- National multiprofessional online youthwork started as a 2004 project involving 4 cities to explore how to connect with teens online and apply youthwork methods digitally. - It has since expanded nationwide involving 26 municipalities, 70 youth workers, and is coordinated by a team supported by the Ministry of Education and Ministry of Social Affairs and Health. - Netari operates in popular social media sites like Habbo, IRC-Gallery, and plans to expand to Demi.fi and Facebook. Youth workers chat online with teens, organize events, and discuss topics like family, school, health, and free time.

1. National multiprofessional online youthwork

2. Brief History Started as a project in 2004 Project involved 4 capitol area cities Main goals were to find out how to make contact to teens online and how to imply youthwork methods to online enviroments Project ended in fall 2007 Netari.fi was included to governments Development Programme for Child And Youth Policy Since 2008 work has evolved to nationwide, multiprofessional online youth work.

3. Organisation - 26 municipalities - 70 youth workers around Finland, - 11 person team coordinating and developing - Supported by Ministry of Education and Ministry of Social Affairs and Health - Multiprofessional: 1. Health Centre of City of Helsinki -3 professional webnurses 2. Social services department of City of Helsinki -1 Project planner, 1 social worker, 1 psychiatric nurse 3. Youth crime unit of Police department of city of Oulu - police officer working every Friday evening online

4. Netari functions online Operates in already popular social network sites. Tehnical solutions mainly from service providers, youth work adaptation from Netari.fi Quick contact to large amount of teenagers in Finland in main target group (13-18 years old) Work is mainly done within opening hours, 12 opening hours per week Depending on environment there is 4 to 10 workers online at the same time from different cities. They are connected via VoIP-connection. Collective work method. Peer tutors are trained by youth workers, tutors work alongside as volunteer with youth workers. They chat online, organise meets and camps. Netari.fi-site is meant to be informational site to public, peer tutors and youth workers have forums, shoutbox etc. behind log in

5. Netari environments - Habbo Habbo is based in 2000, localized versions in 32 countries 13 000 000 unique visitors per month world wide, Finland and UK most active countries. Basically 2D-avatar chat with most of web 2.0 tools such as IM, tagging, groups, games, user generated content, sharing and modding of it etc. Opens on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday between 17.00-20.30 Average age of visitors is approx. 12 years, in Netari-room 13 years,

6. Netari environments – IRC-Gallery IRC-Gallery was established in 2001 by users of Internet Relay Chat aka IRC App. 500 000 users Average age of users is 20,64 years, Netari focuses on teens from 15 to 18 years of age Basic SNS-structure, Profile, friends, communication, photogallery, commenting and diary etc. Netari-chats opens on mondays, thursdays between 18.00-21.00 and on fridays and saturdays between 19.00-22.00

7. Netari environments – Netari- tv - Netari-tv started as cooperation pilot between Netari.fi and Finland's national public service broadcasting company YLE -Netari-tv combines elements of web-tv, chatting and interactivity between watchers, chatters, host and visitors of the show -Aims of Netari-tv is to provide low threshold possibilities to participate to netari-tv´s broadcasts in many ways

8. Future Netari environments – Demi.fi and Facebook In the fall of 2010 Netari starts online youth work in two new environments 1. Demi.fi 2. Facebook Plans to start the greatest, biggest and best online youth house in summer 2010

9. Netari and social media – Facebook Fanpage

10. Netari and social media – Twitter

11. Netari and social media – Delicious

12. Netari-discussion topics Main discussion topics are within few main categories: 1. Family/Home - Relationships within family, with parents, siblings, relatives - Problems with communication, substance abuse, domestic abuse - Separation from home 2. School/Studies/Education - study motivation, school success, education orientation, future plans - communication with fellow students, teachers - bullying, problems with classmates etc. 3. Leisuretime - Hobbies, music, sports, culture, - Substance experiments/use - “I’ve got nothing to do”, motivation to pick up and carry some activities - Health (mental/physical), depression, anxiety Topics and points of view vary on age of participants and therefore between environments

13. Netari-visitors 2007: 55 000 visitors - > 6500 discussions 2008: 120 000 visitors - > 10 000 discussions 2009: 159 000 visitors - > 18 000 discussions Aims: To carry out and develop national youth work performed over the Internet. The project’s target is to make contact with that section of youth who spend a large part of their time in various Internet environments. Through multi-professional cooperation, the project aims to lower the threshold for those youths using the facility to seek social and health services when necessary. The plan is to also bring the services, through the Netari operation, straight to the Internet environments popular among young people.

14. Development Training and education - National online youth work training twice a year - Topic-trainings via VoIP-connection - Seminars and conferences - Co-operation with main applied sciences universities Publications - blog on The Finnish Youth Research Society's page - online youth work manuals - link - study book will be published in spring 2011 Research - Two user group surveys per year - Workers fill a surveys after every working hour and private conversation - Involved with The Finnish Youth Research Society's research

17. Discoveries Principle to be available, not squeezing in Stability of contact, regularity and trustworthiness very important Communication online is very intense and rich It takes time and resources, just like anything else human relation work Online tools offer low threshold to make contact and to discuss different topics