Safer Internet Day (SID) has become a global landmark event in the online safety calendar with 2023 being its 20th year. Safer Internet Day is an EU wide initiative to promote a safer internet for all users, especially young people.
iSIGURT.al, the national platform for a safe internet in Albania, which also functions as the national line for children's internet safety, is a national service established by CRCA/ECPAT Albania in 2015. It has as its main mission the reporting and removal of harmful materials on the internet, social networks and online media that contain sexual violence against children and adolescents, bullying and extreme violence against children and young people, as well as the language of hate crimes.
On 1 February 2023, the Safer Internet Centre in Ghana, in collaboration with the ITU Regional Office in Africa, African Telecommunications Union (ATU) and other partners, launched the fourth Africa Safer Internet Day (ASID) on Zoom. The launch served as a formal introduction to the ASID celebrations scheduled for 7 February 2023, which brings together major stakeholders, including parents, governments, and civil society organisations. The event aims to raise awareness about the emerging digital and online issues that influence the experiences of children and young people in Africa.
The BIK+ strategy aims to promote the digital empowerment of children and young people, and France wanted to affirm its alignment with the European policy by proposing a SID 2023 campaign committed to this specific principle.
In Nigeria, Safer Internet Day 2023 was celebrated with a series of panels discussing some among the most pressing safer internet issues. The goal of the activities of the day was to to create awareness for a safer internet, where everyone has the ability to utilise technology responsibly, politely, critically, and creatively. 95 students from seven schools, along with 50 teachers, parents, and media and government agencies participated in the event.
On 7 February 2023, for the 20th time, more than 180 countries from all continents, including Bulgaria, celebrated Safer Internet Day under the motto "Together for a better internet". The main event to mark the observance in Bulgaria was organised by the National Centre for Safe Internet and included an online discussion dedicated to the topic "Screen time and its impact".
For the 2023 edition of Safer Internet Day, the Safer Internet Centre in Iceland (SAFT) focused on collaboration. SAFT is a part of a new network about media literacy in Iceland with more than 40 other partners, including the Icelandic media commission and the national broadcasting company.
As fast as the internet develops, the years are also passing by fast. This year, on 7 February 2023, the world celebrated the 20th anniversary of Safer Internet Day. What once started as a SafeBorders initiative in 2004 has now grown into a widely respected event celebrated in more than 180 countries. Read more about the SID celebrations in the Netherlands.
On the occasion of the 20th anniversary of Safer Internet Day, Internet Sans Crainte - with the support of its partners - built an ambitious and global campaign whose engaging baseline was "20 years... and tomorrow?” to celebrate SID in France.
In Cyprus, Safer Internet Day 2023 was celebrated on Tuesday, 7 February at the Olympic Hall (the Cyprus Olympic Committee), which hosted the last phase of the annual cyber safety video production contest. Read on to learn more about the contest and other activities to celebrate SID2023.