For the 7th consecutive year, the Council of Europe is supporting the Safer Internet Day Campaign and and is joining forces with numerous stakeholders to work together for a better and safer internet for all, and especially for children and young adults.

Safeguarding and promoting the rights of the child in the digital environment and keeping them safe online are at the heart of our work. The right to access to and safe use of technologies remains one of the key priorities in the upcoming Council of Europe’s Strategy for the Rights of the Child (2022–2027). The Council of Europe is strongly committed to fighting sexual exploitation and sexual abuse of children online, through the Council of Europe Convention on the Protection of Children from Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse (Lanzarote Convention), as well as bilateral and regional projects.

The Council of Europe celebrates this year’s Safer Internet Day by continuing to translate and disseminate as widely as possible some of its latest materials and tools for policy makers, professionals, parents, caregivers and children to raise awareness on children’s rights in the digital environment and online safety. The Handbook for the policy makers on the rights of the child in the digital environment launched last year is now available in Ukrainian. This Handbook completes the Council of Europe Guidelines to respect, protect and fulfil the rights of the child in the digital environment and aims to support policy makers in member states in the formulation of national frameworks and policies, as well as provide interpretative and practical step-by-step guidance to ensure the respect of children’s rights online. This practical tool is particularly timely in the current context when more children spend considerable time online due to the recent lockdowns and restrictions imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The leaflet “Learn about your rights in the digital environment” for children and young people under the age of 18 represents a child-friendly and appealing presentation of the Council of Europe Guidelines to respect, protect and fulfil the rights of the child in the digital environment. It exists in 16 languages and presents the key rights that children have in the digital environment and can claim from governments, schools, business and other stakeholders, and points to possible action that notably adults must take to ensure that children stay safe while using digital technology. The leaflet and its way of presenting these rights to children, as well as various language versions have been designed in collaboration with groups of children who were consulted in the publication process.

“Kiko and the Manymes” awareness-raising materials (video, storybook and guidelines for parents) featuring children’s beloved character friend Kiko, teach parents and caregivers of children aged 4-7 how to protect their children and avoid their exposure to phones with video and photo cameras or a webcam. They also provide “the golden rules of screens”, a basic set of rules to empower children to protect their privacy and their image in the online environment. Developed in the framework of the regional Project End Online Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse@Europe (EndOCSEA@Europe) these materials proved to be particularly successful and useful, and have been translated into 18 languages with more to come to reach a wide audience.

Through the country specific follow-up projects in Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova on “Protecting Children against violence and sexual exploitation and abuse, including in the digital environment”, the Council of Europe carries out a series of actions to raise awareness on the risks of online child sexual exploitation and abuse, and promotes digital literacy and safe use of internet for children in the two countries. This includes inter alia raising awareness about Safer Internet Day on social media by disseminating relevant Council of Europe tools and materials, and encouraging CSOs to join Safer Internet Day platform.

 For more information:

 Children’s rights in the digital environment

 Council of Europe’s profile and list of resources on Safer Internet Day website