Samantha Fryer finds out about plans for an internet cafe for High Wycombe's young people

WHEN a young person is too young for pubs and clubs, but old enough to want to do something in the evening, options are limited.

Organised events and centres have sprung up to cater for the needs of these youths, but many young people in High Wycombe still feel that their wants are not catered for and they have nowhere to meet with friends.

The answer could be as hi-tech as today's society. Internet cafes, where people can go to surf the net, play computer games and e-mail people all over the world, are no longer just part of science fiction, they have been around for the last couple of years and High Wycombe might be the next place to log-on to this idea.

Young people from the Wycombe Youth Council and Wycombe Youth Action along with interested volunteers and helpers are keen to get an internet cafe into the town to give teenagers somewhere to go in the evening.

Former Wycombe mayor Cllr Lesley Clarke chose youth-based charities for the year she was in office. It was from discussions with young people during this time that she realised there was a need for somewhere for them to meet in High Wycombe.

Lesley says: "There is nowhere in High Wycombe for young people to meet other than the pub or the cinema or that sort of thing, which also takes a lot of money.

"The first thought was to have an old-style 1950s cafe. Then we looked at the idea of having an internet cafe. It can be a place for them to go and also help them become more computer literate."

A group of young people from Wycombe Youth Council along with Wycombe Youth Action visited two internet cafes in Devon and London to see how these were run and decided how they could go about setting up their own cafe.

They are currently looking at various ways of funding the cafe including sponsorship and grants from organisations and bodies like the EU.

To make the cafe affordable for young people to use, the group is also looking at ways in which the cafe itself can bring in money.

"We want it to be a place for the community as well. During the daytime when the young people are at school or work, elder members of the community could come in and have a go on the internet. We could also offer business and IT training to small companies," Lesley explains.

She adds that school groups would also be able to come in and use the computers.

Two of the young people who have become involved in trying to set up the internet cafe are Wycombe Youth Council members Mazir Akram, 15, and Simone Craig, 15, who are both pupils at Sir William Ramsay School in Hazlemere.

They were part of a youth conference where the idea for the cafe came up. They are filled with plans for the venture including talent nights for local bands, drugs awareness advice sessions and futuristic decor.

Both are keen to emphasize that the cafe will be useful to the whole community. Simone says: "It is something positive young people are doing. Some of the things the youth council are doing might be overshadowed by other things some young people do, like crime.

"This should create a positive attitude so adults can see we are doing something positive and all we need is a little bit of encouragement."

At their school, the Ramsay Action Group conducted their own survey of pupils to discover whether there was a need for a cafe of this kind. Out of the 48 pupils questioned, 41 said they would visit the cafe if it was combined with other facilities like a pool table and arcade games. Only one pupil said they would not.

Volunteer James Porter became involved with the internet cafe when he worked with Lesley during her time as mayor.

He thinks that an internet cafe will benefit the young people in many ways. "They want to have somewhere that they can meet up and also have access to computer technology and the opportunity to learn from the internet.

"It is somewhere they can meet and feel comfortable."

He believes that the rapidly-advancing technology has changed the culture and society of young people.

"This is the first computer generation", he explains. "They have grown up with computers and they have never seen life without a computer.

"They associate them with leisure pursuits and should have access to them."

As well as offering young people the access to new technology in a social surrounding. James also feels that it will help many of them in future employment.

"More and more jobs are technology-based and it will give them more skills for employment."

"It is an idea from young people for young people and I think it would work in High Wycombe."

Marlow has already got its own Internet Cafe, Crusoes, that opens weekdays from 10am to 6pm and until 1pm on Fridays.

The shop manager Pablo Camilleri says a wide cross-section of the community use the facilities.

"We do have a lot of kids in here, playing games and using the internet. In the summer holidays we used to get young people who would come in here in the morning and stay all day.

"We do get older people too, some as old as 70, who come in here and check their e-mails."

% If anybody is interested in helping out with an internet cafe or can provide sponsorship or advice, they should call (01494) 451887

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