Mitmischen.de
mitmischen.de is the Internet youth portal of the German Bundestag , with reports from the German parliament tailored to young people and young adults. Most of the editorial work is carried out by young authors who are instructed by experienced editors.
history
The German Bundestag has been offering websites for children and young people since 1997. mitmischen.de appeared in June 2004 as one of the first youth portals of a parliament on the Internet. The basic idea was to introduce young people and young adults to political issues and to enable an exchange between parliamentarians and young people. In the beginning there were monthly changing topics, on which the editors created individual articles and background information. The editors chose the topics, but users were asked to submit their own suggestions for topics. Members of the community were also represented who, as members of the “Fraktion Mitmischen”, were able to discuss current issues online with the young people.
The site has been expanded to include new functions over the years. During a relaunch in August 2007, new elements such as parliamentary blogs, video clips and the Bundestag's web TV service were introduced on the site. After visual changes in 2009, a major conceptual revision of the portal took place in 2011. With a new design and a modified structure, the website should do even better justice to the user behavior of the target group and at the same time take on the corporate design of the German Bundestag. Large buttons on the start page should make orientation easier. Navigation was now based on the subject areas: "Discuss", "Understand", "Experience". Every single article could now be commented on without registering. The concept revision also included a new, young editorial team that works with around 100 authors between the ages of 14 and 25.
In June 2016 the website was revised again. The website was completely optimized in a responsive design for tablet and smartphone use. With a relaunch in May 2019, the look of the offer was changed significantly. The aim is to create even more clarity and clarity, especially for mobile use that is widespread in the target group. The new sections "Current", "Knowledge" and "Service" each provide an overview of all the important information on one page. Loading has been accelerated, and the “load more” button allows content to be called up gradually if necessary. Users who open a subpage of mitmischen.de via search engines are now also offered the latest content there. All plenary debates and public committee meetings can be followed in the live stream. More explanatory videos in the lexicon should satisfy the demand for moving images, and more graphics should illustrate complex content. Articles can be shared on social media or via email right from the page.
content
The core content includes information about the way the parliament works as well as reports from current Bundestag debates and important committee meetings. At the beginning of each week of the meeting, the editors point out topics that are particularly interesting for young people. An up-to-date news item appears daily, a focus topic with several articles once or twice a week. Complicated parliamentary processes are presented in an understandable way. Information is provided about the tasks, working methods and history of the German Bundestag. In the mitmischen community, users can discuss current political and social issues among themselves.
Further contents are u. a.
- a political lexicon with numerous explanatory videos
- Blog posts by exchange students of the Parliamentary Sponsorship Program (PPP)
- Information about special campaigns and offers by the Bundestag for young people, such as the media workshop for young journalists, the four-day business game “Youth and Parliament”, foreign scholarships and training and internship opportunities in the Bundestag
- Information on current e-petitions
- a politics quiz
- Videos of historical parliamentary debates
A “virtual eagle” answers users' questions in seconds. The eagle can hold up to 50 conversations at the same time and has answers to over 3,000 questions.
editorial staff
The editorial team consists of around 15 to 20 young authors and journalists who regularly write articles and are guided by editors. The users themselves can also take part in the editorial work as authors, photographers or video journalists. The editor-in-chief and overall responsibility lies with the online services / parliamentary television division of the German Bundestag.
meaning
According to its own statements, the German Bundestag is one of the few parliaments in the world that, with the pages mitmischen.de and kuppelkucker.de, provides a range of services on the Internet that is tailored to both children and young people.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Data handbook of the Bundestag 1990-2010
- ↑ The Parliament of October 31, 2005: role-playing games under the dome. Page A.
- ↑ Daniel Baumann, September 1, 2007: MPs let it be human on the Internet , Berliner Zeitung (berliner-zeitung.de), accessed on December 4, 2018.
- ↑ a b bundestag.de: New appearance for mitmischen.de ( Memento of the original from December 24, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , Article without an article date, accessed on November 17, 2018.
- ↑ bundestag.de, July 5, 2016: Bundestag: Children's and youth websites with a new look , accessed on November 17, 2018.
- ↑ bundestag.de, May 6, 2019: Bundestag youth portal - new design and new functions , accessed on October 28, 2019
- ↑ bundestag.de: A talkative helper , link to the virtual eagle , accessed on December 4, 2018.
- ↑ mitmischen.de: Imprint: mitmischen.de - The youth portal of the German Bundestag ( Memento of the original from February 28, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , accessed November 17, 2018.
- ↑ Bremer Nachrichten of August 7, 2013: How the Bundestag educates young people about the election on the Internet, page 3.
