Better Internet for Kids

Latvian pupils were invited to participate in the E-knowledge Championship, an online test to assess their knowledge of the safe and meaningful use of the internet. Pupils could participate in the test throughout the month of February, during informatics and computer science lessons, classroom meetings, or individually. The test questions varied according to the age group: 1st-4th grade forms, 5th-7th grade forms, 8th-9th grade forms, as well as 10th-12th grade forms. The E-knowledge Championship is already the third large-scale test of pupils' knowledge organised by the Latvian SIC, and based on practical tasks.

To discuss how technologies and the internet have changed the world and whether the public is ready for that, on Tuesday, 11 February 2020, an online discussion "Caught in the Net" was organised in cooperation with major Latvian news portal Delfi.lv. The discussion involved adults and young people from 10th-12th grade. It was moderated by the portal's editor-in-chief Ingus Bērziņš,  with invited experts – Head of Latvian SIC Maija Katkovska, Manager of podcast #DigitālāsBrokastis Artis Ozoliņš, Associated Professor of Riga Stradins University, social anthropologist Klāvs Sedlenieks, Manager of podcast #PēdējāPilīte and rapper Jānis Krīvēns. The discussion was live streamed on Facebook, on news portal Delfi and on Drossinternets.lv. During the discussion, experts agreed on a number of key issues that adults must be educated about, because their digital skills and critical thinking play a very significant role in giving valuable advice to children and protecting them from the threats they may encounter on the internet.

Like every year, in February 2020, more than 100 institutions across Latvia, including schools, libraries and youth centres, organised educational activities and events for children,  teenagers and adults of their district or town to celebrate SID and raise awareness of safe internet usage – giving useful information to avoid online risks and protect themselves on the internet, while promoting a respectful attitude to others in the virtual environment.

The events appear on the Latvian SID 2020 map. The organisers of the events (schools, libraries and youth centres) received a SID promotional pack of goodies – chain of flags, stickers, candy for children and SID poster to attract and involve more young people in their event.

From Monday, 10 to Friday, 16 February, the Helpline 116111 of the State Children Rights Protection Inspectorate organised the campaign "I prefer to speak" to highlight the issue of psychological violence on the internet.

Every year, the Latvian helpline receives several hundreds of calls concerning children's safety on the internet – children often feel embarrassed, desperate and do not know how to act to solve these situations on the internet.

During the campaign, both children and their legal representatives could get psychological support and useful information on how to act if a child has been abused on the internet. Recently, the Latvian helpline announced a new feature for children, who can now contact the helpline specialists through online consultations – the chat window is available on the helpline's website.

This year, the Latvian SIC also encouraged people to add a SID 2020 frame to their profile photos on Facebook, thus supporting the events and activities organised in Latvia on Tuesday, 11 February 2020 and throughout the month to promote a safer internet for children, teenagers and adults.

For more information about Safer Internet Day activities in Latvia, visit the Latvian Safer Internet Centre's Safer Internet Day profile page.

Find out more information about the work of the Latvian Safer Internet Centre (SIC) generally, including its awareness raising, helpline, hotline and youth participation services, or find similar information for Safer Internet Centres throughout Europe.