On Safer Internet Day (SID) 2023 schools, libraries and youth centres in Latvia were invited to raise awareness of a better internet for kids and safer internet usage among children. Anyone could join and get involved in SID activities on 7 February, and throughout the month of February 2023, by organising educational events and activities on internet safety in their counties, cities, municipalities and villages, involving children, young people and parents.
The Latvian Safer Internet Centre registered a record number of 184 national events for the first time since the start of the SID initiative. The events were organised across Latvia and educating more than 17,000 participants. All events are marked and available on the Latvian Safer Internet Day 2023 event map
Activities in the region were mainly based on the topics and information disseminated by the Latvian SIC about the social campaign “You are what you are doing on the internet” aimed to raise awareness among children and youngsters on how their online activities can influence them.
To encourage young people to think about their online activities and how they can affect their present life and future, the Latvian SIC - with the involvement of representatives of the Youth Panel, talented copywriter Reinis Piziks and popular Latvian influencers Niklavs and EdgarFresh (these are their nicknames) - developed six campaign videos on topics such as: the respect for one another, daily obsession with social media, balance between the real and virtual worlds, etc. The videos have reached more than 12,700 views on YouTube and have been promoted in both influencers’ channels on TikTok and Instagram. You can watch the video on the Latvian SIC website.
The videos were disseminated in schools within the SID lesson plan for pupils of grade 5-12 including exercises, short advice with recommendations for teachers, how to step-by-step organise a SID-themed lesson, and at the end of the lesson pupils could complete six assessment tests to test their knowledge and understanding of the main topics of the social campaign. The tests were completed by more than 22,200 pupils. Most active schools received souvenirs as well.
The smallest kids, grades 1-4, got involved in the SID celebrations by engaging in five fun activities, filling out riddles about internet safety and media literacy, and decorated their class with their teachers using a special colouring flag with the Safer Internet Day logo on it.
In many Latvian school libraries, Safer Internet Day was celebrated by using a package of printed internet safety resources received from the Latvian SIC, which were delivered to school libraries with the support of the Latvian National Library and the Riga Central Library. In total, around 350 school libraries used our disseminated resources to inform their visitors – mainly children, teachers and parents. And 350 other school libraries, who did not receive the set of posters in the first round, expressed their interest in receiving the materials.
Another very useful contribution supporting SID celebrations in Latvia was from the Youth Panel members, who went to their schools and neighbouring schools to give a peer-to-peer lesson on internet safety to younger children. They are very closely involved in the work of the Safer Internet Centre on a daily basis, so they were able to share their knowledge and experience with younger kids and educating them on safe internet usage. They all enjoyed this experience and found it very useful. Some of them even brought SIC’s mascot Vaifijs with them to make the lesson more creative and engaging for small kids.
Find out more about Safer Internet Day in Latvia. Alternatively, find more information about the work of the Latvian Safer Internet Centre, including their awareness raising, helpline, hotline, and youth participation services – or find similar information for Safer Internet Centres throughout Europe.
On Safer Internet Day (SID) 2023 schools, libraries and youth centres in Latvia were invited to raise awareness of a better internet for kids and safer internet usage among children. Anyone could join and get involved in SID activities on 7 February, and throughout the month of February 2023, by organising educational events and activities on internet safety in their counties, cities, municipalities and villages, involving children, young people and parents.
The Latvian Safer Internet Centre registered a record number of 184 national events for the first time since the start of the SID initiative. The events were organised across Latvia and educating more than 17,000 participants. All events are marked and available on the Latvian Safer Internet Day 2023 event map
Activities in the region were mainly based on the topics and information disseminated by the Latvian SIC about the social campaign “You are what you are doing on the internet” aimed to raise awareness among children and youngsters on how their online activities can influence them.
To encourage young people to think about their online activities and how they can affect their present life and future, the Latvian SIC - with the involvement of representatives of the Youth Panel, talented copywriter Reinis Piziks and popular Latvian influencers Niklavs and EdgarFresh (these are their nicknames) - developed six campaign videos on topics such as: the respect for one another, daily obsession with social media, balance between the real and virtual worlds, etc. The videos have reached more than 12,700 views on YouTube and have been promoted in both influencers’ channels on TikTok and Instagram. You can watch the video on the Latvian SIC website.
The videos were disseminated in schools within the SID lesson plan for pupils of grade 5-12 including exercises, short advice with recommendations for teachers, how to step-by-step organise a SID-themed lesson, and at the end of the lesson pupils could complete six assessment tests to test their knowledge and understanding of the main topics of the social campaign. The tests were completed by more than 22,200 pupils. Most active schools received souvenirs as well.
The smallest kids, grades 1-4, got involved in the SID celebrations by engaging in five fun activities, filling out riddles about internet safety and media literacy, and decorated their class with their teachers using a special colouring flag with the Safer Internet Day logo on it.
In many Latvian school libraries, Safer Internet Day was celebrated by using a package of printed internet safety resources received from the Latvian SIC, which were delivered to school libraries with the support of the Latvian National Library and the Riga Central Library. In total, around 350 school libraries used our disseminated resources to inform their visitors – mainly children, teachers and parents. And 350 other school libraries, who did not receive the set of posters in the first round, expressed their interest in receiving the materials.
Another very useful contribution supporting SID celebrations in Latvia was from the Youth Panel members, who went to their schools and neighbouring schools to give a peer-to-peer lesson on internet safety to younger children. They are very closely involved in the work of the Safer Internet Centre on a daily basis, so they were able to share their knowledge and experience with younger kids and educating them on safe internet usage. They all enjoyed this experience and found it very useful. Some of them even brought SIC’s mascot Vaifijs with them to make the lesson more creative and engaging for small kids.
Find out more about Safer Internet Day in Latvia. Alternatively, find more information about the work of the Latvian Safer Internet Centre, including their awareness raising, helpline, hotline, and youth participation services – or find similar information for Safer Internet Centres throughout Europe.
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