Online Safety School
A UNICEF Bulgaria Campaign
- Български
- English
CONTEST "ONLINE SAFETY SCHOOL"
What is the contest about?
The School for Online Safety campaign is part of the joint efforts of UNICEF and the Ministry of Education and Science (MoES) to promote online safety and media literacy among students.
The goal is to encourage aware, responsible, and positive behavior on the internet.
What do you need to do to participate?
Students should present their idea or concept for a creative campaign that promotes safe online behavior.
The format is up to you – for example:
- Poster or collage
- Comic strip or illustration
- Video or short film
- Digital campaign (posts, stories, challenges, etc.)
- Presentation or another original form
Age categories
- Grades 5–7
- Grades 8–12
Participation requirements
- Individual or team participation.
- Each participant/team can submit only one project.
- Projects must be original and must not infringe copyright.
- Submissions must be sent in digital format (file, link, etc.).
- You must include the following information:
- Name and surname / team name
- School, grade, and city/town
- Email or phone number of a teacher/mentor for contact
Send your project to: [email protected]
Email subject: “Contest – School for Online Safety”
Deadline: December 31, 2025
Evaluation and prizes
A jury including representatives from UNICEF, MoES, the Center for Safe Internet, and influencers will evaluate projects based on:
- Clear and strong message
- Creativity and originality
- Potential for real-life implementation
Prizes
- 1st place (in each category): Implementation of the project as a real campaign at the school + special meeting with influencers
- Special awards and surprises
- All participants will receive an electronic certificate of participation
For questions: [email protected]
Winners will be announced on the UNICEF Bulgaria website and social media in January 2026.
Project Goal
The Online Safety School project aims to support children and schools in Bulgaria in building a safe school environment by developing children’s digital literacy and their skills to recognize and protect themselves from online risks, as well as by encouraging peer support for responsible and safe online behavior.
Online Violence – Challenges for Children in Bulgaria
Bulgaria is no exception to the growing concerns about internet safety. In 2023, the National Safer Internet Centre received and processed 46,368 reports of illegal and harmful content – almost double the number from 2022 (23,800 reports). Moreover, data from the Centre’s hotline for the period January–September 2024 show a fivefold increase – a total of 293,312 cases compared to the previous year. Alarmingly, 95% of these cases were related to sexual exploitation and abuse of children aged 10 to 14. In 2024 alone, 70,000 reports were received about downloading and distributing child sexual exploitation materials from Bulgarian IP addresses, which were forwarded to the Cybercrime Department of the Ministry of Interior.
The Online Safety School is implemented as part of UNICEF’s “Steps Together” programme with the Ministry of Education and Science (MoES) and will reach 100 schools over two academic years.
UNICEF Bulgaria, in partnership with MoES and the Regional Centres for Inclusive Education Process Support, has built a network of 50 trained mentors supporting schools to implement the Programme and by encouraging the whole-school approach to introduce the social-emotional learning and the peer-to-peer support programs.
The Online Safety School within the “Steps Together” programme seeks to strengthen the knowledge of mentors, teachers, and parents in supporting children. At the same time, work will be carried out directly with students at schools to encourage responsible and safe online behavior and protect them from cyberbullying and other online risks.
Children will take part in creative missions of their choice and class workshops on topics such as cyberbullying, online safety and threats, safe use of social media, online behavior and relationships, and managing screen time. Volunteers will be trained as “Cyberscouts” under the programme of the National Safer Internet Center, UNICEF’s project partner.
The “Cyberscouts” programme is based on the “peer-to-peer education” approach and aims to inform children about online risks while creating a community of children and young people who support their peers.
Campaign
- Research on the most pressing online safety issues and the concerns of children, teachers, and parents – through focus groups and interviews, as well as an online survey distributed among schools in the country participating in the programme, and via UNICEF’s online channels.
- Training mentors under the “Steps Together” programme to prepare them to support schools in implementing online safety policies.
- Trainings for 800 teachers and school psychologists across Bulgaria.
- Trainings for 500 parents, including specialized workshops and a dedicated section in a Professional Handbook – how to engage and support parents on online safety topics.
- Support to schools in developing school plans for online safety and digital well-being, as part of school policies and the implementation of the Mechanism for Counteracting Violence and Bullying in Schools.
- Development of a Handbook for professionals working with children (teachers, school psychologists, mentors) on creating online content – covering topics such as online and offline communication, data protection, digital identity, harmful content, cyberbullying, sexting, blackmail, artificial intelligence, and more.
