About the organisation
Through media literacy initiatives for professionals, a helpline for all e-safety related issues and problems and a hotline for child sexual abuse material, Betternet works towards a better internet for all children in Belgium. The project is a collaboration between Child Focus, Média Animation, Mediawijs and the Conseil supérieur de l’éducation aux médias.
Awareness centre
Betternet offers educational resources, pedagogical tools and training modules you can use with children (6-18) to work on their media literacy and e-safety. All awareness-raising initiatives we develop always take into account the needs of professionals working with children and young people and caregivers. By developing and offering hands-on and ready-to-use tools to professionals and caregivers, we want to provide the necessary support to teach media literacy in formal and non-formal education settings, according to the needs of each sector or setting.
Investing and teaching media literacy is paramount to ensure that children are able to discern, make free choices, do not become victims and grow respectful, resilient and empowered digital citizens. Tools are available in Dutch and French.
Contact and opening times
The awareness centre can be contacted via this webpage or via the general number of Child Focus 116 000, coordinator of the Belgian SIC.
All resources are centralised via https://betternet.be/resources/.
Helpline
Child Focus provides support to children and caregivers on the e-safety issues they are facing through the 116 000 helpline. If a child experiences a negative experience online, or if an adult suspects or knows that a child is a victim of a harmful situation online, they can contact the Child Focus helpline to get the support they need.
Contact and opening times
The helpline is available through:
- 116 000 number – free of charge from land or mobile line, and available 24/7.
- Cybersquad forum and chat for teenagers aged 12+: Cybersquad is a peer-to-peer forum for teenagers 12+ where they can exchange and support each other on e-safety related issues. Cybersquad also offers a chat service managed by Child Focus specialised counsellors to answer questions and support teens in need.
Hotline
Child Focus operates the civil contact point www.imagesdabus.be to report child sexual exploitation images found online and stop child sexual exploitation. Unfortunately, the spreading of child sexual exploitation material (videos, images, pictures, ...) online is a growing phenomenon in Belgium, Europe and worldwide.
As a victim-centred organisation, and the foundation to support sexually exploited children, Child Focus has received the mandate from the government to run the civil contact point to report such material and stop its spreading.
Contact and opening times
The hotline operates via:
- www.imagesdabus.be: the civil contact point to anonymously report online child sexual exploitation material. Through www.imagedabus.be Child Focus receives reports from citizens, analyses these reports and collaborates with law enforcement and other hotlines across the globe to take down these images.
- Arachnid: a web crawler that through photo-DNA allows the detection of online child sexual exploitation material.
Youth participation
Betternet involves children and young people, listens to their needs and designs resources that are tailor-made for them.
We believe that child protection and empowerment cannot happen without active child participation.
Therefore, we involve children and listen to their voices throughout all our activities.
Focus groups, consultations and co-construction processes are frequently organized to involve youth in our activities and develop together tools, games and resources for them to become conscious and resilient digital citizens.
Mediawijs and Média Animation conduct two large scale research projects that involve more than 6000 children every time. The research collects information about children and youth’s digital practices and needs.
How can you get involved?
Discover more on www.apestaartjaren.be (NL) and www.generation2024.be (FR).
Key successes
Betternet, the Belgian Safer Internet Centre, achieved several key successes over the course of the past years. Numerous new pedagogical tools (from games, over lesson plans to podcasts) are constantly being developed and the partners assure more then 350 training sessions every year for professionals and parents. Betternet is the combination of a strong partnership that manages to take uniting initiatives, in the different language area's of Belgium. It gathers professionals from different backgrounds to unite, inspire and work together.
Building on previous work, the Belgian SIC expands tools for educators on youth's media habits and engage vulnerable families. Betternet also extends its reach to the disability sector, offering specialized media education tools.
Youth participation is a priority, with extensive feedback through focus groups, especially in the "Apenstaartjaren" and "Generation2024" projects, providing insights into digital media use across Belgium. Despite a rise in workload, Betternet maintains high-quality helpline and hotline services that are in constant evolution to better address new trends in online sexual exploitation. Its international collaboration with other European centers boosts knowledge sharing and prevention efforts.
The "Call Glenn" campaign in the fall of 2023, reached 2 million people, highlights bystander responsibility in
cases of non-consensual sexting and sparks political discussions in Belgium. These achievements demonstrate Betternet's ongoing leadership in media literacy and the fight against online sexual exploitation
of minors.
Key partners/supporters
The Belgian Safer Internet Centre (SIC) has many supporters, including schools, and organisations working with youth, parents and professionals. At government level, we are working closely with the following actors:
- The Ministry of Education (in charge of the media literacy programme)
- The Flemish Ministry of Media and Youth
- The Walloon Ministry of Childhood
- The Ministry of the Digital Agenda
- The Ministry of Interior Affairs (the Belgian Cyber Security Centre)
- The Ministry of Economics
- The Ministry of Justice
All relevant NGOs and knowledge centres are members of our Advisory Group or Consortium.
The most important and popular online platforms among youngsters in Belgium, private partners in the telecommunication sector, mobile providers and ISPA are members of our Industry Involvement Working Group.
