Better Internet for Kids

In the run-up to the Internet Governance Forum (IGF) 2020, the programme #Youth4DigitalSustainability brings together young people from all over the world to work together on the topic of sustainability in internet governance.

In May 2020, non-governmental organisation (NGO) Better Internet Centre and the Centre Startum (Kharkiv) launched the project #Cornflowers (Inclusive digital experience: reality and needs) in Ukraine.

With September well underway, many of us are returning to more time spent on laptops and online. The INHOPE network of internet hotlines works hard to remove illegal content and to make sure that you and your children don't come across images and videos of child sexual abuse. To help in this fight, and to provide support in this back to school season, INHOPE wants to make sure that everyone is informed on what child sexual abuse material (CSAM) is and what kind of content should be reported. INHOPE also offers tips on how to avoid photos of children and young people ending up in the hands of predators.

Red PaPaz is a non-governmental organisation (NGO) that encompasses a network of parents and caregivers since 2003 in Colombia. This network seeks to promote skills for the protection of Colombian children and adolescents' rights, through relevant actions based upon evidence and good practices.

In Ukraine, the National Child Toll-Free Hotline ("the Hotline") began its work on 1 January 2013. The work of the Hotline is managed by the civil society organisation (CSO) La Strada-Ukraine. This organisation is a partner of non-governmental organisation (NGO) Better Internet Centre from Ukraine, which joined the SIC+ programme in 2020.

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 data collection covers the period from April to June 2020 inclusive and of course, for many countries, much of this period was spent in lockdown as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic situation.

In Denmark, children and young people lack crucial knowledge when it comes to data privacy and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). The Danish Media Council for Children and Young People of the Danish Safer Internet Centre (SIC) has developed a material to help teachers talk about the GDPR and digital self-defense with their students.

The new school year is beginning for many across the globe and, although COVID-19 continues to necessitate at least some distance learning, the realities of bullying – both online and off – remain. A new Microsoft study shows 4 in 10 teens in 32 countries report being "involved" in a bullying incident and, perhaps surprisingly, nearly the same percentage of adults, as well.

Italian students are ready to go back to school, and Italian Safer Internet Centre (SIC) Generazioni Connesse has planned a specific communication campaign to respond to this brand new scholastic year, to be right next to the students, the families and the teachers.

The Greek Safer Internet Centre (SIC) has recently published a new scientific article entitled "Understanding the online behaviour and risks of children: results of a large-scale national survey on 10-18-year-olds." The paper includes the results of two large-scale surveys conducted in the last two years in 900 Greek schools among 27,000 students aged 10-18.