Latest edition - May 2013: Europe month  | | Editorial | Issue 81 - May 2013 | Welcome to the 81st edition of the Insafe newsletter. Europe Day will be marked next Thursday, 9 May and so, in this edition, we celebrate the many examples of cross-Europe collaboration in our work.
In this edition we hear from several of our Safer Internet Centres on the involvement on actions and campaigns with partners across Europe, such as the pan-European 'No Hate Speech Movement' which aims to raise awareness of online hate and cyberbullying, and the valuable knowledge exchange between our Polish and UK Safer Internet Centres.
You will also find updated news on plans for Safer Internet Day 2014, information on the latest resources from across the Insafe network, and updates on the latest research and surveys.
We hope you enjoy this edition of the Insafe newsletter. If you would like to contribute an article for a forthcoming issue of the newsletter, or the Insafe blog, please contact the Insafe team. And if you've found this newsletter useful, why not forward it on to a friend or colleague and encourage them to subscribe too? Subscribe via the newsletter page on the Insafe website.
Please note: in compiling the Insafe newsletter, we often accept contributions from a number of sources with a shared interest in online safety. Articles are accepted in good faith with regards to their validity and accuracy, but please note that the views expressed within individual articles are not necessarily the views of the Insafe network, European Schoolnet, the European Commission or partner organisations.
| |  |  | | Focus…Europe month | | In conjunction with this year's Safer Internet Day slogan ‘Connect with Respect!', the Austrian Awareness Centre joined the pan-European No Hate Speech Movement which launched on 22 March 2013. The campaign is coordinated by the Council of Europe and aims to raise awareness among young people about online hate and ways to combat it. Safer Internet Day (SID) is always very important for national awareness campaigns around Europe, and this year was no exception. Lots of activities and events were launched in the Czech Republic focusing on the main SID 2013 theme of online rights and responsible behaviour on the internet. In October 2013 the second European cyber security month will take place, this time creating a true pan-European campaign in all 27 member states. Last year, the pilot campaign was held in eight European countries: Czech Republic, Luxembourg, Norway, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Spain and the United Kingdom, under the slogan "Be aware, be secure!". The aim of the first campaign was to raise awareness of information security among citizens and change their view of cyber threats. In April, the UK Safer Internet Centre hosted a visit from a colleague from the Polish Safer Internet Centre. As we approach Europe Day (9 May 2013), there is hardly a better reminder of the significance of collaboration and sharing of knowledge between European countries in the important area of online safety. Here, we hear about the experience. | |
|  |  | | Campaigns, training and resources | | Following our announcement last month that the date for Safer Internet Day 2014 has now been set as Tuesday 11 February 2014, we are now pleased to announce that the strapline for the campaign will be 'Let's create a better internet together'. Visit the Safer Internet Day website for the latest information, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for the latest news and updates. The annual Insafe Digipack brings together the best eSafety resources from around the EU. The DVD contains videos, handbooks, lesson plans and games as well as posters, comics and reading books which can be used in the classroom. The Digipack is primarily aimed at teachers and offers the highest quality new resources for helping children and young people of all ages to develop the necessary skills and competencies to understand how to use the internet and online technologies safely. The recently released 2013 edition of this great resource is now available to order online. We are pleased to announce the launch of a new country version of the animation ‘The Digital Universe of Your Children: Who are your kids talking to?' for Romania. Produced by European Schoolnet (the host organisation of the Insafe network), in conjunction with Liberty Global, this short animation offers online safety tips for parents, and links to a series of factsheets on topics such as social networks and online gaming. The ICT Coalition for the Safer Use of Connected Devices and Online Services by Children and Young People in the EU launched its website www.ictcoalition.eu in April 2013. The site aims to provide information on the activities of the ICT Coalition as a whole, while leaving individual members the opportunity to provide information on their products and services on their respective corporate websites. The goal is to reaffirm the Coalition's commitment to transparency and openness as key elements of good self-regulation. Nowadays it is considered strange if there is no information about someone online… what does such a person have to hide? In the future, online publicity will perhaps be taken for granted even more so. Surely it does no harm if a childhood diaper rash, acne problems or teen hazing is found online… or does it? There will always be a difference between individuals in terms of how publicly they want to open up their lives, hence, no one should make decisions about publishing information or photos online on behalf of other people. 