Young people have a right to participate and be involved in decisions and initiatives that concern them. The BeSmartOnline! Awareness team rely on children and young people themselves to keep up to date with new trends and also to identify the most effective ways of creating awareness about online safety for children. The awareness centre has three different strands of Youth participation.
Youth Ambassadors: these are a group of young people who advocate for children’s digital rights and are very much involved in the work carried out by the Commissioner for Children. The internet and the new technologies have become a large part of young people’s lives and have an impact on their rights.
Fixed Youth Panel: a youth panel has been set up with the aim of empowering a group of young people to share their experiences and ideas on the most effective way of creating awareness amongst children and their peers on the safe use of the Internet.
In order to involve more young people in the work carried out by the Safer Internet Centre, various outreach sessions are held within the community, therefore, ensuring a greater representation including young people who are not as empowered as other young people.