Better Internet for Kids

The Italian Safer Internet Centre (SIC) (Generazioni Connesse) promotes safer and better use of the internet among children, parents and teachers. It organises awareness and dissemination activities, as well as media and competition campaigns in cooperation with various stakeholders in the field. Our website provides resources and links to the various activity lines of awareness centre, youth participation, helpline and hotline. Moreover, it conducts various monitoring and evaluation activities throughout the project to ensure maximum impact of awareness, dissemination and youth participation activities.

Generazioni Connesse supports schools in the adoption of an e-Safety policy; an empowering tool to address the challenges posed by the digital environment. The e-Safety policy is a planning document produced by schools with the support of online resources and services developed to guide them through the process.

Schools are supported via an online learning module ecosystem, with project staff active in the field, based on which e-policies can be developed. This online environment provides a variety of relevant resources in order to provide schools with support, based on strengths and weaknesses identified in relation to ICT.

The Italian SIC also supports students to be informed about important matters, to get in touch with influencers, journalists and politicians through live video chats, choose their study path through orientation from school to work life, and grow into responsible citizens that speak their minds.

The helpline 1.96.96, run by Telefono Azzurro, is a generic, confidential, free and secure space where children, adolescents, parents, professionals and other adults can obtain support and advice – online or by phone – about problems related to the use of digital and online technologies or internet safety.

Young people can contact the helpline if they need advice, if they are worried about their digital and online experiences and relationships, or if they feel isolated or alone. The service, active 24/7, can provide support in relation to a broad range of issues: requests for information relating to the service, information concerning privacy issues, problems related to exposure to harmful content, cyber-bullying, internet addiction, pro-suicide sites, pro-anorexia and pro-bulimia sites, online shopping, video games, online child sexual abuse images, grooming, sexting, gambling, and questions related to web reputation.

In addition to phone counselling, the helpline offers a one-to-one chat service. The live online chat facilities are open from 8am to 10pm (from 8am to 8pm at weekends).

The Italian SIC is composed of two hotlines: ‘Clicca e Segnala' (Click and Report) run by Telefono Azzurro (TA) - www.azzurro.it, and ‘Stop-it' run by Save the Children Italy - www.stop-it.it. Both are members of the INHOPE network.

Clicca e segnala and Stop-it hotlines receive and work on warnings of illegal, harmful and/or child pornographic content circulated through the internet. These can be reported using the dedicated section ‘Clicca e Segnala' and ‘Stop-it' on the SIC's website.

Children and young people from diversified demographic groups are involved in a youth platform. The panellists - 60 boys and girls - are selected on a voluntary basis. The panellists are involved in the SIC activities and encouraged to express their views, to contribute to the ‘Action' activities, and strengthen their knowledge and experience in using online technologies.

Some panellists are trained and assisted in working as journalists so that they can actually produce their own publications on themes central to the action. Some take on the task of acting as Safer Internet Ambassadors. Others are consulted in response to queries from the Consortium itself and from the European network and contribute to consolidating the European Youth platform.