About the organisation
Through media literacy initiatives for professionals, a helpline for all e-safety related issues and problems and a hotline for child sexual abuse material, Betternet works towards a better internet for all children in Belgium. The project is a collaboration between Child Focus, Média Animation, Mediawijs and the Conseil supérieur de l’éducation aux médias.
Awareness centre
Betternet offers educational resources, pedagogical tools and training modules you can use with children (6-18) to work on their media literacy and e-safety. All awareness-raising initiatives we develop always take into account the needs of professionals working with children and young people and caregivers. By developing and offering hands-on and ready-to-use tools to professionals and caregivers, we want to provide the necessary support to teach media literacy in formal and non-formal education settings, according to the needs of each sector or setting.
Investing and teaching media literacy is paramount to ensure that children are able to discern, make free choices, do not become victims and grow respectful, resilient and empowered digital citizens. Tools are available in Dutch and French.
Contact and opening times
The awareness centre can be contacted via this webpage or via the general number of Child Focus 116 000, coordinator of the Belgian SIC.
All resources are centralised via https://betternet.be/resources/.
Helpline
Child Focus provides support to children and caregivers on the e-safety issues they are facing through the 116 000 helpline. If a child experiences a negative experience online, or if an adult suspects or knows that a child is a victim of a harmful situation online, they can contact the Child Focus helpline to get the support they need.
Contact and opening times
The helpline is available through:
- 116 000 number – free of charge from land or mobile line, and available 24/7.
- Cybersquad forum and chat for teenagers aged 12+: Cybersquad is a peer-to-peer forum for teenagers 12+ where they can exchange and support each other on e-safety related issues. Cybersquad also offers a chat service managed by Child Focus specialised counsellors to answer questions and support teens in need.
Hotline
Child Focus operates the civil contact point www.imagesdabus.be to report child sexual exploitation images found online and stop child sexual exploitation. Unfortunately, the spreading of child sexual exploitation material (videos, images, pictures, ...) online is a growing phenomenon in Belgium, Europe and worldwide.
As a victim-centred organisation, and the foundation to support sexually exploited children, Child Focus has received the mandate from the government to run the civil contact point to report such material and stop its spreading.
Contact and opening times
The hotline operates via:
- www.imagesdabus.be: the civil contact point to anonymously report online child sexual exploitation material. Through www.imagedabus.be Child Focus receives reports from citizens, analyses these reports and collaborates with law enforcement and other hotlines across the globe to take down these images.
- Arachnid: a web crawler that through photo-DNA allows the detection of online child sexual exploitation material.
Youth participation
Betternet involves children and young people, listens to their needs and designs resources that are tailor-made for them.
We believe that child protection and empowerment cannot happen without active child participation.
Therefore, we involve children and listen to their voices throughout all our activities.
Focus groups, consultations and co-construction processes are frequently organized to involve youth in our activities and develop together tools, games and resources for them to become conscious and resilient digital citizens.
Mediawijs and Média Animation conduct two large scale research projects that involve more than 6000 children every time. The research collects information about children and youth’s digital practices and needs.
How can you get involved?
Discover more on www.apestaartjaren.be (NL) and www.generation2024.be (FR).
Key successes
Betternet, the Belgian Safer Internet Centre, achieved several key successes over the course of the past years. Numerous new pedagogical tools (from games, over lesson plans to podcasts) are constantly being developed and the partners assure more then 350 training sessions every year for professionals and parents. Betternet is the combination of a strong partnership that manages to take uniting initiatives, in the different language area's of Belgium. It gathers professionals from different backgrounds to unite, inspire and work together.
Building on previous work, the Belgian SIC expands tools for educators on youth's media habits and engage vulnerable families. Betternet also extends its reach to the disability sector, offering specialized media education tools.
Youth participation is a priority, with extensive feedback through focus groups, especially in the "Apenstaartjaren" and "Generation2024" projects, providing insights into digital media use across Belgium. Despite a rise in workload, Betternet maintains high-quality helpline and hotline services that are in constant evolution to better address new trends in online sexual exploitation. Its international collaboration with other European centers boosts knowledge sharing and prevention efforts.
The "Call Glenn" campaign in the fall of 2023, reached 2 million people, highlights bystander responsibility in
cases of non-consensual sexting and sparks political discussions in Belgium. These achievements demonstrate Betternet's ongoing leadership in media literacy and the fight against online sexual exploitation
of minors.
Key partners/supporters
The Belgian Safer Internet Centre (SIC) has many supporters, including schools, and organisations working with youth, parents and professionals. At government level, we are working closely with the following actors:
- The Ministry of Education (in charge of the media literacy programme)
- The Flemish Ministry of Media and Youth
- The Walloon Ministry of Childhood
- The Ministry of the Digital Agenda
- The Ministry of Interior Affairs (the Belgian Cyber Security Centre)
- The Ministry of Economics
- The Ministry of Justice
All relevant NGOs and knowledge centres are members of our Advisory Group or Consortium.
The most important and popular online platforms among youngsters in Belgium, private partners in the telecommunication sector, mobile providers and ISPA are members of our Industry Involvement Working Group.
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