Better Internet for Kids

A new, national survey shows that Danish children and young people love playing games! The Danish Safer Internet Centre (SIC), therefore, celebrated Safer Internet Day (SID) 2021 by launching a range of materials and activities on gaming, targeting parents and professionals working with children and young people.

A new guide and open-source resources for tackling online sexual harassment have been launched. Part of Project deSHAME, the toolkit was created to help countries and organisations run their own projects to tackle these issues.

The pandemic has accelerated students' use of e-learning, but while it has helped them continue the educational process, it has also created some challenges. According to online research conducted in Greece by the Department of Philosophy and Pedagogy of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, the biggest difficulties are related to the lack of equipment and poor connections of students.

In the face of the global pandemic, the internet has become our daily platform for learning, working, entertainment and communication. However, besides all the good things, cyberspace is full of many dangers: harmful content, hatred, personal data use and others. On 9 February 2021, Lithuania, together with approximately 200 other countries, celebrated the international Safer Internet Day (SID), hosting various campaigns to draw attention to online safety.

The Insafe network of helplines collects data about the types of calls received and this is analysed every three months to look at trends, and new and emerging issues. The most recent helpline data covers the period from October to December 2020 inclusive and also provides some comparisons between 2020 and 2019 in order to see the impact of COVID-19.

Online services and technology offer many opportunities for children and young people to communicate, find information, be entertained and develop their digital skills. However, many online services used by young people were never designed with them as the core audience. The March 2021 edition of the Better Internet for Kids (BIK) bulletin explores the topic of age-appropriate design with youth.

Together with the rest of the world, Malta recently commemorated Safer Internet Day (SID); a day of celebration marked in February each year to promote the safe and positive use of digital technology for children and young people. The campaign has grown beyond its traditional geographic zone and is now celebrated in approximately 200 countries, reaching millions worldwide. With the global theme of “Together for a better internet”, the day calls upon all stakeholders to unite to make the internet a safer and better place for all, especially for children and young people.

In the United Kingdom, Safer Internet Day (SID) saw an incredible range of activities take place across the country, coordinated by the UK Safer Internet Centre (SIC). With lockdown, the celebrations were slightly different than usual, but we are delighted to see how many people got involved!

The main topic for Safer Internet Day 2021 in Slovenia was well-being and the internet; a topic which has been particularly pertinent during the COVID-19 pandemic when pupils are spending a significant amount of time in front of screens. The Slovenian national awareness centre, Safe.si, prepared an interactive online show for primary schools as the main Safer Internet Day event. A livestream of it was watched by more than 11,000 pupils.

Save the Children Romania, the national coordinator of the Romanian Safer Internet Centre (SIC), celebrated Safer Internet Day (SID) 2021 by organising a debate entitled “Challenges in the use of the internet by children. Ways of support and intervention”. It was moderated by Gabriela Alexandrescu, Executive President of Save the Children. It took place on Tuesday, 9 February in Bucharest, bringing together representatives of institutions that aim to protect children online and offline.