Safer use of the internet is the main aim behind the multimedia educational campaign being launched today, the week of the European Internet Safety Day.

The campaign is being coordinated by the Ministry for Investment, Industry and Information Technology and Aġenzija APPOĠĠ, within the Ministry for the Family and Social Solidarity.

Co-funded by the European Commission, the campaign is aimed towards children, parents and educators alike, and includes the collaboration of other stakeholders such as the Cyber Crime Unit of the Malta Police Force, the Ministry for Education, Youth and Employment, the Commissioner for Children and the local Internet Service Providers, amongst others.

The campaign will be spread over the coming weeks and will focus on providing information about internet safety and its positive uses. This multimedia campaign will consist of TV and radio advertising, interventions in TV and radio programmes, press articles, direct talks and sessions for students in schools, and much more.

In his address Minister Austin Gatt stressed that the launch of this service through the support-line is to provide a central point where children and parents can report abuse and illicit content which can harm children. This is one of various initiatives that the Government took through his entities to provide safety for children, given that 80% of our children use internet on a regular basis and 67% use this for things related to their studies.

Minister Gatt referred to set up of the Task Force for Child Protection over the Internet, an agreement with Childnet International and also an eSecurity Working Group. The latter brought together a number of organizations with the intention to have a more safe environment on the Internet. Minister Austin Gatt announced that the Government is currently working on an eSecurity Strategy to address problems related to safety over the net.

In her address, the Hon. Dolores Cristina, Minister for the Family and Social Solidarity, said that children are a priority for her Ministry and in view of this she greatly welcomed this new cyber tool which is of vital importance for the protection of children over the internet. “We must, however, remember that parents occupy a major role in the formation and protection of their children. A healthy relationship is based on understanding and the more interest parents take in what their children are doing, the stronger this relationship can be. This is all the more so in this day and age when chatting on the internet has become such a reality in the lives of many youngsters,” Minister Cristina continued. “The internet is an important source of knowledge but without the proper parental guidance, it might become harmful to the unsuspecting child. This is why today we are here to witness this joint effort as we come together in another initiative placing children on the forefront of our National agenda,” she concluded.

In his address, Mr. Joe Gerada, Chief Executive Officer of the Foundation for Social Welfare Services thanked all stake holders who in spite of the fact that they come from different Ministries and entities, including the private sector, worked well together towards a common objective. He said that social welfare initiatives should always follow this integrated approach.

During the press conference, hosted by St. Martin’s College in Swatar, Agenzija APPOGG also launched an online reporting system whereby the public can now report specific child abuse cases over the Internet through the official APPOGG website www.appogg.gov.mt .

This new service is complimentary to the Supportline 179 (24-hour service). This is an innovative approach through which the general public can be reached and listened to. Through the APPOGG website, one can find necessary tips on how to keep the Internet a safe place especially for children, together with a reporting system to notify child abuse instances over the Internet if, unfortunately, the need should arise.