KidsDevNews' primary medium of outreach to children and youth is the Internet. The idea here is that, since many kids and teens today are web-savvy, the Internet can be part of a World Bank strategy to reach them as part of its communications and advocacy efforts. Each monthly issue of KidsDevNews introduces a different issue of global concern affecting young people in countries worldwide. The featured articles strive to explain often complex development issues using a vocabulary free of the terminology that the Bank and other development professionals use, such as "stakeholders," "capacity-building," and "participatory approach".

In addition to the monthly articles, visitors to the site have access to further information either about the World Bank and its work or about particular topics. For example, kids may read "The Inside Story on the World Bank", access information and links to further resources about issues such as gender or urbanisation, and view and read about particular stories in the "development at work" section.

To provide kids with an opportunity to learn more about particular topics, stories are complemented by multimedia products, including an original video series called "Straight Talk." Bank and other experts featured in these short videos break down the topics to their nuts and bolts. Downloadable on the KidsDevNews site, these videos include titles such as "Transcend Your Disability Through Sport" and "The Importance of Trade". Entertainment is another strategy: "fun" activities (the Millennium Goals Game) are also offered on the site. KidsDevNews encourages students to integrate what they learn on the site in their classroom projects. A section of the site dedicated to educators includes tips for integrating KidsDevNews into curricula and strategies for using the site content as a supplemental educational tool.

Children, Youth.

KidsDevNews is one of several initiatives being designed by the World Bank as part of an effort to become more connected with young people. A comprehensive youth-oriented website is in the works. As yet unnamed, this site will retain KidsDevNews feature stories as the main entry point, but will unite the few existing web-pages of different Bank units that touch upon youth issues and interests. One particular section will focus on getting involved in development work by taking action in one's community. According to the Bank, this site will feature up-to-date information on a range of topics (AIDS, education, post-conflict, unemployment, etc.), interactive games, and discussion areas. The overarching idea is to ensure that the entire site is interesting, engaging, and interactive.

Many concepts and terms used by members of the development community are English-language constructs that are not always easy to translate into other languages. "Some of the KidsDevNews stories, such as the one on development and the Millennium Development Goals, have been very useful to us in East Asia," says Melissa Fossberg, World Bank communications officer in the East Asia region. "It's often difficult for us to translate some of the Bank's materials into East Asian languages, Lao or Cambodian for example, because they simply don't have equivalents for many of the terms the World Bank uses. KidsDevNews just makes the issues easier to understand -- for everyone, not just kids."