#DFEY-NW Reaching out to young freedom seekers

If you’re young and into tech then DFEY-NW could be the group for you.

Digital Freedom in Education & Youth – North West is a group focusing on young people and issues of freedom in the digital world, based in this region and has being building up an active community since last year.

One of the founders, Tim Dobson explained the thinking behind the group on his blog: “About a year ago, I found myself in a unique position – I was a 17 year old active in a local group of people interested in these kinds of aspects, but everyone else was at least five years older than me. Initially that didn’t bother me at all, I was treated as an adult and was happy “acting” like one. The anonymity of just being “a name” on the internet, paid off for me that time.

“Soon however, I saw that the adult members in another group were – in my opinion – talking down to two young group members. It was clear to me, that without supportive or interested people of their own age, they would soon become demoralised and leave.
“Ben Webb and I had considered our experiences in our different schools and came to the conclusion that schools were very restrictive of how young people could use computers. That instead of letting the computers be open platforms for learning, they locked down and their use strictly regulated This, we believe – and speaking from experience – is detrimental to our education.
“In June, Ben and I set up DFEY, to provide a social space, and a supportive, stimulating atmosphere for those interested in the same things – issues of computer freedom.

The group now has about 35 people on its mailing list, an active IRC channel and a slowly increasing number of microbloggers using the hashtag:#dfey as well as organising regular events.

If you’re young (undergraduate age or younger) and want to find out more about the group’s activities, contact Tim team@nw.dfey.org.

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