Better Internet for Kids

Social media is a fantastic way to connect and share with others. One of the great things about social media is we can decide what photos, posts, and videos we share, and as a result, many of us present an idealistic version of ourselves. It’s a great way of sharing parts of our lives – posting images and captions we want others to see. But we are less likely to share the parts we don’t want others to see, or possibly think they wouldn’t be interested in. While social media has many benefits, it can be a place where we feel pressure to live up to certain standards, or which can instil self-doubt when we see images or the lifestyles of others.

Since the beginning of lockdowns and social distancing, instances of online fraud have increased. The Belgian Safer Internet Centre (SIC) shares some advice on how to recognise and respond to phishing and vishing, more specifically.

Vânia Beliz is the author of several books on sex education. In an interview promoted by the Portuguese Safer Internet Centre and published in the Forum Estudante Magazine, the clinical psychologist specialising in sexology reflects on some of the main risks and consequences associated with combining sexuality and new technologies. 

Among their numerous missions, public libraries in Finland aim to promote the versatile literacy skills of citizens. These skills can be developed with the help of media education, which is an essential part of the work of libraries in the promotion of active citizenship, equality and basic educational rights. Julia Alajärvi, Senior Adviser at the National Audiovisual Institute (Finnish Safer Internet Centre), offers some useful insights on the topic.

Media education can be developed into more systematic activity by means of planning, leading and allocating resources in a relevant manner. Consistent and coherent media education can facilitate the accumulation of competence, development of practices and its establishment within the structures. In the present article, Lauri Palsa, Senior Adviser at the National Audiovisual Institute (KAVI), part of the Finnish Safer Internet Centre (SIC), discusses how KAVI supports the development of effective and comprehensive media education plans.

The series #martyisdead, which focuses on cyberbullying, and which the Czech Safer Internet Centre (SIC) co-produced, won an Emmy Award, in for best short-form series, making it the first Czech series to win the prize. The winners were announced on Monday, 23 November 2020, during the 48th International Emmy Awards Gala in New York.

INHOPE hosted and chaired the Safer Internet Forum (SIF) 2020 side event "A focus on the EU Strategy for a more effective fight against child sexual abuse", summarised in the article that follows.

On Tuesday, 24 November 2020, Safer Internet Forum (SIF) kicked off with a side-event dedicated to BIK Youth, which placed both the BIK Youth Panel 2020 and the Youth Pledge for a Better Internet in the spotlight.

On Tuesday, 3 November 2020, the Insafe network held a pre-event at the Internet Governance Forum (IGF), “The coronavirus pandemic: A global crisis is showing us how to live online”. During the event, two youth panellists shared their experiences of the digital environment during lockdown.

On Wednesday, 18 and Thursday, 19 November 2020, the Better Internet for Kids (BIK) Youth Panel reconvened for a new edition, only this time fully online and with twice as many participants.