Iceland celebrates Safer Internet Day for the second time on 8 February 2005. Þorgerður Katrín Gunnarsdóttir, the Icelandic Minister of Education, Culture and Science, will attend a primary school event in Reykjavík. She will be presented with the first copy of a new educational package on behalf of the Icelandic government.

The SAFT educational package is intended for use in grades 4-6 and will be distributed to all elementary schools in Iceland following the event. The main aim of the educational package is to teach children how they can surf safely on the Internet.

It focuses on the positive rather than negative aspects of the Internet and includes exercises to raise awareness of safer Internet among not only children, but also their parents.

The SAFT brand is the inspiration for a new slogan promoting Internet safety. "SAmfélag, Fjölskylda og Tækni" (SAFT) means "community, family and technology."

A Safer Internet Storytelling competition is also launched on Safer Internet Day. Pupils aged 9 to 16 will be able to take part in a number of categories. The final date for entries is 20 April 2005, with the national winners announced in June.

The safer Internet message has already attracted a lot of interest from the Icelandic media and public media. This reflects the importance attached to safe Internet use in the country. Surveys suggest that over 99% of children have access to the Internet and over 95% of parents are regular users.

Links

Heimili og skóli
www.heimiliogskoli.is

SAFT Iceland
www.saft.is

Ministry of Education, Science, and Culture
www.menntamalaraduneyti.is