Better Internet for Kids bulletin

Welcome to the 34th edition of the Better Internet for Kids (BIK) bulletin. This quarterly bulletin aims to keep you informed of safer and better internet issues and opportunities across Europe and beyond. In each edition, we bring you a mix of news, research and resources from many of the key stakeholders in keeping children and young people safe online, be they European Safer Internet Centres (SICs), research organisations, industry partners, policymakers or other experts in the field.

The new European strategy for a Better Internet for Kids (BIK+ strategy), adopted in May 2022, emphasises the need to pay careful attention to children with special or specific needs, or from disadvantaged and vulnerable backgrounds. In the new strategy, the European Commission sets out clear priorities for young people with a range of vulnerabilities, with the overarching aim to ensure that no one is left behind, and that all children and young people have a voice when it comes to matters in the digital sphere. In this edition of the BIK bulletin, we bring you an insight into some of the challenges in defining and identifying vulnerability, alongside a snapshot of some of the excellent initiatives already being implemented by Safer Internet Centres across Europe.

In addition, a significant focus of late has been on the Digital Services Act (DSA) - a series of rules and regulations for online platform providers aimed to create a safer digital space for all users. The European Commission recently hosted a first DSA stakeholder event where - among various workshop sessions - a particular focus was placed on the provisions of the new regulations to protect minors online. BIK Youth Ambassadors were there to make sure their voices were heard, and a user-friendly DSA factsheet was launched to highlight the key provisions.

Also in this edition, we bring you news on the latest deep dive resource in the BIK Teacher corner, updates from across Europe, and encourage you to already save the date for this year's youth-led Safer Internet Forum (SIF), taking place in a hybrid format in November 2023.

If you have any comments on this resource or would like to contribute to a future edition of the BIK bulletin, please contact us.

The new European strategy for a Better Internet for Kids (BIK+ strategy), adopted in May 2022, emphasises the need to pay careful attention to children with special or specific needs, or from disadvantaged and vulnerable backgrounds. In the new strategy, the European Commission sets out clear priorities for young people with a range of vulnerabilities, with the overarching aim to ensure that no one is left behind, and that all children and young people have a voice when it comes to matters in the digital sphere.

The challenges of defining vulnerability

The terms vulnerable and vulnerability have several meanings and can sometimes be perceived in a negative way. Someone referred to as vulnerable can be defined as someone who is weak and without protection, resulting in them being easily hurt physically or emotionally (Collins Dictionary, 2023). Children and young people depending on relatives or guardians are also frequently considered a vulnerable demographic group. This vulnerability is often mentioned regarding children’s rights and development, such as in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC, 1989).

However, the concept of child vulnerability is yet to be clearly defined and analysed (OECD, 2019). The OECD defines child vulnerability as the outcome of the interaction of a range of individual and environmental factors that change over time. In 2020, the International Telecommunications Development (ITU)’s Guidelines for Parents and Educators on Child Online Protection explained how vulnerable children and young people online face the same challenges as they do offline. However, in the best-case scenario, they will receive the same advice as children who are not affected by particular vulnerabilities, although children from vulnerable backgrounds do require more specialised measures and interventions.

UNICEF’s 2017 State of the World Children report focused on children in a digital world and emphasised that there is still a considerable lack of research on some of the most marginalised communities and groups. The report identified the most vulnerable children to online harms as:

• Girls and children, and young people socially perceived as female.
• Children from poor households.
• Children in communities with a limited understanding of different forms of sexual abuse and exploitation of children.
• Children who are out of school.
• Children with disabilities.
• Children who suffer from depression or mental health problems.
• Children from marginalised groups.
  
  

Moreover, in 2021, the United Nations (UN) published General Comment No. 25 on Children’s rights in relation to the digital environment in consultation with 709 children from 28 countries. Its general principles reaffirmed principles of non-discrimination on all children as mentioned below (p. 2):

The Committee calls upon States parties to take proactive measures to prevent discrimination on the basis of sex, disability, socioeconomic background, ethnic or national origin, language or any other grounds, and discrimination against minority and indigenous children, asylum-seeking, refugee and migrant children, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex children, children who are victims and survivors of trafficking or sexual exploitation, children in alternative care, children deprived of liberty and children in other vulnerable situations. Specific measures will be required to close the gender-related digital divide for girls and to ensure that particular attention is given to access, digital literacy, privacy, and online safety.

