ANNUAL REPORT 2014–2015 The APF is well recognised as the most effective regional network NHRIs in the world. I think it speaks volumes for the way APF has been able to work and to get a disparate group in Asia to work together. TAN SRI HASMY AGAM CHAIRPERSON, HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION OF MALAYSIA SOURCE: APF INTERVIEW, DECEMBER 2014 The APF has already taken steps to implement the Program of Action and Support by developing a manual for NHRIs on sexual orientation and gender identity. This manual will be used in a blended learning training program for APF members. NETWORKING AMONG APF TRAINING PARTICIPANTS As a follow up to APF training programs, participants are invited to stay in touch with each other via social media and continue to share experiences and information. For example, Facebook groups were established for participants who took part in the training course on the rights of women and girls (organised by a participant from the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission) and the training course on the rights of indigenous peoples. The WhatsApp SMS application has been particularly useful for post-workshop networking in West Asia, with an SMS group started by the participants of an Arabiclanguage course in 2013 still ongoing as of early 2015. 2. Communication The APF uses a number of channels to communicate with members, partners and other stakeholders, including the APF website, the monthly APF Bulletin, email broadcasts and posting video resources on YouTube. A focus on gender equality and the rights of women and girls is reflected in the news articles, events, videos and other materials that are collected and published across the APF’s communication channels. Over the past year, 35 gender-related articles, videos and other resources were featured in the APF Bulletin (equivalent to 3.66 items in each APF Bulletin). While English is the agreed common language of the APF, the diversity of languages in use across the countries of our 22 members remains a major barrier to effective communication. Advice and feedback will be sought on an ongoing basis from members of the APF Communications Network to identify effective approaches to address language barriers and to improve access to the APF information and resources. Figure 2: Member rating on quality and relevance of APF communications 12 11 9 6 13 11 9 10 Our members strongly endorsed the usefulness and relevance of the APF’s communication activities in 2014–15. There were 45,631 visits to the APF website in the past 12 months, with 113,569 page views. This is broadly equivalent to figures from previous years. Most visits to the website (60%) came from search traffic, while 18% of visits resulted from the APF Bulletin emails. The APF Bulletin was very well utilised by subscribers and continues to perform well above industry benchmarks for non-profit organisations. In 2014–15, it had an average unique open rate of 36.7% (industry benchmark 25.6%) and an average click through rate of 42.8% (industry benchmark 3.0%). 1 The APF email broadcasts provide relevant information very high 1 The APF email broadcasts provide information in a timely manner high 3 2 The APF website provides content that is relevant medium low The monthly APF Bulletin provides content that is relevant very low Source: APF Member Survey 2015 19