Proceedings of the 2010 INCLUSO conference

Computers and Internet communication have become omnipresent in today's society. Social software sites such as Facebook, Netlog and Twitter are well known and are frequently used by millions of people for the development of their social contacts. In the recent past, educators (and governments!) have rightly questioned the impact of these online social networks. Potential adverse effects of identity abuse and distribution of illegal content are frequently reported in studies and seminars, especially when young people from a difficult background are involved. However, the use of this social software also offers opportunities. Social software can diversify the network of young people, help them to acquire autonomy, contribute to increasing their positive self-image, finding job opportunities, etc. Over the last two years, nine European partners, both technical experts and educational experts, have studied how to work with these social online networks in the framework of the European INCLUSO project (http://www.incluso.org) and within various practical environments of disadvantaged young people. On behalf of the INCLUSO partnership and with support of the European Union, the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (Belgium), coordinator of the Incluso project, along with the Katholieke Hogeschool Kempen (Geel) and University College Mechelen, organised on 13 and 14 September 2010 a two-day conference in Leuven on the subject of e-Inclusion of Youth at Risk. At INCLUSO-2010, contributors from different backgrounds brought in their experiences and compared them with the conclusions from other scientific and educational institutions. Four more European projects focusing on youth at risk (Replay, ComeIn, Umsic and Hands) have been researching and developing the positive aspects of ICT use by young people and also made their conclusions available at INCLUSO- 2010. Furthermore all five projects have used this opportunity to finalise a common note on future research issues and related policy measures in the field of ICT use by Youth at Risk. INCLUSO-2010 enabled a fascinating encounter between European field workers in this domain. Their contributions can be found in this book.