Better Internet for Kids

Every year on the 1 October, it is the International Day of Older Persons. The day has been founded by the United Nations (UN). The International Day of Older Persons celebrates the role of older persons in making wide-ranging contributions to economic and social development, but also challenges issues such as discrimination and social exclusion of the ageing population.

On Thursday, 22 September 2022, Better Internet for Kids (BIK) organised a Roundtable on child and youth consumer protection in digital markets on behalf of DG Communications Networks, Content and Technology (CONNECT) and DG Justice and Consumers (JUST) of the European Commission. The event took place online.

September is almost over, which means that another edition of the Positive Online Content Campaign (POCC) is wrapping up. Various activities took place throughout the month to raise awareness about the importance of positive online content for children, and to encourage a fruitful discussion among industry, content and services producers, parents, carers and teachers, and youth to encourage the production of more positive, playful, safe online experiences for children.

The Finnish Media Education Forum organised annually by the National Audiovisual Institute (KAVI) celebrated its 10th anniversary this spring. This year’s forum was, for the first time ever, a hybrid event. In addition to the in-person event held in Helsinki, Finland, media education professionals also had the opportunity to join the event online. Speeches and discussions providing fresh new perspectives on media education were streamed live. Discussions focused on how to provide inclusive, in other words, equal and accessible media education for everyone.

It’s once again time to back to school, a new school year which will also be increasingly digital. The digital resources, applications and platforms that students can access on the internet are an important asset to their academic and personal development, provided they are used conscientiously.

There are more and more online security threats that must be met with special care. New attacks, combined with the exploitation of users' lack of digital literacy, are among the trends that continue in cybersecurity threats. The Portuguese Safer Internet Centre explains the concerns about online safety.

On 20- 21 September 2022, INHOPE (the International Association of Internet Hotlines) held its fifth annual summit, hosted by Amazon Web Services in Washington D.C., with a theme of “Talk about it”.

Do you know the dangers that exist in social networks? The Portuguese Safer Internet Centre (SIC), through the National Cybersecurity Centre (CNCS), has launched the second edition of the open and massive online course (MOOC) "Cybersocial citizen". This training is completely free and will make you aware of all the dangers on social networks.

On the second day of the C-Days 2022 – the Portuguese annual cybersecurity conference - Raúl Melo, a psychologist from the General Directorate for Intervention on Addictive Behaviours and Dependencies (SICAD), presented the "Eu e os Outros" game on the panel "Society: non-substance addiction and problematic internet use” explaining the importance of considering mental health in order to invest in prevention measures.

Safer Internet Centres in Europe convene youth panels to help guide their work and ensure it is targeted at those it aims to support – that is, children and young people. Denisa (18), a member of the Czech Safer Internet Centre’s youth panel, has started a peer-to-peer programme at her school with help from the centre. The main idea of peer programmes is the involvement of professionally educated young people in preventive activities and peer support.