A highly responsible role is taken on every year by teenagers who participate in the Youth Panel of Safer Internet Hellas, the Greek Safer Internet Center, which belongs to the Pan-European Safer Internet, with 31 member countries and is under the European Commission. Acting as young ambassadors, after being trained themselves, they channel knowledge about safe navigation, support lines and incident reporting to other children, they participate in conferences in and outside Greece where they interact with their peers, while within the framework of Safer Internet action, their opinion is taken seriously when planning each information campaign.
Quarterly meeting
17-year-old Marina Karampli, a 3rd grade high school student, along with her four-year-old sister, Vanessa, and Nikolas Dertsos, also a high school senior, talk about their experience: “My involvement in the Safer Internet Youth Panel began in high school,” says Marina, who has also made relevant presentations at the Youth Parliament and at the recent conference at Zappeion, within the framework of the Greek presidency, on the topic of “Ministers’ Safety in the Digital Age.” “The youth panel meets quarterly. We prepare for the World Safer Internet Day in February, we watch videos, we learn about the pan-European conferences on safe internet, we discuss incidents of complaints. After gathering information, we present it to our school. "We become communicators of ideas. Many children are unaware of the real dangers of the Internet, so our work is important.".
What has she learned? "Not to publish photos or other personal data. Having been convinced of the dangers of the Internet, I was afraid, but I did not stop using it. I make sure not to expose myself, nor to accept just anyone as a friend on Facebook. Especially today, when even young children surf the Internet via their mobile phones, instead of being denied access to it, they need to learn to navigate safely.".
The Youth Panel baton has now been passed to her sister. "Vanessa was 12 years old last year. A little girl who couldn't reach the microphone. We heard her talking about the Internet, she captivated us. We chose to send her to the European Safer Internet conference in Brussels in October," says Ms. Veronica Samara, coordinator of the Greek Safer Internet Center, mentioning the criteria for selecting the young ambassadors: "They should be good students, with good knowledge of English, responsibility, communication skills and a passion for the public." Vanessa, only impressed, says of the trip: "The conference lasted five days. The theme was "A better internet with you (th)". We were children from 31 countries! People from all over Europe had come, we exchanged views. It was a great experience. I felt very proud.” As for children from other European countries, “they are more informed about the dangers of the Internet – the state supports Safer Internet a lot. On the contrary, the southern countries – Spain, Portugal, Italy, Greece – we have not taken the Internet and its dangers so seriously.”.
For Nikolas, a student at the 5th Lyceum of Larissa, his initial motivations for getting involved in Safer Internet were not so… good: “I was in the first year of high school and participated in some actions for the safe Internet, because I wanted to miss a lesson. Then, I got stuck”. Now “I can more easily approach my peers, inform them, while I participate in actions for schools. This year, I represented my school at the Safer Internet Day conference. Later, they invited me - like Marina - to speak at the Zappeion conference.
The advantage of children – ambassadors of Internet safety, is that they themselves function as multipliers of knowledge. First we collect it and then we share it”. What would you like to suggest to the state? “Information about safe Internet should be included as a lesson and its creative use should be systematically taught”. How does Marina envision the Internet of the future? “There is no ideal Internet, only ideal users. Aware, who will not be affected by what is bombarding them and will respect the rights of other users”.
Their action is multi-layered
Ms. Veronica Samara, coordinator of the Greek Safer Internet Center and head of the Information and Vigilance Action Saferinternet.gr, explains the action of www.saferinternet.gr and the Youth Panel: “All National Safer Internet Centers implement youth panels, aiming to inform and raise awareness. Next year, in fact, we are joining the new framework, the Connecting Europe Facility, undertaking the Better Internet for Kids (BIK) project. This year, we have 12 children – ambassadors. They approach us either through schools or individually (www.saferinternet.gr). Their action is multidimensional: they become mentors for other children, they evaluate the SI material – questionnaires, brochures, spots – and we take their opinion seriously. They learn to use the Internet as a creative tool. They travel to Brussels. They undertook and carried out this year's Safer Internet Day conference flawlessly. They are participating in the online consultation, Youth Manifesto, with the aim of having the best national proposals from teenagers regarding the future of the Internet voted on by the European Parliament. The role of children is extremely important. As for the benefits? They learn to express their opinion, to engage in debate, to face an audience.".
