Chema Alonso
Chief Data Officer, Telefonica.
Coinciding with the Safer Internet Day 2014, Telefónica presented on 11 February 2014 the Digital Family platform, a Parent Resource Center – developed by the Interactive Generations Forum in collaboration with European Schoolnet, the University of Navarra, INSAFE, EU Kids Online, Childnet International, Protégeles and Friendly Screens – whose objective is to promote digital education and create a better Internet for children.
The website is already available in Spain for the Movistar Brand and will be launched in the United Kingdom for the O2 brand in the spring, following a pilot test with parents that will be held at the O2 flagship store in Leeds. It will also arrive in other countries where Telefónica operates, throughout the year.
The platform forms part of Telefónica’s strategy to promote digital confidence and encourages responsible and beneficial use of ICTs by interactive generations. To do this, the company has been working for several years on four fronts: self-regulation, strategic alliances, products and services and digital education.
What does the platform offer?
Digital Family aspires to be a reference website for parents, guardians and teachers, where they can find answers to all their questions and concerns about children regarding new technologies and the Internet. It is also a place for sharing experiences and testimonies and for helping to overcome the challenges and difficulties that both parents and children are facing due to the changes in technology and the constant appearance of new applications and services.
The Digital Family website includes many interesting sections, among which we can highlight the following:
- a topic of current interest dealt in depth and renewed on a monthly basis;
- videos, games, activities and articles segmented by age (5-8 years, 9-12 years and 13-16 years) so that parents and educators can start learning how to get the most out of the Internet as well as the possibilities offered by the new technologies and connected devices;
- a glossary of terms such as grooming, cyber bullying, sexting, geo-location, etc. with an explanation, hints, codes, recommendations, links and videos about them, so that adults may have an enjoyable as well as accessible overview for the safe and responsible use of ICTs;
- a link to the Protégeles website to report any potentially illegal content and child sexual abuse that are found on the Internet;
- a section with the best technological solutions and service offerings from Telefónica to help families protect their devices or find a suitable proposal for their little ones at home. The parental filter, Kangaroo Net, Safety Pack, the selection of education apps, Classroom 365 and the service “I’m Here” are just some examples.
The initiative has already been presented to the European Commission, within the framework of the working group of the CEO Coaltion for a Better Internet for kids. It has been considered a benchmark for public-private cooperation and self-regulatory initiative, with clear benefits for society, focusing on families, in particular, our children, because the digital future is theirs.
Take a look to the Digital Family platform here and send us your views and comments!
