"Literacy is the lifeblood of newspapers. That’s obvious. It’s a key to why we are having this Conference, to assure ourselves an audience of the future. More importantly, and equally obvious is the fact that literacy is freedom. There is, undeniably, a crucial link between the formation of literate, well-informed, tolerant young citizens who are open to the exchange of ideas and to other cultures, and the very strength and meaning of democratic and free societies."

Seok Hyun Hong, President of the World Association of Newspapers

"Older people use mobile phones for efficiency. Have you ever heard a young person talk about efficiency? It’s not their concept. For young people, it is more about excitement and fun. They develop incredible uses for these devices. They play with them."

Anssi Vanjoki, Executive Vice President, Nokia Mobile Phones, Finland

"It is a fact that newspapers make young people better citizens and better readers. It is a fact that young people secure circulation for the future. And it is a fact that young reader programmes can deliver profitability by themselves."

"Without a concerted programme to attract young readers, many newspapers are going to die."

Jim Chisholm, Director of the WAN Shaping the Future of the Newspaper Project

I can’t think of anything more important to the future of newspapers than to engage kids. Surely, if they read us when they are young, we will become an integral part of their adult lives."

Mary-Deane Shears, Managing Editor, The Toronto Star, Canada

"The newspaper links the classroom to the real world. It features history as it happens. The newspaper includes something for every student. It contains models for clear, concise writing. The newspaper is an extremely viable tool for the introduction of real life."

Helen Jones, Educational Consultant, USA

"In spite of whatever fancy new technology emerges, content is still king. I think that is the message that emerges from this conference. The rest is window dressing."

"The bottom line is we need to start experimenting, we need to get creative, we need to get to know the children we’re writing for. By all means be cheeky, take chances and have a ball!"

Lisa Blakeway, Chief Executive, Johnnic Learning, South Africa

"Newspapers need to have a cradle-to-grave strategy to be effective. They’re pretty good on the death end. So we really need to push on the cradle end."

Michael P. Smith, Director, Media Management Center, Northwestern University, USA

"In the United States the newspaper is often called the Living Textbook. And it really is. Your newspaper presents information in your area and about world events that are not covered in any textbook. Where else can a student in your city find information about the local government?

Jim Abbot, Vice President, Newspaper Association of America Foundation, USA

"We know that we are unable to change the lifestyle of our readers. So our approach is to familiarize users with news contents via mobile phones, with the final goal of actual newspaper subscription, which is more profitable."

Takashi Ishioka, Project Manager, Asahi Shimbun Electronic Media and Broadcasting Division, Japan

"Can we as newspapers convince other businesses and companies to help fund a newspaper project? he answer is - yes! Every company in our community has a role to play in supporting education, and in particular literacy and computer skills, and as a newspaper we can lead the way in showing other companies how effective our particular media can be."

Anna Pangbourne, Director, The Newspaper Education Trust, UK

"Future news might well be less about story telling - the stories we journalists want to write, produce or tell - and more about story making - the stories that our consumers are assembling for themselves via their own process of gathering information, sifting through the onslaught of daily info-bits and participating in learning about things."

Jan Schaffer, Executive Director, J-Lab, The Pew Center for Civic Journalism, USA

"All the data currently available indicates that if we had few readers today, it was destined to decline tomorrow. This is why, to counter this sad decline, we decided to turn to the young, convinced as we were that a young person who does not read is poorer for it, displays a poverty of ideas, of experiences, and of culture, and it is true that a publisher who deals with young people who will not read must improvise."

Andrea Ceccherini, President of the Osservatorio Permanente Giovani - Editori, Italy, on investing in youth readership.

"I think this conference we’ve had here in Helsinki is a sign of a growing awareness among newspaper organisations and companies of the challenges that young readers are putting on the newspaper. The mere fact that we are here together -- people from 47 countries -- proves that awareness is growing all the time. If you look at the people in this conference, you will see a lot of NIE experts, but you will also see publishers, chief editors, journalists, marketing people. I think this is evidence that the programme content has worked very well indeed."

Håkan Gabrielsson, Federation of the Finnish Media Industry