About

How does Better Internet for Kids work for youth?

Under the Better Internet for Kids (BIK) umbrella, many smaller projects, campaigns and initiatives were created, all believing in a better internet for children and young people. Aiming to give youth a one-stop-shop to share their views on how to build a better internet, the BIK Youth minisite was launched!

The main objective? To raise awareness about the importance of involving youth participants in safer/better internet discussions. This BIK Youth minisite provides a space to present ideas, views and experiences from youth, while also reporting on national, European and international youth participation models, practices and success stories.

How did we get here? Each year, a BIK Youth Panel is organised prior and during the Safer Internet Forum (SIF), encouraging a group of youth panellists and ambassadors to voice not just their personal opinions and challenges, but also those of their peers whom they are representing at a European level. Youth panellists work together to come up with principles and activities for a better internet, first debating issues in online meetings and brainstorming over youth participation activities as preparation for meeting face to face.

Who plays what part in Youth participation activities?

A co-creation process with young people is behind this project, where ultimately young people develop youth participation activities for online safety guidance, learning, campaigning and/or decision making. Following the launch of this minisite in November 2017, BIK Youth Panellists and Ambassadors continue to be actively involved in creating a number of youth participation activities and implementation models. Check them out in the Participation section of this website!

Who are they addressing? Youth! The outcomes of this work will also provide a structured overview of how BIK Youth Panellists – together with other stakeholders – co-create and implement youth-focussed activities to cover the key principles essential to creating a better internet.

Youth and BIK stakeholders

BIK Youth Panellists and Ambassadors aim to voice their opinions to a range of Better Internet for Kids stakeholders while reflecting on, and providing specific guidance for, public sector and industry commitments.

Examples? The Alliance to better protect minors online is a self-regulatory initiative aiming to improve the online environment for children and young people. The Alliance launched its Statement of Purpose during Safer Internet Day 2017, which introduced nine actions under three main strands: User-empowerment, Enhance collaboration, and Awareness raising.

All companies taking part in the Alliance have also submitted individual commitments according to their business activity. BIK Youth Panellists had the chance to interact with the Alliance during both Safer Internet Day 2017 and Safer Internet Forum 2017, bringing their input and addressing real challenges on online safety.

Meet the Ambassadors

Below you can find out more about the 2021 BIK Youth Ambassadors. To meet all our previous Youth Ambassadors, visit the Ambassadors page where you can also learn more about how BIK Youth Ambassadors are selected.

Anisa (United Kingdom)

Hi! My name is Anisa. I’m 17 years old and live in the UK. From working with Childnet (part of the UK Safer Internet Centre) to now BIK Youth, my passion for making the internet a safer space has only grown. Being an advocate of internet safety, I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my work so far with BIK Youth: it has helped me grow in both confidence and knowledge. As we become an online-based generation, it’s pertinent to raise awareness accordingly to guide others in the right direction, making the online world a welcoming place for everyone.

Dimitris (Cyprus)

My name is Dimitris, I’m 15 years old and I'm located in Cyprus. Starting in 2017, I began to get involved in activities regarding internet safety through my school’s participation in the Young Coaches for the Internet programme of the Cyprus Pedagogical Institute (part of the Cypriot Safer Internet Centre) and the European Eduweb programme, with the aim of combatting digital exclusion. The following school year (2018-2019), I was invited to participate in the Cyprus Cyber Safety Youth Panel, of which I've been a member since. During 2020-2021, I was also a part of the Misinformation Antibodies project which aims to help people improve their critical thinking so that they can avoid –and not share – false information found on the internet. Finally, I was a participant in the BIK Youth Panel and Safer Internet Forum 2021, representing my country. As the internet keeps evolving, more dangers emerge and it’s important that kids, especially, should be protected from them. I, therefore, believe we need to make a change so that the use of the internet improves, and allows us to safely benefit from the full advantages and capabilities it has to offer.

George (Malta)

Hey there! I'm George, I’m 14 years old and I’m from Malta. I'm pretty interested in anything related to tech, especially graphic design, video/photo editing, content creation, programming, open-source software, cybersecurity, and so on. I joined the BIK Youth Panel in 2021 and, thanks to that, participated in Safer Internet Forum 2021. Both of these have been interesting experiences and have changed the way I look at the internet. I've been interested in tech ever since I was a5 years old, so I hope that my experiences can help others avoid making mistakes online!

Ilaria (Malta)

Hi there! I'm Ilaria and I'm from Malta. I'm 13 years old and I am currently in my third year of secondary school. I'm also finalising my piano studies which should be done by May 2022; music has always been an important part of my life. I took part in the BIK Youth Panel in 2021 and it was a truly interesting experience, and one I’ll never forget! I had the chance to voice my opinion on diverse topics such as social media and the impact of the internet, including on mental health. Mental health is an important topic for me since it's something we deal with every day, and the internet can pretty much affect it. I look forward to continuing to participate in BIK activities as a BIK Youth Ambassador.

Kostas (Greece)

Hey there, my name is Kostas, I’m 17 years old and I’m from Greece. I am a senior at high school and I have plenty of interests such as history, music and psychology, but my great loves are photography and politics; after all, I've won the last two school boarding elections in a row as president, and I have my own web page through which I share photos of my exquisite island with the world. I see the Safer Internet Forum (SIF) as an opportunity to exchange opinions and learn information that is going to be useful for the rest of my life, as well as broadening my mind and learning that, no matter where you are born, at the end of the day we are all the same.

Prachi (Ireland)

My name is Prachi, I'm 16 years old and I live in Ireland. I'm extremely passionate about internet safety and protecting online well-being, and a huge advocate for online transparency and better digital education. I was a BIK Youth Ambassador at the Safer Internet Forum 2021, and it was one of the best learning experiences I've had. We explored so many aspects of the internet during this period, like online society in the future, education, and data security laws. It was a brilliant opportunity to voice our thoughts, concerns and demands as young people to policy makers, corporations and educators.

Theodora (Romania)

Hello! My name is Theodora, I'm 17 and I'm from Romania. I am part of my high school debate club and my main interests at the moment are politics, IT, human rights and volunteering. I took part in the BIK Youth Panel and Safer Internet Forum 2021 which was a great opportunity for me to learn and share my ideas on the topic of internet security and making it a better place for children. I believe that it’s very important to give young people opportunities to express their beliefs and ideas, as this is the only way things can change for the better.