Digital Youth Information in Austria during Covid-19

2020

Digital Youth Information in Austria during Covid-19

In order to tackle the COVID-19 crisis with digital youth information activities, the Austrian youth information centers employ different tools and are actively exploring new ways of providing vital information online. Next to frequently updated information on the web, social media work is the most important cornerstone in getting information to young people: Instagram stories and posts, podcasts as well as online, live Q&A’s and information sessions (via Zoom and Insta Live) are now being used to reach young people on a daily basis and to connect with stakeholders. 

In order to coordinate and support the digital information work of the youth information centers, we hosted our first national online meeting on 23 March 2020. The leading questions were: What are the main problems/ questions for young people in this crisis, and what digital tools can we use to reach, inform and engage with them?

What we saw is that “classical” youth information topics, such as fake news and information literacy, are ever more relevant in this crisis. It therefore opens up an opportunity to hands-on fact-check news (even good news) on the Coronavirus. Other topics have a new sense of relevance, such as the topic of home-schooling, as well as mental health, domestic violence and loneliness. 

The COVID-19 crisis, for us, definitely offers a chance to further explore online youth information and to further connect as a network, as well with young people online. On a daily basis, we see that young people are eager to voice their concerns and information needs. One example for this is the Austrian Youth Reporters Blog (Jugendportal). Following a call for contributions, the young journalists tackled the crisis from their point of view - providing a young perspective on the topic. 

Find us on Instagram @jugendportal 

For more information on how the Austrian youth information network is dealing with the pandemic, please contact: alena.brunner@jugendinfo.at