BALTIC YOUTH NETWORK

In 1997 a group of young people in Rostock was established to develop a new source of information and a possibility for communication through connections with schools. Because the eight young people live in different cities they needed the Internet for their work anyway and developed this instrument to the concept of their project.

They want to offer a forum in the Internet for young people to get in contact with each other, to solve together problems with homework, to find information relevant for school in on-line libraries and to just talk about music and soccer.

At the Pax Baltica Teenager Symposium in 1998 in Karlskrona, Sweden, they decided to co-operate with the other young people from the whole BSR. The on-line server - still in the phase of development - should be completed by information about the Baltic States and Belarus, and of course also be open for young people in this region. So the project - since 1999 with the name Baltic Youth Network - changed from a regional school network to a European Youth Podium and Info-Service on topics like school, spare time and more about politics.

Since this time the eight members of the group work on the online service. Many programmes (e. g. the connection of articles and composition to the database) must be programmed by the young people themselves, so sponsors and authors must be found. For this reasons Baltic Youth Network became a registered NGO in spring 2000.

In a few weeks the technical preparation will be finished. Then web sites have to be designed, editorial staff has to be organised, information must be collected and advertisement must be started. The Baltic Youth Network is looking for volunteers to support the eight young.