Better Internet for Kids

On 31 October 2023, ECPAT Taiwan hosted the ECPAT International Conference on child safety. Our BIK Youth Ambassador, Kathrin Morasch, a longtime advocate for online safety for children and youth, provides us with her insights regarding the conference and reflects on her involvement as a keynote speaker, sharing the perspective of the BIK+ strategy, youth participation and the European Union's rules protecting minors.

For the 2023 edition of Safer Internet Day, the Safer Internet Centre in Iceland (SAFT) focused on collaboration. SAFT is a part of a new network about media literacy in Iceland with more than 40 other partners, including the Icelandic media commission and the national broadcasting company.

Exactly one year ago, on 11 May 2022, the European Commission adopted a new European strategy for a Better Internet for Kids (BIK+), to improve age-appropriate digital services and to ensure that every child is protected, empowered and respected online. Let’s take a look at further policy developments that have happened over the course of the past year.

October marked European Cybersecurity Month (ECSM), an annual awareness-raising campaign across the European Union that includes hundreds of activities and events such as workshops and conferences. The campaign, organised by the European Network and Information Security Agency (ENISA) and the European Commission, in which the National Cybersecurity Centre (CNCS) and Portuguese Safer Internet Centre (PTSIC) were involved, has the motto for 2023: #BeSmarterThanAHacker.

Today, another edition of the bi-annual Insafe Training meeting kicks off. The event is an opportunity for the Insafe network of European Safer Internet Centres (SICs) to meet to facilitate the sharing of experience and good practices between network countries, to explore areas of common ground, and opportunities for closer working between awareness raising, helpline, and youth participation strands. The October 2023 Insafe Training meeting is held online, and includes three mornings of sessions on exploring the opportunities and challenges posed by Artificial Intelligence (AI).

On Thursday, 19 October 2023, a captivating webinar took place under the banner of the BIK Teacher corner. The event drew the attention of educators and teachers, with 23 participants coming together virtually to delve into the realm of generative AI and persuasive design. The engaging speaker, Gareth Cort, Online safety specialist, led the session, offering valuable insights into these two emerging fields.

October is the European Cybersecurity Month. During that month, the Alert Online initiative, organised by ECP Platform for Information Society, aims to raise awareness of online security and encourage more cybersecure behaviour.

At the IGF 2023 event, which took place in Kyoto from 8-12 October 2023, the Insafe delegation hosted a promotional booth in the IGF village, promoting the annual Safer Internet Day (SID) campaign and Better Internet for Kids (BIK) activities. The booth was a focal point for engaging discussions with conference participants worldwide.

The 18th Internet Governance Forum (IGF) continues in Kyoto, Japan, with the Insafe Coordinator participating in a child well-being session hosted by UNICEF and the LEGO Group.

At the 18th annual meeting of the Internet Governance Forum (IGF) held in Kyoto, Japan from 8-12 October 2023, the European network of Safer Internet Centres (SIC) contributed with a workshop on Day 0, titled Youth participation: co-creating the Insafe network. In the second part of the workshop, organised by the Insafe Coordinator in collaboration with the Belgian, Maltese, Polish, Portuguese and UK Safer Internet Centres, a special focus was given to empowering of young people and the inclusion of children and young people in vulnerable situations.