This growing awareness towards the concept of child vulnerability has led to many international organisations writing reports and conducting consultations with children and young people. 2021 was a big year for research in this field as shown by General Comment No. 25 and the reports Our Europe, Our Rights, Our Future by the Council of Europe and the #DigitalDecade4Youth consultation carried out as part of the Better Internet for Kids (BIK) project. All of these reports included consultations with children and young people regarding the risks, challenges, and opportunities in the digital sphere. The discussions reaffirm the whole range of vulnerable groups, and how sensitive and complex it is to discuss such issues.

As illustrated by General Comment No. 25, a wide range of vulnerabilities can (and should) be considered when trying to protect, empower, and respect children and young people in an inclusive manner. In line with this, one key aspect to recognise is the many (potential) overlaps between groups in practice. It is also necessary to understand vulnerabilities as intersectional issues, especially in providing support and solutions. Intersectionality was first used in 1989 by American critical legal race scholar Kimberlé Williams Crenshaw, describing how Black women faced multiple discrimination rooted in racism and sexism. She defines intersectionality as “a metaphor for understanding the ways that multiple forms of inequality or disadvantage sometimes compound themselves and create obstacles that often are not understood among conventional ways of thinking[1]”.

A further definition of intersectionality is as follows:

[Intersectionality refers to] the interaction between gender, race, and other categories of social difference in individual lives, social practices, institutional arrangements, and cultural ideologies and the outcomes of these interactions in terms of power. (BRACED.org, April 2019, p. 2)

This definition clearly emphasises the fact that one-size-fits-all solutions rarely work in practice. For example, children from minority ethnic backgrounds are more likely to live in poverty and hence face more risks and challenges online than other groups since the bases of vulnerability intersect, and so on.

Mapping Safer Internet Centre initiatives

Earlier this year, in order to start pinpointing existing provisions for vulnerable minors, and highlight areas for further development, an initial mapping of European Safer Internet Centre (SIC) initiatives targeting vulnerable children and young people was conducted. The survey aimed to collect more information on how SICs are addressing the needs of specific target groups in the digital sphere. Furthermore, an Insafe network Training meeting in April 2023 provided an opportunity for Safer Internet Centre representatives to meet and further discuss concepts relating to child vulnerability, as well as exploring common ground and opportunities for closer working between awareness raising, helpline, and youth participation strands.

The mapping exercise identified the tremendous work that is already being carried out by SICs in developing varied initiatives addressing children and young people in vulnerable situations, such as workshops, online videos, youth centre platforms, and gaming groups, to name just a few. A few such examples follow:

The Belgian Safer Internet Centre has significantly invested in targeting children in disadvantaged settings in recent years. Among other initiatives, the SIC has developed training for parents living in lower socio-economic status. The training discusses “peer-to-peer” with other parents on how they manage the online lives of their children. Secondly, the Jungle Web game was created for parents and their children living in poverty, specifically focusing on online safety issues.

The Czech Safer Internet Centre hosts seminars with Romani children in schools and in children’s homes. The seminars target all members of the institutions from the youngest children (in the first and second grades of elementary schools) and older children, to teachers and educators. The topics discussed focus on risky behaviour on the internet and today’s challenges in the digital world. Simultaneously, several awareness-raising and educational events are conducted in regions where there are large Romani communities (often in structurally impaired areas, also). Additionally, schools and children’s homes with a large community of Romani children and young people have significant educational programmes specifically targeted at this population, supported by the Czech Safer Internet Centre alongside other NGOs.

In collaboration with Swink (an organisation helping to increase digital accessibility), the Dutch Safer Internet Centre has recently updated its Helpwanted helpline website to become more inclusive and digitally accessible. It includes content addressing issues for LGBTQIA+ children, children from minority ethnic backgrounds, children with disabilities, and children with religious and gender diversity. The content is written in an easy-to-read format and is gender-neutral. While only available in Dutch for now, translations are planned for the near future. Thanks to the input of Swink colleagues with autism, the website better connects with this target group and people with functional disabilities more generally.

The Estonian Safer Internet Centre created a self-testing online event for students with special educational needs (SEND). The event targeted students aged 11 to 16 (fourth to ninth grades) and took place in Estonian and Russian. In collaboration with the Estonian Ministry of Defence and participating schools, the test enabled students to demonstrate knowledge of digital safety behaviour, technical knowledge and competences, as well as to solve various cases. Taking part in the survey allowed students to understand how to assess their skills and competence, which in turn helps them to better solve challenging problems. Recommendations for schools were then drawn up based on the test’s results.

