Project Screenshot:
Quick Facts:
- Project Type: Implementation
- Domain: Web Portal/CMS
- Timeframe: 16 weeks
- Technologies Used: Drupal CMS, PHP, Apache web server
- URL: http://www.parksegypt.org
Scope:
The Egyptian Ministry of State For Environmental Affairs requested a bilingual dynamic web portal focusing on Egypt's Natural Parks. The initiative is known as "Parks Egypt" and its mission is to maintain a well-managed, representative system of parks conserving natural resources, contributing to sustainable economic growth and providing education, inspiration and enjoyment for all. The web portal is an integral part of this initiative since it is providing a plethora of information about Egypt's natural parks as well as building a thriving community of nature enthusiasts, and encouraging an appreciation of the environment’s inherent values and beauty. The portal allows users to share information, start discussions, subscribe to newsletters, inform the community of events, and get feedback from visitors. It also allows rangers and other registered users to blog about their experiences, observations, and share their ideas with their peers. OpenCraft was responsible for the following:
- Developing the portal, theme and all required functionality
- Deploying the portal and ensuring its technical maintenance
- Training the ministry's staff on uploading and editing content as well as fully administering the portal which included adding new parks, new photos, and new sections to the site
Execution:
The open source content management system Drupal was used to implement the Parks Egypt portal. OpenCraft designed, configured, customized and extended the system to fulfill the client needs. The list of features developed include:
- Ability to add a new Park along with its map, sections, attractions, and photo gallery without the need to involve any technical staff. This has been done using Drupal's relativity module in conjunction with the CCK and views modules
- Having a different color theme for each region in Egypt which required extensive customization of the template code
- Ability to browse parks by interest and activity
- Ability for certain user roles to publish and read blogs
- Restricting access to certain content to specific user roles
- Development of a new module to handle the translation of views and search filters, and which was subsequently contributed back to the Drupal community
Client Profile:
The Egyptian Ministry of State For Environmental Affairs was established in June 1997. It focuses, in close collaboration with the national and international development partners, on defining environmental policies, setting priorities and implementing initiatives within a context of sustainable development.