As part of the Better Internet for Kids (BIK) Quality Assurance Programme (QAP), the Insafe-INHOPE Coordination Teams are jointly conducting a set of fifteen country visits to national Safer Internet Centres (SICs) to better understand what is happening in the Member States: monitoring emerging issues and challenges, identifying good practices to be shared, and harvesting the results of Better Internet for Kids (BIK) policy. On 22 October 2024, a national visit took place with the Slovakian SIC at the premises of the Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs and Family in Bratislava.  

The Slovakian Safer Internet Centre (SIC) is coordinated by the national body responsible for child protection (NKS) as part of the Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs and Family. NKS carries out awareness raising activities, and coordinates the SIC consortium with three partners: DigiQ, an NGO which focuses on digital education, peer-to-peer learning, and intergenerational which carries out awareness raising activities; a hotline; and a helpline.  

In terms of awareness raising activities, the following were highlighted by NKS:  

• An evening school from experts to the general public. This was inspired by a similar project implemented by the Polish SIC. This public-school project is a prime example of the benefit of having the Insafe-INHOPE network. The school involves online workshops focused on various themes. Workshops are held monthly and are usually attended by around 200 participants.
• Safer Internet Day (SID) 2023 celebrations marked the first edition of a competition by the SIC. The competition consists of asking children and young people in schools across the country to respond to a question artistically. The first edition saw the participation of 75 schools reaching more than 2,200 children from all around the country.
• NKS, in partnership with the Catholic University of Ružomberok and digiQ, has been organising a yearly conference on child safety in the digital environment since 2023. The conference includes keynote sessions, workshops and lectures and provides a space for networking and cooperation between child safety experts and field practitioners.
• The SIC also organises the Digital Youth Forum. The forum targets high school students and focuses on safe, creative and positive use of digital technologies. It involves lectures, discussions and fun activities. Its main principles are a positive perception of digital technologies and lectures organised by young people for young people. In the 2023 and 2024 editions, 160 high school students participated in each. The themes covered during the forum include women in IT, sexual education, video games, etc. The forum takes place in a different region of the country each year.
• NKS also hosts a podcast that is available on YouTube and Spotify. The podcast delves into various topics about child protection but often covers digital issues as well.
• NKS also offer an educational programme on child protection in the digital environment for field practitioners who work with children regularly (e.g. teachers and educators, tutors, mentors, and psychologists). Each course is made up of seven modules and offers a certificate at the end. It has been running for two years with 160 graduates to date.

In addition to the SIC coordinator the consortium partner digiQ undertakes additional awareness activities across the country in close collaboration with the other SIC consortium partners. As non-formal education approaches are particularly important, digiQ focuses most of its awareness activities on this sector, while the SIC coordinator operates mainly in formal educational settings with its awareness raising activities. This approach allows both partners to complement each other’s efforts.

Youth participation activities are facilitated by digiQ. During this national visit, the presentation of the youth participation activities was delivered by a young person, who has been a member of the youth panel and he is also a member of the digiPEER programme, which gives the young people the opportunity to become a peer trainer. As part of this role, they visit schools across the country and teach other students about crucial issues such as critical thinking and well-being. In addition to working with young people, the digiPEERS programme also focuses on inter-generational learning. This effort is supported by the Ministry of IT. The aim is to support senior citizens in the digital transformation, helping them with technical set-ups, supporting their basic digital skills and raising more awareness and understanding of online safety topics.

NL (MORE THAN NI(c)K) is the first and only state-established guaranteed helpline for children and young people. It is part of the national project “Prevention and elimination of violence and social exclusion through national helplines”. The project was based on the need for a comprehensive form of distance counselling. The counselling itself is largely provided by NGOs but until the state intervention their counselling and the advice they provided was non-enforceable. Now distance counselling is standardised and available free of charge throughout the year.

The helpline is for all children and young people who find themselves in a serious situation and are looking for help or support or simply someone to talk to. The service is free and can be contacted by chat or email. Emails are provided via pomoc@viacakonick.gov.sk and a response is guaranteed within 24 hours.

PROTECT ME is the only national hotline fighting against Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) and other inappropriate or potentially illegal content posted on the internet. One of the main objectives is to alert Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to the need to quickly remove CSAM from the internet and to ensure such cases are reported to law enforcement authorities to help identify both the child and the perpetrator. The hotline mostly handles reports involving CSAM shared through Pixhost and everything reported is deleted within hours.

Further information about the Slovakian 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.