Today, the Insafe network of 30 Safer Internet Centres from across Europe begins a three-day meeting in Malta. As we all have to acknowledge that we live in an ever more connected world, Malta provides an ideal location to understand this with 98% of 8-15 year olds having an Internet-enabled computer at home and 90% of 13-15 year olds claiming to be on Facebook. Insafe members will look to the future to plan how we can all continue to move towards a better internet for children and young people, wherever they may be.

 

A key focus of the meeting will be on networks and partnerships while also recognising the importance of social media in the work that the safer internet centres do, be that awareness raising or helpline activity. The gathered members will also explore how youth participation is being used across the network  and also how digital citizenship is being supported by the work of safer internet centres.

 

During the meeting, the network will also finalise their plans for Safer Internet Day (SID) 2014: the annual celebration of safer and more responsible use of online technologies and mobile phones, especially among children and young people across the world. Following the success of SID 2013, which focused on online rights and responsibilities, the attendees will be sharing their plans for 11 February 2014 and looking at innovative ways of promoting the campaign, under the theme of ‘Let’s create a better internet together’.

 

INSAFE coordinator Janice Richardson says: “Insafe training meetings provide a great opportunity to look at the future challenges together, and discuss and debate strategies that the 30 national centres represented here can then go back home to scale and transfer into their own countries.”

In his address, the Hon. Dr. Zammit Lewis, Parliamentary Secretary for Competitiveness and Economic Growth said ‘We consider the topics you will be discussing today as highly critical. Not simply because of children’s vulnerability, which we must duly protect, but also because children are the foundations of tomorrow’s society.’

 

‘We can only succeed in creating a better internet-enabled future if we are able to make our children exemplary online citizens, who can mutually respect each other and who are willing to work together for the benefit of the community,’ he continued.

 

The Maltese Safer Internet Centre, BeSmartOnline is very pleased to be hosting the Insafe network in Malta. BeSmartOnline is led by the Malta Communications Authority and implemented together with the Office of the Commissioner for Children and the Foundation for Social Welfare services (Appoġġ) with the support of other major stakeholders. Such a network plays a strategic role in consolidating the European-wide efforts undertaken to ensure a positive online experience for children.

 

Whilst acknowledging the important working undertaken at a national level through the BeSmartOnline! initiative, Hon. Dr. Zammit Lewis, stated that ‘such efforts cannot be undertaken successfully if it were not for the collective and collaborative efforts of a number of institutions.’ ‘I take this opportunity to commend joint efforts such as Insafe and INHOPE through which Europe has shown that a European reality needs a pan-European solution.  I strongly encourage that past instruments devised to sustain such collaboration are preserved and enforced.’