Internet

Celebrate Safer Internet Day Today

Celebrate Safer Internet Day Today
Bernadine Racoma

Today, February 5, the world celebrates Safer Internet Day , better known as SID. This annual event is the brainchild of Insafe, a European organization with the intent to help protect and empower users of online technology and mobile phones, especially young children all around the globe.

Insafe
Insafe is an organization of European Awareness Centres that aim to promote safe and responsible use of the Internet and also various mobile devices geared to the younger set. The mission of the organization is empowerment of the people to be able to use various technologies in a positive, safe and effective manner.

Insafe seeks in particular to protect children and works with various government institutions, educational centers, parents, the media and other important sectors to establish best practices when it comes to Internet and technology use. Part of its funding is from the Safer Internet Programme.

Safer Internet Programme

The Safer Internet Programme is the coordinated effort of members of the European Union to create a safe online environment for users, but most especially children. It has at its disposal 55 million euro to battle illegal content and to stop inappropriate activities such as online bullying and grooming. The Programme offer awareness centers, helplines and even has a youth panel. The lion’s share of the funding goes towards ensuring public awareness, and Safer Internet Day is one key event.

Member countries
There are Insafe Awareness Centers in some thirty European countries including 27 European Union countries such as Denmark, Germany, Greece, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom, as well as the countries of Russia, Norway and Iceland.

Although the event was launched by these European countries, the benefits of the program extend to all borders of the world.

Today, over a hundred countries on six different continents support Safer Internet Day.

Safer Internet Day Theme 2013
Now on its tenth year, the theme for 2013’s Safer Internet Day is “Connect with respect.” The theme is supposed to remind users how to be more responsible when going online or using mobile devices and other technology.

Last year’s theme focused on reaching out to connect various generations, so that even grandparents and very young kids could discover and explore the digital world in a safe manner.

What to do
There may not be a big parade to commemorate Safer Internet Day. However, the idea is to make people take a moment and think of ways to be able to use the Internet in a responsible manner. Also, users have to be reminded to be more vigilant about keeping the online information secure.

For its part, Internet giant Google has launched “Good to Know” site in 2012, as part of an education campaign to help users stay informed about Internet security. This site is in line with Insafe’s mission to help keep the World Wide Web a safe place for all users.

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Safer Internet Day

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