Africa to empower farmers and strengthen agricultural development.

"We've been seeing a lot of desire from returned Peace Corps volunteers who served in Africa who want to continue being a part of the discussion and contribute on some level after their two-year commitment," says Molly Mattessich, manager of Africa Rural Connect and a former Mali Peace Corps volunteer. "The Wegora platform is making that possible."

The NPCA is a non-profit, membership-based alumni organization that serves all returned Peace Corps Volunteers and former staff, as well as Peace Corps family, friends, and supporters.

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The next round of the ARC online contest closes October 15. To bring your best ideas for Africa to the ARC community, please visit: www.AfricaRuralConnect.org.

About The National Peace Corps Association (NPCA)
The National Peace Corps Association is a 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization connecting, informing and engaging returned Peace Corps Volunteers, former Peace Corps staff and friends of Peace Corps committed to fostering peace through service, education and advocacy. The NPCA network also includes 140 member groups across the U.S. For more information, visit: http://www.PeaceCorpsConnect.org.

About Wegora
Wegora is a collaborative writing platform that gives businesses, non-profits, elected officials, and others the opportunity to engage the public with their ideas. For more information, visit: http://www.wegora.com.

-To learn more about Africa Rural Connect, visit: http://www.AfricaRuralConnect.org/
-Follow us on Facebook at: http://www.facebook.com/PeaceCorpsConnect
-Join the Twitter conversation @ideasforafrica and use hashtag #ideasforafrica.
-To join the conversation through your mobile phone, dial: 001.202.316.7310 and punch in "ideas."