“Free access to information is a human right. For young people, this means being able to learn freely, think critically, and help shape democracy.“
17. October 2025
Henner Gädtke represents the Federation of German Catholic Youth (BDKJ) as its federal chairman. The BDKJ stands for self-organised youth association work in the Catholic Church and is the umbrella organisation for 17 Catholic youth associations, in which around 660,000 children and young people are organised. Why is free access to information so important for children and young people?
“Free access to information is a human right. For young people, this means being able to learn freely, think critically, and help shape democracy.
That is why we support the #FreeWebSearch charter.”
Henner Gädtke
Federal Chairman BDKJ
Henner Gädtke
Federal Chairman BDKJ
Information about the #FreeWebSearch Charter
Who decides what billions of people find on the internet – and what they don’t? This question of power is addressed by the #FreeWebSearch Charter, published by a European alliance of civil society, academia, and media organizations under the initiative of the Open Search Foundation. With ten clear principles, the initiative aims to put control over web search back in the hands of society.
![‘[…] When search engines operate in a non-transparent manner, journalistic work becomes invisible — and devalued. […]’ Danica Bensmail Federal Managing Director dju (German Union of Journalists)](https://freewebsearch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/2025_FWSD_Charter_SoMe_Statements_Bensmail_E2-80x80.png)