StrangerFestival's success depends on the outreach and diversity of our core partners. Our partners seek to motivate young video-makers to participate by organising workshops, broadcast Stranger videos, and generally advising and promoting our cause. These were our partners in 2008 and 2009:

TheOneMinutesJr TheOneMinutesJr is StrangerFestival's esteemed content partner. TheOneMinutesJr are 60-second long videos made by young people between the ages of 12 and 20 from all over the world. The short format challenges youth to form their ideas clearly as they attempt to share their ideas, dreams, fascinations and viewpoints in the name of that most basic human right--the freedom of expression. TheOneMinutesJr network is a non-commercial community without any set political beliefs or ideologies. We want to give young people, especially those underprivileged or marginalised, a voice that can be heard by a broad audience. www.theoneminutesjr.org

ACAVA The Association for Cultural Advancement through Visual Art (ACAVA) was established as an educational charity in 1983 to support the development and practice of the visual arts. It develops and delivers a wide range of educational initiatives and seeks to encourage individual expression and the recognition of, and respect for, cultural diversity. To meet these aims ACAVA provides a comprehensive range of visual arts services, including studio spaces (currently some 425 in 20 buildings), professional arts facilities, the mounting of exhibitions, the development of public art, community and educational projects, training in the use of digital technology and a consultancy service. www.acava.org

BFI The British Film Institute (BFI) promotes understanding and appreciation of Britain's audiovisual heritage and culture. BFI runs a range of activities and services including Southbank (our key venue with cinemas, galleries and a Mediateque giving digital access to the BFI National Archive), the BFI IMax, the BFI National Library and Archive, Sight and Sound magazine and a whole range of events, readings and screenings. Young people (under the age of 25) interested in watching and making films can get involved in a range of film-related activities through the Future Film Club which provides free screenings and events, ticket offers and competitions. www.bfi.org.uk

British Council - INDIE Inclusion and Diversity in Education (INDIE) is run in collaboration with national and regional education authorities from nine EU countries and aims to promote social cohesion and raise educational standards in culturally-inclusive schools. The programme develops new projects and practices for managing inclusion and diversity in schools, based on the European Youth Charter drawn up by students to give them a voice and a stake in this critical issue. INDIE brings together pupils, head teachers and policymakers to respond to these challenges and build lasting networks. www.britishcouncil.org/indie

DEMOS Demos is the think tank for 'everyday democracy'. Their aim is to put this idea into practice by working with organisations in ways that make them more effective and legitimate. Demos conducted research on young Europeans using StrangerFestival as their main case study. First findings were presented at the StrangerFestival. Their research was subsequently published in late autumn 2008 with events in Amsterdam, London and Helsinki, providing teachers, cultural operators, the entertainment industry, parents and journalists a fresh take on who are today’s young Europeans and what
they strive for. www.demos.co.uk

DZMP (Lukusz) DZMP ("Society of Allies for Soft Landing") was founded by a group of young Slovenians who were tired of the apathy around developing cultural events for youth and the general insensitivity to those less fortunate. One of our main activities is the production of different short films made by young people (Luksuz Produkcija). We try to focus on themes that tend to get ignored in "mainstream" media. We organise different workshops for youth to work in media and we also manage a video studio in Krško where we regularly host young creators from different parts of Slovenia and beyond. www.drustvo-dzmp.si

IDFA The International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA) was founded in 1988 to stimulate the national and international documentary culture. Since its foundation, IDFA has developed into the largest documentary film festival in the world and one that strives for an international, diverse, topical and politically-committed programme. We also host many guest filmmakers, discussions, debates, workshops and master classes. We are committed to giving "creative documentaries" take centre stage. This means that IDFA chooses films which express the filmmaker's point of view in a creative and cinematic manner. All selections take place on the basis of clear criteria. www.idfa.nl

Mode Istanbul Mode Istanbul is an Istanbul-based film and digital arts initiative organising cultural, social and educational events including screenings, exhibitions, workshops and seminars at various art and culture centres in collaboration with distinguished partners on local and international levels. The initiative focuses on cultural dialogue and the exchange of ideas across borders and generations by supporting artists of different ages and backgrounds through aiding the production, promotion and showcasing of their works. The founding team has been producing the Turkish edition of the internationally acclaimed digital film festival RESFEST since 2004, as well as all StrangerFestival-related events in Turkey since 2008. www.modeistanbul.com and www.resfest.com.tr

The Free State of Amsterdam The Free State of Amsterdam (27 Sep
- 8 Nov 2009, Former Shell Canteen in the Tolhuistuin, Amsterdam-North) is one of the main attractions of the Fourth International Architecture Biennale Rotterdam-Amsterdam. This exhibition involves nine urban design offices who are presenting their future dreams and visions for different areas of Amsterdam with the aid of large models. The exhibition also contains ideas and designs for the future by students. A daily programme with discussions and films will reinforce the relationship between freedom and Amsterdam. www.vrijstaatamsterdam.nl and www.iabr.nl

