Amsterdam, Netherlands - INHOPE fully supports Safer Internet Day (https://www.saferinternetday.org/ - #SID2017) and this year’s theme, 'Be the Change: Unite for a better internet’. The INHOPE network is proud to be a partner of this initiative that promotes change and digital citizenship at both a local and global level.

Veronica Donoso, Executive Director, said, "We are proud to support Safer Internet Day and contribute to all efforts that raise online safety awareness among youth. We encourage a digital culture of empathy, with the understanding that actions online affect people in their real lives as well. Young people should strive to support each other by always reporting, and never ignoring, content that is offensive, abusive, or illegal."

The past year has seen many improvements in safety as it pertains to illegal material, and INHOPE is proud to highlight the achievements of its member hotlines around the world. In Colombia, Te Protejo has launched a mobile app to make it easier to report sites with sexual exploitation content, as well as cyberbullying, abuse and neglect. In Thailand, Thai hotline is raising awareness and educating children, parents, and teachers to properly report abuse content. Most recently, the Canadian Centre for Child Protection (https://www.protectchildren.ca/app/en/) launched Project Arachnid, a web crawling tool that will revolutionise the way abuse images are located and reported.

There has also been ongoing development and implementation of initiatives such as the Luxembourg Guidelines, which help to ensure that the terminology around sexual abuse and exploitation is clear and consistent. This ensures a stronger and more streamlined approach to advocacy, policy, and law throughout all languages and regions of the world, providing vital clarity where and when it is needed the most.