ProMo-Cymru is working with young people to prototype the future of digital youth information.

TheSprout has been providing information, news and events for and with the young people of Cardiff since 2007. We’ve always moved with the times and have improved TheSprout based on what young people tell us. Recently, we’ve been running a lot of small experiments to develop how we present information so it is easier for young people to understand and act on. We’re trying to combine this goal with making it easier for more young people to contribute to TheSprout. Not all of these experiments work but the ones that do point us towards what the future of digital youth information could look like. One of the experiments that has proved successful is our use of AMP stories.

AMP stories allow us to combine reporting, photography, videos and motion graphics, to give young people a more visual entry point when they are searching for information. We’ve been given time and funding to do this by Families First in Cardiff and the Paul Hamlyn Foundation.

Based on Google’s proprietary AMP Stories experimental software, Stories are vertical, multimedia-based, quick-fire articles designed for a mobile native audience. They’re best known for their appearances in popular social media apps including Instagram and Snapchat. The strength of the Sprout Story format is that it distils Sprout information into a jargon-free, image-first format easy for anyone to understand. Additionally, any content for Sprout Stories can be re-used on Instagram Stories and vice versa. This enables us to re-tell stories across a wider range of accessible formats. The familiar nature of stories to young people ensures that TheSprout continues to be well used and relevant to young people.

Sprout Stories are a prime example of how ProMo-Cymru can help organisations to envisage better ways to speak with people using digital tools.

If you would like to find out more, please contact andrew@promo.cymru