Childnet joined a panel of experts to answer questions from a group of young people.
On the 1st August at the City Hall in central London, Childnet took part in an in-depth youth led inquiry into the issues associated with cyberbullying and cyberviolence with the aim of coming up with practical and realistic solutions on how to educate and protect children and young people in the digital age.
The youth panel was made up of 12 young people aged 16-22 who represented different interest areas such as: education, online gaming, feminism and there was even a “head of banter” – who highlighted how easy it is to go too far with the things you say online.
The panel of experts was made up of experts in the field from the Office of the Children’s Commissioner, academics, South West Grid for Learning, the Insititute for Well-Being and The Tavistock Institute. Futher to this, there were representatives from Facebook, UK Safer Internet Centre, UKIE, Twitter and Moshi Monsters who spoke about the strategies and policies that have been put in place to protect young people and children on the internet, as well as the challenges that they face as young organisations in keeping up with rapidly shifting trends on the internet.
Tackling the topic of e-safety education was a panel of representatives from organisations such as: BeatBullying, the Child Exploitation Online Protection Centre and the Diana Awards, with schemes to educate and encourage young people to use the internet safely and combat cyberbullying.
Among the internet safety professionals questioned was Will Garder – Chief Executive Officer of Childnet International – who provided insights into why it is important to equip children, young people, parents and carers with the tools and skills to keep themselves and each other safe on the internet.
By the end of the day there was a clear conclusion to the inquiry; although this discussion centred on bullying specifically in the context of online communications the inquiry agreed that the consistent message to be delivered to children and young people of all ages is that bullying is and always will be intolerable on any level, whether that is online or offline.
