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Education

European referendum: Pupils ‘fear being forced out’

by Rajdeep
written by Rajdeep

Children with flags - posed by models

Young pupils from European backgrounds fear they may be forced to leave Britain, heads are warning in an open letter to the Prime Minister.

National Association of Head Teachers general secretary Russell Hobby says many are fearful of a potential rise in racism and community conflict.

He called for a government statement to reassure European Union pupils.

David Cameron has told MPs that EU nationals’ rights are guaranteed while Britain remains in the EU.

And he stressed that those in the Leave campaign also wanted to guarantee the rights of those working and studying in Britain.

“But,” he added, “we can’t say that now, we have to say that as part of the negotiation that will shortly take place.”

‘Address their fears’

Mr Hobby said in his letter: “Pupils are worried about being forced to leave Britain.

“They are fearful of a potential rise in racism and community conflict. They are concerned about their prospects in an uncertain and isolated Britain.

“It is not just the economic markets that need calming. Our young people need a statement from the government to address their fears.

“NAHT strongly urges the government to give pupils from the EU better assurance that they will be able to complete their school education without interruption; that they and their families remain welcome and valued members of the communities they call home.

“Our schools are the places in which we shape our future as a nation. Our teachers and school leaders can help young people make sense of dramatic changes and build their own plans.

“To do this, we need clarity, swiftly. Please do not ignore the impact of the EU referendum result on the next generation.”

The letter comes after a reported upsurge in racist incidents, in the wake of the vote to leave the EU.

In Parliament on Monday, Mr Cameron said: “In the past few days we have seen despicable graffiti daubed on a Polish community centre, we’ve seen verbal abuse hurled against individuals because they are members of ethnic minorities,” Cameron said.

“Let’s remember these people have come here and made a wonderful contribution to our country. We will not stand for hate crime or these kinds of attacks, they must be stamped out.”

In a statement a Department for Education spokesman said no child “should live in fear or racism or bullying”.

“The Prime Minister has been clear there will be no immediate changes for European citizens living in the UK.

“We will not stand for intolerance and hate crimes of any kind must be stamped out,” said the spokesman.

The National Union of Teachers is now working on materials to teachers to use in schools at a time of increasing racial tension.

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Internet

EU policy doc recommends building ‘European Internet Firewall’ similar to China’s – “Let’s build a new digital Europe!”

by Loknath Das
written by Loknath Das

EU flag

A team of authors asked by the Policy Department of the European Parliament to provide a “visionary worldwide overview of new digital services” and to derive an action plan for MEPs has this week published its findings. Surprisingly, one of the key recommendations for the long-term is for the EU to build its own ‘European Internet’ – making direct comparisons to the ‘Great Firewall of China’.

China has long been criticised by Western countries, academics and companies for its locked down approach to the Internet. Through a combination of legislative and technological levers, China restricts access to foreign websites, information and internet traffic.

The criticism typically refers to the founding ambitions for the Internet, which were focused on open access for all and enabling the free exchange of ideas and information. It has been argued that China has used its ‘great firewall’ to limit opposition to its one party state and there have been reports of the government using control of the Internet to make citizen arrests.

For a detailed background read on the implications of China’s firewall, you can read resources here and here.

The report published this week by the European Union assesses a range of digital opportunities for the trading block across the short to long term. I won’t go into all the details, but it covers everything from 5G, to using DNA to provide personalised services, to brain controlled digital tech.

It seems that without any sense of irony, the authors of the report state:

The conceptual foundation for this report is benign and positive. We do not look too deeply into the risks and potentially dangerous scenarios, but rather attempt to understand the possible chances and opportunities.

They also go on to advise that the European Parliament take a “leading stance in the global digitalisation”. Not sure how globalisation squares with a territorial focused Internet, but we will leave that aside for one minute.

On the topic of a ‘European Internet’, the firewall idea is one of the key recommendations for the EU over the long term. The authors write:

The EU should include an action plan for a digital cloud – a European Internet – in the DSA [Digital Services Act]. This European Cloud would foster a European digital ecosystem based on data and innovation. It would drive competition and set standards. Foreign web services could become part of such a digital ecosystem but must adhere to the rules and standards of the EU – such as democratic values, data protection, data accessibility, transparency and user friendliness.

Technologically, it would require a top-level infrastructure, high-speed 5G or a 6G data network and a firewall. Setting up such a network would promote many European companies and therefore boost business and drive innovation.

Like the Chinese firewall, this European internet would block off services that condone or support unlawful conduct from third party countries.

It would appear that the ambition is to use the firewall to favour European technology companies, much in the way that China has been able to push its domestic tech into the hands of citizens by restricting access to international services.

That is one sure fire way to drive EU growth, but does limit consumer choice and international competition. That may be the aim, but it’s a very different scenario to the one EU citizens currently live.

Elsewhere, the report talks about the impact of COVID-19 and the need to aggressively pursue further digitisation. The report notes:

At the time of writing this report in March and April 2020 it becomes visible that digital technology has become the backbone of all aspects of European society. The shutdown of many EU countries due to COVID-19 (Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2) demonstrates how important a sophisticated digital infrastructure is to keep economies running even at a basic level. During quarantine and under curfews, digital services enable working from home for many people.

They also support private life, as digital services and e-commerce assists in providing the European population with food and supplies, entertainment, and the possibility to meet remotely. Governments and administrations in the EU can continue to govern and take decisions by digital teleworking and remote meetings. Without digital solutions the crisis would have had a worse impact.”

