The European SafeOnline Initiative (ESOI) 

• Why do children love to use social media and what do they do online?  
• How to bridge the digital divide between parents and children?  
• How can parents and caregivers guide children in their digital development? 

The European SafeOnline Initiative (ESOI) answers these questions through a pioneering project that supports parents and caregivers in assisting their children in their digital exploration. 

Digital parenting involves parents understanding their child's online activities, teaching their children to use technology safely, wisely and responsibly, and setting agreements and boundaries together in a positive way. But parents and caregivers can only take on this role if they are well-informed about digital technology. We need to give them the necessary tools and resources to help children in risk situations while stimulating their creativity and learning in a fun way. 

The European Safe Online Initiative (ESOI) was created following the successful Flemish initiative Veilig Online, developed by Child Focus and the Gezinsbond, which organised more than 1,500 training sessions for parents since 2007. ESOI, through eight partners in five European countries, now reaches thousands of parents and teaches them how to support their children online. Through training and information sessions, ESOI aims to raise awareness among parents and caregivers about children's media use and provide them with the tools to recognise and address potential risks online, such as cross-border sexting or cyberbullying. 

At ESOI's closing conference on 8 June 2023, partners from Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Greece and Romania shared their experiences and report on the methodology, the challenges they experienced and the solutions they developed to support parents in their education around digital media. 

With an ESOI training demo and toolkit, the conference aimed to provide an impetus to introduce the program in other European countries and contribute to the debate on digital parenting. In this way, we will make children's online experiences safer, more meaningful and more fun.  

Find out more about the work and initiatives of the Belgian Safer Internet Centre or find similar information for Safer Internet Centres throughout Europe.