Slovakian youth play their part for a better internet

On the occasion of Safer Internet Day (SID) 2016, we asked our youth panellists for their views on the theme of ‘Play your part for a better internet!'. Here, Ľuboš from Slovakia provides his thoughts.

Date 2016-02-10 Author Youth Ambassador
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"Play your part for a better internet? Why should I even try, if I cannot change anything alone? We hear these doubts too often. They are used to demonstrate the weakness of an individual, but more as an excuse for passivity.
 
"Such an approach of supposing impotence is nonetheless fundamentally wrong. It not only undermines the power of an individual in our society, but even more gravely discredits the collective power. Those who claim that an individual cannot change anything also do not believe that a thousand or even a million individuals can. In this blog, I will oppose this pessimistic narrative.
 
"In order to create a better internet for everybody we will need a much more optimistic attitude. Fortunately, there have already been great examples of what an individual can achieve in the fight for better internet. Yes, you may say that I will now only present some anecdotal evidence to support my case. So what? I do not see a problem in using anecdotal evidence, because as soon as I can show that an individual was able to have a positive impact on his or her environment, my point came across. If it has worked out even once, why shouldn't it work over and over again? I believe that others can then join the movement of creating a positive impact and play together their part for a better internet. Nevertheless, in the beginning, each of us has to play his or her part alone.
 
"The examples of great contributions to a better internet can be found everywhere around us. As a youth moderator I had the opportunity to spend few days in Luxembourg at the Safer Internet Forum last year. Together with a group of other young people from different European countries, we tried to convey a strong message. A message that every little effort counts on the way to bigger impact. Some of us have organised awareness-raising events at schools, others participate at their regional centres or lead other great initiatives, but we all try to play our part for a better internet.
 
"Hence ‘Play your part for a better internet' should not be read as a meaningless formula, but as a tribute to the power of an individual in our society."
 

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