Recognising the particular challenges for those displaced by the war, the German Safer Internet Centre has created a helpline specifically for Ukrainian families in Germany called Helpline Ukraine.

The Greek Safer Internet Centre has created an informational video about excessive internet use specifically for users with hearing impairments. In collaboration with the Hellenic Institute of Sign Language (Bridges of Communication), the video targets children and young people aged 10 to 25+. Important information about the risks and consequences of spending too much time online is discussed in the video, and subtitles are provided. The video tackles topics such as the potential negative effects of excessive internet use on mental health, social life, and academic performance. It also encourages viewers to practice healthy digital habits, such as setting limits on screen time and taking breaks. One of the key challenges was to ensure the video was accessible, understandable, and relevant to the hearing-impaired audience, and it has been met with a very positive response.

The Maltese Safer Internet Centre has organised sessions with children with both physical and mental disabilities in group and one-to-one settings. The team collaborated with Agenzija Sapport, a national agency focusing on providing professional and innovative services to improve the quality of life of persons with disabilities. The main challenge of this initiative was to support children in overcoming their naivety about dangerous people online. However, their openness towards using and experimenting with technology allows them to express themselves without having to disclose their disability. The team gave the young people advice on ways to be safe and showed them, in real-time, certain things to avoid. The sessions have been a success, and there are plans to further develop them.

The Swedish Safer Internet Centre, in collaboration with three other public organisations and fifteen NGOs, organised and hosted three webinars in Swedish with the aim of preventing racism and LGBTQIA-phobia. The webinars, delivered in April 2023, focused on education, awareness raising and collaboration with youth as successful methods in preventing the normalisation of racism. Strategies to review the success of this initiative are ongoing.

What next?

The above examples provide just a snapshot of some of the existing initiatives throughout Europe, and many more are in development. This ongoing work also complements existing Better Internet for Kids (BIK) good practice guides on Children and young people with disabilities in an online world (published in March 2021) which addresses specific benefits, challenges and aspects of online safety with regard to children and young people with disabilities, and Classifying and responding to online risk to children (published in February 2023) which explains in detail the different types of risks children face online (based on the 4Cs model of online risks: content, contact, conduct and contract).

Readers are encouraged to make contact with their national Safer Internet Centre with any specific needs (or for further information on the above initiatives) and to search the BIK resource gallery for resources in a range of languages, for a range of stakeholders, including those with specific or special needs.

We’ll continue to bring you further updates on this important area of focus as the new BIK+ strategy continues to roll out over the coming months and years.

Image credit: IMF/Flickr

[1] Crenshaw, Kimberlé Williams (1989) "Demarginalizing the Intersection of Race and Sex: A Black Feminist Critique of Antidiscrimination Doctrine, Feminist Theory and Antiracist Politics". University of Chicago Legal Forum 1989:139–67, p. 149

In October 2022, the European Commission launched the Digital Services Act (DSA) package – a series of rules and regulations for online platform providers aimed to create a safer digital space for all users – with some rules that are specially designed to protect minors online – where fundamental rights are respected and protected.

The DSA sets out clear due diligence obligations for online platforms and other online intermediaries. For example, under the new rules, any user will be able to flag illegal content, and will also have a clear means of contesting platforms' content moderation, both to the platform and through out-of-court mechanisms in their country. You can access the full text of the DSA here (in all official EU languages).

The BIK team has worked on a user-friendly factsheet which collects and summarises, in a few pages, the main content of the articles of the DSA that focus specifically on the protection of children and young people online.

The factsheet was recently presented at the DSA stakeholder event (see also the article below); an opportunity for stakeholders to provide input to the Commission ahead of the enforcement of the DSA, and network with platform representatives, as well as national and EU policymakers.

Read and download the English version of the factsheet here. The factsheet will soon be translated and made available in a range of EU and non-EU languages.

Image credit: EUN/Better Internet for Kids

The first Digital Services Act (DSA) stakeholder event took place on Tuesday, 27 June 2023, marking a significant milestone in shaping the future of digital services in the European Union. It provided a valuable opportunity for stakeholders to engage with the European Commission and contribute their insights for the implementation of the DSA.

