Better Internet for Kids

Increasingly, people find themselves in situations where their social media account is “hacked” because their password got into the hands of strangers. 

Most often, this happens because the password has been "spoofed" fraudulently or because the user is careless when using the Internet and smart devices. Unfortunately, passwords are not enough today; additional protection is needed to protect your account and ensure that it cannot be accessed by unauthorised persons.

To raise awareness among schoolchildren about the use of copyright-protected content - films and music, Drossinternets.lv in cooperation with the association "For Legal Content" have created an easy-to-understand informative material - a poster for schoolchildren "Don't be a pirate!", explaining who the author and copyright are, how to distinguish pirate sites and where to legally watch films and listen to music.

The Latvian Safer Internet Centre offers stories and exercises on internet safety for 7–12 year old’s to promote safe and meaningful use of the internet. The authors of the "Internet Fairy Tales" are 4th grade students from Riga French Lycée who have chosen the themes of the fairy tales, created the messages and provided advice to the readers.
The stories describe different situations that children can find themselves in when using the internet and smart devices, encouraging children to think about the different risks and dangers of the internet and how to avoid them.

Is it enough to know the Latvian or English alphabet? No, because nowadays everyone needs to know the Internet alphabet! What's special about it? Find out by watching the short films "Vaifijs Internet Alphabet", in which a mascot boy Vaifijs who lives on the Internet, teaches children the most important words that every Internet user should know.
The short videos can be used in primary school to teach topics such as safety and good behaviour on the Internet, meaningful use of technology, critical thinking and working with information.

In the age of the internet and screens, one of the biggest challenges for parents is to find a balance between screen time and their child's other daily activities. When letting your child explore the internet and develop their digital skills, it is important to be there for them and help them develop a positive digital mindset and experience. Drossinternets.lv invites parents to take a look at tips to help their family establish rules for internet use and limiting screen time.

Latvian SIC is increasingly receiving reports and complaints about various unpleasant incidents involving WhatsApp users. Unfortunately, in many of these cases, the ignorance or carelessness of the users themselves has led to unpleasant consequences. We encourage WhatsApp users to be careful and to read the tips that will help them to protect themselves and their children from the dangers in their daily lives.

Latvian Safer Internet Centre has developed a training material, lesson plan for educators working with 5th-12th grade students "What does copyright mean?" to raise awareness about why it is important to respect copyright and to encourage them to choose legal content.

The Garda Primary Schools Programme is delivered to all classes in primary school level. Gardaí visit each class at least once every academic year and use these visits to engage with children and deliver key safety advice. Be Kind Online, developed in partnership with Webwise is designed to enable 3rd and 4th class pupils to understand what cyberbullying is, how it can hurt someone and how it can be prevented. The lessons in this pack promote respectful communication online and aim to foster a sense of care and respect for others online.

Connect with Respect, developed in partnership with Webwise addresses the topic of cyberbullying, and aims to try to prevent this behaviour from happening and to empower
pupils to respond effectively if cyberbullying and harassment does occur. The lesson is designed to help students at the Junior end of post-primary, between the ages of 12-14,
to understand the impact of their actions and that it may in fact constitute cyberbullying and online harassment. It aims to help students recognise that online harassment and

The CAC, UPF and six organisations from European countries offer schools a test to evaluate the skills of pupils aged 14 to 18 in media and digital literacy

A study shows that young Europeans pass the test in terms of their digital technology skills but fail in the critical reading of content
The study, based on almost 9,000 pupils from 7 European countries, proposes that schools should not focus merely on technological aspects but also on critical thinking, detecting fake news and online identity