Hallo and Willkommen, this is Berlin speaking. Welcome to our almost real time coverage of "Youth Information 2.0", the European Conference on challenges and opportunities of web based youth information and youth portals. That sure is a long title and it already foreshadows the next four days' various takes onto this complex matter.
The conference started with a row of introductory talks, first by Marie-Luise Dreber, Director of Germany's IJAB, the international Youth Service of Germany, who has been heading the conference organization. Dreber praised the cooperation of all the eurpean agencies commited to the conference. Three years after the last conference on this topic there are already several new developments to keep up with, she said.
Gerd Hoofe, Secretary of State at Germany's Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth focused on the role computers and networks have in the everyday world of education today. He cited a recent German study that found that over 80 percent of juveniles aged 12 to 19 use the internet on a regular basis. There still is a certain slope regarding the educational level of the young people, meaning that those better educated have a greater chance of using the new means of communication. Hoofe compared the new participatory models of web 2.0 tools to the idea of direct democracy and drew an analogy of active online collaboration and active citizenship. This is one of the main reasons the German government feels commited to educate young people in the use of these new tools. Participation is a key element for a working democratic society. Hoofe also mentioned the role of accessibility in his speech, pointing out that internet services should not deprive disabled users of their participation, as the web is a place where they basically are able to communicate without the barriers their disability causes in everyday life.
Next up on stage was Pierre Mairesse, who is Director of Youth at the European Commission. Mairesse talked about the different national youth portals on the web. Of the 27 member countries, 18 have a dedicated online portal for Youth Information. A very important aspect, according to Mairesse, is the multilinguality of these portals, as it helps connection across borders and between the member states.
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