We celebrate the 20th Safer Internet Day!
Every year in February, Safer Internet Day is celebrated worldwide under the international motto "Together for a better internet". This year, Safer Internet Day is taking place for the 20th time and has become an established event in the field of online safety. To mark the anniversary, we present some highlights of the implementation of the action day in Germany over the past 19 years.
Launched by the EU SafeBorders Project of the European Union, the first Safer Internet Day took place on February 8, 2004. At that time, 14 countries participated in the day of action. The following year, Safer Internet Day was also celebrated for the first time in Germany under the coordination of the EU initiative klicksafe. The European Insafe network took over the overall global coordination. At that time, 30 countries were already participating.
With changing focus topics around media literacy promotion and Internet safety, the campaign day has set itself the task of raising awareness and educating. To this end, various institutions, organizations, associations, companies, schools and private individuals of all ages are called upon to participate in the worldwide campaign .
For example, the first worldwide "Blogathon" (blog marathon) started on Safer Internet Day 2006 under the patronage of the then EU Commissioner for Information Society and Media, Viviane Reding. From New Zealand to Argentina, the blog moved through all time zones and gave all interested parties the opportunity to exchange information across international borders in a virtual space - something many take for granted today.
In the same year, the successful klicksafe spot "Where is Klaus?" was presented, which has since been translated several times and has become the iconic flagship of the klicksafe campaign:
In2007, at the invitation of Microsoft and Schulen ans Netz e.V. and under the patronage of Bernd Neumann, then Minister of State for Culture and Media, the first official Safer Internet Day press event was held in Germany. School classes were called upon to participate in a symbolic Internet safety network during the big break.
The following year, klicksafe invited people to the Sony Center Berlin to present the new campaign spot "Where do you live?":
At the same time, the first Pan-European Youth Panel took place in Brussels, which has since supported the active exchange of young people throughout Europe and made their voices heard at the political level.
Over the years, klicksafe has repeatedly focused on different topics in order to draw attention to the opportunities, but also the risks, of Internet use. Not only have new information and teaching materials been presented, but they have also been discussed with high-ranking actors from the fields of politics, research, journalism and entertainment, as well as with students.
In 2009, for example, klicksafe focused public attention for the first time on the topic of cyberbullying at its central press event and presented the new teaching material "What to do about cyberbullying". In the following year, klicksafe focused on the topic of data protection and personal rights on the web with the teaching material "Ich bin öffentlich ganz privat" (I am private in public ). The associated campaign "I protect my private life - even online!" took place under the patronage of the then Federal Minister for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth, Kristina Schröder, and was additionally supported by prominent guests at the press conference in Berlin.
At Safer Internet Day 2013, under the national motto "No net for right-wing extremists," a live broadcast took place between the two press events in Berlin with, among others, former professional soccer player and social media actor Hans Sarpei, and a school in Cologne with, among others, moderator Ralph Caspers:
More impressions of the central press events for Safer Internet Day in Germany and their prominent supporters over the years can be found in the following picture gallery.
Whether extremism on the Internet, media ethics, democratic competence or more conscious Internet use - raising awareness and empowering young Internet users in particular has always been at the center of Safer Internet Day. klicksafe also identified lesser-noted topics early on and brought them into the focus of public attention through the Safer Internet Day campaign. For example, in 2011, the topic of pornography use.
Always at the center: the question of how we can network and how we can work together to make the Internet a better place for everyone. To facilitate the active participation of all interested parties and to support creativity in implementing their own Safer Internet Day events, klicksafe offers a wide range of (multimedia) services in addition to teaching and information materials. For example, with a profile picture generator to easily show support for Safer Internet Day on different social media platforms. But also online quizzes, a digital scavenger hunt via the app Actionbound, a rap song (YouTube: https://youtu.be/vATAdBHM3ZI) or topic-specific video series with experts and popular influencers should inform and inspire.
Under the motto "Extreme on the Net", klicksafe offered a scrollytelling action page for the first time on Safer Internet Day 2016. The "Stop Bullying Week" launched on Safer Internet Day 2017 or the #DeineKontrolle campaign of 2018 were also supported with a scrollytelling page:
In the meantime, klicksafe.de registers more than 250 Safer Internet Day events in Germany each year, and the day of action is celebrated celebrated in over 180 countries worldwide klicksafe is looking forward to many more exciting and successful Safer Internet Days, because together we can make the Internet a better place for everyone!
