Our child online safety initiatives
Vodafone around the world
We run a number of child online safety initiatives around the world to empower parents, carers and schools and to help young people make the right digital choices.
Hungary
Tablets for schools
The Vodafone Digital School Programme, which kicked off in 2015, is providing hundreds of tablets in schools across Hungary and offering internet safety training for around 6400 students and 700 teachers.
Ireland
ISPCC Childline
With hundreds of thousands of calls and online contacts to ISPCC Childline, a partnership with the Vodafone Ireland Foundation has helped to improve access to Childline and provide a 24/7 digital platform.
Greece
Be Strong Online
Vodafone Greece runs the bsafeonline initiative to encourage safe mobile use and has also teamed up with NGO Youth-life to take the company's Be Strong Online peer-to-peer training modules into schools.
Netherlands
Digital skills and safety
In 2016, Vodafone Netherlands launched the #BeStrong anti-bullying campaign and supported ENABLE's hackathon. It also provides the SafetyNet app, WIJS (Wise) magazine and online safety learning modules.
Qatar
Safety awareness
Vodafone Qatar’s AmanTECH (Arabic for Safe Technology) programme helps to raise awareness of safe internet use among children and parents. It includes short guides to bullying, self-image and screen time.
Italy
Parental Controls
In Italy, Vodafone offers a network-based security service called Rete Sicura, which includes parental controls. It enables parents to contribute to their children’s digital education and do things like set time limits.
Czech Republic
Bullying and literacy
Vodafone Czech Republic works with two NGOs in the areas of cyberbullying (e-Bezpečí) and digital literacy (IN-Generation). It also has a local Child Online Safety website and covers parenting topics in its customer magazine.
New Zealand
The Parent Project
As part of its Digi Parenting initiative, Vodafone New Zealand followed four families as they did things like create a digital agreement and conduct an online security audit for the whole family.
Vodafone teen cyberbullying survey
More than half of teenagers think cyberbullying is worse than face-to-face bullying and one in five say they have been bullied online, a global survey by Vodafone of around 5,000 teenagers across 11 countries revealed in late 2015. In response to the findings, Vodafone announced the creation of a suite of #BeStrong emojis to help young people convey compassion, sympathy and support when friends are being bullied online.
ICT Coalition Report
Vodafone is proud to be a member of the ICT Coalition for Children Online, which was set up to develop the ICT Principles for the Safer Use of Connected Devices and Online Services by Children and Young People in the EU. One of the goals of the Coalition is to envisage the future roles that families, educators and industry will play when it comes to children's use of technology – it has recently commissioned a report on this issue.