An online information session, titled Accelerating the best use of technologies, will take place on Wednesday, 14 May 2025, from 10:00 - 12:00 CEST*; use this link to join. 

(* Please note that the awareness early warning meeting scheduled for 11:00 CEST on the same day has now been moved to 11:00 CEST on Friday, 16 May 2025 (see below)).

This HaDEA session is being organised in response to the call DIGITAL-2025-BESTUSE-08: Accelerating the best use of technologies, launched under the Digital Europe Work Programme 2025-2027. Participants will have the opportunity to learn all about the calls, the application process, and join Q&A sessions.

The session will cover the following two topics:

• DIGITAL-2025-BESTUSE-08-NETWORKSICs: Network of Safer Internet Centres
  The objective of the topic is to continue to support national Safer Internet Centres (SICs), to provide online safety information, educational resources, public awareness tools and counselling and reporting services through dedicated helplines and hotlines for young people, teachers/educators, and parents/carers.
  Budget: € 42 million
• DIGITAL-2025-BESTUSE-08-FACTCHECKERS: European Network of Factcheckers
  The objective of the topic is to support the growth of a European Network of Factcheckers, which will deepen the language coverage and operational capacity of fact-checking in Europe.
  Budget: €5 million

The submission of applications for this call opened on Tuesday, 15 April 2025 and will close on Tuesday, 2 September 2025 (17:00:00 CEST).

The European Commission has released the ‘Virtual Worlds Toolbox’, an online resource designed to help citizens navigate virtual environments.

Read more and access the toolbox on the European Commission website.

As you may recall, the June 2024 edition of the BIK bulletin focused on virtual worlds.

The next online meeting for youth coordinators will take place this Friday, 25 April 2025 at 11.00 CEST. During this meeting, we will focus on the work conducted with the youngest group of children (5-10 years old). Colleagues from various SICs who work with these groups will briefly share with us their experiences and examples of good practices to start a wider group discussion on this topic.  Access the meeting using this link; for further information, please contact Eray.

The next early warning meeting for helplines will take place on Friday, 2 May 2025 at 11:00 CEST; join the meeting using this link. For further information on any aspect of the helpline early warning meetings, please contact Karl.

Please note that the date of this meeting has changed.

An online meeting with Meta will take place on Thursday, 8 May 2025 at 11:00 CEST. It will provide an opportunity to hear about some of the latest tools for privacy and security which have been launched, as well as a chance for questions and discussion. Use this link to join the meeting. If you need any further information, please contact Karl.

Please note that the date of this meeting has been changed due to a clash with the HaDEA session, Accelerating the best use of technologies (see above).

The next early warning meeting for awareness centres will now take place on Friday, 16 May 2025 at 11:00 CEST; use this link to join the meeting. All colleagues are welcome regardless of whether you have anything to share. For any further information, please contact Karl.

There will be an online meeting with Apple on Tuesday, 3 June 2025 at 16:30 CEST. This will be an opportunity to hear some updates from the Apple team about trust and safety issues. Use this link to join the meeting. For any further information, please contact Karl.

Articles
Access the BIK news article archive here.

Please contact the BIK content mailbox with any article submissions or in case of any queries.

As a reminder, various presentations and materials from the Insafe-INHOPE joint training meeting are now available to download from the BIK community (login first).

Various reports from online meetings for awareness centres and helplines are now available in the BIK community (login first).

Need help with the BIK platform?
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 in the first instance, and we will 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; #SIF2024, #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; #Pledge2Youth
• Safer Internet Day (SID):
  better-internet-for-kids.europa.eu/en/saferinternetday; #SaferInternetDay; #SID2025; #SID2026
• Media literacy campaign:
  better-internet-for-kids.europa.eu/en/media-smart-online; #MediaSmartOnline
• Child and youth consumer protection campaign:
  better-internet-for-kids.europa.eu/en/adwiseonline; #AdWiseOnline
• 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