International Relations News Benefitting from the Internet Safely: actions promoted by UMIC in Portugal Benefitting from the Internet Safely: actions promoted by UMIC in Portugal
- 15/05/2009
The UN – United Nations declared 17th May as World Telecommunications and the Information Society Day and decided that this year would be dedicated to the topic of young people surfing the Internet safely.
Knowledge Society Agency (UMIC), as the public body with the task of coordinating Information Society policies in Portugal, decided to extend the commemorations for the World Telecommunications and the Information Society Day to all strata of the population and it put on public awareness raising actions on the benefits of and safe use of the Internet for the whole week starting on 17th May and continuing until 22nd May 2009.
The Internet has profoundly altered the way people live – how they learn, work, spend their free time and interact, both in terms of personal relationships and organisations.
As well as extending access to the benefits of Internet use, namely in terms of gaining information and knowledge, improved collaboration between people and organisations, social inclusion and wealth creation, it is also necessary to provide, as with any other means of interaction, suitable mechanisms and strategies for safe use.
Thus, in the scope of the Security and Privacy actions and as the coordinating body for the Internet Segura (Safer Net) (site in Portuguese) project, UMIC provides interested parties with information and training support on how to surf the Internet safely and has mobilised several of the networks it coordinates - Internet Spaces Network (site in Portuguese), Solidarity Network (site in Portuguese), e-U Virtual Campus (site in Portuguese) –, so they are a part of the celebrations, harnessing their ability to galvanise and mobilise the numerous bodies involved in these networks to promote initiatives among the sectors of society they are linked with in a decentralised fashion.
In addition, also in the scope of the Internet Segura (Safer Net) (site in Portuguese) project, the Directorate-General for Curricular Innovation and Development at the Ministry of Education will promote actions in elementary and secondary schools through the schools part of the project, Seguranet (site in Portuguese).
As a consequence of these initiatives, more than 100 awareness-raising, training and information activities are planned for citizens between 17th and 22nd May in various locations around the country. The main aim is to publicise safe and critical Internet surfing practices. You can find more information on these initiatives on the Internet Segura (Safer Net) (site in Portuguese) project websites and other sites managed by UMIC for the networks that will be playing an active role in the commemorations:
- Initiatives mentioned on the Internet Segura (Safer Internet) site (in Portuguese)
- Initiatives mentioned on the Internet Spaces Network site (in Portuguese)
- Initiatives mentioned on the Solidarity Network site (in Portuguese).
Concrete examples of actions promoted for various contexts and locations around the country include, among many others:
For people with special needs
- Training actions with distribution of the Internet Segura (Safer Internet) User Guide in Braille at the Fundação Raquel e Martin Sain (site in Portuguese).
This was the 1st time the Internet Segura (Safer Internet) User Guide had been made available in Braille, produced by the Internet Segura (Safer Internet) consortium (Braille version prepared by the Fundação Raquel e Martin Sain).
Contact: Vera Rapagão, Tel.: 218480136/7, Email: verarapagao@fundacao-sain.org.pt - Internet broadcast from the school Escola José Cardoso Pires, EB 2-3 in Amadora of a lesson on surfing the Internet safely to hospitalised students at Hospital de Santa Maria and the Portuguese Oncology Institute on 21st May 2009, carried out by the Evaluation Centre for New Information and Communication Technologies (CANTIC) (site in Portuguese), with support from the TeleAula infrastructure and the FCCN – Foundation for National Scientific Computation (site in Portuguese).
Contact: Rui Fernandes, Tel.: 214925579, Email: rui@cantic.org.pt - Internet Segura (Safer Internet) Training Action in Portuguese Sign Language for trainees using the Porto Association for the Deaf’s Internet Space.
Contact: Armando Baltazar, Tel.: 225102390, Email: armando.baltazar@asurdosporto.org.pt - Internet safety awareness-raising action for children supported by the Portuguese Association for Trissomy 21 Carriers.
Contact: Eng. Fernando Ferreira/Dr. Luísa Cotrim, Tel.: 21 839 42 22, Email: geral@appt21.org.pt - Awareness-raising actions and discussion of safety on the Internet for trainees of the Lisbon Cerebral Palsy Association.
Contact: Jorge Costa, Tel.: 217572457/88, Email: jorge.costa@apcl-7oficios.org.pt
For seniors
- “Safe emailing” – training action in around 25 Inatel Net Spaces for All – Inatel Initiative.
Contact: Fabio Mortari, Tel.: 210 027 153, Email: fmortari@inatel.pt - Training safely for the ICT Basic Skills Diplomas at the Azambuja Municipal Internet Space.
Contact: Marisa Pedrosa, Tel.: 263 41 8290 , Email: espaco.internet@cm-azambuja.pt
For children and young people
- Internet broadcast from the school Escola José Cardoso Pires, EB - in Amadora of a lesson on surfing the Internet safely to hospitalised students at Hospital de Santa Maria and Hospital D. Estefânia, an initiative by the Evaluation Centre for New Information and Communication Technologies (CANTIC) (site in Portuguese), with support from the TeleAula infrastructure and the FCCN – Foundation for National Scientific Computation (site in Portuguese).
