The Kidlink history short version

The first online dialog initiatives were taken on 16th November of 1989. Odd de Presno tells about it in Kidlink Newsletter 2:

On November 16 1989, Odd de Presno opened a public conference there called YOUNG TALK PLAN. Its purpose was to discuss the opening of an online forum for kids. A few months later, it resulted in these two messages: "YOUNG TALK" by ODD DE PRESNO, Jan. 18, 1990 at 16:39 about INTERNATIONAL ONLINE CLUB FOR CHILDREN (341 characters & 1 note) They are invited to an international online club for kids. ADULTS have READ-ONLY status. Anybody older than 15 is Old (!). Join "YOUNG TALK" and give your child(ren) a unique opportunity to make new friends around the globe.

It looks like this dialog idea was born during the previous Arendal Culture Week. Anne-Tove Vestvossen tells us the story in Kidart History:

"To get the whole amazing picture of the developing of KidArt, we have to start with the very beginning - the prehistory of Kidlink.....in the "incubator" of Arendal International Childrens Cultural Week (Norway).

Kidlink's embryonic stage was called Norlink.. Odd de Presno's idea was "with the help of some friends" to create a communication between kids on the net as a project for The Culture Week, founded the year before by his wife, Anne-Tove Vestfossen. To have something meaningful to response to, the kids, besides introducing themselves to eachother, should answer two questions:

1. What do you want the world to look like when you grow up.
2. Do you believe that there is anything that children can do to make it become like that? (Ref. formal invitation from Arendal Cultural Week by Anne-Tove Vestfossen, put online by her husband Odd de Presno 30th of April 1990.)

In the same letter the kids also were asked to send visual greetings to the kids in Arendal by fax,- being promised that they would get faxes from kids in Arendal in return. (The transfer of artworks on the net at that time was hardly heard of). And soon artworks arrived by fax, mainly from Newfoundland (Canada), Tromsø (North-Norway) and by hand and snailmail from different schools in the Arendal region...

This first small exhibition - (actually rather big, considering the short time from invitation sent out, until the exhibition opening) "happened" on the walls outside AustAgder Museum's Auditorium, Arendal, where the first chat arrangement took place 13th of May on computers and a big screen as part of Arendal International Childrens week. 11th-19th of May 1990. The audience in Arendal was not very big....Few understood what it was all about....

The Norlink-Exhibition flies to California!!
The people attending the Conference in San Francisco, a few weeks later, however showed a more qualified interest... When Odd hanged the long printouts of the answers and the faxed and original illustrations on the walls outside the conference hall, people joined to see and help

This picture: received the 11th of May 1990, from Suzanna Simmonds
Sorensen, USA, was the first visual answer to the questions in the invitation
to the project Norlink in Arendal International Childrens Culture week. (Norway)  
We do not know how old she was.
But we know it was sent by fax from her school's Dean's office.

The "happening" from Arendal appeared to contain more energy than anyone had suspected. Some of the people at the conference: Nancy Stefanic US - who had already been an active supporter to get the Norlink project coordinated on the net and Knut Bråtane Norway, joined forces with Odd. They set up a meeting, and "there an then" decided to work together to build up "a global communicationservice for Kids online".

Nancy Stefanik, who organized the first International youth dialog in San Francisco, together with Odd de Presno and Knut Bråtane, tells about her involvmente in Kidlink Newsletter 2:

"I was involved with KIDLINK at the very beginning, when I saw Odd's original messaging inquiring if anyone knew any kids who wanted to chat with kids in Norway attending a Saltrod gala for kids that his wife Anne-Tove was organizing. I happened to be supporting several
teachers new to telecom on SciLink, a new Toronto-based computer network for science teachers, and figured a few would be interested. And they were. The incredible energy that was released the next few weeks was proof that kids ages 10-15 would make great use of a forum dedicated to their dialog. Odd and I dreamed and laughed KIDS-91 into existence at the Electronic Networking Association (now defunct) conference in San Francisco a few weeks later."

Patricia Week, Maryland, wrote a special globalclassroom page dedicated to Kidlink's birth in San Francisco:

"The Electronic Networking Association Conference, "ONLINE NETWORKING: COLLABORATING IN THE GLOBAL 90S," opened its doors on May 23, 1990 in San Francisco. Three pioneers in global networking attended the conference and brought with them posters, printouts, pictures, and drawings from an online conference they held two weeks prior to the ENA conference. Odd de Presno (Norway) and Nancy Stefanik (Canada) brought together 260 children from Norway, Canada and the US in a highly successful online conference held on the Canadian SciNet conferencing system. These two visionaries, along with Knut Braatane (Norway), traveled to San Francisco for the ENA conference. A crowd of impressed and interested conference attendees watched and assisted Odd, Nancy and Knut as they decorated the walls in a prominent display area with their visuals from the conference.

"The interest is phenomenal," Odd said to Nancy and Knut. "We can do conferencing for kids again, as an ongoing activity, or we can drop it. However, if we drop it, we must understand that we are leaving something important behind. I'm willing to do it, but not alone. If you are prepared to help, let's meet to write an online invitation letter, and an announcement to the participants of the ENA conference."

That afternoon - May 25, 1990, in a San Francisco hotel room, Kidlink was born."

Logo Copyright Anne-Tove Vestfossen, Norway