The idea of the conference proceeds from the widespread opinion that young people today are always on smart devices and online. This is often seen as a problem, as it’s unclear how it will affect the future of the young people. “Many people worry that the digital lives of young people get in the way of their real lives, but we actually don’t listen to the opinions and views of young people enough. We want to give young people an opportunity to voice their opinions at the conference,” said Maria Žuravljova, one of the main organisers of the conference.
The ideas and solutions offered by young people in Narva are very important in terms of the future, as they are also the input for helping the University of Tartu Narva College educate new youth workers and will get to the international level with the help of the Nordic Council of Ministers.
The two-day conference will be opened by the President of the Republic of Estonia Kersti Kaljulaid and some of the experts who will help the young people set their sights are the internationally recognised Finnish computer programmer, children’s writer and illustrator Linda Liukas, who was named one of the best 50 women in the area of technology in Europe by the Forbes magazine and the CEO of the Finnish educational technology company Mehackit Atelier, Heini Karppinen.
The leaders of the workshops are various experts, including the revolutionary Youtuber and entrepreneur Victoria Villig, the Deputy Head of E-Services Department at Estonian Ministry of Education and Research Kristel Rillo and coordinator of the SALTO-YOUTH Participation & Information Resource Centre Martti Martinson, whose used to work as a lecturer of youth work at the Victoria University in Australia.
Dagfinn Høybråten, Secretary General of the Nordic Council of Ministers, will open the second day of the conference.
The conference will take place on the initiative of the University of Tartu Narva College in cooperation with the Nordic Council of Ministers and the Estonian Youth Work Centre. The working language of the conference will be English.