Wow! The 2006 International Weblog Awards are out, and Sunlight's been named the "Best Blog" in the world, by an international panel of thirteen bloggers! The competition, nicknamed Best of the Blogs (BOB) is organized by German broadcasting company Deutche-Welle. The panel judged thousands of blogs on the basis of their "prose, creativity, design, and user friendliness."

According to the contest organizers, "During a day-long conference, the BOBs jury members said they admired the Sunlight Foundation's work to increase transparency in government and called the project a positive example of how blogs can shape political discourse. The watchblog was also praised for its potential to be adapted for use in other countries."

We are beyond thrilled to have received this honor and recognition for our work. But, this award belongs, equally, to the citizen journalists who visit our blog, take part in the conversation, and collaborate with our staff to shine sunlight on the inner-workings of Congress. Without our online community of Sunlighters, our website wouldn't be as robust as it is. The idea that we have modeled something for other countries to emulate is also thrilling for us.