UAE joins world family in marking Safer Internet Day 2016

Brussels 9th February 2016 (WAM) - The UAE today joined more than 100 countries worldwide including all 28 countries of the European Union in celebrating Safer Internet Day (SID) for the thirteenth year running.

In the UAE the day is being celebrated since 2011 under the patronage of H.H. Lt. General Sheikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior.

Organised by the Khalifa Student Empowerment Program Aqdar the campaign which features the participation of more than 30 ministries and federal local and private entities aims at raising awareness of community members about the dangers of the Internet equipping them with the proper methods for safe internet use and strengthening moral values and positive behaviours for safe use of the Internet. The campaign's logo will be posted on the Google search engine. Three short documentaries will be screened via local broadcasters.

Additionally Aqdar has also allocated AED 200000 in cash prizes for student competitions on social media platforms.

UAE organisers say the global 'Safer Internet Day' is a manifestation of international organisations' efforts of spreading the concepts of safe internet usage and child protection through early education.

The Ministry of Interior's Child Protection Center is also working on raising children's awareness about the dangers that they may face while using internet organising relevant media campaigns and academic training programmes.

As part of UAE's celebration of the event a new UAE-based non-profit organisation was launched to work for the protection of children from online abuse using psychiatric legal educational technical and social expertise in cooperation with local and international authorities.

Launched on Sunday in the capital ahead of Safety Internet Day on February 9 Emirates Safer Internet Society E-SAFE announced its vision to become a "sustainable and globally recognised" hub for child protection online by 2021.

Speaking at the launch Dr Abdullah Al Mehyas Chairman said that in addition to commonly recognised online risks such as sexual exploitation blackmail and fraud 'e-Terrorism' also poses a threat.

"There are around 8.8 million internet users in the UAE and 65 per cent of those have smartphones. Those who do not have smartphones are usually children and they use tablets and similar devices. Nowadays children are born into the internet era and therefore using these technologies comes to them naturally" Al Mehyas said.

E-SAFE has worked with international agencies such as Interpol Unicef ITU EUROPOL and other local authorities such as the Ministry of Interior the Khalifa Student Empowerment Programme (Aqdar) the Abu Dhabi Education Council and the National Rehabilitation Centre (NRC) among many others.

The Ministry of Interior's Child Protection Centre urges parents to be cautious and to prevent their children from falling prey to internet dangers as they may not always be aware of the challenges and risks they face online.

The festivities program will feature several events such as promoting the campaign via social networking sites #Hashtags on Twitter and Whatsapp as well as a special radio and TV programs.

An EU wide initiative Safer Internet Day (SID) is organised by Insafe in February of each year to promote safer and more responsible use of online technology and mobile phones especially among children and young people across the world.

It is promoted in Ireland by the PDST Technology in Education and Webwise and will be celebrated in Ireland on Tuesday 9th February 2016. 67000 young people and 463 schools and organisations will celebrate Safer Internet Day 2016. Many events and activities will take place across the globe to mark the day.

Initiated under the European Commission's Safer Internet Programme and now continuing under the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) which funds Safer Internet Centres in the member states the day marks an annual opportunity to engage in making the internet a safer and better place for our children and young people.

Coordinated by European Schoolnet and INHOPE (the International Association of Internet Hotlines) in close partnership with the Insafe network of Safer Internet Centres in Europe Safer Internet Day has grown tremendously over the years. The theme of the 13th Safer Internet Day 2016 is 'Play your part for a better internet!'. Whether we are children and young people parents and carers educators or social care workers or indeed industry decision makers or politicians we all have a role to play. In championing a better internet the theme aims to encourage people to play their part in making the most of the positive opportunities offered online while giving them the resilience skills knowledge and support they need to navigate any online risks they may come across.

Each year thousands of exciting events and activities take place to mark the day and raise awareness of the issues across and beyond Europe. Additionally the Insafe network of Safer Internet Centres produces a range of resources for schools and educators to help them raise awareness of safe and responsible use of the internet and other online services.

Last year's celebrations saw more than 19000 schools and 28 million people involved in SID actions across Europe while over 60 million people were reached worldwide on Twitter online with the SID hashtag which trended globally several times on SID itself.

Organisers expect the SID 2016 celebrations to be even bigger and are already seeing support building with tweets from the likes of G?nther H. Oettinger Digital Economy & Society Commissioner and Roberto Viola Director General of DG Connect at the European Commission.

Speaking of the campaign Marc Durando Executive Director of European Schoolnet said: "We are delighted to organise this landmark online safety campaign with the support of the European Commission. The messaging around a safer and better internet complements the work we are doing with schools across Europeand beyondon empowering children and young people with the knowledge and skills they need to actively participate in today's digital society."

Hans Martens Digital Citizenship Programme Manager at European Schoolnet and Coordinator of the Insafe Network said "The theme of 'Play your part for a better internet' truly reflects how stakeholders from across the world can and should work together to build a trusted digital environment for all. This approach is at the core of the Better Internet for Kids agenda and we look forward to seeing many exciting initiatives and collaborations both on the day of SID itself and beyond."

Over the years Safer Internet Day (SID) has become a landmark event in the online safety calendar. Starting as an initiative of the EU SafeBorders project in 2004 and taken up by the Insafe network as one of its earliest actions in 2005 Safer Internet Day has grown beyond its traditional geographic zone and is now celebrated in more than 100 countries worldwide and across all continents.

From cyberbullying to social networking each year Safer Internet Day aims to raise awareness of emerging online issues and chooses a topic reflecting current concerns. For SID 2016 the focus of the day is "Play your part for a better internet" reflecting the fact that we all have a role to play.

However Safer Internet Day is also celebrated outside Europe. In 2009 the concept of Safer Internet Day Committees was introduced to strengthen the bonds with countries outside the network and invest in a harmonised promotion of the campaign across the world. Around 70 committees started working closely with the Safer Internet Day coordination team which is based at the heart of the European Union in Brussels.