Project partners: NOFA, the Netherlands
Contact data
NOFA:
Wim Oosterhuis
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+316 46 36 60 83
Main problems to be solved (analysis) The NetNix foundation tries to develop solutions for the problems that young people in rural regions encounter. 1. There are discrepancies in the availability of jobs and the skills that young people are trained in. E.g. young people with higher education cannot find appropriate jobs, and the crafts that lower educations provide do not correlate with available jobs. 2. Powered by age old traditions, the regional culture does not encourage young people to be ambitious and adventurous. 3. The geographical distance of rural areas from cultural hotspots tends to intensify feelings of inadequacy.
Policy frameworks to be dealt with/fitting in 1. Regional level: the Masterplan North East Friesland, with its implementation program ANNO. Quote: “In 2030, NO-Friesland will have dealt with demographical change, it will have accomplished a stable socio-economic equilibrium and offer perspective for young people”. 2. European level: the goals of Vital Rural Area, Work Package 1: the empowerment of business and education. Youth has the future, of course. So there’s the starting point.
Aim of the project NetNix has illustrated successful rural scenarios through the production of multimedia projects. Not only video productions were the end result; even more important was the process of producing them, by young people, for young people.
Results: A set of four video productions. They described the living circumstances of young people. Also, they described their future professional perspectives. Their own interpretation was the leading motive. The videos were edited and produced by young people themselves. Close co-operation with the Vital Rural Area Project Management was a matter of course, but the last word was to the youth. The videos have been shown on local television, in educational institutes and at partner meetings of the Vital Rural Area project. They are permanently available via the YouTube channel of NetNix. http://www.youtube.com/user/NetNixMedia
Outcome within the WP The four video productions will form a non-verbal interpretation of the Rural Power Pack. The global sharing of audio and video creates new horizons, for example in the educational area. http://bit.ly/HJOIUO In this project, video will be deployed as an educational instrument, to enable young people to discover the chances and opportunities of their own home region. The close co-operation with educational institutions produces a strong innovative incentive to these institutions themselves. The fast development of the world wide web creates enormous change in the creative industries. These industries are traditionally attractive to young people; the changes are chances. They discover the coolness of creative professions and the opportunity to work inthese industries from out of their own rural area. SME and young people have developed improved communication channels and a better flow from education towards profession. A lot of young people would prefer not to migrate from their rural region. The project will raise the consciousness among young people of the newly developing opportunities in the regional labour market. This will enable them to make a better choice of promising professions and the education needed.
(Expected) outcome for the region as a whole (impact of the project) Social: A close-knitted, dedicated group of young people will continue working towards the goals of the NetNix Foundation, the ANNO-municipalities and the European Interreg ambitions. They will have a better understanding of their roots, their region and of the labour market in their area. Therefore, the choice between staying or migrating will be easier to make. An enhanced mutual understanding between young people and local government. Economical: Enhanced contact and interaction between companies and young people. Increased pool of qualified and internally motivated personnel. Increased ‘marketability’ of the regions. Young people gained a better understanding of their environment. The professional experience that young people will acquire while working with NetNix will – for some of them – be the fundament of a regional career. Physical: The activities within creative industries are very compatible with new business trends, like working from home or out of alternative locations.
Planning 2010: pre-production phase. Building of contacts between regions, determination of exchange, multimedia scenarios and production scope. 2011: production phase and presentation phase.
Costs Four video productions a € 5,000 a piece = € 20,000
Financing Contribution Vital Rural Area RPP € 20,000
Implementation of the project (cf. CAA) which stakeholders were involved? Firstly, see the partner section at the beginning. Furthermore: a number of regional SME employers, several educational institutes.
What process did you run through to fit the project into local conditions? The underlying argumentation and ambitions at working floor level were in accordance with the overlying, strategic Vital Rural Area ones, so these were not the biggest problems in the process. More complicated was the bridging of the differences in vocabulary, scope and methodology between those parties. European bureaucracy and creative production processes do not go well together. The key to success lies in effective mediation between those varieties of communication.
How did you sustainably implement the project (locally, regionally)? The NetNix foundation has been able to develop effective production methodology, good contacts with regional educational and SME stakeholders and first of all, direct communication lines to several groups of young people in the region. Several spin-off projects have been evolved, the most notable of which is the recent and still evolving exchange project with the Meetjesland region: ‘Jouw Wereld in Beeld’ (Picture your World). Also, the NetNix productions are developing into regular broadcasted items on the regional television broadcasting network RTV Noordoost-Friesland. In this way, the name of ‘NetNix’ is becoming an iconic concept in the region.