To wii or not to wii: that is the question Another Insafe training meeting took off in Copenhagen on the morning of Monday 23 June and landed softly in the evening of the 24th when meeting participants from 25 European countries watched a bonfire, in true Midsummer Eve spirit.

Training meetings are a unique occasion for the Insafe internet safety awareness network members to meet in person, receive training on topics of interest and, most importantly, to exchange views and experiences and devise new strategies.

On the first day, online games was the main issue on the agenda, and a well-disputed one. After half a day of thematic introductions and breaking-out in groups to discuss report findings, risks, challenges and ways of formulating awareness on the subject of online games, it was time for hands-on experience at the Danish Gaming School. The Gaming School advocates quality time with games and offers relevant training including safer use elements.

The second day of training focused on youth panels. 11 countries in the network run youth panels as a means for the young to voice their preoccupations, needs and ideas on use of communication technologies. Furthermore, active and motivated youth panels can help improve reaching this demanding target group. It is simply not possible to devise hard-hitting messages without first consulting those who are at the heart of all awareness campaigns. With this aim, students from the Copenhagen International School and other young Danish people shared their online experiences with Insafe network members. A morning of introduction to interviewing techniques and a fruitful afternoon of exchange of practices and thematic break-out sessions brought the 5th training session to an end.

At this “youthful” training meeting, participants had the chance to work out on wii consoles, discover the World of Warcraft, play a virtual guitar and interview avid young gamers. Excitement was high and Insafers became even more aware of the crucial need to keep apace of young users’ needs and interests and to bend technology to the needs of awareness-raising. To wii or not to wii….

The Gaming School
The Gaming School is the first house for electronic sports in Denmark. It applies the motto “less but better”, which implies coaching to learn to spend more quality than quantity time on games. Besides training in specific games, the Gaming School offers sessions in Safer Internet as well as video editing of gaming content for online broadcasting. Courses for teachers and other authorities are also offered, in cooperation with governmental institutions. www.gamingschool.dk.