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In the global information society, young people are often the leading innovators in the use and spread of information and communication technologies (ICTs). Increasingly, youth are adapting and using these technologies (including, for example, telephone, fax, radio, television, film, computers and the Internet) to meet local information and communication needs. But young people can remain an untapped resource if decision-makers do not integrate their knowledge, vision and experience.

If at all there is an area where young people are leaders not just of tomorrow, but also of today, it is undoubtedly in the field of information and communication technologies. From Cameroon youth establishing net cafés, to Sri Lankan youth developing television programs, and the youth of Eastern Europe redefining political tactics through online activism - young people are at the forefront of transforming their societies through the information and communication revolution. Technology is what young people have (more than anyone else) grown up with, what they know more about than their parents and what gives them an edge. They are early adopters and adapters of technologies, ranging from mobile telephones to e-mail to instant messaging to radio and television.

With the introduction of the Internet, these young people have acquired a powerful new tool to connect and to communicate. Today, young people go online more than anyone else, they stay online longer, and they have more diverse online activities. For many young people, the Internet is becoming a major source of education, news, and entertainment, as well as a new domain of communication, indeed community. On the Internet, a youth’s community is no longer a physical neighbourhood, but the entire world - and friends might well be on the other side of the globe. Young people are therefore coming face to face with personal experiences - challenges similar or different to their own - that provide an imperative for action.

Young people are traditionally considered the most socially conscious and active segments of the population. They are concerned about environmental issues, the spread of HIV and other diseases, the lack of employment opportunities, economic inequality, and human rights. As students and young professionals, many seek to understand these issues and how their choices and actions impact others in their community and around the world. Given their lack of access to many formal institutions in society, young people have traditionally developed their own voluntary associations to address these challenges.

Increasingly, young people are developing hybrid institutions blending the management and funding strengths of small-scale for-profit enterprises with non-profit goals and outreach abilities. By focusing on their goals, these social enterprises are flexible in their ability to create partnerships in support of social and environmental change. Many youth organizations have embraced ICTs as a possible source of income as they seek to educate and involve others in resolving critical social issues. They want to ensure that the introduction of these technologies in their communities does not further widen existing social and economic gaps. They are thus often at the forefront of linking ICTs to development goals.

Many youth are already using technology for innovative social causes, often expanding access to information beyond those with personal access to technology. Yet, youth actions to bridge the digital divide often suffer from critical deficiencies:

l	Lack of mainstream support - youth-led ICT programs are rarely afforded the funding or recognition required to implement or replicate in a substantial or sustained manner.
l	Lack of participation in decision-making – youth are rarely involved in national, regional and international ICT policy development, meaning youth lack the framework, support and legitimacy required for sustained action, and policy implementation lacks buy-in from this key grassroots constituency.
l	Lack of communication – youth effort on ICTs is fragmented, often uninformed by what others practice, unconnected to a bigger picture, unable to leverage resources, and find moral and inspirational support.
l	Lack of continuity – youth, by definition, is a transitory demographic. As young people gain experience and move into adulthood, they often take their valuable experiences with them, leaving others to relearn the lessons of the past.

Our challenge is to address these deficiencies, recognizing and capitalizing upon young people - a vital stakeholder in creating a more inclusive Information Society. We must find a way to make existing youth leaders in ICTS for development more effective and to rapidly involve more youth in such activities. The pool of potential talent and energy is vast. According to the UN Secretary General’s report on the Implementation of the World Program of Action for Youth to the Year 2000 and Beyond, young people aged 15-24 equal more than 18% of the world population. At least 85% of these young people live in developing nations where they make up 40% of the population within their countries. These young people are only beginning to gain access to many forms of ICTs and to experiment with their use in a wide variety of social and cultural contexts.

If we take up the challenge of networking and engaging these young innovators, they will continue to act as development champions and focal points within their communities – leading to a more equitable, connected, and inclusive world.

