Safer Internet Day

Click Safely - Serbia

The Click Safely (Serbian: “Klikni bezbedno”) campaign has been running since February 10, 2009. The campaign was started by the then Ministry of Telecommunications and Information Society and is now implemented by the Digital Agenda Administration, with the aim to prevent online abuse and educate children on how to surf the web safely. The hub of the campaign is the website www.kliknibezbedno.rs which has been available since the beginning of the campaign.

In 2012, and earlier, in 2011 we organized numerous educational forums throughout Serbia. During these visits we have come to understand that the number of teens, who have experienced problems online, has increased dramatically. We are using our website, as well as Facebook and Twitter profiles to interact with children and teenagers and help them address their dilemmas and solve their problems.

In order to actively involve children in the campaign, we have created an educational on-line quiz for primary school students. The purpose of the quiz was to educate children, in a fun, interactive way on the safe use of the Internet. By answering the questions of the quiz and learning the correct answers children will know how to protect themselves online and detect typical problems and threats. The quiz was further made attractive by providing a challenge to schools to have as many students as possible register and answer the quiz online and compete with other schools in getting the best score. As a reward, the school, that has the best score wins a laptop and a projector. We have also launched the Click Safely quiz during the last year.

An in-depth campaign analysis showed that a large number of parents have no insight into their children’s online activities, nor do they have any influence on them, making the children more likely to be exposed to online risks. In order to bridge this gap, in 2010, we began a set of trainings for both teachers and parents. We believe that education and communication between parents and/or teachers, on the one hand; and children on the other; is very key to online safety. Parents need to be constantly educated on Internet safety, must be interested in children’s online activities and act as role models for their children.

Various promotional materials were made for this campaign: videos, t-shirts, brochures etc; as well as video clips used for an advertising campaign that was broadcasted on TV (see below).

We hope that we will succeed in our efforts to change the mindset of, not only the children, but also their parents and teachers. Students need to learn to use Internet safely, for all it offers: not just as a place for spending their free time and entertainment but also as a great tool for learning, for research, for education. Parents and teachers need to be able to guide them and communicate to them the need to use the Internet safely.

You can also visit the Serbian Safer Internet Day Committee page for more information on Serbia SID actions.