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Childnet Awards recognize outstanding Net projects that reach across the world

BY LARRY MAGID
 Thursday April 19, 2001

(note: this article has been revised since it was first published in the Mercury News. It now lists the order of the winners and includes some additional thoughts)

For the past three years, I've been privileged to serve as a judge for the Cable and  Wireless Childnet Awards. Each year, Childnet International, a  non-profit organization, based in London, recognizes outstanding Internet projects that benefit and involve children. Individuals, schools, non-profit organizations and even government agencies can apply, as long as they have a program that serves the needs of children or teens -- and, preferably, helps foster international cooperation.

The award ceremony took place on Thursday, April 19th in Washington D.C.   Previous awards ceremonies have been held in London, Sydney and Barbados.

While many of the Web sites are quite professional looking, don't expect any slick "dot-coms.'' In some ways the projects recognized by these awards are a throw back to the Internet of old, before the hype and commercialism.

Long before the rise and fall of multimillion dollar Web sites, there were places on the Internet where people reached across the world to help others, with no thought of getting rich. Childnet International Director Nigel Williams uses the term "dot-hope'' to describe such projects. And, unlike so many commercial sites, the need and the impact of many of these sites keeps increasing over time.   After spending several days in Washington DC with the remarkable winners, I can certainly understand the use of the term "hope." Being around the young people -- and the young at heart who work with them -- gives me hope that the Internet really will fulfill its promise as a people to people media.  The NASDAQ stock index may be down from where it was two years ago but the enthusiasm of people using the Internet as a tool for change is higher than ever.

Most of the sites are located outside the United States. Not all are on fast servers, so be patient if some of them take a bit of time to load. Not every community has access to broadband.

The first prize winner in the individual category was PupilLine (www.pupiline.net) started by two British teenagers fed up with being bullied. The site has evolved into a full-featured Webzine for teens about the effects of bullying complete with survival tips for boys and girls. I sure could have used this site when I was growing up. If you have a teenage daughter, be sure to click on "A Girl's Guide on How to Survive Being Dumped,'' just in case.

The second place winner was Flat Stanley (http://flatstanley.enoreo.on.ca) by a self-taught Canadian Web designer. It is based on Jeff Brown's popular children's book, "Flat Stanley'' about a boy who wakes up as flat as a pancake and adjusts to his new life by traveling around the world inside an envelope. In this Web-based project, school children send "Stanley'' to visit other classrooms around the world. Aside from teaching geography, the project promotes literacy and international cooperation and encourages children to make a difference.

The final winner in the individual category, "Butterflies on the Wings of Freedom''(http://library.thinkquest.org/C002251/index.shtml), represents collaboration between three teenage girls from Germany, Hong Kong and the United States. The site, which is in German, English and Chinese, ostensibly teaches about butterflies but also encourages children to reach out to other children, write stories and poetry and learn a little science and nature in the bargain. It helps you appreciate butterflies -- and people, too.

First place in the not-for-profit category was My Hero (www.myhero.com),  a place where children can write about their favorite heroes. Some, like Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King Jr. are famous. Others, like Dr. Ada Aharoni, an Egyptian poet who now lives in Israel and strives to promote Mideast peace through cultural understanding, are not so well known. The Law Centre in Australia is an example of how children can use the legal system to help overcome difficulties. While the laws discussed in those pages don't apply here in the United States, the idea of kids helping kids applies everywhere.

Number two was the National Children's & Youth Law Centre in Australia (www.lawstuff.org.au/) followed by Bullying.org ( www.bullying.org )from Canada.

Bullying.org was set up shortly after a shooting incident in Taber, Alberta, one week after the school shootings in Littleton, Colo. By helping children overcome bullying, the site's sponsors hope to prevent more Littletons, Tabers and Santees.

NBC and ABC may be scaling back their Internet projects, but Internet TV is far from dead. It's being used by students who won first place in the Schools category.  Students from Canada, the United States and Japan have collaborated on NetVision, (www.att.virtualclassroom.org/vc99/vc_46/) an online interactiveTV network run by and for teens. The short subjects might not win any Academy Awards but they did win the attention of the Childnet judges who were impressed at how this medium is opening up new ways for young people to express themselves.

The second place winner in the schools category is Animal Diaries (www.tesan.vuurwerk.nl/diaries), a collaborative project between students and teachers in Indiana and The Netherlands. Designed to help elementary school children better appreciate reading, writing and literature, the site is dedicated to the publication of stories and pictures about how animals live.

Third place went to The Environment Online Web site (http://eno2000.joensuu.fi/html/default.html) -- operated by the ENO School District in Finland. Billed as "a new global Web learning community,'' ENO is a resource for schools on every continent that wish to study environmental issues in a global setting.

Finally, the sole winner in the government category is Cambridgeshire County, UK (www.actis.co.uk/superhighway). It developed a game where children can help respond to a make believe police emergency. Even school children that live thousands of miles away, can help the Cambridgeshire police and fire departments find out who has been setting off false fire alarms and lighting fireworks in dangerous places.

Teachers can register their classes for the next Alert event by clicking the "join in'' icon at the site.

Childnet awards are open to participants from anywhere in the world. If you know of a candidate, send an e-mail to awards@childnet-int.org to be notified about the nomination process. The top three winners in each category of the 2002 awards receive cash prizes plus a free trip to next year's ceremony in Paris.

 

Larry Magid is a technology journalist and commentator based in Palo Alto. Contact him at larry@safekids.com .