Better Internet for Kids

This year, the Safer Internet Day (SID) campaign in Estonia focused on developing children’s digital and media literacy skills. Together with partners, the Estonian Safer Internet Centre compiled thematic awareness-raising materials and carried out several thematic awareness-raising events for teachers, parents, and children, both online and offline.

The Estonian Union for Child Welfare, together with the University of Tartu and the Estonian National Library, compiled an educational material titled “Koostöös teadlikumaks interneti kasutajaks” (Becoming a better-informed internet user through cooperation) for teachers, parents, and people working with children. The material contains information about the most popular social media apps among children (for example, YouTube, Snapchat, TikTok, Instagram), along with relevant topics related to online safety (for example, privacy, platform design, influencers, misinformation, cyberbullying, AI), including thematic videos, lesson plans, games, and guidelines. The aim of the material is to provide new thematic resources that can be used in awareness-raising events for children. The material can be found on the Estonian SIC website.

Awareness-raising events 

In January, the Estonian Safer Internet Centre invited schools, kindergartens, youth centres, and libraries to organise awareness-raising events for children and students to raise their digital and media competencies and to celebrate Safer Internet Day. Altogether, more than 7,400 children and students participated in 70 Safer Internet Day awareness-raising events in schools, kindergartens, youth centres, and libraries. For example, thematic discussions and workshops for students were organised by the teachers, children created thematic posters, took part in online safety quizzes, watched thematic videos, etc. All awareness-raising activities, which were registered on the Estonian Safer Internet Centre website, were placed on the Estonian map.

CyberPin testing events 

On Safer Internet Day, Tallinn University of Technology launched the CyberPin 2025 (KüberNööpnõel) digital skills online testing event for 1st to 6th grade students, aimed at introducing online safety and cybersecurity topics to students and testing their digital skills. The CyberPin testing event is open until 31 March. So far, more than 4,400 students from 136 schools have participated in the testing event. More information can be found here.

Webinars for parents and teachers

On Safer Internet Day, the Estonian Union for Child Welfare, together with the University of Tartu and Telia Estonia, carried out a webinar for parents titled “Help, my child made a social media account”, in order to raise their awareness about opportunities and risks related to using social media platforms. Four experts participated in the discussion: Liise, youth panellist of EUCW; Kerli Valner, awareness coordinator of the Estonian SIC project Smartly on the Web in EUCW; Inger Klesment, media expert at the University of Tartu; and Maarja Punak, communication specialist at the Police and Border Guard Board. The moderator was Erki Pogoretski, data and analytics manager at Telia Estonia. Also, for the webinar, EUCW together with the University of Tartu asked 190 children via a short questionnaire about their experiences in using different social media apps. Information about the webinar and video can be found on the Estonian SIC website.

The Education and Youth Board organised two webinars for teachers about how to distinguish truth from fiction and about the opportunities and risks related to using AI by students. Tallinn University of Technology also carried out a webinar for teachers to introduce new cybersecurity learning materials, which focus on the basic level of cybersecurity and the social aspects of cybersecurity. Recordings of the webinars, together with the learning modules, are available on the Estonian SIC website.

Estonian SIC experts received state decorations by the Estonian president

In February 2025, two experts from the Estonian Safer Internet Centre received state recognition and decorations from Estonian President Alar Karis. The Estonian Safer Internet Centre coordinator in EUCW, Malle Hallimäe, received a state decoration for long-term promotion of child rights in Estonia, and Estonian SIC expert at Tallinn University of Estonia, Birgy Lorenz, received a state decoration for long-term promotion of IT education in Estonia. The Estonian Safer Internet Centre continues its work, promoting online safety, digital and media competences for children, parents, and teachers on a daily basis.

Learn more about Safer Internet Day activities in Estonia on their SID page on our platform!

Further information about the Estonian Safer Internet Centre can be found on the Better Internet for Kids (BIK) public portal, including links to its national websites and other contact information. Similar information can be found on the BIK portal for all Safer Internet Centres in Europe.