MTS and UNICEF in Belarus launched a campaign to prevent cyberbullying among children and adolescent

Under the UNICEF-MTS partnership, educational videos and test simulators have been made that will help get information that is more detailed on cyberbullying and teach safe online behavior to children.

The content for the videos and tests has been developed based on real stories of children who experienced bullying on the Internet, and who worked the cases out with psychologists. Children will learn how to behave if they face cyberbullying; they will get information on available help tools and referrals. The materials will also be useful to parents and teachers: they will tell you how to recognize in time that a child has become a victim of bullying, and how to help her/him cope with the problem.

“We have been working together with MTS since 2019 to make the Internet a safer place for children. Partnership with businesses opens up more opportunities for solving many problems, because by joining efforts, you can achieve greater results and change the lives of children for the better. In the context of the pandemic, when most communications take place online, the relevance of this topic has increased, which means that high-quality help tools are needed to prevent challenges such as cyberbullying,” said Tanya Radochay, UNICEF Representative in Belarus.

MTS and UNICEF in Belarus also signed a Cooperation Agreement today: the partners plan to work on joint projects to prevent cyberbullying among children during the year. 

“The world is changing; technology is obviously starting to play an increasingly important role in it; today, children actively use devices, and they are integrated into the Internet space; so, it is important to teach them how to use this resource safely. Today we solidified our intentions to work on this topic through a Cooperation Agreement, under which we plan to work on joint projects to prevent cyberbullying among children during the year,” said Vladimir Karpovich, CEO of MTS. 

According to a UNICEF global study (2018), which has surveyed more than one million young people in 160 countries, up to 70.6% of Internet users aged 15 to 24 may be exposed to cyberbullying, stalking, and other dangers. 

In Belarus, children actively use modern technologies: according to Belstat, in 2019, 92.4% of schoolchildren aged 6-17 used the Internet, and 92% of them used cellular communications. Mobile technologies and the Internet are a convenient platform for communication and educational content with great opportunities, especially in the context of COVID-19.

According to a study conducted by UNICEF jointly with the World Bank in Belarus during the pandemic in 2020, children spent about 3 hours a day on the Internet on average, while the time on the Web increased with age. That is why it is important to teach children to use the Internet competently and safely.

World Safer Internet Day (SID) has been celebrated on the second Tuesday of February since 2004 to educate as many people as possible about the safe use of the Internet.

* UNICEF does not endorse any company, brand, product or service.