Parallel sessions formed the backbone of the event, providing attendees with the opportunity to delve into specific aspects related to the DSA. Fourteen engaging workshops covered a wide range of topics, reflecting the diverse challenges and opportunities associated with digital services. Experts and stakeholders from various fields came together to exchange knowledge and insights on gender-based violence, online marketplaces, mental well-being, privacy, data science, countering hate and extremism, intellectual property rights, protection of minors, global implications of the DSA, data access for researchers, freedom of expression and media pluralism, dark patterns and advertising, disinformation, and risk assessments and algorithms.

One of the parallel sessions was dedicated to discussion on protecting minors online, with a panel moderated by June Lowery-Kingston, Head of Unit Accessibility, Multilingualism & Safer Internet, European Commission, and participation of two BIK Youth Ambassadors, Daria from Romania, and George from Malta, along with academics, and representatives from industry and civil society. The main discussion point focused on the role of the Digital Services Act in ensuring a secure online environment for young users. All stakeholders highlighted the need for clear guidelines, effective implementation, and coordination to address the challenges associated with child protection in the digital age.

Read more on the reflections from the day on the Better Internet for Kids (BIK) portal.

Save the date for this year's Safer Internet Forum (SIF) which will take place in a hybrid format on Thursday, 23 November 2023 with a focus on the development of digital skills for children and young people, as a means of empowering them to be safe online.

SIF is a key annual event where policymakers, researchers, law enforcement bodies, youth, parents and carers, teachers, NGOs, industry representatives, experts and other relevant actors come together to discuss the latest trends, risks and solutions related to child online safety and making the internet a better place.

Once again, we are only able to accommodate a small, invited audience in person in Brussels. However, we welcome wide online attendance from all with an interest in creating a safer and better internet for children and young people.

Public registration will open in early September, and we'll send you a BIK bulletin extra mailing at that time with the details.

Regular updates on the agenda and speakers will be posted on the Better Internet for Kids (BIK) portal across the autumn months. 

Image credit: EUN/Better Internet for Kids

This year’s Safer Internet Forum will, once again, benefit from the insights and contributions of young people. To ensure a successful and engaging event, a Safer Internet Forum Youth Advisory Group (SIF YAG) and BIK Youth Panel have been convened to help guide the preparation and delivery of the event. Within these two groups, young people from across Europe will work collaboratively in the coming months to deliver a Forum that reflects the current aspirations and concerns of youth when it comes to their online lives.

The SIF YAG, comprised of 10 individuals from 10 EU countries, has been actively participating in online meetings since last month. Their primary role is to determine the title of the Safer Internet Forum, provide input to the agenda, and provide valuable suggestions for speakers and sessions.

Likewise, the 15th edition of the Better Internet for Kids (BIK) Youth Panel is currently taking shape. Bringing together more than 30 young people from 22 European countries, who are actively involved with their national Safer Internet Centres, this dynamic group will represent the voices of today's youth on crucial matters such as online safety, digital literacy, and internet governance. The group will meet regularly online in the early autumn months to start planning their interventions, before joining together face-to-face in Brussels in the days prior to this year’s Forum. During these days, the youth will finalise their awareness materials and rehearse their presentations, ensuring a polished performance at SIF itself.

Collaboration between the SIF YAG and the BIK Youth Panel across the coming months will ensure that the event represents diverse perspectives and incorporates the voices of young people from across Europe. The young people will also co-host the event, ensuring that the various sessions of the day – such as youth-led table discussions – both challenge and inspire the gathered participants.

With the determination and dedication of both the SIF YAG and the BIK Youth Panel, we can anticipate an enlightening and inspiring edition of the Safer Internet Forum. By empowering young people to lead the way, we can cultivate a safer, more inclusive, and empowering digital world for all.

Discover more about youth participation activities in the Better Internet for Kids agenda across Europe at www.bikyouth.eu.

Image credit: EUN/Better Internet for Kids

On 26-28 April 2023, Meta - in collaboration with Think Young - organised an EU Youth Design Jam in Brussels, where young participants from across Europe gathered to address digital safety and privacy concerns.

The event offered an invaluable opportunity for youth to collaborate, learn from industry professionals, and contribute their perspectives to shaping a safer online environment. Among the passionate participants were two Better Internet for Kids (BIK) Youth Ambassadors: Adrian from Spain and Molly from Ireland, who shared their experiences and insights gained during the Youth Design Jam.

Read more on their reflections from the day on the Better Internet for Kids (BIK) portal.

