Summary of the project
The project aims for children and young people to be informed, benefit from capacities and be engaged in cyber security programs in the communities where they live, achieved in full coordination with schools, with representatives of the communities where live as well as with the support of child protection structures. Also, professionals such as child protection workers, teachers, psychosocial teams in schools, police officers and employees will strengthen their knowledge of responding to cases of children identified at risk and in a preventive approach. The project will be implemented in close cooperation with the State Agency for the Rights and Protection of the Child in Albania and in the targeted locations Municipalities of Tirana, Elbasan, Krujë and Durrës.
Project goals
General goal is to build a safe cyber environment, educating and raising awareness of society in raising professional capacities in the field of online safety for children and young people.
The specific objectives are (i) promoting the rights of children and young people in the digital world and raising the awareness of public actors about their safety and (ii) strengthening cross-sectoral cooperation on child and youth cyber safety through coordinated initiatives and capacity and knowledge development.
Target groups and beneficiaries
Direct beneficiaries:
– Children and young people aged 9-18 years;
– Parents;
– Teachers and psychosocial staff in schools;
– Child protection workers
– Judicial police officers, prosecutors;
– Representatives of AKCESK, ASHMDF –
Indirect beneficiaries:
– Community members;
– Public and non-public institutions
– Private sector
Main activities
- Awareness of public actors, parents in particular, through conversations, round tables, debates, etc. on the importance of children’s digital development, online risks;
- Awareness among vulnerable communities about harmful social norms, gender and trafficking including online sexual abuse and exploitation, as well as hate speech;
- Capacity building and training of service providers for the early identification of children at risk/and/or victims of online exploitation or bullying;
- Cooperation and coordination of training programs, with the authority responsible for cyber security and ASHDMF for raising the capacities of employees of institutions responsible for the protection and education of children (of child protection employees and the police, and of institutions other law enforcement agencies of the justice system), in order to increase the level of safety of children in the online environment;
- Coordination with the authority responsible for cyber security to coordinate the work to handle in real time through the system/platform of reporting sites with illegal content, the reports made regarding the abuse and sexual exploitation of children on the Internet;
- Engaging young people in the digital world and cyber safety programs (designing programs with young people to engage with the community and prevent online threats, exploitation and trafficking);
- Encouraging innovative ideas through cooperation with the private sector in the “UneHack for Safety Online” hackathlon by and for children.
