Safer Internet Forum 2022 is here!

Children and young people are at the heart of the new Better Internet for Kids (BIK+) strategy, and therefore it makes sense that their voices set the stage for Safer Internet Forum 2022. In an opening video address, participants will hear from children and young people – from across Europe and beyond – outlining why BIK+ is important for them. 

In the days preceding this year’s Forum (25 and 26 October), a group of 20 young people involved with national Safer Internet Centres from across Europe represented the voices of youth on online safety, digital literacy, and internet governance issues. Since the beginning of September, through a series of online meetings, participants have been actively preparing their session by sharing their respective perspectives on better and safer internet issues with their peers, agreeing on key themes, and preparing awareness materials on these topics. 

To set the scene, we will hear European Commissioners discuss the strategic importance of the strategy in ensuring that children and young people are protected, empowered and respected in the digital world. In addition, participants will hear from influential young people who have either flourished or overcome diversity in the online space. Building on these interventions, a youth-led interactive debate will then take place where BIK Youth representatives will exemplify the BIK+ strategy, reflecting on its various pillars and identifying key priorities to be addressed.

Moreover, a number of deep dive discussions will take place for both online and onsite participants, exploring in more depth the three pillars of the BIK+ strategy and will tackle some of the opportunities and challenges as they relate to protecting, empowering and respecting children and young people online, and how these can be addressed by various stakeholders. In particular, participants are encouraged to agree on priorities, key actions to be taken, and how to monitor progress in this field in the coming years. Once again, the deep dive discussions will be supported by BIK Youth representatives, with many offering ‘firestarter’ interventions to set the scene. You will find an outline of the two BIK+ strategy deep dives below. 

Deep dive session 1: Safe digital experiences 

The four topics under discussion in this deep dive will be:  

1. Addressing cyberbullying (awareness and helpline counselling). 
2. Child and young consumers. 
3. Effective age assurance/verification methods. 
4. Non-consensual sharing of intimate content (revenge porn). 

Deep dive session 2: Digital empowerment and Active participation 

The four topics being discussed in this deep dive will be: 

1. Monitoring the impact of the digital transformation on well-being. 
2. Children in vulnerable situations (digital divide, migrant backgrounds, refugees, …). 
3. Peer-to-peer and child-to-adult training and support. 
4. Co-creating policies, products and services with children and young people. 

Participants will be able to join two of the four discussions for each deep dive. 

Reflecting on the multistakeholder contributions during the event, a final panel session will consider how the effectiveness of the overall BIK+ strategy can be assessed and how young people can continue to play an active role in this. 

For more information about Safer Internet Forum 2022, visit www.betterinternetforkids.eu/sif; outputs will progressively be added over time, and you can also learn more about past editions of SIF at the same location. 

Discover more about the youth involvement in the preparation for Safer Internet Forum 2022 on the BIK portal. To learn more about the BIK Youth Panel 2022 and SIF Youth Advisory Group 2022, please keep an eye on the BIK Youth minisite and Twitter profile. 

Make sure to follow #SaferInternetForum and #SIF2022 on social media for news from the day.