Ins!ght - experts working together to educate & empower children online, promote & protect their rights...
Cyber-wisdom and digital citizenship
Educating young people about virtue and wisdom is a challenging task for educators. This week Insight has contributed to an ongoing project about this at the University of Birmingham: https://www.jubileecentre.ac.uk/media/news/article/6814/New-Expert-Insights-into-Cyber-Wisdom-and-Digital-Citizenship
Trip to Morocco
Children in Morocco are the biggest users of digital technology Africa, which underlines the need for them to learn how to connect safely. Insight, in collaboration with the Council of Europe and the CMRPI, has spent the last two weeks in Rabat, bringing together parent associations, mobile providers, tech companies and government representatives to listen to the challenges and share ideas and good practice. In July and August, children in Rabat will polish their internet safety skills in daily workshops organised by the Association Ibny.
Looking back on 2020
2020 was a crazy year for most and, nevertheless, a year of opportunity and innovation for Insight. Founder-director, Janice Richardson, was able to put to good use remote teaching strategies developed in her native Australia to support schools, industry and international institutions to meet challenges brought by the closure of schools due to Covid-19. In the annual report that you can download here, we looked back through the year’s events under the umbrella of several overarching themes that together describe the vocation of Insight: online well-being, research and innovation, and working with youth. Here you will be able to find the highlights of the previous year. We’re looking forward to what the next years will bring us!
Download the annual report here.
Insight's perspective on governments' role in digital innovation in education
The Covid sanitary crisis has been a watershed experience for us all, pushing our pragmatism to the limit and leaving behind those unable to innovate. In a keynote to European academics on 12 May, Insight looked at the ingredients of entrepreneurship and the levers that make or break innovative initiatives. The session is one of a series implemented by the EdTech project, led by 4 top universities in Spain, Belgium, Finland and the UK, funded by the European Commission.
Parents have their say as SmartBus hits the road again in Iceland
The Huawei SmartBus project is designed by Insight to deliver a high-quality, evidence-based educational programme to school students around Europe on issues of high importance in the digital age. The SmartBus sessions took place in Iceland, Denmark and Finland in the end of 2020; eventually designed as a virtual tour.
The survey results, highlight important issues that awareness raising campaigns targeting children in the three Nordic countries need to immediately take into account. Several issues concerned social media profiles like privacy, what online ‘friends’ may actually be, or ‘the real me’. The digital footprint and reputation, online bullying, respect and empathy online as well as respecting other people’s privacy were hot issues too.
The SmartBus will now be back in business in Iceland, but this time with another focus: parents. We are curious to see which results will come out and how they will differ from or accord with the view of children.
Kids Corner
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Digital citizenship competences (values, attitudes, skills and knowledge) shape how we act in the digital world, and how ethically it will evolve. We work in multi-stakeholder partnership with institutions, industry, national governments, universities and NGOs worldwide to develop educational tools and services to empower young people as responsible digital citizens. 2019 has seen the launch of the Council of Europe’s Digital Citizenship Education Handbook co-authored by Insight experts and, on November 21, the adoption of a recommendation to integrate digital citizenship education into school curricula in its 47 member countries. -
Education alone is not enough to protect children. It’s necessary to be involved in research in digital technology, and work hand in hand with industry, governments and international institutions to future-proof tools and platforms, shape policy and ensure broad reach. Insight is part of Facebook’s Safety Advisory Board, Twitter’s Trust and Safety Council, and the Council of Europe’s Digital Citizenship Education working group. It’s proud to be recognised as a source of creative ideas and a trusted partner to dozens of such entities, yet to speak out loudly and clearly when children’s rights are at stake. -
Anti-bullying initiatives include the EU-funded programme ENABLE, subject of a publication with the Council of Europe entitled Bullying: perspectives, practice and insights. We actively support the NoBully Power of Zero Power of Zero anti-bullying programme (USA-based), and implemented workshops and more with the Ministry of Education in Seychelles.
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The most powerful way to help children become responsible internet users and stay safe online is through education. We create and implement innovative approaches, tools and publications for children and their families, teachers and community. One such tool is the Council of Europe’s Internet Literacy Handbook (4th revised edition), co-authored by Insight experts since its inception in 2003. The 2019 SMART bus tour is another example, now being rolled out by magicians in secondary schools in the Netherlands and Belgium. SMART sums up the Insight approach - Social sense; My footprint; Access to opportunities; Rights and responsibilities; Trust.
