Safer Internet Day is here!

10.02.09

Today millions of citizens in all four corners of the globe will celebrate the sixth annual edition of Safer Internet Day. Thousands of online and offline events will run simultaneously across 50 countries of the world.

Amongst the high points of the celebration at the EU level, Viviane Reding, European Commissioner for Information Society and Media and patron of Safer Internet Day since 2005, will award six winners of a European-wide quiz quest at a ceremony in Luxembourg. The contest was run by the Insafe awareness raising network. The lucky winners, from Austria, Germany, France, Latvia, Poland and the United Kingdom will travel to Luxembourg to receive their prize through the support of sponsors Microsoft, the cable operator Liberty Global Inc., IFSE and the associated PEGI initiative and the INHOPE network of hotlines. This meeting will also mark the launch of a video clip which will make its way through television and cinemas in Europe in coming months with the message to young people "The Internet is fun, keep it fun, keep control! Block bullying online!" Learn more at www.saferinternet.org

The blogathon that has marked Safer Internet Day over the past three years and given young people everywhere the opportunity to express their thoughts on online safety has been replaced this year by a virtual fair. Participating countries and leading organizations have set up their profile and offer their resources, each in their own pavilion. Visitors can wander around the fair, watch a video show in the central auditorium or leave their comments in guest books in the pavilions they visit. The fair, set up with the support of Insafe’s golden sponsor Liberty Global, will stay open to the public until 24^th February at www.SIDfair.org. It will then become a permanent members-only collaboration platform to reinforce the efforts of internet safety organizations worldwide

Another initiative launched today is the opening of an online version of Insafe’s eSafety toolkit, the print version of which is currently available in twelve European countries. The e-safety kit portal will gradually unfold its various country versions, starting on Safer Internet Day 2009. Launched on Safer Internet Day last year and developed in partnership with our golden sponsor, the e-safety toolkit has proved such a resounding success it has recently been translated in Turkish and Arabic.

Safer Internet Day is truly an international event. For further information go to www.saferinternet.org