Educational safer internet events in summer camps

During the school year, teachers typically deliver internet-safety lessons in a formal classroom setting, but there is a lack of equivalent informal-environment activities, even though informal settings allow safe-behaviour principles to be conveyed more flexibly and enjoyably. Running the project during summer made it easier to reach children already gathered at summer camps for other activities.

The team visited summer camps and foster homes to run informal internet-safety events, reaching children from a range of backgrounds, including — unplanned — children from Ukraine present at some of the camps visited.

Key learning points: safer internet is a topic needing sustained attention, and summer camps offer new potential for informal learning; interactive summer-camp activities help children and young people develop skills to safely use smart devices and raise awareness of internet safety and etiquette; and an inclusive approach to digital literacy means reaching target groups wherever they are.