BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE

A graduate from the Institute of Social Prevention and Resocialization at the Warsaw University. He has worked for the Nobody’s Children Foundation since 1997, taking part in numerous projects addressing the problem of child abuse.

Since 2002 he has conducted training on child abuse on the Internet. He was the author of the first national campaign focused on children’s safety online, “Child in the Web” (“You Never Know Who Is on the Other Side”, 2004), and the initiator of several other projects addressing the issue of safe Internet use by children, including Sieciaki.pl (2005) and “Stop Cyberbullying” (2007). The author of research, publications, and lesson plans concerning the problem of online threats to children.

One of the initiators of the European programme “Safer Internet” in Poland (the national coordinator of the Awareness project in 2005–2006).

Since 2006 he has coordinated the Academy of Safer Internet – the Nobody’s Children Foundation’s comprehensive programme aimed at improving children’s safety online.

A member of the Chapter of the Interklasa Quality Certificate. He also represents the Nobody’s Children Foundation in the Team for Preventing Discrimination of Children in Electronic Media. The Team operates within the Office of the Chancellery of the Prime Minister.

ABSTRACTS

30 September, Wednesday, 10.40 – 11.00 

Plenary session: Launch of new Sieciaki.pl educational resource for children
Presentation topic: The education of children in the area of safety in the Internet - 5 years of experience and planned measures under the project of the Nobody´s Children Foundation "Sieciaki.pl"

Since September 2004 the Nobody´s Children Foundation has been implementing a project "Sieciaki.pl", aimed at the education of children in the area of safe and effective use of electronic media as well as the certification and promotion of websites which are safe for children.

The main part of the project is a website www.sieciaki.pl. The plot of the website is based on the adventures of Sieciaki, the children who know how to use the Web in a safe way and who combat the evil present in the Internet, represented by black creatures called Sieciuchy. The main task of Sieciaki, who posses special skills is to promote information about safe, effective and constructive Internet use. The characters which are attractive for children should encourage the program participants to become a Sieciak.

Over 116 000 children, to whom website editors have sent xxx messages, have signed up since the beginning of the website, i.e. since February 2005. During this time xxx competitions with attractive prizes have been organized. 

Another important element of the website are also educational picnics for children organized every year under the campaign "Sieciaki on holiday". The picnic agenda is related to the do plot of the website www.sieciaki.pl. Young Internet users get acquainted with the principles of safe surfing on the Web, Internet-related dangers and the ways to cope with dangerous situations while they are playing. The children who are active during the picnic, put the acquired knowledge into practice and play together receive 'bytes' – a web currency which they can later exchange for prizes. So far 43 picnics have been organized and nearly 20 thousand children participated in them. 

The campaign’s educational offer is created in line with the idea of ‘blended learning’, combining direct (traditional) learning with ‘on-line’ education (‘e-learning’ courses, websites). The educational proposals are made us of during school lessons, extramural activities and educational events.

Any information concerning the educational proposals worked out under the Child on the Web campaign are made available at www.dzieckowsieci.pl. The website allows to download lesson plans in the PDF format, as well as any multimedia materials, such as presentations, films and cartoons needed to conduct the session.

The website also allows the session to be evaluated by teachers and to collect educational session completion certificates. During the presentation the structure of the educational activities carried out under the "Child on the Web" campaign will be described, along with the selected lesson plans for primary and junior high school students:

"Web Kids" (primary school, grades I–III)
Session devoted to basics in safe Internet use. A series of three cartoons is presented with the adventures of a group of Web Kids, fighting the bad kids on the Internet.

"3…2…1…Internet!" (primary school, grades IV–VI)
Session based on a series of six attractive cartoons narrated by Krzysztof Hołowczyc. The aim of the session is to familiarize children with safe and effective use of the Internet as and alternative to the following risk-bearing behaviors: cyber violence, meetings with persons known only from the Internet, making personal data public, Web piracy, excessive use of the Internet. 
The project has been developed in cooperation with Microsoft.

"Stop cyber violence" (junior high school)
Session based on a movie presenting the case of peer violence with the use of electronic media. The objective of the session is to familiarize the students with the phenomenon of cyber violence and to make them sensitive to the problem and its serious consequences, both for the victims and the culprits.