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Youth meeting without wireless?

Three mobiles under newspaper. Covered but visible. Petru from Romania is sitting in the conference room together with other participants of youth meeting. All mobiles are his.

- Each of them has different network – explains Petre. – On Vodafone and Cosmote my friends are calling me and Orange one is for my mother.
That it is common situation in Romania. – Ah, and I started roaming on all of them! – Petre is proud.
Petre wants to be in touch with people all the time.

Nowadays young, active, traveling Europeans are like this. Not only having mobile or two and taking them everywhere but taking laptops and expecting internet connection.
- That was the first thing I asked a hostel stuff about while checking if this hostel will be ok for our participants – says Julia Balanowski, organizer of Young Media Convention in Berlin.  – Wireless. They have internet at least in the evenings.

At least, because in Friedrich Ebert Foundation, where conference takes places, 35-people group have only 6 internet cables.
- Everybody even before saying hello was asking me about wifi in the building – smiles Yvonne from FES.
- But I think it makes sense – says Alfi from the board of European Youth Press, which organized in her life many conferences. – When people have internet they are not concentrated on the topic. And checking emails in not the idea of being on conference, right?

Why people which are going on conference need internet? People which know that they are going to be busy for few days? If it is about writing “I’m in Berlin” on facebook? (like did David from Denmark, Guilherme from Portugal or Jelena from Montenegro :). Not really.
- I just need 1-2 hours of internet every day to work – explains Dumitru from Moldova. – Of course I can stay at home and work, not going on conference but I like it. If I wouldn’t have internet in conference room and in hostel I would just buy some card.

Posted in | 05.03.2009

By: Anna Sulewska