Looking back on the European Commission’s online event for Safer Internet Day 2021

Lili Leißer, Better Internet for Kids (BIK) Youth Ambassador and Youth Coordinator at the Austrian Safer Internet Centre, took part in the online event organised by the European Commission on Safer Internet Day, on Tuesday, 9 February 2021. In this article, she reflects on the progress accomplished in the framework of the Youth Pledge.

Date 2021-03-03 Author Lili Leißer, BIK Youth Ambassador Section sid, youth Topic data privacy Audience children and young people, organisations and industry, research, policy and decision makers
A group of young people on laptops

“Several BIK Youth Ambassadors – more precisely João, Sina, Matěj, Lorcan and I were allowed to participate in the global Safer Internet Day event and to moderate and discuss parts of the event.

“Just a year ago, we were all together in Brussels for the 2020 edition of Safer Internet Day and launched the Youth Pledge for a Better Internet campaign. Major tech companies like Twitter, Facebook, Samsung, Lego, Sulake and SuperRTL had committed to work together with young people from all over the world.

“The 2021 edition of Safer Internet Day was the occasion to do a review of what has been implemented in practice. I can say one thing: hats off! Large corporations and companies like these are certainly not used to orienting themselves to external people, especially young people, or to working together and listening to us. But the Youth Pledge made this possible and the companies that participated implemented a lot! In some cases, the terms and conditions have already been completely revisited in online games and integrated into a game story, there have been workshops, surveys and discussions. 

“Of course, there is more to come, and of course we want this not to be a one-time initiative, but a continuous process. After all, these companies are shaping the future, which we will then lead. That is why, in my opinion, cooperation between generations is key. And thanks to the Youth Pledge, it became possible!”

Find out more information about the Youth Pledge and about Safer Internet Day.

About the author:

Lili (Austria)

Since 2015 I have been involved in online safety issues. I started attending the Safer Internet Forum back then as a youth representative for Austria and participated in disucussion at our local Safer Internet Centre. Since then, I got even more involved and became one of the many Youth Ambassadors. I was able to develop a game about cyberbullying with which I took second place at the Safer Internet Awards. Since 2018 I have been studying law at the University of Vienna and I work at the Safer Internet Centre Austria with a focus on youth participation. 

Related news