Keeping Kids Safe Online: A Global Challenge

The internet is like a giant playground for kids and teens, offering endless learning, playing, and connecting possibilities. But just like any playground, safety online for a child and youth is not guaranteed, and it has its risks and dangers. With a whopping 75% of young people aged 15 to 24 surfing the web worldwide, how do we make sure their online adventures are safe and positive?

Cyberbullying: A Hidden Crisis

Imagine a third of young people across 30 countries being bullied, not in the schoolyard but online. The emotional scars from cyberbullying can stick around for a long time. In fact, a study from the Human Rights Campaign Foundation found that 70% of people saw bullying, hate messages, or harassment online. So, how can we protect our kids from this hidden crisis and create a friendlier online space?

Protecting Youngsters from Online Sexual Exploitation

The internet has a dark side, where 80% of children in 25 countries feel threatened by sexual abuse or exploitation. How can we stand guard and ensure that kids are protected from these dark threats, keeping their online experiences safe and pure?

Privacy Breaches: Invisible Threats to Kids

Children’s data can be misused for marketing, posing another unseen threat in the digital world. How does marketing targeted at kids through apps and online platforms affect them, and how can we shield them from these sneaky privacy invasions?

The UN’s Efforts to Protect Kids Online

Through initiatives like the Child Online Protection (COP) and UNICEF’s Kindly initiative, the UN is working hard to create a safe online space for kids and teens. But how effective have these initiatives been, and what more can we do to boost their impact?

Working Together for Online Safety

The internet knows no borders, demanding a global approach to keeping our kids safe online. From fighting cybercrime to combating human trafficking, how are global entities working together to ensure a safe digital space for our children?

The EU’s Strategy for Child Online Safety

In the European Union, keeping kids safe online is a top priority. The EU has rolled out a comprehensive strategy, Better Internet for Kids (BIK+), aiming to enhance digital services for kids and ensure every child is protected, empowered, and respected online. This strategy recognizes the huge changes in digital technologies and how children use them, with most kids using their smartphones daily and almost twice as much as ten years ago.

The RISE Project: Empowering Child and Youth safety Online

Let’s shine a spotlight on our European project, RISE, which stands out in its efforts to safeguard youth online, similarly to all previous international and European initiatives. Particularly, RISE seeks to empower youth, educators, and parents with the knowledge and tools to navigate the digital world safely and responsibly. By focusing on action and engagement, RISE educates and enables young people to take charge of their online experiences, ensuring they can explore, learn, and connect in a secure digital environment.

Towards a Safer Digital Future for Our Kids

Ensuring the online safety of children and youth is a shared responsibility involving governments, organizations, parents, and the youth. How can we strengthen our existing frameworks, and what new strategies can we employ to navigate the digital world securely? That’s a question that we, as the partners of the RISE project, need to answer.

If you are interested in the topic or RISE project, do not hesitate to contact us.