Safer Internet Day

[Acorn Newsbot]

While the internet has revolutionised the way people communicate with each other, there is no doubt that it has also left young people vulnerable to things such as viewing illegal or harmful content, or being the victim of cyber bullying. Safer Internet Day hopes to educate children and adults about how to enjoy the benefits of the internet without putting themselves at risk.

From Europe to the world
Initially launched as an EU initiative in 2004, Safer Internet Day now has a global reach, being recognised in over 90 countries on six continents. This global appeal is crucial because in most parts of the world the internet doesn’t have boundaries. The event is now organised by Insafe – a European network of Awareness Centres that work all year round on promoting the safe use of internet to young people.

Every year the activities of Safer Internet Day are centred on a particular theme such as social networking. Last year the theme was on connecting generations. For 2013, the tenth year of Safer Internet Day, the theme is online rights and responsibilities. The slogan ‘connect with respect’ is being used to remind children of the power of the internet. Just like every year, the event will take place on the second day of the second week of the second month - Tuesday 5 February.

Safer internet in schools

A lot of effort is put into making sure schools recognise the event so they can dedicate classroom time to the issues raised by Safer Internet Day. This year Insafe has a range of resources that can be used in both primary and secondary schools to help inform children about their online rights and responsibilities. For example, there are posters with an acrostic detailing what online rights are (‘Respecting the rights of other online, I have the right to privacy’) and also lesson plans. Some schools may wish to dedicate their assemblies to the issue of online safety or think of other creative ways to mark the day.

Corporate support
It’s not just schools that are getting involved though – computer giants such as Microsoft also support Safer Internet Day. As part of their efforts they also have a range of resources for keeping children, families, and older people safe online, as well as important documents aimed at policy makers. They also plan to release the results of the Microsoft Computing Safety Index, a global survey that finds out how safe people are being online.

Safer Internet Day in the UK
As you can imagine, with Safer Internet Day being celebrated in almost 100 countries there are lots of local events and activities being planned. In the UK, a special Safer Internet Day radio station will be broadcasting online from 9am-9pm (http://www.saferinternet.org.uk/safer-internet-day/live-radio/). Highlights of the broadcast include a panel of experts answering questions from children and parents about online safety and user submitted content from schools and children across the country.

It seems that children have a lot of things they want to ask – last year the CBBC website also hosted a special webchat for children to send in their questions. As the events get closer more events are likely to be announced, so if you want to know how to get involved you could follow Safer Internet Day (@safeinternetday) or the UK Safer Internet Centre (@UK_SIC) on Twitter, or like their page on Facebook.

Staying safe all year
Despite its name, Safer Internet Day is not about one day where we all think long and hard about staying safe online; it is supposed to help us always stay safe on the internet, and keep us up to date with new developments. You can show your support for Internet Safety Day today with the official hashtag #SID2013.








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