Contact: Rui Fernandes, Tel.: 214925579, Email: rui@cantic.org.pt - How to surf the Internet Safely and Critically for young people aged 10 to 17, in the São Julião de Freixo and Ponte de Lima Internet Spaces.
Contact: Eliana Sousa, Tel.: 258761159, Email: geral@casapovofreixo.pt and internet@cm-pontedelima.pt - Surfing the Internet Safely for elementary and secondary school pupils, and the Children’s Internet Segura (Safer Internet) for 1st cycle pupils, Yes Now Project – Setúbal by the Centre for e-Inclusion (CID) under the Choices Programme (site in Portuguese).
Contact: Carlos Vicente Camelo, Tel.: 265553437, Email: carlos.vicente.camelo@gmail.com - 10 Tips for Safe Internet Use at the CID Alternatives – Funchal.
Contact: Marco Costa, Tel.: 9627259407, Email: marcocosta949@gmail.com and alternativas.pe@cm-funchal.pt - Avoiding Potentially Dangerous Situations on the Internet at the Positive Choices CID - São Mamede Infesta.
Contact: Vítor Ribeiro, Tel.: 93 8397235, Email: escolhaspositivas.pe@gmail.com
For the population at large
- Safe Internet for Parents (500 trainees) at the Almeirim Municipal Internet Space.
Contact: António Pisco, Tel.: 96 131 0090, Email: espacointernetalmeirim@hotmail.com - How do you surf the Internet safely? at the Marcelino Mesquita Library – Cartaxo.
Contact: Diogo Branco, Tel.: 96 171 94 06, Email: dbranco@cm-cartaxo.pt - Awareness raising/training actions on surfing the Internet safely and critically, training at the Knowledge Workshops (up to the end of May), an initiative by the Communications Museum/Portuguese Communications Foundation, Lisbon.
Contact: Cristina Weber, FPC – Portuguese Communications Foundation, Communications Museum, Tel. 213 935 116 , Email: museu@fpc.pt
About the Internet Segura (Safer Net) Project
The Internet Segura (Safer Internet) project was unveiled to the public in July 2007. It is the responsibility of a consortium coordinated by Knowledge Society Agency (UMIC) and also involving the Directorate-General for Curricular Innovation and Development at the Ministry of Education, the Foundation for National Scientific Computation (FCCN) and Microsoft Portugal.
About the Internet Spaces Network (site in Portuguese)
Internet Spaces are free public access points where computers and the Internet are regularly available, backed up by their own staff (monitors), to help people use these technologies. Many of these spaces meet accessibility criteria for citizens with special needs. From November 2006, Knowledge Society Agency (UMIC) has championed the organisation of the Internet Spaces Network to include the different Internet Spaces set up over the years in different contexts into a joint effort. The Internet Spaces Network 8site in Portuguese) currently includes roughly 1,170 Internet Spaces throughout the whole country, of which the overwhelming majority were set up in the scope of the Operational Information Society/Knowledge Society Programme. Go to the Internet Spaces Network (site in Portuguese) portal for more information on the location of these spaces and their scheduled activities.
About the Solidarity Network (site in Portuguese)
The Solidarity Network comprises more than 240 Non-Governmental Organisations for and of Disabled People, the elderly or those at risk of exclusion. Its roots can be traced back to when social solidarity institutions joined the RCTS – Science, Technology and Society Network managed by the FCCN – Foundation for National Scientific Computation (site in Portuguese). The RCTS was set up in 1997 as an evolved National Scientific Computation Network, extending this network of scientific and higher education institutions to elementary and secondary schools, public libraries, solidarity institutions and other scientific and cultural institutions. Knowledge Society Agency (UMIC) has championed its development and since June 2005 has provided the Solidarity Network (site in Portuguese) portal, a content manager for each of the institutions belonging to the network, as well as the broadband connections to the Internet for the institutions that are part of the Solidarity Network and around 650 email inboxes for these institutions. The FCCN took over the provision of these services via the RCTS in 2008, through a UMIC initiative.
About e-U Virtual Campus (site in Portuguese)
The e-U Virtual Campus project was designed and coordinated by Knowledge Society Agency (UMIC) with the technical support of the FCCN – Foundation for National Scientific Computation. The project created an extensive wireless access network integrating Portugal’s universities and polytechnic institutes into a single national Virtual Campus with more than 5,000 access points by means of inter-institutional roaming, and also including services, content and applications made available in all institutions. From the beginning to the end of 2005, the number of higher education institutions with wireless networks in the scope of the e-U Virtual Campus (site in Portuguese) projects rose from 8 to 57, achieving coverage of 85% of the higher education system, a range of schools with more than 300 thousand students.