Africa Rural Connect 3.0 is Live!

After months of hard work, the National Peace Corps Association's Africa Rural Connect team has launched additional interactive tools and features in order to maximize the collaborative experience for members of Africa Rural Connect.

Revamped Ideas Page

Now, every idea page has 3 tabs: Idea, Remixes, and Activity

Idea – View text and media attachments of the idea (including any images or videos that the user has uploaded).

Remixes – Africa Rural Connect is unique. Check out the clear graphic timeline that visually chronicles the number of comments, endorsements, and pledges that the idea receives each month. There is also a list of remixes of the idea.

Activity – See which users took action to support an idea, from endorsements, to pledges, to comments. “Post a Comment” on an idea or “Follow it” to receive notifications on your dashboard whenever interaction takes place on this idea.

Faster and Easier Interaction

• Profiles – On each profile, see the user’s activities, including separate lists for their remixes, posted ideas, comments, endorsements, pledges, as well as ideas they are following. Connect with others who share your passion for development in that country or who have resources to help you. Profiles also feature basic info on the user and the ARC Community badges that they may have earned.

You can also select the "Send Message" button to contact the user.

To access your own profile, go to the "My Profile" tab under "Browse Ideas."

Take a few minutes to update your profile's content and photo so ARC members and potential collaborators get a better idea of your work.

• My Dashboard – A private space for each user, the dashboard has two key features:
  • Notifications – You can see all recent activity on ideas that you are following, as well as summaries on your recent interactions.

• Messages – You can now send and receive messages to and from other ARC community members. This is where your inbox and outbox can be found.

“Following” Ideas

The “Follow It!” button can be found on the “Activity” tab on every idea.

• “Follow” an idea that you find interesting or want to know more about.
• Receive notifications on your dashboard whenever there is any activity on that idea, whether its comments or remixes.
• Follow as many ideas as you want to stay up-to-date on their progress.

Search Improvements

Now, not only can you search ideas by key words but you also can tailor your search based on the country in which the proposed idea is located. Find projects and ideas in specific countries. Search by Profiles in order to find specific users.

Take some time to check out the new Africa Rural Connect for yourself. We think that all of these updates will help aid your efforts to improve the lives of rural communities in Africa. Thank you for your support and the feedback that helped us bring about these changes.