My take

It’s hard to know at this point if this report will be taken at all seriously by the European Parliament. However, it’s an idea that will be highly controversial and will likely raise questions about what sort of market interaction the EU wants to have with the rest of the world. In addition, member states will likely – and rightly – have questions regarding the level of control this gives the EU.

source: diginomica

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Blogging

5 Irrefutable Reasons Why All European Startups Should Invest in Blogging

by Loknath Das
written by Loknath Das

5 Irrefutable Reasons Why All European Startups Should Invest in Blogging

Content sits upon the throne as the undisputed monarch of modern marketing. There are few more trustworthy avenues for generating exposure and building a customer base than through the process of setting up a digital space for a dedicated blog or quality content.

The potential benefits of investing in blogging and content are no more pronounced than with European startups, where the prospect of placing engaging material under the noses of audiences across the EU can drive interest from areas of the continent and beyond that would’ve otherwise remained oblivious to your endeavor.

But how necessary is the act of investing in a blog? And how can it help in growing a startup into a company with a multinational following? Here are five irrefutable reasons why all European startups should consider creating quality content.

1. Strategic expansion

The best way to build traffic and leads for your website hinges on its ability to feature highly enough in the results pages of Google. However, given that there’s little room for yourself and all like-minded endeavors to attain a position of prominence at the top of search engine results pages, it’s down to you to make your website visible for your prospective audience.

A direct search for your company name should be an easy way of appearing on the first page of Google. But unfortunately, people don’t generally look for company names on search engines — they look for answers to problems.

The names of startups won’t be near the first page for queries based on their products, so it’s vital that you work on gaining exposure.

Here, content is key. If you’re creating quality content that’s filled with the right blend of keywords that are likely to be included as search engine queries, you’ll be placing yourself in a strategically advantageous position in offering an answer to your audience’s questions — and in doing so, attracting them to your pages.

The key here is research. Keyword research to be more specific. As a startup, your website may not have the weight to rank for high-volume, high competition phrases. Hence, it’s vital to tap into low-hanging fruits.

To do that, tools such as Ahrefs or Moz can help.

Start by identifying high-volume yet low competition keywords.

Let’s assume you’re running an email marketing startup. Although it might be challenging to tackle keywords such as “email marketing” right off the bat, by digging deeper into research, you’ll be sure to identify some decent keywords as shown below.

Ahrefs Keyword Research

As a European startup, gaining search engine prominence through effective contenthas the potential to transform your business from a local entity into one that has a continental reach. At a time when you’re wholly dependent on raising awareness of your company and encouraging a healthy level of sales, this extra exposure could pay dividends in ensuring your expansion into a comfortable business.

2. Foreseeable futureproofing

You may or may not be aware of the term evergreen content, but it refers to the creation of content that’s structured to stand the test of time and encourage traffic to your site from search engines.

By creating a blog that engages with an audience while answering frequently asked questions  they may have regarding your industry, you’re able to guarantee a long-term flow of traffic to your pages as well as establishing yourself as a leading knowledge base on the topics that interest your customers.

To create effective evergreen content, be sure to avoid including time-specific references or focal points in your articles. To base a blog post on a news story is a great way of getting short-term traffic, but to find a recurring theme within a news piece and draw on that instead could make a big difference when it comes to winning customers a few months down the line.

Another useful way of sounding out the potential for an evergreen post is to monitor websites such as Quora and forum-based question-and-answer platforms. If you can identify relevant trending topics that are yet to be touched on by your competitors, there’s nothing stopping you from creating an engaging post that appeals directly to the users that are asking such questions online.

This tactic is arguably the most effective way of futureproofing your website and ensuring that you’ll always have a healthy stream of traffic entering your pages.

3. Opportunities for feedback

By investing in blogging and quality content, you’re creating a fresh and engaging avenue of communication between your brand and your audience. This is vital in developing a trustworthy reputation for your prospective customers.

The comments section of your company blog makes for an excellent space for you to communicate directly to customers and visitors alike. This engagement opportunity is highly valuable because everybody you’re interacting with has already displayed enough interest in your brand by visiting your pages — whereas interactions on social media may be valuable, but will likely not result in as many sales.

The level of engagement you can bring through the medium of a dedicated blog and quality content is scalable, too. Some websites offer a free giveaway of a product or service within their blog posts as a way of encouraging more comments and user interaction. Cloudways points out that this method has the potential to produce lots of valuable user-created content that you could ultimately leverage to build a stronger customer base.

4. Reputation building

Blogs have the power to become the perfect representative of your brand. Today, it’s never been easier for customers to make purchases from anywhere in Europe, so startups have a huge market in which to craft their reputation.

Although traffic may be initially slow, through the right use of keyword research and regularly published content you’ll be able to build a recurring audience for your posts who will likely trust your brand ahead of your competitors.

In fact, according to HubSpot, companies that publish more than 16 blog posts per months get 3.5 times more traffic than those businesses that publish up to four blog posts.

Given the interconnectivity that Europe enjoys today, developing a positive reputation is vital — a collection of poor reviews that are visible to people searching for your startup could severely hinder its progress. By building a blog that showcases quality content, you can ensure that prospective customers have as positive and engaging experience as possible.

5. The pied piper of subscriptions and value

There are few things more alluring to prospective customers than content. Sure, newsletters are great for building a customer base, but the problem with this approach alone is that you can never be confident that you’ve gathered the right audience. Blogging, however, ensures that your output is popular with the right people.

It’s no stretch to say that high-quality content is a draw for audiences, and the best blogs will motivate visitors toward subscriptions. By utilizing your blog to encourage users to subscribe to a mailing list, you can leverage your pages to include call-to-actions and detail-free gifts and offers to award visitors in return for their email addresses.

[“source=entrepreneur”]
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