Safer Internet Forum 2023

Safer Internet Forum (SIF) 2023 took place in a hybrid* format on Thursday, 23 November 2023 with a theme of Empowering YOUth with skills for the Digital Decade.

Download the Forum booklet, containing the agenda and information on the speakers and contributors.

Come back here soon to read the public report from Safer Internet Forum 2023.

Watch the recording of the SIF 2023 full morning session here (being prepared), and rewatch the full afternoon sessions here.

Live illustration of the welcome address featuring the spekers and the BIK+ strategy
Thursday, 23 November 2023
Opening videos and welcome address
View the youth video: Empowering YOUth with the skills they need for the Digital Decade
View the video address by Commissioner Dubravka Šuica, Vice-President for Democracy and Demography
View the video address by Thierry Breton, European Commissioner for Internal Market
View the session recording (being prepared)

Illustrations of the keynote session featuring the speaker Amanda Third and some key messages.
Keynote session | Life online: the skills and competences needed to thrive
View Amanda Third's presentation
View the session recording (being prepared)

Illustration of the panel discussion featuring the speakers and some key messages of the session.
Plenary panel discussion
View the session recording (being prepared)

Illustration of the panel discussion featuring a picture of the panellists and a series of key messages of the session.
Panel discussion | Life online: the voices of young influencers
View the session recording (being prepared)

Illustration of the interactive youth session featuring a group picture of the BIK Youth Panel and SIF YAG.

Interactive youth session | Being a teen online in 2023
View the BIK Youth Panel presentation
View the session recording (being prepared)

Deep dive session 1: What are the skills that children and young people need to thrive?
View the video setting the scene for the onsite discussions
View the session recording (being prepared)

Deep dive session 2: Effective ways to foster digital skills
View the video setting the scene for the onsite discussions
View the session recording (being prepared)

Illustration of the session on the next steps of the BIK+ strategy actions featuring pictures of the speakers.

Next steps
View the session recording

Closing remarks from the European Commission
and official close of Safer Internet Forum 2023
View the session recording

Background to Safer Internet Forum 2023

SIF is a key annual international conference in Europe where policymakers, researchers, law enforcement bodies, youth, parents and caregivers, teachers, NGOs, industry representatives, experts and other relevant actors come together to discuss the latest trends, opportunities, risks and solutions related to child online safety and making the internet a better place.

The European Union has designated 2023 as the European Year of Skills: a year which “puts skills centre-stage”, highlighting the critical importance of equipping people with the competences they need to succeed in an increasingly digitised world. This designation seeks to support the EU’s ambitious Digital Decade plans for 80 per cent of all adults to have basic digital skills by 2030. The subsequent European Declaration on Digital Rights and Principles for the Digital Decade set out a specific priority that “Children and young people should be protected and empowered online”. As part of this communication, the European institutions commit to “providing opportunities to all children to acquire the necessary skills and competences to navigate the online environment actively, safely and make informed choices when online.”

Furthermore, the EU Strategy on the Rights of the Child is a major policy initiative put forward by the European Commission to better protect all children, to help them fulfil their rights and to place them right at the centre of EU policymaking. The European strategy for a better internet for kids (also known as the BIK+ strategy) represents its digital arm and is built around three key pillars, with SIF focusing on pillars two (digital empowerment) and three (active participation, respecting children) of the strategy.

Throughout 2023 we are increasingly seeing the impact of the Digital Services Act (DSA), a new set of European rules to make sure that all users, and especially children, young people and vulnerable users, are included and safe online. Moreover, the DSA seeks to ensure that all organisations that provide online platforms and services protect the rights of all users, limit risks, and stop the spread of harmful or illegal content. Alongside this, under the BIK+ strategy, a comprehensive EU Code of Conduct on age-appropriate design is being developed, which will build on the regulatory framework provided in the DSA and assist with its implementation to ensure the privacy, safety and security of young users online.

The user-friendly booklet on the DSA provisions for minors

At Safer Internet Forum 2023, we also launched a user-friendly booklet which collects and summarises, in a few pages, the main content of the articles of the DSA that focus specifically on the protection of children and young people online. The booklet is available on the website of the Publications Office of the European Union currently in English, French and German, and more translations in all EU languages will follow shortly.

You can also download the PDF of the booklet (in English) here.

Also, be sure to subscribe to the quarterly BIK bulletin to be updated on the outcomes of the Safer Internet Forum – and be notified of future editions, related events, and ongoing work in this sphere generally. 

Safer Internet Forum (SIF) 2023 was organised by European Schoolnet on behalf of the European Commission in the framework of the EC's Better Internet for Kids (BIK) initiative, with funding provided by the Digital Europe Programme (DIGITAL). In case of queries, please contact the Safer Internet Forum Secretariat.