The University of Minho, the Agency for Administrative Modernization (AMA) and the United Nations University – Operational Unit in Electronic Governance (UNU-EGOV) presented on the 20th, the results of the Index of Internet Presence of Municipalities (IPIC). The public session took place at 17h00, in the Paço Gallery – Rectory of UMinho, in Braga, with several speakers and the presence of dozens of heads of municipalities from all over the country.

The event included speeches by AMA President João Dias, the IPIC project team – Delfina Sá Soares, Luís Amaral, Mariana Lameiras and Luís Miguel Ferreira -, and the Director for Digital Transition of the Technological Center of Textile and Clothing Industries of Portugal (CITEVE), João Nuno Oliveira. The program also included the awarding of diplomas to the municipalities ranked in the top ten positions in the overall index, as well as in four categories: type and update of content; accessibility, navigability and ease of use; online services; and participation.

This is the 11th edition of the IPIC, which was created in 1999 by GÁVEA – Information Society Observatory, linked to the School of Engineering of UMinho, to periodically analyze the online presence of national municipalities. The initiative also follows the resolution of the Council of Ministers 22/2001, which advocates a regular evaluation of the websites of the State’s direct and indirect administration bodies. The first edition of the IPIC studied the 153 portals of municipalities that had an online presence at the time. As of 2009, all 308 national municipalities now have an official website in the digital world.