Safer Internet Day 2012

Every year during the month of February, many countries across the world celebrate Safer Internet Day, raising awareness of the need for families to protect themselves online. The theme of this year’s event (to be held on February 7) is “Connecting generations and educating each other”, encouraging users of all ages to “discover the digital world together … safely!”¹

The team behind Safer Internet Day (SID) have released a video , to introduce the concept to those who are unfamiliar with it. From its inception as a purely European activity, events are now celebrated in 74 countries across the globe.

Initiatives such as awareness-raising sessions in schools are common, but the GRID Editorial Team have found a few highlights to share as to how different countries will be marking the day.

In Austria, youth centers will be offering free Facebook safety checks from February 7th to 10th where young people visiting them can have their privacy settings checked by trained staff.² This raises awareness of issues such as who can view their personal data and status updates, how easy it is to find photos of them and whether they are really sharing only the information they intend.

In Lebanon, the Safer Internet Day video will be converted to Arabic and run as advertisements to raise awareness of Internet safety issues on television, whilst a campaign of interviews will see the message spread further.³ World Vision Lebanon are organizing a large event which will take place on February 4th, aimed at parents and children. In conjunction with partners from government departments and industry, parents will be able to attend educational workshops whilst children will learn about the need for safety and security through games and activities.

Palestine’s SID Committee has also organized a range of events.⁴ The country’s largest Internet Service Provider, Hadara, is printing awareness-raising messages on its February bills. Children will be targeted through an animated video which will run on TV and satellite channels, whilst parents and other adults will be reached by radio messages.

These are just a few examples of the many ways in which families across the world will be reached by messages relating to Safer Internet Day. One of GRID’s many strengths is the way in which it highlights not just the important dates in the online safety world, such as SID and Data Privacy Day, but also smaller, local efforts to bridge the digital and generational divides and to bring technology into communities. Here are a few examples you might have missed.

In the Dominican Republic, the First Lady, Margarita Cedeño de Fernández, supports the Community Technology Centers (CTC) program. The program takes technology to the least-developed parts of the country and acts as an access point for whole communities.⁵ In addition to receiving ICT training, individuals can undertake online courses in a variety of fields, such as business administration and family wellbeing.⁶ The initiative promotes development in the communities in which the CTCs operate, providing quality education to the poor.

The ICT Bus Project is an initiative implemented by the Rwanda Development Board through the eRwanda Project.⁷ Launched in 2009, its main objective is to help bridge the digital divide affecting the rural populations of the country. With the help of this mobile computer lab, training can be provided to rural people including school children and teachers, and the use of ICT as a tool for innovation, competitiveness, productivity and efficiency is encouraged, thus benefitting students, youth groups, traders, farmers and other rurally-based citizens.⁸

In Bangladesh, the remotest of villages can only be accessed by boat, which is where the mobile operator Grameenphone’s Information Boat plays a valuable role in educating communities.⁹ The boats provide education on the value of the Internet, computer access, training and allow residents to access education materials for their children, download music and other activities most of us take for granted.

As always, the GRID team will continue to research and report on new initiatives, highlighting the ways in which communities can becoming increasingly connected through the safe use of technology.

Sources
¹ http://www.saferinternetday.org/web/guest (last accessed January 30, 2012)
² http://www.jugendinfo.at/index.php?uid=441 (last accessed January 30, 2012)
³ http://www.saferinternetday.org/web/lebanon/home (last accessed January 30, 2012)
⁴ http://www.saferinternetday.org/web/palestine/home (last accessed January 30, 2012)
⁵ http://www.primeradama.gob.do/ctc (last accessed September 29, 2011)
⁶ http://www.ctcvirtual.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=11%3Acmonvenio-instituto-tecnologico-y-educacion-superior-de-monterrey&catid=10%3Aconvenios&Itemid=68&lang=en (last accessed September 29, 2011)
⁷ http://www.elearning-africa.com/eLA_Newsportal/ict-buses-delivering-the-internet-to-rural-rwanda/ (last accessed January 30, 2012)
⁸ http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningzone/clips/travelling-bus-brings-the-internet-to-rwanda/8482.html (last accessed January 30, 2012)
⁹ http://www.telenor.com/en/corporate-responsibility/initiatives-worldwide/get-on-board-the-information-boat (last accessed January 30, 2012)