Insafe Weekly Update

Following on from recent discussions at the training meeting and Insafe Steering Committee meeting, we are convening two new short-term working groups in the framework of the BIK Phase 5 project:

Short-term Public Concerns Working Group
We are looking for people to join a short-term Public Concerns Working Group (PCWG) to discuss how best to collect public concerns at the national level, including information about online safety research, the latest trends, media coverage of online safety-related issues, and any new legislation. It is important to capture this information from across the network in a timely manner in order to have an understanding of the current landscape in Europe.

The group is expected to meet two or three times over the next six months to determine the best way forward.

If you would like to join this working group, please contact Karl by close of business on Monday, 13 May 2024.

Short-term Media Literacy Campaign Working Group 
As you may know, within BIK Phase 5, we are carrying out a media literacy awareness-raising campaign in collaboration with the Insafe network of Safer Internet Centres (SICs). Such a media literacy campaign needs to build on the networking resources available in the SICs while also building synergies and creating opportunities for collaboration across the network. We first pilot tested an approach in March-April 2024 in a restricted number of European countries (Czech Republic, Ireland, Poland), and now plan to gradually scale the campaign at an EU-wide level. Therefore a short-term Media Literacy Working Group (MLWG) will now be established, which will provide a dedicated space for SIC members to contribute their insights and perspectives in rolling out a full-scale, EU-wide media literacy campaign going forward.   

As members of the short-term MLWG, SIC members will have the opportunity to contribute to the development and co-creation of the awareness-raising campaign, from its concept to its delivery, in collaboration with the network. The group will also provide a unique opportunity for exchanging views and sharing best practices on the topic of media literacy, highlighting events and initiatives at the national level all across Europe.

If you would like to join this working group, please contact Annarita by close of business on Monday, 13 May 2024.

Many thanks to those who attended the helpline early warning group meeting last week. A summary of the discussions and a link to the recording is available from the BIK community (login first). For further information, please contact Karl.

Many thanks to those people who attended the online meeting which focused on the good practice guide on creating, testing and evaluating evidence-based awareness campaigns and in particular to Michel Walrave, Jane McGarrigle and Andreea Hurezeanu for their presentations. A recording of the meeting and copies of the presentations are all available from the BIK community (login first).

Read or download the good practice guide here.

Following the meeting, four supplementary protocols have been published, providing annexes to the good practice guide. View them here:

• Protocol 1: Choosing effective campaigning and intervention methods: a quick guide
• Protocol 2: Involving children and young people in online safety campaigns
• Protocol 3: How to measure the success and efficacy of a campaign or intervention
• Protocol 4: Suggestions on types of communication materials to be produced for specific target audiences

In case of questions, please contact Valentina.

Please note, the following item relates to wider INHOPE work. It is not part of the BIK Phase 5 project and is provided here for information purposes only.

On Wednesday, 8 May 2024, the Forum, funded by the European Commission under Project CPORT, will bring together stakeholders to share knowledge and experience, learn about the latest developments in child online safety, and discuss what each of us can do to optimise the joint fight against child sexual abuse material (CSAM). Join INHOPE to learn about the next steps for the ICCAM eco-system and how to navigate through regulations ensuring correct information exchange.  This is an in-person event, taking place in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Advance registration is essential.

Find more about the CPORT Forum here. 

Please note, the following item relates to wider INHOPE work. It is not part of the BIK Phase 5 project and is provided here for information purposes only.

What is needed to reshape the workflow of law enforcement who are processing the continuously growing number of NCMEC reports? At this year’s AviaTor Forum, taking place in Brussels, Belgium on Wednesday, 26 June 2024, INHOPE aims to answer that question by focusing on innovation, legislation, and cooperation. Law enforcement, industry, legislators, trust and safety teams, tech, academics, NGOs and hotline analysts are invited to register for this in-person event. Advance registration is essential.

Find more about the AviaTor Forum here. 

The next Insafe training meeting will take place from Tuesday, 15 to Thursday, 17 October 2024, and will be an online meeting. Further information will be shared in the coming months. For information in the meantime, please contact Karl.

Save the date for the next BIK Teacher corner webinar on Virtual worlds and immersive realities on Thursday, 6 June 2024 at 17:00 CEST. It will take place online.

