National multiprofessional online youthwork

Brief History

Started as a project in 2004

Project involved 4 capitol area citiesMain goals were to find out how to make contact to teens online and how to imply youthwork methods to online enviroments

Project ended in fall 2007

Netari.fi was included to governments Development Programme for Child And Youth Policy

Since 2008 work has evolved to nationwide, multiprofessional online youth work.

Organisation- 26 municipalities- 70 youth workers around Finland, - 11 person team coordinating and developing- Supported by Ministry of Education and Ministry of Social Affairs and Health

- Multiprofessional: 1. Health Centre of City of Helsinki

-3 professional webnurses 2. Social services department of City of Helsinki

-1 Project planner, 1 social worker, 1 psychiatric nurse

3. Youth crime unit of Police department of city of Oulu - police officer working every Friday evening online

Netari functions online

Operates in already popular social network sites.

Tehnical solutions mainly from service providers, youth work adaptation from Netari.fi

Quick contact to large amount of teenagers in Finland in main target group (13-18 years old)

Work is mainly done within opening hours, 12 opening hours per week

Depending on environment there is 4 to 10 workers online at the same time from different cities. They are connected via VoIP-connection. Collective work method.

Peer tutors are trained by youth workers, tutors work alongside as volunteer with youth workers. They chat online, organise meets and camps.

Netari.fi-site is meant to be informational site to public, peer tutors and youth workers have forums, shoutbox etc. behind log in

Netari environments - Habbo

Habbo is based in 2000, localized versions in 32 countries

13 000 000 unique visitors per month world wide, Finland and UK most active countries.

Basically 2D-avatar chat with most of web 2.0 tools such as IM, tagging, groups, games, user generated content, sharing and modding of it etc.

Opens on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday between 17.00-20.30

Average age of visitors is approx. 12 years, in Netari-room 13 years,

Netari environments – IRC-Gallery

IRC-Gallery was established in 2001 by users of Internet Relay Chat aka IRC

App. 500 000 users

Average age of users is 20,64 years, Netari focuses on teens from 15 to 18 years of age

Basic SNS-structure, Profile, friends, communication, photogallery, commenting and diary etc.

Netari-chats opens on mondays, thursdays between 18.00-21.00 and on fridays and saturdays between 19.00-22.00

Netari environments – Netari-tv

-Netari-tv started as cooperation pilot between Netari.fi and Finland's national public service broadcasting company YLE

-Netari-tv combines elements of web-tv, chatting and interactivity between watchers, chatters, host and visitors of the show

-Aims of Netari-tv is to provide low threshold possibilities to participate to netari-tv´s broadcasts in many ways

Future Netari environments – Demi.fi and Facebook

In the fall of 2010 Netari starts online youth work in two new environments

1. Demi.fi

2. Facebook

Plans to start the greatest, biggest and best online youth house in summer 2010

Netari and social media – Facebook Fanpage

Netari and social media – Twitter

Netari and social media – Delicious

Netari-discussion topics

Main discussion topics are within few main categories:

1. Family/Home- Relationships within family, with parents, siblings, relatives- Problems with communication, substance abuse, domestic abuse- Separation from home

2. School/Studies/Education- study motivation, school success, education orientation, future plans- communication with fellow students, teachers- bullying, problems with classmates etc.

3. Leisuretime- Hobbies, music, sports, culture, - Substance experiments/use- “I’ve got nothing to do”, motivation to pick up and carry some activities - Health (mental/physical), depression, anxiety

Topics and points of view vary on age of participants and therefore between environments

Netari-visitors2007: 55 000 visitors - > 6500 discussions2008: 120 000 visitors - > 10 000 discussions2009: 159 000 visitors - > 18 000 discussions

Aims:To carry out and develop national youth work performed over the Internet. The project’s target is to make contact with that section of youth who spend a large part of their time in various Internet environments.

Through multi-professional cooperation, the project aims to lower the threshold for those youths using the facility to seek social and health services when necessary. The plan is to also bring the services, through the Netari operation, straight to the Internet environments popular among young people.

DevelopmentTraining and education

- National online youth work training twice a year- Topic-trainings via VoIP-connection- Seminars and conferences- Co-operation with main applied sciences universities

Publications- blog on The Finnish Youth Research Society's page- online youth work manuals - link- study book will be published in spring 2011

Research- Two user group surveys per year- Workers fill a surveys after every working hour and private conversation- Involved with The Finnish Youth Research Society's research

Requirements for workers• Embracing of the new working environment

Perceiving internet as a structure, space, rules, cultures, ethics and norms- Some has fluent internet skills, some start to practise- Differences of techniques

• Differences in communication- Comparing to traditional communication and discussion:- What is missing, something compensatory, pros and cons- Intensity and distance

• Considering the physical work surroundings- Different organisation cultures and attitudes towards internet and online youth work - Ergonomics- Work safety issues

Changes in Finnish youth work in last decade

- Internet sites started in 1990´s – more static and information based systems- Online youth work has started in the beginning of new century- At the moment:

Established activities and organisationsNew ideas and embracing the social mediaIntegration between operators and agencies

Possible youth work process or timeline?- 1990´s Virtual youth work- 2000 E-youth work- 2010 -> ubiquitous youth work?

DiscoveriesPrinciple to be available, not squeezing in

Stability of contact, regularity and trustworthiness very important

Communication online is very intense and rich

It takes time and resources, just like anything else human relation work

Online tools offer low threshold to make contact and to discuss different topics