Building a sustainable digital future with the European Safer Internet Centres

We are a European network of Safer Internet Centres, and we pursue a twofold objective that lies at the very heart of EU action: safeguarding and promoting the best interests of children and young people, while at the same time building a sustainable and ethical digital future, and creating an inclusive digital society. Since 1999, the European Union has been at the forefront of the protection of children's digital rights through the Safer Internet/Better Internet for Kids programme.

In these times of intense debates on the Future of Europe, we want to reassert the importance of making the internet a place of culture, opportunities and empowerment for our children. For years, our network has been striving to foster a high level of digital and media literacy among young European citizens and to raise awareness of the risks they may encounter online, thereby tackling major issues affecting children and young people's wellbeing (such as cyberbullying, harmful content, the dissemination of child sexual abuse material (CSAM), and so on), but also key wider societal issues.

Indeed, the importance of digital technology has significantly increased over time, and so have the concerns associated with it. Today, some of these threaten to undermine the foundations of European democracy and the cohesion among Member States. As a result, the European Union is seeking to increase its overall resilience to digital risks. We believe that educating and raising awareness among young Europeans is key to addressing fundamental concerns such as bridging the digital divide (whether it is geographical, financial or gender-based), tackling online hate speech and disinformation, preventing data leaks, and much more.

By giving children and young people the tools to mitigate the online risks and maximise the opportunities offered by the digital transformation, we can ensure they become responsible digital citizens.

But doing so is a long-term endeavour, due to the highly dynamic nature of the digital landscape, and it requires sustained efforts over time to respond in the most appropriate ways to emerging trends and issues.

It is our responsibility to make sure that young Europeans are able to cope with the challenges of the 21st century, and to thrive in the digital revolution. Therefore, we call for all organisations, decision-makers and citizens to spread the word and support a fair, inclusive and empowering Digital Europe.

For further information, download our information sheet or read it below.