Better Internet for Kids

While simultaneously facing the war and the massive displacement of those affected by the conflict, the Ukrainian Safer Internet Centre provides educational tools for teachers, psychologists, and youth workers.

Always available entertaining and informative content provides countless benefits, but what not all content creators are aware of is that it can also have negative consequences on their follower’s psychological health. Children and young people look at individual content creators as role models, ask them for advice on what to do in a particular situation or share that they are victims of various forms of violence.

In October 2022, the day after the Safer Internet Forum (SIF), participants from the SIC+ programme gathered together from all over the world to participate in the SIC+ Focus Group in Brussels. In addition to the SIC+ members, a number of European Safer Internet Centres (SICs), the European Commission (EC), BIK Youth Ambassadors and Twitter were also represented. The session focused on two main topics for exchange: public-private partnerships and Safer Internet Day 2023. This article provides a brief overview of the points discussed.

Cyberbullying does not always start as an intentionally harmful act. At times, it can start as a joke, with someone taking a picture of their peer and sharing it on social networks without permission, and without realising it can indeed be hurtful. Sometimes, teasing could just arise out of boredom, but then turn into a more serious matter.

Last month, the FSM - Freiwillige Selbstkontrolle Multimedia-Diensteanbieter e. V. presented its report on the protection of minors from harmful media for the second time after five years. Kathrin from Germany, a longstanding BIK Youth Ambassador was invited to contribute to the panel discussion on the report’s results.

The Irish Safer Internet Centre has started a new youth-led project called ‘Casting the Net’. The project is a new youth-led audio series hosted by teens for teens exploring the breadth and depth of the online world.

Today, 3 November 2022, is the international day against violence and bullying at school including cyberbullying. The day recognises that school-related violence in all its forms is an infringement of children’s and adolescents’ rights to education and to health and well-being.

This year’s edition of the annual Safer Internet Forum (SIF) is a youth-led event, with young people playing an active role in the planning, preparation and delivery of the forum. SIF takes place in a hybrid format in Brussels, Belgium and online on Thursday, 27 October 2022 with a theme of A Digital Decade for children and youth: BIK+ to protect, empower and respect!

Today, the Insafe network of European Safer Internet Centres (SICs) meets for another edition of the bi-annual training meeting. This event is an opportunity to facilitate 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. For the first time since the pandemic, the training meeting is being held face-to-face in Brussels, Belgium.

‘‘They say ‘young people are the future’. They say they are future voters, future politicians, and future teachers, and that’s why it’s important to empower them. But they’re wrong - young people are also the present.‘‘ - Vice-President of the EU Democracy and Demography Dubravka Šuica stated at the 14th European Forum on the rights of the child. This blog is authored by BIK Youth Ambassador, Prachi, 16, from Ireland who took part in the Forum expressing her views on the BIK+ strategy.