The Irish Safer Internet Centre
The Irish Safer Internet Centre (SIC) vision is a positive and inclusive digital world where children are safe and protected. The Irish SIC is a partnership of four leading organisations with a mission to make the Internet a better place for children and young people, under the co-ordination of the Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration.
As one of 31 Safer Internet Centres of the InSafe-InHope Networks, the Irish SIC contributes to the Better Internet for Kids (BIK) core service platform to share resources, services and practices between the European Safer Internet Centres and advice and information about a better internet to the general public. In line with the European Commission’s Better Internet for Kids+ strategy, the key vision behind the BIK core service platform is to create a better internet for children and young people.
Project Partners
The National Parents Council operates the parent/adult helpline, a dedicated helpline to deal with issues relating to internet safety, including cyberbullying. The NPC also provides parents with training courses, both online and face to face.
This is part of the Oide Technology in Education in the Department of Education. It deals with awareness raising, develops materials and programmes for schools and runs the annual event for Safer Internet Day in Ireland
The Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (ISPCC) operates the helpline (Childine), which provides services on a 24/7 basis where children affected by issues encountered on the internet may turn for advice and guidance
Irish Internet Hotline is the Irish national reporting centre where members of the public can securely, anonymously, and confidentially report concerns in respect of illegal content online, especially child sexual abuse material (CSAM).
Safer Internet Centres
Safer Internet Centres are national hubs established in Member States across Europe and in the UK, Iceland and Norway, which provide a suite of complementary essential services in synergy with the four pillars of the European Strategy for a Better Internet for Children, namely
- promoting positive online experience for children;
- awareness and empowerment (including digital/media literacy);
- creating a safe environment for children;
- combatting online child sexual abuse and sexual exploitation
To learn more, read the BIK Strategy Implementation Report .
Safer Internet Centres are co-financed by the European Union under the Connecting Europe Facility Safer Internet Programme and usually offer three kinds of services: a national awareness centre, a helpline and a hotline. Safer Internet Centres co-operate and exchange resources and best practices through the INSAFE-INHOPE network . For additional information visit betterinternetforkids.eu which among other things offers a repository of educational resources in all EU languages.
