The "KIDS-91" project newsletter A global dialog for children 10-15 years Issue number 1, June 17 1990 Art by Karina Vestfossen de Presno, 1990

1. ABOUT THE PROJECT

The KIDS-91 project is a grassroot movement aiming at getting as many children as possible involved in a GLOBAL dialog starting NOW and going on until May 12th 1991.
We want children's responses to the following questions: 1) Who am I?, 2) What do I want to be when I grow up?, 3) How do I want the world to be better when I grow up? 4) What can I do now to make this happen?
We also want them to visualize their vision in some way, for example by making a drawing, using computer graphics, video tape, or whatever.
The main means of collecting the responses will be through global electronic computer conferencing. Other means of communication will be used where access to computer conferencing is difficult for technical, economic, or other reasons.
On May 12th, 1991, the children will be invited to "chat" with each other in a huge, global electronic dialog. Exhibitions of selected parts of the responses will be shipped back to the children of the world for them to see and enjoy.

2. THE KIDS-91 NEWSLETTER

One of the challenges of a project as distributed as this, is to keep participants, sponsors, mediators, promoters, and other folks informed. This is the simple purpose of this newsletter.
Please distribute it to all onand offline communities which have received our initial invitation to participate.
The editor of this issue is: Odd de Presno, Saltrod, Norway. His online addresses: CompuServe=75755,1327, TWICS (Tokyo)=ODDPRESNO, MCI Mail=OPRESNO, MicroLink (United Kingdom)=MAG220. BBS at +47 41 31378 (300-9600 bps CCITT. V.22bis, V.32 up to MNP-5) Internet: opresno@ulrik.uio.no
Saltrod, June 17 1990.

3. PROGRESS REPORT

The "KIDS-91" project started on May 25th 1990 following a wildly successful online dialog between kids in North America and Norway between April 30 and May 13th.
The "MAY 13TH"-project started with a hope for a simple cross- Atlantic online chat, but grew into a 260-kid conferencing project, a BIG chat on the 13th, a set of exhibitions currently touring the participating countries, and an open letter to the Environmental Protection conference in Bergen.
We want "KIDS-91" to be "bigger" and "wilder" in many respects. One objective is to involve children on all continents. We want them online, directly or indirectly via a third person.
The invitation chain letter has already made it to BBS-systems and online services in Norway, the United States, Canada, Japan, Australia, the United Kingdom, and it has been sent by mail to Lithuania.
Many of these online services have an international membership, among these notably CompuServe, the en.announcement conference on EcoNet, TWICS in Tokyo, the global TELETEACHING-90 project (through university networks), and FIDO-net. The letter is therefore rumoured to have reached Hong Kong, Singapore, New Zealand, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, the Soviet Union, and Turkey.
If you have seen it posted in places not mentioned here, please tell. We want to know where it has not arrived yet. And if you can help it get to those places, then we thank you.
We want as many online communities as possible involved. "KIDS-91" should be a truly distributed online project - with a link 'back' to the project's project coordinators.
Our 'Mission Control Center' has been set up as a conference called "KIDS91" on SciNet in Toronto, Canada. A high level of planning activity has taken place there during the start-up of the project.
The conference room has already been set up for the receipt of responses from participating kids. The first were entered on June 7th. Here they are:

4. THE FIRST RESPONSES

Item 11 31-MAY-90 18:32 Nancy Stefanik
Question #1: Who Am I?
Say a little about yourself. What is your name? How old are you? What are some of your interests, your hobbies, your concerns? What else do you want others to know about yourself?
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11:1) Krystal Belchior 07-JUN-90 20:11
Hello, I'm 14 and I like N.K.O.T.B and teddies. I live in Fenwick Ontario. With a horse, hammie (hamster) Tons of cats (do you want one?? :) ), chickens, dogs, and a budgie. I hope some one else will get on here so I'm not the only one (kid) here!! :)

Item 12 31-MAY-90 18:34 Nancy Stefanik
Question #2: What Do I Want To Be When I Grow Up?
Share your vision of what you want to be when you grow up in terms of work, education, and in general.
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12:1) Krystal Belchior 07-JUN-90 20:13
Talk about a tough question!! If you want to know the honest truth I have absolutly no idea what I want to be but I just take tons of differn't courses and wait and see!! :)

Item 13 31-MAY-90 18:36 Nancy Stefanik
Question #3: How Do You Want The World To Be Better When You Grow Up?
How would you like to improve the way we treat each other and the environment we share?
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13:1) Krystal Belchior 07-JUN-90 20:15
I want the world to be better by: More tress and land, less building, more people recycleing, no, no more wars, no more
drugs, a cure for aids and no more pollution!

Item 14 31-MAY-90 18:39 Nancy Stefanik
Question #4: What Can I Do Now To Make This Happen?
What steps can you take now to realize your personal goals and your vision of the world?
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14:1) Krystal Belchior 07-JUN-90 20:17
I can recycle paper,pop cans and plastic. Pick up garbage instead of throwing it on the ground and try not to waste water.

5. FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT KIDS-91

or if you want to help out or participate, please contact one of the people given in the chain letter for more information, or write to SciNet,
339 Wellesley Street East, Toronto, Ontario, M4X 1H2, Canada