A variety of forums and processes have engaged, informed and mobilized youth in activities related to the information society:

q	In 1995, the late Isao Okawa (owner of Japan’s CSK and SEGA Corporations) attended a G7 Summit in Geneva on the Global Information Infrastructure. Horrified that young people had been left out of the proceedings, upon his return to Japan he invited 50 young people from G7 nations to Tokyo where he held his own "Junior Summit" to discuss the role of technology in addressing critical world issues.
q	In 1998, Nicholas Negroponte, Chairman of the MIT Media Laboratory hosted a second Junior Summit in Cambridge, Massachusetts, expanding delegates to 50 countries and a further 90 countries via an online forum (with 3000 participants in all). This Summit led to an action plan and a number of concrete projects, as well as the establishment of the Okawa Center for Future Children and 'Nation 1'. Nation1 formulated and articulated a comprehensive vision of the potential for youth to use technology for positive change.
q	In 2000, the Global Knowledge Partnership convened a Youth Advisory Council to facilitate the "Youth: Building Knowledge Societies" e-conference. This event sought to determine youth priorities for action on ICTs for development as a critical input to the GKP Action Plan. More than 350 young people from 57 countries came together to explore how youth are using ICTs to produce, disseminate and use knowledge for sustainable development. This work was updated in 2001 when the Global Knowledge Partnership contracted IISD to facilitate the inclusion of youth perspectives into their report to the G8 DOT force. The initiatives identified through these processes were incorporated into the GKP Web site.
q	Also in 2000, two young Canadians began a cross-North American tour to drum up private sector and government support for TakingITGlobal - a non-profit initiative aimed at capitalizing on information technology to inform, inspire, and involve young people around the world. In late 2001, Nation1 merged with TakingITGlobal to better achieve their shared visions. Driven by youth, TakingITGlobal’s goal is to foster a sense of leadership and social entrepreneurship through the innovative use of technology, creating meaningful experiences for young people around the world.
q	Within the United Nations system, there has been much activity related to young people and ICTs. In 2001 alone, ICTs were a key topic of discussions and resolutions at the Fourth World Youth Forum of the United Nations in Dakar, Senegal, and at the Youth Forum of the UNESCO General Conference in Paris, France. The International Telecommunications Union also began sponsoring Youth Forums within their regional meetings as a way of broadening the talent pool of future leaders in the Information and Communication Technology sector.
q	International non-governmental forums focusing on youth and ICT issues in 2001 included the International Young Professionals Summit and the Oxfam International Youth Parliament.
q	In February 2002, the International Institute for Sustainable Development and TakingITGlobal launched the pilot portal for the "Youth, ICTs and Digital Opportunities Network (http://ict.takingitglobal.org/).

These activities have provided the basis for extensive networks of young people and their supporters. What remains is to integrate these efforts to ensure that young people can learn from each other’s experiences and provide meaningful input to global processes.

For that reason, the Global Knowledge Partnership, the International Institute for Sustainable Development, and TakingITGlobal have been working together to develop a framework strategy to nurture, promote and organize young people worldwide on matters of Information and Communications Technologies (ICTs) and Knowledge for Development. The resulting framework, Youth Creating Digital Opportunities, supports three activities - small tangible projects, an online ‘knowledge’ network, and youth participation within key decision-making forums. Within initial support from GKP members, these activities will be underway in time to facilitate youth participation in PrepCom 1 of the World Summit on the Information Society in July 2002. q

The BASIN Knowledge Model

The "Building Advisory Service and Information Network" was set up in 1988 to provide
information and advice on appropriate building technology and to create links with know- how resources in the world for all those in need of relevant information. It is a coalition of experts with worldwide experience in all aspects of the building sector and collects and provide customer oriented information on appropriate housing solutions.

BASIN manages a Knowledgebase, which is an extensive pool of information contributed by all its international network partners. It covers diverse practical issues and thus is a valuable source of wisdom gathered by organizations in the course of various works

implemented for housing solutions. To facilitate access, information has been categorized under four sections namely Documents, Equipment, Know-how resources and Question and Answers. The database serves to answer a wide variety of queries ranging from up-to-date information on manufacture, performance and availability of appropriate outputs and technology from around the world to effective management of local resources.

In addition, the BASIN website provides bibliographic records of publications of partners, full documents and information on projects and best practices of the network and its partners. BASIN News, the international newsletter of the network addresses various aspects of appropriate and affordable shelter through case studies of partners and is also accessible on the website. The BASIN model demonstrates an excellent initiative to facilitate knowledge management and information dissemination on housing, building and settlement development. q

The knowledgebase and the website can be accessed on www.gtz.de/basin