TEENAGERS from part of the North-East will link up with contemporaries in central Europe in a video conference today.

As part of Local Democracy Week celebrations, youngsters aged 14 to 18 from Bishop Auckland Girls' Group and Durham Children and Young People's Council (DCYPC) will liaise via video link with Banska Bystrica Youth Parliament, in Slovakia.

Four teenagers from each country hope to talk about politics, youth activities and themselves during the two-hour session.

Christina Westhoff, of Durham County Council's international relations office, said: "The video link will enable the young people to learn how to communicate with teenagers from a different country and create a forum for political discussion on a local, national and global level.

"As well as being fun, it will also encourage an international exchange of issues concerning young people in the modern world."

All those taking part have already spent several hours of their free time preparing material for the conference, including photo diaries detailing their lives, hobbies, music, fashion and where they live.

Their presentations will be made during the conference in the digital media suite at Durham's Clayport Library.