April 13 , 2010

Kids looking out for kids on new website

Internet safety campaign launched in Canada

A new online Internet safety Public Service Announcement campaign created by Canadian youth for Canadian youth launched last week. Covering a wide range of important issues such as cyberbullying, sharing personal information and stranger danger, the short vignettes were created by members of Boys and Girls Clubs of Canada as part of the CanTech Digital Arts Contest sponsored by Microsoft Canada.

“Our Internet safety research has traditionally focused on both parents and children but we decided to focus exclusively on children and dig deeper into their online behaviours...The survey yielded valuable insights and we felt it was important to disseminate that information in the most authentic manner possible – by having kids speak to kids about how they see Internet safety," says Gavin Thompson, Director of Corporate Citizenship, Microsoft Canada.

The CanTech Digital Arts Contest tasked youths from coast-to-coast to create videos based on results from an Internet safety study conducted by Microsoft Canada and Youthography. Representatives from Microsoft Canada and Boys and Girls Clubs of Canada selected six videos as finalists, divided into two categories to target youth under 12 years of age and those over 13 years of age.

An entry from Dovercourt Boys and Girls Club in Toronto, Ontario won first place in the under 12 category for their video about protecting personal information online. A submission from Boys and Girls Club of Botwood in Newfoundland won first place in the over 13 category for their video on cyberbullying. First-place finishers in both categories received an Xbox 360 console and video games for entertainment at their Boys and Girls Club.

“We appreciate the leadership Microsoft Canada has shown in educating Canadians about the importance of Internet safety... This partnership is connecting with Canadian youth in an innovative way on this issue and we’re extremely proud of the videos the young people from our Clubs created," says Pam Joliffe, President and CEO, Boys and Girls Club of Canada