Better Internet for Kids

The awareness centre is a joint effort of the Estonian Safer Internet Centre (SIC) consortium. Each partner contributes to the activities according to its expertise. The main activities of the awareness centre are as follows:

• Organising training sessions and seminars for children, parents, teachers and social workers.
• Organising awareness-raising events and campaigns for the public.
• Developing study objects for teachers.
• Developing and disseminating awareness-raising materials for children, teachers and parents.
• Organising creative competitions for students and children.
• Celebrating Safer Internet Day (SID) by organising events and involving kindergartens, schools and youth centres.
• Participating in Insafe network activities and contributing to the European resource repository.

Together with our partners, more than 750 educational resources, including lesson plans, cartoons, videos, games, posters, booklets, tests, websites and so on, have been developed for the target groups: children, young people, teachers, parents and other specialists working with children. All materials are available on the SIC's website at www.targaltinternetis.ee.

Every year, Safer Internet Day has been celebrated by organising different events (conferences, campaigns, public awareness-raising events, and so on) during a two- to three-week period in cooperation with the main stakeholders.

Helpline services are provided by the Estonian Social Insurance Board who, according to the Estonian Child Protection Act, is responsible for the maintenance of Child Helpline 116111 services.

The Estonian Social Insurance Board provides, in the framework of the helpline service, 116111 services for giving advice and support to children and parents on issues related to children's use of digital technologies and services.

Counselling is provided in Estonian, Russian and, if necessary, in English. In addition to telephone, the Child Helpline Service can be accessed via the website which offers a chat option (www.lasteabi.ee); the website also offers a possibility of sending an email.

There are also Facebook, Skype and the Lasteabi App options. Like the telephone line, these methods of access are also available 24/7. The Child Helpline Service is staffed by psychologists, social workers and nurses. In order to ensure the best service, calls are recorded.

The Estonian Hotline - Vihjeliin, www.vihjeliin.ee - is a free-of-charge online service operated by the Estonian Union for Child Welfare and enables internet users to report child sexual abuse images being distributed online. The mission of the Estonian Hotline is to contribute to the removal of such illegal material from the internet as quickly as possible. The website of the Estonian Hotline is available in three languages: Estonian, English and Russian.

The Estonian Hotline assess every report and pass information about any material assessed to be illegal to the Estonian Police and Border Guard Board if the material is hosted in Estonia. Information about material hosted outside of Estonia and assessed to be illegal is forwarded via the INHOPE data exchange system to the country in question.

The Estonian Union for Child Welfare, as a operator of the hotline, cooperates closely with Estonian Police and  Border Guard Board and INHOPE member hotlines for implementing the mission of hotlines with other law enforcement agencies, 

The Estonian Hotline raises awareness among the public by disseminating relevant information and materials. It also organises seminars for social workers, youth workers and other stakeholders.

The Estonian Safer Internet Centre works closely with the Estonian Union for Child Welfare's Youth Council and with its young ambassadors on child rights. 

In addition, the Estonian SIC consults with different groups of young people from schools and youth centres all over Estonia when planning and carrying out awareness-raising activities.