FANTASTICO and UNICEF Join Forces Again for a Violence-Free School and Safe Online Environment for Every Child

December 4, 2024, Sofia - For another year, FANTASTICO is dedicating its Christmas donation campaign to children.  From 5th of December 2024 to January 1, 2025, FANTASTICO customers will be able to support UNICEF's "Steps Together" program, which aims to create a positive and safe school environment.

As per tradition, a fundraising campaign will be held in all 45 supermarkets of the retail chain, during which customers will have the opportunity to make a donation of 1 (one) lev or more. Each donation will be reflected as a separate item on the receipt, without being tied to a purchase. Anyone who wishes to support the cause for children can do so with an amount of their choice at the FANTASTICO checkouts.

The funds raised will help expand the "Steps Together" program to 100 schools across the country and support UNICEF and our partners' efforts to create a safer online environment for children.

Why is this important?

The latest PISA international study data for Bulgaria for 2022 shows that when children feel calm and safe at school, they achieve higher results, are more cohesive, have a stronger sense of belonging and community, and are less likely to drop out of the education system. In Bulgaria, 12% of students report not feeling safe on their way to school (OECD average: 8%); about 20% of girls and 24% of boys report being bullied at least a few times a month (OECD average: 20% of girls and 21% of boys). According to UNICEF, one in seven children in Bulgaria reports being a victim of online bullying, especially on social media sites. 2023 was a record year for Bulgaria in terms of reports related to children's online safety - the Safe Internet Center received and processed over 46,359 reports of illegal and harmful content, which is 100% more compared to 2022.

"Addressing these large-scale challenges requires the combined efforts of the entire society. Every child should have access to programs and services for prevention and improvement of online safety and digital skills, and this will be the focus of the "Steps Together" program in the next two years. Our goal is to create a positive and safe environment for every child, both at school and online. I thank our long-standing partners from FANTASTICO for trusting UNICEF's expertise and experience for the third consecutive year," said Christina de Bruin, UNICEF Representative in Bulgaria.

"A school with a positive environment is a place where everyone listens to and helps each other. They are always there for each other, and every student knows they can rely on the other. This is exactly what we tried to achieve with the "Peacemakers" program, which is part of "Steps Together" – Yoana-Maria, a student from 7th SU "St. Sedmochislenitsi" in Sofia.

"There is no cause more important than the well-being of children and young people. That is why our priority is both projects related to education and culture, as well as efforts aimed at overcoming stereotypes and all forms of violence. We thank UNICEF for continuing to work towards a more supportive, empathetic, tolerant, and inclusive school environment. The issue of online bullying is enormous, and every effort to protect children in the digital world is worthwhile," said Vladimir Nikolov, COO of FANTASTICO GROUP. 

Since the beginning of the "Steps Together" program, UNICEF, in collaboration with the Ministry of Education and Science and with the support of FANTASTICO, has reached 12,000 students, over 1,000 teachers, and nearly 6,000 parents.

In the next two years, UNICEF will focus on children's online safety and aim to reach 10,000 students, 2,000 professionals and 5,000 parents, including:  

• 2,000 children who will be trained on how to stay safe online, how to deal with hate speech and fake news in the digital space, and how to create positive content in the digital environment.
• 100 schools that will improve their students' digital skills and work on the prevention and response to online bullying and violence.
• 40 mentors from the "Steps Together" program who will receive additional qualifications to provide training and methodological support for cyberbullying and online safety.
• Peacemakers from the "Steps Together" program who will undergo special training as "Cyber Scouts".
• 500 education specialists who will undergo special training.
• 300 parents who will undergo training on digital literacy and online safety.
• Special resources for online safety and cyberbullying will be developed.