BIK Youth launches first youth participation scenario

The number of internet end users has increased beyond 3.5 billion, out of which minors represent one in three and, in some countries, even one in two. What has BIK Youth started to do for a better internet for these young end users? A co-creation process has been launched as part of a wider BIK Youth Programme where, ultimately, young people will develop a range of youth participation scenarios for online safety guidance, learning, campaigning and decision making.

Date 2017-11-21 Author BIK Team
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Who do the scenarios address? In brief, youth! The results of this initiative will also provide a structured overview of how BIK Youth participants will – together with other stakeholders – co-create and implement scenarios to cover the key principles essential to creating a better internet. Working together in an online capacity-building programme from September to November 2017, 15 BIK Youth panellists agreed upon a series of gaps in current awareness-raising programmes from both public and private stakeholders in the field of online safety. The youth panellists noted that most of these campaigns only have an echo and not an actual impact because they lack the idea of a true story which would actually reach out to and influence youth, parents, educators and carers. As a result, BIK Youth panellists have started working together on a first peer-to-peer digital campaign aiming at an online world free from bullying, racism and intolerance in line with Better Internet for Kids (BIK) principles.

The premise of the resulting "Together for respect" campaign is to invite young people from across Europe and beyond to listen and share real stories of how to work together for an online world free from bullying, racism and intolerance, using the hashtag #TogetherForRespect.

The campaign message calls upon young people (and others) to go beyond just telling their story in terms of cyberbullying, racism or intolerance, but also to explain how they counteracted this, their hoped for the future, being the better person, and standing up also for other people who are active in this sphere. The campaign strategy aims to spread the message using a chain approach, as exemplified in the different roles of the youth panellists in "telling the story" in their video and through a direct call to action. Through this campaign, the youth panellists wanted to explain how cyberbullying goes beyond nationality, age or gender, yet at the same time we all need to stand together to counteract it, hence #TogetherForRespect. The main distinctive note of this campaign, and the reason why the youth panellists believe it can make a difference, is because it is something (and someone) young people can relate to, being co-created by youth.

How can you get involved in this youth participation scenario? Check out the youth panellist's YouTube channel and spread the word further on your social media accounts, at school, or in your national youth panel on how you've shared respect online. Use the hashtag #TogetherForRespect and support the campaign which will run until February 2018, when we celebrate Safer Internet Day!

In case you missed it, Safer Internet Day is the landmark campaign in the online safety calendar with the next edition taking place on Tuesday, 6 February 2018. The 2018 theme, "Create, connect and share respect: A better internet starts with you" is a call to action for every internet user to play their part in creating a better internet for everyone, in particular the youngest users out there. More than that, it is an invitation for everyone to join in and engage with others in a respectful way in order to ensure a better digital experience!
BIK Youth panellists and ambassadors will now continue to be actively involved in creating a number of youth participation scenarios and implementation models. Check them out in the Participate section of this website!

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