This year’s topic is ‘combat cyberbullying’. In that respect we created Combatbullying.cz web site, which is linked to a successful project of O2 Foundation - Minimalizacesikany.cz (Minimization of Bullying) that has been helping to schools to effectively minimize bullying among children since 2005. The Protisikane.cz site is the main communication channel of the campaign and will contain an e-learning course developed together with the Minimization of Bullying project specialists while technically supported by IBA CZ.
It goes without saying that we are aware of the urgency to enhance media literacy of both children and adults. We are very grateful for the support we have been getting in this respect from Microsoft, which prepared and provided an attractive explanatory manual called Safe Internet with Donald Duck and his Bunch. The Safe Internet Family Package, which we prepared together with UPC, whom we thank for their support, was designed for joint learning of parents and their kids.
One of the unobtrusive forms of teaching more responsible on-line conduct is the traditional creative contest for the youth - Mobilstory. Whereas last year contestants were supposed to send their videoclips and the years before their pieces of literature, this year they may formulate the contest topic “Friendship against cyberbullying” in any form – as a story, comics, video, multimedia work of art. The topic is identical with the orientation of this year’s ‘combat cyberbullying’ campaign. Cyberbullying can be, under certain circumstances, even worse that traditional forms of bullying and may even lead to a suicide, as evidenced by the widely discussed case of an Americal girl Megan Taylor Meier.
Our project was granted a subsidy from the European Commission for another two years. Not only will we be able to continue to organize one-off, though important, actions, such as the Safer Internet Day but we will be also able to focus on finalising important system activities. In particular, it deals with the issue of content classification and rating that was discussed at the international SIC 2008 conference. The acceptance of the draft Declaration published on the conference was generally positive, however, no concrete commitments has followed for the time being. We are going to try to lead the discussion on content classification standards initiated by us to concrete proposals that will be enacted by the amendment to the Media Act.
In this project period we plan to re-organize and restore our Hot Line (Horkalinka.cz), which being a part of European INHOPE network and in cooperation with the Czech Police fights against cyberbullying, namely against child porn distribution, racism and other form of extremism. The assistance line Pomoconline.cz helping kids in troubles due to Internet will focus more on on-line signs of traditional child problems – i.e. among other things it is the above-mentioned cyberbullying. At present, children, parents as well as teachers may contact the already mentioned specialised Internet consulting portal Minimalizacesikany.cz for information on bullying.
Our work would be hardly imaginable without the support of our reliable business partners: Microsoft, mobile operators Teléfonica O2, T-Mobile and Vodafone and cable operator UPC. Our thanks also belong to our experts from the Faculty of Education, UK Prague and University of Palacký, Olomouc.