Image credit: EU Youth Design Jam/EUN

The Insafe network of helplines collects data about the types of calls received and this is analysed every three months in order to look at possible trends and emerging issues. The most recent helpline data covers the period from January to March 2023. There were over 19,500 contacts made to the network which once again shows a steady increase in numbers since the previous reporting period. There has been an overall upward trend in numbers using the helplines over the last three to four years.

Teenagers are the largest group who are making use of helpline services with 52 per cent of contacts received from 12-18-year-olds during this period. There was a significant increase in the number of teachers reaching out to helplines (17.3 per cent), although it is difficult to determine exactly why this is.

Helplines continue to strive to offer the best possible services to their users. The French helpline has recently increased its hours of operation by an additional 34 hours per week, while the Dutch helpline has expanded the issues that it is able to offer support with. The Dutch helpline was previously called the Expert Centre for Online Child Abuse (EOKM) but has now been renamed Offlimits – the Expert Centre for Online Harm and Abuse. The role of EOKM was quite specific and this change in focus means that the helpline is now able to provide support for a wider range of issues including cyber-stalking, doxing, hacking and cyberbullying, recognising the broad range of challenges that young people are facing online.

Read more on the latest Insafe helpline statistics on the Better Internet for Kids (BIK) portal.

Image credit: Mikael Blomvist/Pexels

Every child using the internet deserves a safe experience and easy access to online safety and protection resources. An estimated 240 million children worldwide (one in every ten children) live with disabilities, according to data released by UNICEF.

Out of these, more than 120 million children are active online. Unfortunately, the existing digital safeguards, educational resources and reporting systems were not designed to appropriately support and protect those with disabilities.

Read the full article on the Better Internet for Kids (BIK) portal.

Image credit: INHOPE

What are the risks that youth can face when gaming? Do you know what the PEGI disclaimer icons commonly found on video games actually mean? You can answer these and more questions by reading the new deep dive on online gaming, available in the BIK Teacher corner.

The Teacher corner is a special section of the BIK portal dedicated to teachers, educators and other professionals working with children and young people. It offers information, advice and resources on digital citizenship and online safety, to better educate and support youth to safely navigate the digital world.

Other deep dive topics covered include cyberbullying, sexting and cybersecurity and cybercrime, and the resource is being regularly supplemented with new topics. Additional introductory learning modules aim to provide teachers and educators with all they need to know about the basics of online safety.

Visit the BIK Teacher corner now.

Image credit: EUN/Better Internet for Kids

ChatGPT (a natural language processing tool driven by artificial intelligence (AI) technology) is particularly popular among students. By integrating the chatbot service as "My AI" into Snapchat, access is now even easier, meaning AI has become a constant companion on the smartphone for many young people. The Austrian Safer Internet Centre (SIC)  provides some tips and guidance on this new feature. 

Read the full article on the Better Internet for Kids (BIK) portal.

Digital parenting involves guiding children to use technology safely and wisely, setting boundaries, and teaching children to be responsible online. The Belgian Safer Internet Centre (SIC) tells us more about the European Safe Online Initiative, to help bridge the digital gap between parents and youth. 

Read the full article on the Better Internet for Kids (BIK) portal.

The Estonian Safer Internet Centre (SIC) presents the findings of a study conducted by Telia and Norstat in October-November 2022 about the online privacy of children and young people. According to the study, half of Estonian children are most concerned about having their passwords stolen and having pictures and videos shared of them without their consent.

Read the full article on the Better Internet for Kids (BIK) portal.

The Greek Safer Internet Centre (SIC) and the Greek Ministry of Education, with the support of UNICEF, are joining forces to promote online safety and digital citizenship education specifically designed for migrant and refugee children living in Greece. 

Read the full article on the Better Internet for Kids (BIK) portal.

In Ireland, for Safer Internet Day (SID) 2023, the Irish Safer Internet Centre (SIC)  promoted the theme of respect and empathy online. A report was published on the occasion, collecting research findings of the study on bystander behaviour online among young people in Ireland.

Read the full article on the Better Internet for Kids (BIK) portal.

The Italian Safer Internet Centre (SIC) has recently released a new webinar for teachers, educators and education experts to explore the role of digital environments in the processes of identity construction of young people, and especially young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). 

Read the full article on the Better Internet for Kids (BIK) portal.

In the last edition of the BIK bulletin (March 2023), we brought you a preview of the fourth edition of the Better Internet for Kids Policy Map report which has since been published.

