Sprichcode - a network of young people who are into creative arts

SPRICHCODE is a literature and photo competition for young people between 14 and 19 years of age: it takes places every two years, and its platform - programmed by X-Net - has become Austria's biggest communication medium for young literature and photography.

SPRICHCODE is organized by the city of Leonding (Upper Austria). The competition and its aims are supported by many business partners, media companies and sponsors. Participants get the opportunity to reach the general public and to establish contacts in the world of literature and art. In all, more than ten thousand texts, pictures or presentations have been submitted which are internet published and can be looked at or read by anyone interested, at www.sprichcode.net.

A content management system (CMS) realized by X-Net is the basis of this internet presence. The various different services offered address a broad, youthful audience: for example, an archive of previous competition presentations over the years, an email and sms distribution system, a forum for discussions etc. are included. At the same time this X-Net CMS offers competitors the opportunity to present themselves and undertake social or professional networking activities.

An instrument for information management, and an administration tool

The first consideration of this CMS were the system's four user groups, each with a different type of access. Competition participants get their personal login to place their work which website visitors can look at online; members of the jury receive general information about the competition and its participants and will evaluate the presentations, while administrators can access the database and the file system via VPN and administrate the CMS. X-Net has emphasized simple handling, high user acceptance, sustainability through potentially high action orientation and possible participation, as well as the provision of help systems in all areas.

All components used in the server system are independent of existing platforms and derive from major open source developers or projects (PostgreSQL, Zope etc.). Advantages include low costs, because no licence fees are payable for the use of X-Net's CMS; and great reliability and system stability. The clear dividing-line between design and structure allows the City Council of Leonding to change the outfit of the website easily and inexpensively. Moreover, given to the fact that the original implementation needs no changes, modular extensions of the basic system are feasible.