Safer Internet Day 2022 – Together for a better internet
Today, 9 February, is Safer Internet Day, and an opportunity for everyone who works for children – from policymakers to health professionals to media outlets – to raise awareness of children and young people’s online safety and wellbeing.
Organised by the joint Insafe/INHOPE network, with the support of the European Commission, Safer Internet Day is held every February to promote the safe and positive use of digital technology, especially among children and young people.
One of the European bodies which puts safeguarding and promoting the digital rights of children is the Council of Europe (CoE). It says the right to access and safe use of technologies remains one of the key priorities in the upcoming Council of Europe Strategy for the Rights of the Child (2022–2027), expected to be adopted this week by the Committee of Ministers .
The CoE says it is ‘strongly committed to fighting sexual exploitation and sexual abuse of children online’, through the Council of Europe Convention on the Protection of Children from Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse (Lanzarote Convention) and bilateral and regional projects.
‘Safeguard and promote children’s digital rights’
Today it invites partners from government institutions and non-governmental organisations to focus on this topic and join in the various activities and actions. The CoE’s awareness resources and campaigns are aimed at various target groups – children, young people, parents, educators and responsible persons – to encourage all people to contribute to a safer internet.
It has made available a number of key resources aimed at, among others, child professionals and policymakers, and include:
- Handbook for the policy makers on the rights of the child in the digital environment – this aims to support policymakers in EU member states in the formulation of national frameworks and policies, as well as provide interpretative and practical step-by-step guidance to ensure the respect of children’s rights online
- The leaflet Learn about your rights in the digital environment for children and young people under the age of 18 is a child-friendly and appealing presentation of the Council of Europe Guidelines to respect, protect and fulfil the rights of the child in the digital environment
- Internet Literacy Handbook is destined for a broad public including families, educators and policymakers.
Follow the day’s activities via social media at #CoE4Children #ChildRights #OCSEA #SaferInternetDay
