SEATTLE, WASH., Feb. 11, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- It's a paradox we're all too familiar with: The Internet can be both a wonderful tool and a risky place, especially for children and youth. What better way to make it safer than to bring youth into the conversation? Safer Internet Day 2014 is doing just that.
ConnectSafely has brought young people from around the country to Washington, D.C. for the 11th annual Safer Internet Day. Student leaders and executives from Instagram/Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, Xbox Live and Google/YouTube will share their perspectives on how kids use social media and establish best practices for social media companies. The theme of this year's event is "Let's create a better internet together," and the featured guest speaker is Sen. Charles Schumer.
Committee for Children, a Seattle-based nonprofit that develops research-based bullying prevention curricula for children from early learning through grade 8, has joined ConnectSafely.org's steering committee for the Safer Internet Day campaign. "We're delighted to be partnering with Committee for Children for Safer Internet Day," says ConnectSafely co-director Anne Collier. "Their social-emotional learning–based bullying prevention programs are right in sync with the Safer Internet Day message: The solution to online risk is social and needs all of us participating."
Mia Doces, a bullying prevention specialist at Committee for Children, agrees: "Good online behavior looks the same as good in-person behavior. One of the keys to a safer internet is endow kids with good social-emotional skills, so that the decisions they make online will be wise ones. That's why we're so happy to partner with ConnectSafely in support of Safer Internet Day."
Other members of the steering committee include Common Sense Media, Family Online Safety Institute, iKeepSafe, Internet Education Foundation, National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and the National Cyber Security Alliance.
About Committee for Children
Seattle-based nonprofit Committee for Children's research-based educational programs teach social-emotional skills to help prevent bullying and abuse and improve academics. Their curricula are used all over the United States and around the world. To learn more, go to www.cfchildren.org.