The Better Internet for Kids (BIK) Policy Map is a series of studies that began in 2014 with the aim of mapping policies and activities that support children’s use of the internet and the implementation of the European strategy for a Better Internet for Kids (the ‘BIK strategy’), allowing for comparison and knowledge exchange across the EU. The fourth report of the series was released in May 2023 in celebration of the one-year anniversary of the BIK+ strategy. It constitutes the first BIK Policy Map to report on developments in the 27 EU Member States, Iceland and Norway, since the adoption of the new BIK+ strategy in May 2022.

In its fourth edition, the BIK Policy Map provides an insightful snapshot during a time of significant policy change, with the adoption of the BIK+ strategy and the coming into effect of the revised Audiovisual Media Services Directive (AVMSD) as just two of the most recent motions. It presents findings on the policy frameworks and policy-making processes across Europe and maps national activities around the three pillars of the BIK+ strategy: safe digital experiences, digital empowerment, and active participation.

Read the full report on the Better Internet for Kids (BIK portal).

Also available are a series of country impact case studies providing national implementation perspectives for Finland, Germany, Ireland and Malta.

Image credits: zbruch/Getty Images Signature

European Schoolnet, together with three national Safer Internet Centres from Belgium, Denmark and Greece, launched the menABLE project (Empower Manpower against gender-based violence online) in February 2023. Co-funded by the European Commission, the project aims to combat online gender-based violence by addressing its root causes and promoting prevention strategies, with a focus on boys and young men.

Educational tools and awareness activities will facilitate primary prevention and transform social norms and behaviour. To effectively reach the target audience, the menABLE project aims to engage early teens (13-15 years) and late teens (16-18 years) through a variety of formal and non-formal educational settings.

Under the menABLE project, a Knowledge Management Working Group (KMWG) will be established, which will play a crucial role as an Advisory Group working alongside the menABLE Consortium. The KMWG will create a dedicated space for educational stakeholders and experts to contribute their insights and perspectives in combating gender-based violence online. A diverse range of formal and non-formal educational actors, as well as young people, are actively welcome to join.

As a member of the KMWG, participants will have the extraordinary opportunity to actively shape the project's direction and contribute to the development of an educational toolbox. The group will convene online every two months, starting from late September, providing a platform to share expertise and insights, and collaborate with like-minded stakeholders. In addition, members may have the chance to actively engage in the EU policy roundtable and hackathon organised by the Consortium, allowing for further collaboration with key decision-makers and field experts.

If you want to join the menABLE project and become part of the KMWG, we invite you to contact info@menable.eu. For more information on the project, please visit www.menable.eu or follow the project’s Instagram and TikTok profiles.

Image credit: EUN/menABLE

ySKILLS, a Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme project, proposes a holistic, child-centric approach to understanding how the use of the internet has variable consequences for children’s rights to participation, information, freedom of expression, education, play, and to protection from harm. Its overarching aim is to enhance and maximise the long-term positive impact of the ICT environment on multiple aspects of well-being for all children by stimulating resilience through the enhancement of digital skills.

As the project draws to a close, ySKILLS will host its final conference at the Irish College in Leuven, Belgium on Thursday, 30 November 2023. With a conference title of Are children skilled enough for the digital world?, the event will present key research findings on the role of digital skills and digital knowledge in relation to individual and social characteristics of children and young people, their digital access and activities and related risks and opportunities, and their well-being. Recommendations will be presented for policymakers, companies, caregivers and educators. In addition, a child-friendly report will be launched, with particular attention paid to children in vulnerable situations.

Participation in the conference is free, but advance registration is required.

Discover more and register to attend on the ySKILLS website.

School is almost out for summer, and with the free time that the traditional vacation period brings, along come more opportunities for children and young people to explore the world around them, both physical and virtual. Keep an eye on the BIK portal and on our social media profiles (on Facebook and Twitter) in July and August for seasonal tips for parents and caregivers on supporting children and young people online over the summer break.

Before we know it, summer will be over and it will be back to school time. Keep an eye on the BIK portal and on our social media profiles (on Facebook and Twitter) during September and October for our traditional Back2School campaign, with a special focus on resources for teachers and educators.

And finally, with 2023 now speeding along, a quick reminder to already save the date for Safer Internet Day (SID) 2024, which will take place online and across the globe on Tuesday, 6 February 2024, bringing people Together for a better internet. Campaigning activities will start from September 2023 onwards. Keep an eye on the Safer Internet Day website at www.saferinternetday.org or check out #SID2024 on social media for the latest news and updates.