Executive Summary
Kidlink's Approach

Kidlink is a global, non-profit user-owned organization
 headquartered in Norway. It is internationally recognized for its
 ICT-enhanced educational programs, and for international cooperation
 on the Internet. It has been extensively used by teachers
 around the world since the start in 1990.

We seek to achieve our goals by supporting formal and informal education. We enable teachers and adult coaches to: Motivate kids and youth to read, write, and do numbers; Motivate street kids to return to school; Guide kids and youth to strengthened self-esteem; Help kids and youth build inter-personal knowledge and action networks with peers in other places: Guide kids and youth to knowledge and experiences needed for starting and running a business.

The proposed educational process starts by letting groups of kids discuss basic questions about life. To guide them to knowledge about themselves, their place, rights, friends, families, and roots. The questions are provided by our free, multi-lingual Who-Am-I? educational program.

These sample questions are from the "Resolving disputes" lesson:

1. What causes disputes among people? Are misunderstandings more likely to lead to trouble?
2. What if the friends you hang out with want to do something you don't? What do you choose - go with your friends or do "things" your own way?
3. Which side do you choose if there is a conflict between your friends and your family? Why do you choose like this?
4. How do you resolve disputes? Do you try to avoid people you disagree with? Do you find that listening carefully for what the other person really wants and needs can help?

At first, the discussion takes place face-to-face in a classroom or some other meeting place. When the group has reached some kind of consensus, they share conclusions and views with other youth through the Internet. To receive questions and feedback from peers. Each of these connections is essentially more human than technical. They link kids together more than their machines, and can lead anywhere.

When confronted with an audience of prospective friends in other places, the kids want to write and read. To explain and defend ideas on how to resolve disputes, to present themselves. They demand information and knowledge to realize personal goals.

Important Side-Effects

The process creates interesting opportunities for teachers. Who-Am-I? helps them enhance classroom instruction within their curriculum, it be in writing, research, social studies, history, geography, foreign languages, economics, mathematics, science, the arts, current awareness, personal development, Internet networking, or information and communications technology skills. It gives otherwise "boring" classroom tasks meaning for students, and motivates them to read, write and do numbers.

Also, it tends to increase cooperation, tolerance, make classroom relationships more positive (may lead to decreased violence), and make students more focused.

To a community, Who-Am-I? is a means to increase its children's knowledge and appreciation of the area in which they live, their people, language, culture, values, the way the society works, and history. Also, it is a means for kids to share this knowledge with outsiders using local students and individual kids as agents.

Children are challenged to collect, document, and publish elements of their community's culture and beliefs that may be about to get lost. Future participants in the program will use these publications as learning material. When published in a local language, this helps protect the language - and related culture - from external pressure.

To parents, and families, Who-Am-I? is a means for closer cooperation with their kids, to coach them to important knowledge and experiences. It helps develop crucial skills, and pass them on.

To educational authorities, it is a means to help teachers enhance their curriculums, promote collaboration and sharing of experiences between teachers, and on-the-job training in the use of Internet in classrooms.

There are also opportunities for senior citizens, libraries, museums, hospitals, staff working on preventive mental health, youth clubs, Internet cafés, refugee camps, anti-racism activists, etc.

Proposed Plan

1		Provide Internet access to kids and youth Set up dedicated computer laboratories with Kidlink contents (KHouses) to serve various groups of kids and youth, such as students, street kids, optionally strengthened by integrating kids with senior citizens. KHouses deliver the Who-Am-I? life training program to students, street kids, indigenous kids, others. It motivates literacy training, supports schools' curriculum, and contributes to preserve and disseminate traditional knowledge.
2		Translate Who-Am-I? into languages used by the kids Using the program in their own language helps build a positive self-assessment, and lets them meet peers using other languages on an equal level.
3		Training Train KHouse staff in the use of Internet, Who-Am-I?, equipment and KHouse administration. Introduction to making web pages. Train local language coordinator in how to build and support a language area activity, translate and create web pages, and Who-Am-I? Train teachers: Introduction to computers and the Internet. How to use Who-Am-I? in classroom.
4		Start Who-Am-I? with children, kids, youth Use incentives for teachers so that they will find needed time to be trained and incorporate technology into what they do.
5		Publish student and youth contributions Their publications become new contents and learning material in their language(s). They support discussions with peers in other cultures, help exchange ideas and best practices.
6		Deliver I Have a Dream The program is a means to empower youth in need of support, and give them an early start on knowledge networking. It will to increase their ability to start local businesses supported by peers around the world.
7		Tracer study Let researchers interview students to measure actual effects of the programs.
8		Hand over project Negotiate with local partners to take over project at the end of the third year in to make the activity sustainable and demand driven with potential for local income generation and growth.

Time line

Year 1		Establish KHouses; Who-Am-I? in local language(s); Translations; Open online conferences in local language(s); Recruit/train online moderators in local language(s).
Year 2		Full operation. Evaluation .
Year 3		Who-Am-I? in local language(s). Tracer study. Hand over project.

Measuring results

Results to be measured by number of student, teacher, and KHouse staff contributions in the form of submitted messages and posted web pages with relevant contents.

Kidlink's role in KHouse projects