We want BarCampUKYouthOnline on the 17th May 2008 to be an accessible informal gathering for all who are interested in:

• Online information services for young people
• Supporting young people's online interaction and activity
• Researching young people and the internet/blogging/social networking etc.
• Developing online tools and platforms for young people
• Exploring online technologies in education and participation
• Young people's civic engagement online
• School councils online (Primary et. al.)
• On-line video and web radio with young people
• And more…

…to be able to come together, get into some practical and theoretical discussions, plan some action, and generally go away again better networks and with a better shared understanding of the challenges and opportunities presented by a digital generation.

Whether you're a:

• Youth worker;
• Web developer;
• Participation worker;
• Youth website manager;
• Reporter or broadcaster;
• Content commissioner;
• Researcher;
• Young person;
• Activity and campaigner;
• Youth website manager;
• or anyone else interested in the BarCampUKYouthOnline themes

We're hoping you'll feel you have something to contribute, and something to learn from the event. We're expecting we will have a bit of a techie focus at the event – but that we'll also be very much looking at how the digital realm affects the lived lives of young people – so, rather than the conventional BarCamp 'add your name to the wiki' sign up system, if you head over to the UK Youth Online page you should find a form where you can signal your intention to join us…

How will the event work?

1) As we get a sense of the level of interest we'll aim to track down a suitable venue in London (suggestions & help welcome…)

2) We all gather at the venue on the 17th May 2008 and we collectively set an agenda – a series of possible discussion streams and sessions based on the interests of those who are present.

3) You choose the discussions you want to take part in – join them, and see what happens

4) Throughout the day you build networks, ideas for action, new learning etc. As much of that learning as possible gets logged by bloggers, video bloggers and an active team at the event.

5) At some point later in the day we draw to a close and head off to the pub / some social venue where networking can continue…

6) Who knows?

Any questions? Do drop me a line or join the Google Group and ask away…

There are a lot of people working on supporting young people through the internet, or supporting young people to engage with the internet.

Whether it's the web officers who run local and national youth websites, the people encouraging online campaigning and volunteering, the youth team at Direct Gov, the students and academics studying young peoples identity and interaction online, the youth workers working out how to support young people online, the policy makers thinking about sensible response, the developers of services targetted at young people, the consultants and bloggers thinking about what social media means, or indeed young people themselves – there are a lot of people with important perspectives and experience and questions around:

• Online information services for young people
• Supporting young people's online interaction and activity
• Researching young people and the internet/blogging/social networking etc.
• Developing online tools and platforms for young people
• Exploring online technologies in education and participation
• Young people's civic engagement online
• And a whole lot more…

Well, inspired and encouraged by the success of BarCampUKGovWeb, and after lots of conversations with folk, I though we could probably do with a BarCampUKYouthOnline to draw together some of those threads, to bring together some of the people interesting in exploring these threads, and to build some networks and ideas for action. So let's organise it.

Provisionally I've put in 17th May 2008 as the date for the event – but that's about all that is decided so far. If you're interested in attending, getting involved in planning, or just finding out more – drop me an e-mail, edit the Wiki and join the Google Group mailing list. It would be great to have you on board…

Notes:

BarCamps are self-organised dynamic conferences created by the participants. The name is misleading, they've not officially got anything to do with alcohol.

Young People as I'm thinking of the category is broadly 11 – 19 year olds – although that's not a strict boundary on what we can talk about.

Update

I'd originally proposed 3rd May 2008 as the BarCamp date – but on realising this was a bank holiday weekend – am suggesting a switch to the 17th May.