Better Internet for Kids

The objectives of the awareness centre activities of the Portuguese Safer Internet Centre (PTSIC) are to implement dissemination activities, plan awareness campaigns, promote project results and ensure that all services are well known by decision makers, relevant stakeholders and the general public.

PTSIC assures the organisation and development of the Safer Internet Day (SID) national celebration event and other initiatives at a national and local level. It also ensures online participation through websites and social networks, according to common European visual themes.

PTSIC promotes hotline and helpline services through inventive and attention-grabbing marketing campaigns, awareness-raising sessions and relevant actors, such as industry, law enforcement authorities, child protection and welfare organisations, parent organisations and media partners.

PTSIC participates in the most relevant events organised by third parties, such as youth-related national events (Summer Festivals).

Seguranet is responsible for awareness and dissemination activities targeting the school community; training sessions for law enforcement authorities, Public Prosecutor's Office, Lisbon Civil Protection collaborators; awareness campaign for National Defence Day; developing new editions of MOOCs; participating in specific initiatives such as as the eSafety Label and eTwinning, "Introduction to Coding in 1st grade" project, Digital Leaders and SeguraNet Challenges.

IPDJ, in cooperation with National Campaign Committee, promotes training sessions and awareness activities in the framework of the No Hate Speech Movement (NHSM) campaign, focusing on online hate speech and human rights for internet users.

PTSIC, through FPT, is adopting a new awareness campaign, bringing theatre to the community. Starring well-known actors, these shows address online safety topics in theatre rooms, in partnership with municipalities, tackling different topics such as cyberbullying, privacy, digital identity, online reputation and behaviours.

Linha Internet Segura is a helpline based on a telephone and online answering service directed to children, teenagers, parents and teachers on issues related to the use of online technologies and prevention in cases of possible danger.

Linha Internet Segura is coordinated by FCT (Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia - Funding Agency for Science and Technology) under the Internet Segura consortium and the Safer Internet programme, which is co-funded by the European Commission. This service ensures anonymous and confidential support regarding the use of online technologies, covering all related matters, including relationship problems within families or among peers, bullying, as well as complaint management in case of suspicion of improper exploitation of children or adolescents.

The mission of Linha Alerta is to contribute to the blocking of illegal content on the internet and prosecution of its disseminators by authorities. These objectives may be achieved by providing the Portuguese law enforcement agencies with collected information in order to facilitate the elimination of the illegal content and the identification of those responsible for these materials and by means of collaboration with national internet service providers (ISPs) and international counterparts in the fight against illegal content. In order to carry out this core activity, Linha Alerta has a website – linhaalerta.internetsegura.pt – where any person can lodge a complaint, in an anonymous way. This service is provided in Portuguese and English. The staff are bound by professional secrecy. Linha Alerta addresses the following illegal content: child sexual abuse material (CSAM); incitement to violence content; incitement to racial hatred content.

DGE is responsible for the "Digital Leaders" initiative, through SeguraNet, that promotes the safer use of the internet and mobile devices, fostered by young students (from 9 to 18 years). Each Digital Leader runs awareness-raising sessions for the educational community. They are part of an online practice community, acting as SeguraNet and PT Safer Internet Centre advisors. Each educational community has at least one teacher that ensures and supervises their activities.

The key implementation areas are:

• design and use of an online virtual learning environment (LMS Moodle page).
• synchronous distance training (online virtual Adobe Connect room) for teachers and students.
• online asynchronous autonomous distance training sessions (LMS Moodle page).
• Digital Leaders and teachers' virtual community of practice (Forum on LMS Moodle page).
• evaluation of the core pedagogical and technological components of the training sessions.
• post-training gathering of information about the intervention plans led in their educational communities.
• development of dissemination and informal training activities in the educational communities intervention plans.

IPDJ, the other PT SIC consortium partner responsible for the youth sector, has a bank of young volunteers, trained to carry out awareness-raising activities aimed at various audiences, in all regions of the country. It also develops activities with and for young people, online and offline, within the No Hate Speech Movement Campaign by extending the number of young activists of the campaign able to produce and use counter-narratives and organising awareness-raising related to the campaign themes, including cyberbullying, sexist speech, radicalisation, hate crimes and human rights online.