In an effort to boost interest and participation, YouTube this week launched
Questions for Europe in partnership with the broadcaster
Euronews. So far, we have been pleasantly surprised by the amount of interest this venture has generated. In just two days the Questions for Europe YouTube channel has become the third Most Subscribed Reporter Channel in France.
Many prospective members of the European Parliament are seeking to learn some of the lessons from (and use some of the
tools deployed on) the other side of the Atlantic. Already last October, the
European Internet Foundation - a platform of discussion between MEPs and tech companies -
discussed lessons from America for European politics.
Politics on the video sharing website no longer is limited to 'gotcha' moments of exposing politicians' slip-ups. Now it has become a much more proactive, powerful medium. Seven of the 16 US presidential candidates used it to announce their campaign, and Obama deployed the site as a cornerstone for building his "Yes We Can" campaign online. For voters, YouTube helps shrink distances and lower language barriers empowering people to communicate with one another and politicians. The U.S. presidential debate YouTube hosted with CNN provided some moving
examples.
Outside the United States, YouTube has also been a part of political campaigns in Spain, Poland, Israel and New Zealand. More and more world leaders are launching their own YouTube Channels, from
Gordon Brown in the UK to
Queen Rania in Jordan - and most recently, the
Pope.
In our Euronews project, questions are posted via videos on the specially created channel and will be answered either by Euronews journalists themselves, analysts or politicians - on prime time broadcasts. We're curious what will be asked, so tune in for updates as the election approaches.
Posted by Bill Echikson, Senior Manager, Communications, Brussels and Aaron Ferstman, YouTube Director of Political Communications, EMEA
