Safer Internet Day

Finnish Safer Internet Centre

The Finnish Safer Internet Centre (FISIC) is coordinated by Finnish Centre for Media Education and Audiovisual Media. The FISIC project is a joint action of three organizations: Finnish Centre for Media Education and Audiovisual Media (MEKU), Save the Children Finland (STC) and The Mannerheim League for Child Welfare (MLL).

The Finnish Safer Internet Centre consists of three main activities: awareness work (coordinated by MEKU), helpline (run by MLL) and hotline (run by STC). The awareness work´s main aim is to develop awareness raising material, organize campaigns and information sessions for children and young people, parents, carers, social workers and teachers to enable children and young people to make responsible use of on-line technologies.

National Safer Internet Day

The Safer Internet Day (SID) actions are coordinated by MEKU in Finland. In Finland, the whole week is celebrated as Media Literacy Week with many offline and online events and activities.  The Media Literacy Week is a joint activity of approximately 35 organizations.

Educational material

The Media Literacy School website (www.mediataitokoulu.fi) is targeted for schools and parents to support them in digital media education. 

Handbooks and lesson plans for teachers (www.mll.fi/mediakasvatus): Say NO to cyberbullying!, Smart on the web and many others.

The YouthNet portal is an integral part of the Helpline actions including self-help material on how to prevent risks on the internet and how to cope with problematic situations online.

Youth Panel

Youth participation is intensively promoted in online safety work. The Youth Panel provides the youngsters a special channel to participate in internet safety actions in Finland and share their knowledge and experiences of online life. A special working method for the Youth Panel is the online peer support work, which includes discussions on the MLL Helpline website.

Helpline

The Helpline provides a toll free and anonymous access point for children, young people and parents. The Helpline volunteers are trained to give support to concerns about safer internet use and distressing experiences online like grooming and cyberbullying. More Information: www.mll.fi/nuortennetti and www.mll.fi/vanhempainnetti. 

Hotline

Save the Children Finland fights illegal internet content in international cooperation. The Internet users in Finland can make an online report for the Hotline (Nettivihje) of suspected illegal content they might face on the Internet.

We think that everyone has a right for creating their own digital footprint. This means that no one else should share your pictures or personal information without your knowledge. It is a responsibility for adults to encourage children to use their freedom of speech and express their opinions online, as long as they don’t hurt anyone else. At the same time, it is adults’ responsibility to create a safe online environment for children. Every child has a right to stay safe online.