Seitenstark seal of approval & Kids chatbotOutstanding children's websites and child-friendly chatbot presented

Eleven websites for children have successfully completed the Seitenstark e.V. test procedure and were awarded the Seitenstark seal of approval on December 4. The seal of approval was awarded for the third time and offers children, parents and educational professionals and teachers guidance on the internet. The child-friendly chatbot "Auxie", which is now available to all children at www.religionen-entdecken.de, was also presented at the event.

Outstanding children's websites and child-friendly chatbot presented

The SEITENSTARK-GÜTESIEGEL was awarded to:

Subject area Learning & Experience

Participation

Media literacy

Chatbot for children is now available

The chatbot Auxie was developed to enable children to interact safely with AI. The system draws exclusively on an editorially verified knowledge base on the children's website www.religionen-entdecken.de . Supplementary dialog and pastoral care modules ensure that Auxie responds in a child-friendly way and also addresses sensitive topics responsibly. Technically, the chatbot is largely based on language models from the French provider Mistral, , which is known for its high data protection standards.

Auxie was developed in close cooperation with Seitenstark e.V. further developed. The non-profit association networks high-quality digital children's media, makes it visible and promotes media literacy among young users. As part of the joint project  KUCOBINA , Seitenstark has spent the past few months researching how children use AI at school and in their free time. Findings from workshops and scientific support were directly incorporated into the further development of the chatbot - with the aim of making AI safe, understandable and really helpful for children.

About Seitenstark e.V.

Seitenstark e.V. has been committed to the implementation of children's rights in the digital sphere since 2007. It is a non-profit organization and recognized as an independent youth welfare organization. Its members are people from the fields of children's media, media education and educational work. The association makes good digital children's media known to the public and promotes networking between them. This is done in particular by supporting the Seitenstark network, which was founded in 2003. In addition, the association promotes the exchange of experience and knowledge transfer between operators of digital children's media, for example by organizing media camps and specialist conferences. Through training and events for and with schools and educational institutions, it contributes to media literacy education in and out of school. Since 2022, it has been awarding the SEITENSTARK-GÜTESIEGEL to certified children's websites.