Gander Markus
Organization: Infoklick.ch
Year Founded: 1998
Country: Switzerland
Website: www.infoklick.ch
Infoklick is Switzerland’s largest online information portal for young people, helping them solve the problems of their generation. Focus: Children and Youth Geographic Area of Impact: Switzerland Model: Hybrid Non-Profit Number of Direct Beneficiaries: 100,000 (2009) Annual Budget: US$ 2.8 million (2009) Percentage Earned Revenue: 89% Recognition: Social Entrepreneur of the Year, Switzerland, 2006 Background In most societies, particularly in Switzerland, young people only receive attention if they are in trouble, have committed a crime, taken drugs or are unemployed. The majority of programmes are directed at these offending groups. But many young people have immense creativity and resources that are underutilized. Infoklick.ch offers support to children and youth that come with an initiative or idea that contributes positively to society. Often a small impulse, a mentor, a room to meet, a plug or a small start-up financial contribution are enough to get an initiative going. Innovation and Activities Infoklick.ch is the biggest online portal for information concerning youth in Switzerland, answering more than 30,000 questions submitted by young people using its website. It links youth with similar ideas or issues and creates a network of engaged groups. Currently, more than 10,000 young people are actively involved in projects with Infoklick.ch, receiving financial resources and support they need to convert their ideas into reality. The projects focus on youth participation, respect and tolerance, youth and media, intergenerational issues and integration of immigrants. One of the projects, “buntkicktgut”, is a street soccer league to integrate young immigrants. Another is Tink.ch, a magazine created by young people for young people, covering topics that are underrepresented in the general media. And “Jugend mit Wirkung” encourages the active participation of youth in communal political matters is 22 districts in Switzerland. Infoklick.ch is mainly financed through projects administered for public entities, foundations or other donors. Membership fees and private donations cover a smaller part of the budget. The portal has introduced “club ramoneur,” which allows companies to be featured on the website and act as sponsors of particular projects. Infoklick.ch also offers a youth card throughout local communities, allowing access to a range of events and activities. Both the communities and institutions providing the offers pay a fee for this service. InfoKlick.ch has also created a centre for children and youth activities in Moosseedorf, close to Bern, where it offers meeting space and rooms for seminars. In 2009, infoklick.ch set up new branches in Lucerne, St. Gall, Lausanne, Bellinzona, Basel and Munich in Germany. The Entrepreneur Markus Gander studied music and sociology in Bern, Switzerland. Working with troubled teenagers as a youth worker in Moosseedorf, he, with two other colleagues, started Infoklick.ch to help people engage in society by providing them with information and support. Gander is also the co-founder of a Swiss network for youth development, conceptualized the Moosseedorf centre to host a range of youth organizations from across Switzerland, and is actively engaged in a range of projects that have spun-off from Infoklick.ch.
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