It was a jam-packed programme...

-- More than two dozen case studies of real-life projects from all over the world presented and their secrets explained, plus tips on how to pay for it all.

-- Content-rich study tours to the offices of two winners of the World Young Reader Prize -- Gazeta Wyborcza and Metro -- and exclusive insights into their success

-- A private visit to the 17th-century-old Presidential Palace and a dinner with the First Lady of Poland

The work began with a sessions about helping assure basic reading skills on any platform and continues through to an examination of the most creative and effecitve digital connections we can possibly make, with a consideration of our core purpose -- journalism -- all the way along.

Together, participants then examined the best practices of today, celebrated the latest winners of the World Young Reader Prize and explored ideas for what should happen next and end with some in-depth work in an Ideathon, a workshop and a study visit. 

What they said about it:

"This meeting was NOT for people who wanted to discuss how important young readers are for the future of newspapers. We knew it already. We met rather to share case studies on successful initiatives, to discuss in detail what works and what is a waste of money, and to network with people like us who prefer to face challenges in a bold way instead of only talking about them.

 -- Grzegorz Piechota , European president, International News Marketing Association and director of editorial development, Gazeta Wyborcza, Poland.

"I found the two days incredibly inspiring.  It was great to see the amazing projects that newspaper organisations around the world were doing to encourage the next generation of readers. I also made lots of contacts with fellow professionals and exchanged ideas and resources.  It both encouraged and revitalised me to carry on our work here back at the Guardian Education Centre."

"The WAN-IFRA Youth Engagement Summit served as a big inspiration to me to continue to work to reach out to young readers. The experience was like sitting in a dynamic, global newsroom that constantly came up with novel ideas for engaging children and teens. The conference not only validates our work but motivates us to do so much more when we see practical examples of what other newspapers are doing.

 -- Kannal Achuthan, Principal Correspondent and Chief Sub-Editor, The Hindu in School, India

"This summit is a great way to share experience. Some of the examples given from all over the world, I can surely adapt to use in my region.  And I’ll be very proud if one of my ideas can work as a blueprint for any newspaper abroad."

-- Wolfgang Grandjean, Marketing Director, SDZ Medien, publishers of Schwäbische Post and Gnümder Tagespost

"The summit was – for me -- an experience of a lifetime. I met people I would never have met anywhere else and learned a lot about how colleagues think and work in other countries. I will try to implement some of the tips I got in my work."

-- Siri Gulliksen Tømmerbakke, Editorial Project Director, Engagement Guaranteed, Avisa Nordland Media, Norway

"In this truly inspiring environment, it was thrilling to take part of all the creative young reader projects that go on across the globe! I went home and immediately started talking about the 'Gazeta Wyborcza-way' to build the newsroom."

-- Anders Goliger, Managing Editor, Göteborgs-Posten, Sweden

“Far beyond academic guessing, WAN-IFRA’s youth engagement conferences provide practical ideas to improve, immediately, the readership of the news we produce on any platform available, among young readers and also not-so-ones who have contemporary minds. Fresh ideas straight from the sources who are facing and winning the present challenges of the industry assure that nobody returns home without a bunch of good reasons to turn the tide to our side.”

--Marcelo Rech, chairman of WAN-IFRA Latin America Advisory Committee and general director of journalism, RBS Group, Brazil

I'd like to thank you and your team for the perfect organization of the WAN-IFRA event in Poland at the beginning of this week. I've learned a lot and had a wonderful time at Warsaw. The visits to the palace and the ambassador were great. Talking to colleagues of 22 other countries was the part I appreciated the most. It opened my eyes, because I've learned different ways to look at the same subject. Again: A big thank you from the Netherlands and MijnZ."

-- Sander Lindenburg, MijnZ project specialist and multimedia reporter

* In the first round of the latest WAN-IFRA membership survey, 86% of resondents deemed "engaging the youth audience" as important or extremely important opportunity, ranking that 7th among a total 23 activities.