International Telecommunication Union (ITU) co-organized the National Event on Child Online Protection: Awareness Day for Children and Teens, which was held in the City of Noto (Sicily, Italy), on the 9th of May. This event was held back-to-back with the 1st Edition of the Macro-Regional Public-Private Dialogue Platform "Cybersecurity-Mediterranean", 10-11 May 2018.
Meeting provided an unique opportunity for 400 plus kids 9-13 years old. During three sessions dedicated to different ages, ITU and partners provided interactive training based on the COP guidelines. Training culminated with an interactive quiz based on the guidelines and the U.S.A.'s "Stop. Think. Connect". Children, educators and teenagers have been informed about the online risks related to children and have been encouraged to use protective measures in line with the COP Guidelines.
This National Event on Child Online Protection and Awareness was organized by the Swiss Webacademy in collaboration with the ITU, the Poste Italiane and the Polizia delle Comunicazioni.
During three sessions dedicated to different ages, the most important dangers present on the net, as well as some basic solutions to protect oneself were explained by illustrated presentations as well as through a quiz inspired by U.S.A.'s "Stop. Think. Connect".
Following the ITU's Regional Initiative for Europe on Cybersecurity aiming to beef up awareness levels and education in cybersecurity, the sessions included an active participation of the ITU's representative, and at the end, each participant received a USB key, offered by Poste Italiane, containing both volumes of the COP Guidelines, which last editions have been translated into Italian thanks to the Global Cyber Security Centre of the Poste Italiane and with the support of the ITU.
In the same baroque palace where the children and teens assisted the presentations, the Italian version of the exhibition "Social Media Heroes and Victims, from Hieroglyphs to Facebook", placed under the aegis of the ITU where it was inaugurated in 2013, was on display (see hereunder).
« Social Media Heroes – Social Media Victims. From hieroglyphs to Facebook. »
Realized in 2013, to be on show for three months at the World Headquarter of the International Telecommunications Union (UN-Geneva), the exhibition has been, since its première, placed under the High Patronage of Dr. Hamadoun I. Touré, ITU's former Secretary-General. Following its success, the ITU granted its permanent Aegis to the exhibition, and the European Union Agency for Network and Information Security (ENISA) promoted it. Since today, the exhibition has been on show in Romania (Romanian version) as well as in Poland (Polish Version), where it is itinerant thanks to the Polish Government funded NGO Safer Internet Poland, in Switzerland (French version) thanks to the CLUSIS, the University of Geneva and the Geneva State Police. Since fall 2016, it is on show in Geneva’s main high schools. In October 2016, thanks to the Poste Italiane, the première of its Italian version has been inaugurated in Rome, at the giant fair "Maker Faire, European Edition". It travelled hence in 28 European cities, gathering more than gathered a total of more than 250’000 visitors throughout its itinerancy, and ca. 600'000 on its website (www.social-media-victims.eu).The Italian version was so appreciated that it became permanent at the HQ of the Cyber Security District of the Poste Italiane (Cosenza): www.distrettocybersecurity.it.