'Web Detectives' is a new resource for teaching online safety, created by the Croatian Centre for Missing and Exploited Children (CNZD). It includes three lectures, divided into two groups. The first group is designed for younger children of elementary school, and the second is designed for older children of elementary school. | | | | | Events, conferences and competitions | | The European Award for Best Content for Kids launches next week on Europe Day, 9 May 2013. This exciting award aims at encouraging children and adults to create new and highlight already existing child-friendly, quality online content. It is organised by the Insafe network within the framework of the European Commission's Safer Internet Programme. Look out for further information coming soon. We are pleased to announce the winners of the latest round of the Youth Achievement Competition, organised in conjunction with Safer Internet Day 2013. Three winners were selected who excelled in their respective age category:
[Under 9] Stefan-Adrian Moromete, Romania, 8
[10-14] Nina Devani, UK, 14
[Over 15] Dimo Yordanov, Bulgaria, 16
Are you curious to know more about them? Consult our press release for more information or view the winning entries. Insafe recently presented three workshops on ‘a better internet for kids' at the 2013 eTwinning camp, which took place in Zagreb from 24-28 April. Two groups of pupils and one group of teachers were introduced to the topic of internet safety and were asked to express their ideas, either through the creation of posters and cartoons or by drafting guidelines based on a discussion that arose from a PlayDecide game on ‘privacy and data protection'. UNICEF Spain has awarded the prestigious UNICEF Transforma Prize to the Spanish Safer Internet Centre, Protégeles. The award aims to recognise and highlight the commitment and efforts of people and institutions that contribute significantly to change the lives of children and advance the rights enshrined in the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Congratulations Protégeles! | | | | | Research, surveys and reports | | 2012 has seen impressive advances in the time taken to remove images and videos of children being sexually abused online. Whereas in the past, evidence of these horrific crimes may have remained online for many months or occasionally years, INHOPE (the International Association of Internet Hotlines, and partner organisation with Insafe) can now report that, in the majority of instances, the content is taken down in days and sometimes in a matter of just hours. ‘Net Children Go Mobile' is a new knowledge enhancement project on changing conditions of internet access and use among European children. The project aims to investigate, through quantitative and qualitative methodologies, how the changing conditions of internet access and use - namely, convergent mobile media, such as smartphones and tablets - bring greater or lesser risks to children's online safety. A recent survey commissioned by the European Commission has shown the use of ICT (Information and Communication Technologies) and digital skill levels in Europe are still not fulfilling the students' needs and that, equally, teachers need more training and support. The study was undertaken by European Schoolnet and the University of Liège. This is the third European survey of ICT in schools, and the first to survey students directly. Ofcom, the independent regulator and competition authority for the UK communications industries, has recently published its latest report titled 'Adults: media use and attitudes'. The study found that UK adults are risking their online security by using identical or easy-to-remember passwords on the websites they visit, older users are driving an increase in social networking, and time spent online is increasing. | | | | Insafe is a European network of awareness centres promoting safe, responsible use of the internet and mobile devices to young people. It is co-funded by the Safer Internet Programme. Would you like to contribute an article for this newsletter or the Insafe blog? If so, please contact the Insafe team.
Please note: in compiling the Insafe newsletter, we often accept contributions from a number of sources with a shared interest in online safety. Articles are accepted in good faith with regards to their validity and accuracy, but please note that the views expressed within individual articles are not necessarily the views of the Insafe network, European Schoolnet, the European Commission or partner organisations. | | |
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