Insafe e-safety kit "a trigger for dialogue" Since its launch, Insafe's e-safety kit has attracted much interest and has now been translated and published in many of the networks' countries. Taking International Literacy Day as our cue, we catch up with Sofia Aslanidou for the latest update.

Sofia, you have been working with the Insafe family e-safety kit. Can you first of all remind us what it is about?

The Insafe family e-safety kit is a resource that aims at introducing the safe use of online technologies in a fun, entertaining and educational way. It is targeted to parents and their children aged between 6 and 12 years of age. A family fun booklet approaches issues such as online security, communication, cyberbullying and entertainment, through the story of two young siblings, their parents and their IT-genius baby-sitter and neighbour. Children and parents are proposed different activities that highlight the lessons learnt.

A set of 12 situation cards challenge the children to look for possible solutions and spark discussions in the family.   After completing the family fun section, the entire family has to fill in and sign a family certificate.

A nice reward for the children is the set of glossy emoticon stickers that they can stick on the family booklet or used to adorn their notepads or other personal items.

Adults are introduced to the kit and its objectives by a parental guide. 

Who can receive a family e-safety kit?

Parents and children in the countries where the kit is currently available. We also receive requests from schools that want to use the kit in class and distribute it to the pupils’ parents. A great initiative we believe!

In what countries is it now available?

Austria, Belgium, Ireland, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovenia and Spain.

In which countries is it going to be available?

The Czech Republic, the Netherlands, Norway and the United Kingdom.

How many different versions will there be?

We do not know…it depends on the requests and interests we get! In any case, we are looking at new exciting resources to complement the kits.

How many copies are printed per country?

That is decided on a case by case basis, but usually 10,000 to 15,000 per country.

What are the differences in the versions? 

Each version is localised in several ways. The text is of course translated, and the names of the characters are adapted to fit the national contexts and so are the useful links and addresses. In each country, the kit is “signed” by the Insafe node or any other national authority who supports the distribution of the kit.

What about sponsorship?

The creation and production of the kit has been strongly supported by Liberty Global (UPC) and builds on the best practice and expertise of the Insafe network. We are very proud to receive expressions of interest to deploy the e-safety kit in countries where it is not yet available. For details on how to publish this resource in your country, please do not hesitate to contact us at: e-safetykit@saferinternet.org

How can I get hold of one of these?

By sending a request to e-safetykit@saferinternet.org

Finally, how does the e-Safety kit link to International Literacy Day?

ILD is a very important event that underlines the fact that some things cannot be taken for granted. We believe that the concept of literacy is quite complex if one is to take into account all different means and media that challenge our perceptions and require us to process and respond to messages of different kinds. We support the right of every person to basic literacy and aspire to a world where new media will act in support of it, instead of aggravating, the gaps between individuals of disparate socio-economic backgrounds. The e-safety kit is a step to that direction; it approaches every family with a wish to inform and trigger dialogue between generations. Having said that, we hope parents and children will find it useful. We are more than happy to receive their comments at e-safetykit@saferinternet.org We realise that only by taking their comments into account can we get a better understanding of what parents and their children need. We invite everyone to celebrate safer internet use and media literacy on Safer Internet Day 2009, 10 February.