Better Internet for Kids

On 4 May 2023 - the day of the restoration of the independence of the Republic of Latvia, the coordinator of the Latvian Safer Internet Centre (SIC) Maija Katkovska received the highest award of the Latvian state - the Cross of Recognition – for raising awareness about internet safety and media literacy for children in Latvia, and ensuring the work of the hotline fighting Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) online. The award was presented by the President of Latvia.

The Youth Internet Monitor is an initiative of Saferinternet.at and presents current data on the social media use of Austria's young people. Which social networks are currently popular among young users in Austria? Which networks are most popular with girls? Which ones are the most popular with boys?

From 17 April to 7 May 2023, various organisations from all over Europe took part in the annual campaign All Digital Weeks 2023 (ADWeeks2023), organised by ALL DIGITAL. The aim of the campaign is to encourage EU citizens to continuously improve their digital skills, to discover technologies and their benefits, and to take advantage of digital opportunities in their daily and professional lives. More than 800 events were organised across Europe, involving around 100,000 European citizens.

The Irish Safer Internet Centre has added a new audio series to the Casting the net initiative. Read on to discover more about the podcasts.

On 31 October 2023, ECPAT Taiwan hosted the ECPAT international conference on child safety. The conference covered a wide range of topics related to child safety online, from the impact of pornography to digital literacy and the role of schools and parents in fostering a safer online environment for children. The discussions were informative and provided valuable insights into the challenges and opportunities in child safety.

The first “Capture the Flag” or CTF competition occurred back in 1996 in DEFCON, one of the most important cybersecurity conferences in the USA, and the name comes from the outdoor game, where participants try to seek and find and retrieve a physical "flag". Also, CTFs still have many similarities to early "wargaming" and "king-of-the-hill" cyber security competitions. Nowadays, the CTF term encompasses a range of competition types that target a broad audience and are used for both competitive and educational purposes.

The new European strategy for a Better Internet for Kids (BIK+ strategy), adopted in May 2022, emphasises the need to pay careful attention to children with special or specific needs, or from disadvantaged and vulnerable backgrounds. In the new strategy, the European Commission sets out clear priorities for young people with a range of vulnerabilities, with the overarching aim to ensure that no one is left behind, and that all children and young people have a voice when it comes to matters in the digital sphere.

The Greek Safer Internet Centre (SIC) and the Greek Ministry of Education, with the support of UNICEF, are joining forces to promote online safety and digital citizenship education specifically designed for migrant and refugee children living in Greece.

Digital parenting is first and foremost parenting. It involves guiding children to use technology safely and wisely, understanding their online activities, setting boundaries together with children and teaching them to be responsible in a positive and beneficial way. It also includes informing parents themselves about digital technology and providing them with the tools and resources they need to support children when facing risks and learning them how to enhance their creativity, all while having fun.

The Insafe network of helplines collects data about the types of calls they receive and this is analysed every three months in order to look at possible trends and emerging issues.