Insafe Weekly Update

The next Joint Insafe-INHOPE Training meeting will take place in Latvia on Wednesday, 15 and Thursday, 16 April 2026. The meeting will take place at the Baltic Beach Hotel in Jurmala near Riga. Further information about the agenda and other logistics will follow, but the meeting will start at 13:00 CEST on Wednesday, 15 April and will finish at 17:00 CEST on Thursday, 16 April.

The Insafe Steering Committee will take place on the morning of Friday, 17 April 2026. 

We have secured a discounted rate for accommodation at the hotel, covering the period from Tuesday, 14 April, until Saturday, 18 April, for those who would like to extend their stay. You will need to enter the code BIK2026 when you use the online booking form, and this will give you 20 per cent off the day’s best price for all room categories. Cancellation is free of charge up to 10 days before the event.

Huge thanks to Maija and colleagues from the Latvian Safer Internet Centre who are working with us to prepare the meeting. If you have any questions or need any further information, please contact Karl.

Many thanks to everyone who joined the early warning meeting for helplines last week. You can find the meeting report and a link to the recording in the BIK community (login first).

The next meeting will take place on Wednesday, 10 December 2025 at 11:00 CET; join the meeting using this link.

Please contact Karl for any further information on helpline early warning meetings.

Many thanks to everyone who attended the recent online meeting with SafeToNet, where they explained more about the Harmblock technology and the new Smart device. You can find a report from the meeting, along with a link to the recording and the slides that were used, in the BIK community (login first).

For any further information, please contact Karl.  

The last online meeting for the Youth Participation working group took place on Thursday, 30 October 2025. During this meeting, Generazioni Connesse (SIC IT) presented its new didactic kit for 2024-2025. In line with the Italian educational policy context and digital competence, the didactic kit aims to support schools, and especially teachers, in addressing topics related to digital citizenship. The tool was developed with direct contributions from teachers at various levels to provide a comprehensive, tailored framework, also adapted to the age range of the students.

The educational kit is grounded in three main pillars: scientific approach, assessment, and mentoring programme, and provides a model for adaptability. The didactic kit aligns with DigComp 2.2 and integrates validated methodologies to support educators. Furthermore, recent updates include the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health – version for Children and Youth (ICF-CY), with references to aid special education and foster classroom inclusion.

The didactic kit is divided into five main sections, with 40 theory resources and 32 activity lessons covering a range of topics under the umbrella of online safety and digital citizenship.  

For further information on this meeting or youth participation activity lines more generally, please contact Chiara or Carolina.

Many thanks to all SIC colleagues who attended the recent online meeting on the new lump sum mechanism (LSM) scheme, for EU co-funded Safer Internet Centres under the current BIK coordination contract (2025-2027). Slides and other resources from the meeting are now available in the BIK community (login first).

Safer Internet Centres are now invited to express an interest in participating in the new scheme by sending an email to the BIK content mailbox by the close of business on Friday, 28 November 2025.

For any questions, please contact Sarah.

The next early warning meeting for awareness centres will take place on Wednesday, 12 November 2025 at 11:00 CET; use this link to join. Please remember it is possible to use the Teams chat to share any information between meetings.

A reminder that you can find a report from the previous meeting and a link to the recording in the BIK community (login first).

Please contact Karl for any further information on awareness early warning meetings.

Colleagues from the SIC in Luxembourg will present their Cyber Desk, which offers face-to-face counselling alongside the Luxembourg House of Cyber Security. The service operates with a cybersecurity expert and a psychologist/pedagogue to provide both practical and emotional support. The meeting will take place on Wednesday, 26 November 2025 at 11:00 CET. Access the meeting using this link.

In case of questions in the meantime, please contact Karl.

Dr Cosmin Nada from the University Institute of Lisbon will present some research evidence on the impact of digital tools on well-being, along with Portuguese recommendations from DGE (the Ministry of Education in Portugal). Dr Nada is also part of the ENESET network, which is producing a report for the European Commission focusing on mobile phone bans in schools across Europe, and will share some of the research findings. The meeting will take place on Thursday, 11 December 2025 at 11:00 CET; use this link to join.

For further information, please contact Karl. 

This online meeting will take place on Monday, 15 December 2025 at 11:00 CET. During the meeting, we will hear from colleagues at the Swedish SIC and Linköping University, who will share reports and research from Sweden. You can use this link to join the meeting.

Please contact Karl for further information. 

From group chats to gaming servers, today’s youth connect, learn and grow through online relationships. But alongside connection comes some risks: cyberbullying, grooming, peer pressure, and more.

This BIK MOOC (massive open online course), Helping kids build and manage healthy online relationships, offers practical guidance for educators, youth workers, and caregivers to navigate these challenges with care and confidence. Already in progress and continuing until mid-November, the course participants can explore real strategies, discover ready-made tools, and join a European community of professionals facing similar challenges. The MOOC will be delivered in English.

