Friday 07 February 2025

MFWS launches campaign to combat cyberbullying in schools

Empowering messages to combat cyber bullying and safely navigate the internet will soon be popping up across all of Malta’s schools, as part of the Malta Foundation for the Wellbeing of Society’s goal to create a safer online experience.

More than 80,000 flash cards for educators and students will be distributed across all schools in the coming months urging children to be vigilant, to think before they post and to seek help when confronted with abusive visuals and messages.

Foundation chair Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca said these flash cards, which had been carefully crafted in collaboration with the United Nations International Telecommunications Union (UN ITU), represented the Foundation’s commitment to provide children with the tools and resources to seek immediate, effective help in moments of need.

“We must never lose sight of our ultimate goal: prevention. Every initiative we undertake must serve the greater purpose of ending abuse before it begins. We are not merely responding to crises — we are working tirelessly to create a future where such abuse no longer exists; these flashcards are a testament to this vision,” Ms Coleiro Preca said.

“The sobering reality is that nowhere is truly safe for children. Not even the confines of their homes or classrooms can shield them from online abuse. The internet, despite its potential for learning, has also become a space where predators, harmful content, exploitation and abuse thrive; our goal is to be proactive to safeguard our children from harm,” she said.

Ms Coleiro Preca was addressing a half-day conference, themed Let’s Talk Cyber Security, as part of its Promote Online Protection Project — P.O.P-Up. It brought together representatives from the police force, the Victim Support Agency, the UK’s Safer Internet Centre, the UN ITU and the Blossom project to discuss the challenges children faced and to take proactive steps to safeguard them from harm.

Children’s Rights and Social Policy Minister Michael Falzon and the Opposition leader’s wife Ann Marie Grech also addressed the conference, together with the UN ITU Office for Europe head Jaroslaw Ponder.

Ms Coleiro Preca added: “While preparing for today’s conference, I recalled the experience of a 10-year-old boy, who during a Child Wellbeing Conference on Bullying, organised by the Foundation, said: ‘today nowhere is safe, you are bullied at school and when you go home, where you expect to find peace, you are bullied online. Bullying is everywhere’.

“Children are navigating an online world without fully understanding the dangers they face. In reality, it is not just them but also us adults, who do not always entirely understand the abuse our children face and its extent. Moreover, as technology advances, so too do the methods used by those who seek to harm them. This makes our work more critical than ever.”

However, through the Foundation’s P.O.P-Up project, cross-sector collaboration and commitment from all stakeholders, Ms Coleiro Preca was determined to ensure that children had the tools and knowledge to be able to explore the digital world without fear.

The distribution of flash cards, in Maltese and English, are another step in this direction. They are designed to be accessible and practical, offering immediate support while reinforcing the importance of staying vigilant, informed, and proactive.

Another step was the training UN ITU this week delivered to officers from the Malta Police Force on the latest trends in online threats, the tools and techniques to combat them and the importance of collaboration across different sectors.

Ms Coleiro Preca thanked the numerous experts and different ministries who had thrown their support behind the Malta Foundation for the Wellbeing of Society on its multiple initiatives to target child online abuse. She urged all stakeholders to come together with a shared sense of urgency and responsibility to protect children in an ever-changing digital age.

“The challenges are immense, but so is our determination to overcome them.”

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