The Safe.si awareness centre was invited to participate in the third presidential forum of the President of the Republic of Slovenia, Nataša Pirc Musar, which was dedicated to the issue of violence. Safe.si associate Marko Puschner participated in the forum, which took place in Brdo pri Kranju in May 2024, as a panellist on behalf of the awareness centre.

The aim of the forum was to draw attention to the pressing issue of violence, which has a negative impact on individuals, families, and society as a whole, and to propose solutions and guidelines for decision-makers. The forum brought together 19 speakers. The speakers were top experts in various fields, who participated in three panels: domestic violence, peer violence and violence against the elderly. There was great interest in attending and the conference room was full. Representatives of ministries, government organisations and agencies, head teachers and students were the majority of those who attended. Those who could not get a seat watched the forum live on the Internet.  

Puschner presented the topic of cyberbullying. He emphasised that peer-on-peer cyberbullying is a major social challenge because we do not have a good enough overview of its extent and forms. As it is only tackled at national level through individual campaigns, most of the work is left to schools without effective and clear guidelines. There is a need for systematic and continuous education on safer use of the Internet from birth onwards, which must involve parents first, and then children and young people through kindergartens and schools.  

The speakers drew up a set of recommendations for policy makers, which have been forwarded to all relevant ministries and institutions. The recommendations can be used as guidelines for the development of new policies.

Find more information (in Slovene) here.

Find more information about the work of the Slovenian Safer Internet Centre, including its awareness raising, helpline, hotline, and youth participation services, or find similar information for other Safer Internet Centres throughout Europe.