This webinar will explore virtual worlds and immersive realities. Some of the key developments in recent years revolve around artificial intelligence (AI), with virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), and extended reality (XR) applications emerging in all sectors of society, such as leisure, health, and especially learning, training and education. Such technologies entail both great opportunities and concerning risks. How can teachers and educators be empowered with the skills and knowledge needed to tackle the implications of immersive realities in educational settings? 

You can already register for the webinar here. 

Did you miss Webinar 1, which introduced the BIK Teacher corner, or Webinar 2 on disinformation and fake news? Check the BIK Teacher corner webinar page regularly for recordings of previous webinars, and more information on future one. 

The "Make It Clear: Effective Media Education" international conference will take place in Warsaw on Tuesday, 28 May 2024.

The event brings together international experts from different areas of media education and internet safety, who will share their knowledge and experience related to developing young people's information literacy, an informed and critical approach to media content, and countering disinformation. Several presentations and debates will provide concrete tools and inspiration for use in everyday teaching practice.

The conference will be held in a hybrid format (onsite and online) in both Polish and English. You can register for onsite/online participation here. Please note that the deadline to register is Sunday, 26 May for in-person attendance, and Tuesday, 28 May for online participation.

This conference is organised within the framework of the Creative Europe Programme by a consortium consisting of NASK (Poland), the Latvian Internet Association, and Save the Children Romania.

The network is encouraged to disseminate this information further, and/or to participate in the conference. For any additional queries, please contact mic@nask.pl.

• Young people and algorithms (SIC DK)
• In the spotlight: Safer Internet Centres Austria and Malta
• Parents' perception of their children's internet usage  (SIC RO)
• World Press Freedom Day/Difference Day 2024
• Understanding sexting and empowering youth through parental guidance (SIC RO)

Please submit your public portal blog articles to the BIK content mailbox.

Remember, article contributions to the BIK portal will count towards your SIC’s lump sum mechanism (LSM) criteria for 2024.

Helpline case studies

• Sharing nudes without consent (SIC FR)

Awareness community of practice

• Blackout/choking challenge on TikTok (SIC DE)

Helpline community of practice

• Early warning group - report from meeting on 23 April 2024

We hope that you are enjoying exploring the BIK platform. Please note, a BIK user guide is available to download from the BIK community (login first). In case of questions or issues when using any aspect of the BIK platform, please contact us using the contact link in the top right navigation area or email support@betterinternetforkids.eu.

IMPORTANT – if you have new starters who need to register for the platform, please direct them to www.betterinternetforkids.eu/register, in parallel with sending an email to support@betterinternetforkids.eu so that we can verify them and provide further instructions.

Remember, contributions to the BIK community will count towards your SIC’s lump sum mechanism (LSM) criteria for 2024.

• TeamLit online course "Making education more media literate". The course helps all teachers become media literate and to bring media literacy into the classrooms. Module four was just released, focusing on how to interest fellow educators and colleagues in media literacy matters.

• Better Internet for Kids (BIK) public portal:
  www.betterinternetforkids.eu; #BIK; #BIKbulletin
• New BIK strategy (BIK+) on BIK portal:
  www.betterinternetforkids.eu/newbikstrategy; #BIKplus
• Safer Internet Forum (SIF) on BIK portal:
  www.betterinternetforkids.eu/sif;#SIF2023; #SIF2024, #SaferInternetForum
• BIK Policy Map on BIK portal:
  www.betterinternetforkids.eu/bikmap; #BIKPolicyMap
• Safer Internet Day (SID) minisite:
  www.saferinternetday.org; #SID2024; #SID2025; #SaferInternetDay
• Positive Online Content (POCC) minisite:
  www.positiveonlinecontentforkids.eu; #positivecontent; #PositiveOnlineContent; #POCC
• BIK Youth minisite:
  www.bikyouth.eu; #BIKyouth; #Pledge2Youth
• Child and youth consumer protection campaign (launched on Safer Internet Day 2024):
  www.betterinternetforkids.eu/adwiseonline; #AdWiseOnline
• Media literacy campaign (launched in March 2024):
  www.betterinternetforkids.eu/mediasmartonline; #MediaSmartOnline
• 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