Here’s a contest that you might want to pitch to your 18 and over TAG/teens in your community as a way to encourage discussion about current communication technology issues and their effect on…well..the world and everything therein.  Heck, actually it’s a perfect contest for teen librarians to participate in.  How does high speed broadband effect our ability to do our jobs, to help teens in our community?

“Entries for the new contest, “President for a Day - How I’d Change the World With Broadband!” will be accepted until the September 30, 2008 deadline. Contestants are invited to share their best ideas for using high speed communications technology to address a wide range of issues and problems.  For example, do you want everyone to have access to health care specialists, even if they are located hundreds of miles away? How about telemedicine? Do you want to help solve global warming? How about a virtual conference to connect people and ideas? Do you want all citizens to be able to participate in the political process? Do you want all students to have the educational tools necessary to compete in a global economy?  How would you use high-speed communications technology to make the world a better place?”

Public libraries, especially, are a way for a community to utilize high-speed communications technology for free.  With it, teens can do research for school, they can participate in the political process (even if they’re not old enough to vote that can still participate in online discussion and express their opinions), they can become involved in volunteer/advocacy opportunities, they can connect with people from all over the world no matter how rural the area they live in, the list goes on…