Further information and online registration are available here.

Safer Internet Centres are encouraged to continue sharing information on the BIK MOOC with their own networks and contacts. Registration remains open, even though the MOOC has now started.

A promotional pack is available, featuring sample texts, social media posts, and visuals. 

Registration continues for Safer Internet Forum (SIF) 2025, which will take place in a hybrid format in Brussels and online on Thursday, 4 December 2025, with a title of Why age matters: Protecting and empowering youth in the digital age.

As already communicated to the Insafe Steering Committee, in-person attendance is restricted to TWO colleagues from each Safer Internet Centre (this will typically be the SIC Coordinator (or their designate) and the youth chaperone (if this is someone from your SIC)). Online participation is available for colleagues who are unable to attend in person; there are no restrictions on the number of online attendees.

If you have not already done so, SIC Coordinators are asked to confirm the names of their in-person delegation as soon as possible.

SICs are also asked to share online registration information via their own channels.

In case of questions, please contact saferinternetforum@betterinternetforkids.eu.

The next edition of Safer Internet Day is fast approaching, and campaign activities will start ramping up in the coming months. A reminder that SID 2026 will be marked by a global day of focus on Tuesday, 10 February 2026, and events and activities will take place throughout the whole month, across Europe and the globe! 

Sharing network SID plans
As is customary, we have once again made an online document available for SICs and SIC+ countries to share their SID plans with other members of the network. A reminder that this is an internal document only, to allow network members to see the plans of other SIC/SIC+ organisations, and to make connections where there are synergies. The EC also refer to this regularly to help inform SID planning. Please update the document regularly as your plans progress. 

Updating SID public profile pages
A reminder that direct access to update SID profiles is now possible for Safer Internet Centres via the BIK platform. Please contact the SID helpdesk to check or nominate a SID profile editor for your SIC.

SID assets
A reminder that a save-the-date logo for SID 2026 is available to download in the BIK community (login first). We will progressively start sharing other assets to support the promotion of SID 2026 in the coming months.

Please keep checking the Insafe Weekly Update for the latest information, or contact the SID helpdesk with any further questions regarding the 2026 campaign.

• Why age matters: Shaping a better and safer digital world that protects and empowers children (Knowledge hub insights article)
• Raising awareness of the Digital Services Act in Malta (SIC MT)
• Discovering the Digital Services Act in schools (SIC IT)
• Raising awareness of the Digital Services Act in Luxembourg ( SIC LU)
• Supporting the Digital Services Act in Norway (SIC NO)

Access the full BIK news article archive here.

Please contact the BIK content mailbox with any article submissions or if you have any queries.

Selected presentations from the October 2025 Insafe Training meeting are now available in the BIK community.

A reminder that reports from online meetings for awareness centres and helplines are now available in the BIK community.

Safer Internet Centres have been busy uploading resources to the BIK community resource repository: explore or upload your SIC's resources here (alternatively, access the public resource directory here).

Equally, SICs have been uploading new helpline case studies: explore or upload your SIC's case studies here.

Please remember to log in to access these links.

Need help with the BIK platform?
Please refer to the BIK platform user guides for support with regular tasks (such as resource and helpline case study uploads).

The recently updated Insafe induction manual also provides a good background on the tools and services available to network members, the various commitments you have as a network member (including a handy checklist by strand), and contact information for team members.

Alternatively, we are happy to schedule short online support calls at any time. Please use the contact form on the BIK platform or contact the BIK support mailbox initially. We will then schedule a call at a mutually convenient time.

Please note the updated URLs for the new BIK platform:

• Better Internet for Kids (BIK):
  better-internet-for-kids. europa.eu; #BIK; #BIKbulletin
• BIK strategy (BIK+):
  better-internet-for-kids.europa.eu/en/bik/bik-plus-strategy; #BIKplus
• Safer Internet Forum (SIF):
  better-internet-for-kids.europa.eu/en/sif; #SIF2025; #SaferInternetForum
• BIK Knowledge hub:
  better-internet-for-kids.europa.eu/en/knowledge-hub; #BIKPolicyMap
• BIK Youth:
  better-internet-for-kids.europa.eu/en/bik-youth; #BIKyouth
• Safer Internet Day (SID):
  better-internet-for-kids.europa.eu/en/saferinternetday; #SaferInternetDay; #SID2025; #SID2026
• DSA for YOUth campaign:
  #DSAforYOUth; #DSA
• Project Facebook profiles:
  Insafe, Safer Internet Day, Insafe network closed Facebook group, INHOPE
• Project X (formerly Twitter) profiles:
  @insafenetwork; @safeinternetday; @BIK_youth; @inhope_pr
• Project LinkedIn profile:
  Better Internet for Kids