The Netherlands Institute for Sound and Vision The Nederlands Instituut voor Beeld en Geluid ("Netherlands Institute for Sound and Vision") focuses on collecting and preserving the audio-visual heritage of the Netherlands and making it available to as many users as possible. It forms one of the largest audio-visual archives in Europe with over 700,000 hours of television, radio, music and film. While some programme-makers use it as a resource to create new shows, the archive is also a unique source for students, academics, journalists, international production companies and broadcasting organisations. Online or in their exhibition spaces in Hilversum, the institute offers the easiest of accesses to Dutch cultural heritage. http://instituut.beeldengeluid.nl

KARPOS Based in Greece, KARPOS ("Centre of Education and Intercultural Communication") promotes projects that encourage a respect for cultural diversity and the participation of citizens in social discourse. We advocate that "Media Literacy" empowers both young and adult citizens while increasing engagement, creativity, participation, and a considered position towards the society of images that surrounds us. Karpos's events focus on training in media and cross-generational participation to enable expression, exchange of views and the development of creative ideas. www.karposontheweb.org

Kultura Miejska The Gdansk-based Kultura Miejska ("City Culture") is a collective of independent thinkers who explore alternative strategies for civil society change through such disciplines as contemporary art, theory and research, civic education, journalism and the democratisation of public spaces. We are housed in a former brewery in Gdansk's Wrzeszcz neighbourhood, from where we act as educators and mediators for empowering civic voices via the local community portal, Indeks 73. This is an informal civic movement seeking to protect freedom of artistic expression by reflecting on alternative strategies for cultural policy, the empowerment of marginalised groups, and new legal tools for the free access to cultural goods. www.kulturamiejska.pl

Schlesische 27 The basis behind Schlesische 27 is the idea that every human being is capable of creating and those who do that gain identity and self-confidence. The collective production of art can work as a catalyst for self-discovery and crucial experiences, which can have a positive effect on other areas of life--in this way, one's personal scope is broadened to take in more of the world. Hence, we sponsor events with professional artists from different backgrounds who work with children and youth in collective productions. The participants are also usually from different cultural environments and all projects have a special topic and are worked out with different artistic forms of expression (literature, film, painting, dance, etc).  www.schlesische27.de

Signis Romania Signis Romania is one of the 140 country chapters of the worldwide non-governmental organisation Signis, the "World Catholic Association for Communication". Signis World has consultative statutes with UNESCO, ECOSOC and the Council of Europe and is officially recognised by the Vatican as a Catholic organisation for communication. Signis Romania mainly develops activities in media education and training and film production and promotion. Following the model of TheOneMinutesJr projects in Amsterdam, Signis Romania initiated a series of video workshops for teenagers and young people in 2006 and has since organised 15 workshops with over 300 participants. It also collaborates with UNICEF Romania on the Festival for Child Rights. www.signis.net

Stanica The Stanica Zilina-Zariecie cultural centre in Slovakia has been the main activity of the non-governmental organisation Truc Sphérique and its completion represents a certain fulfilment of our mission. The project (Stanica) started with the reconstruction and simultaneous use of the space in the still-operating railway station Zilina-Zariecie. The result is a new centre of progressive cultural activities connecting elements of public space--an operating railway station--and elements of a multimedia cultural centre with creative, educational, social and presentation activities based on contemporary arts in the name of "art for social change".  www.stanica.sk

Tate Tate's mission is to increase the public knowledge, understanding and appreciation of art. Tate aims to develop programmes that can reach audiences beyond Tate's galleries through Tate Online, our national and international partnerships and our interpretation and education strands. Tate Online continues to deliver rich, interactive content to large and diverse audiences while aiming to connect with a younger generation of artists and audiences keen to engage with art in new and innovative ways. We continue to develop progressive media-based projects and partnerships to connect with young people across the world. www.tate.org.uk/youngtate

UNICEF UNICEF is the driving force that helps build a world where the rights of every child are realised. We influence decision-makers and a variety of partners at grassroots level to turn the most innovative ideas into reality. We believe that nurturing and caring for children are the cornerstones of human progress. We are part of the Global Movement for Children--a broad coalition dedicated to improving the life of every child. Through this movement, we encourage young people to speak out and participate in the decisions that affect their lives. www.unicef.org

YLE YLE is Finland's national public service broadcasting company and operates four national television channels and six radio channels which are complemented by 25 regional radio  programmes. In 2008, YLE's total share of daily television viewing was 44.5% and for radio listening it was 52%. YLE accounts for 49% of all viewing and listening time in Finland and is generally considered by the public to be a reliable source of news and current affairs. The company plays a major role in producing and presenting programmes dealing with national arts, educational programmes and children's programmes. YLE's services to the public also cover special and minority groups. http://yle.fi