The youth advisory board of the klicksafe media literacy initiative
Our aim: to talk with young people, not about them.
The klicksafe Youth Panel is the youth advisory board of klicksafe and has been active since 2009. The Youth Panel consists of committed young people between the ages of 13 and 18 from all over Germany. Together, they are committed to making the internet a better and safer place for children and young people.
Many of the participants work as media scouts or media mentors at their schools and are well versed in digital topics. Others are dealing specifically with online topics for the first time in the Youth Panel. In the klicksafe Youth Panel, every member has the opportunity to contribute their own experiences, perspectives and ideas - this is exactly what makes the Youth Panel so diverse and valuable.
klicksafe works closely with various schools in Germany for the Youth Panel work and is in regular contact with young people and educational staff there. Since 2023, klicksafe has also been expanding the extracurricular area of the Youth Panel. The aim is to reach more young people from different contexts - even outside of school. For example, via clubs, youth clubs or initiatives that work together with young people on topics that can also affect online safety (e.g. topics such as racism, sexualized violence, body image, mental health).
The Youth Panel welcomes all young people between the ages of 13 and 18 who want to join forces with other young people to campaign for online issues that are close to their hearts. & nbsp;
What does the klicksafe Youth Panel do?
Cyberbullying, TikTok challenges, homework with AI, hate speech, images of wars, dickpics [...] - young people are confronted with various topics, challenges and risks in their everyday online lives.In the Youth Panel,young people can make visible what really moves them and their generation online - and actively help shape the klicksafe agenda: Which online services, topics and trends are important right now? What does this do to children and young people? What do young people need in order to navigate the Internet safely and competently? How can we reach young people to draw their attention to online risks and offers of help?
Members can also develop their own projects, materials, events and campaigns with the support of the klicksafe Youth Panel coordinators. The results and ideas from the joint Youth Panel work are visible in various places: for example in klicksafe materials for educational professionals, offers for parents or young people, on the Youth Panel and klicksafe websites or as part of campaigns such as the annual Safer Internet Day.
How time-consuming is it to participate in the klicksafe Youth Panel?
School, exams, friends, hobbies - we all know that: How much time and energy you have for an additional commitment can always change. That's why we make it very clear: every member of the klicksafe Youth Panel decides for themselves how active they want to be at any given time! There are only a few requirements for minimum participation.
For example, there are online meetings a few times a year where young people can discuss current trends and topics and work on joint projects. In addition, all members and coordinators of the Youth Panel keep up to date with current online trends and projects in a Signal group (messenger service) - without the expectation of having to be online or available all the time.
Youth Panel members also have the opportunity to attend meetings in person to receive further training from us or to participate in events with their own contributions (e.g. at the BundesJugendKonferenz Medien, BJKM for short, in Rostock or "Summer Camps" with young people from other Youth Panels in Europe).
The extent to which a member can and wants to get involved in the development of their own formats, materials, events and campaigns is up to them and varies within the group. And very importantly, there is no minimum term for participation in the klicksafe Youth Panel. Young people can leave at any time if it no longer suits them or if time no longer permits.
BIK Youth Panel: Networking with young people throughout Europe
At European level, there is a regular exchange between all Youth Panels in Europe - the BIK Youth Panel makes it possible. BIK stands for "Better Internet for Kids " - a European strategy ( BIK+ strategy since 2022) that aims to create a better internet for Europe's children and young people. klicksafe nominates one or two interested young people from Germany for the BIK Youth Panel every year. These young people then have various opportunities to engage with the topic of online safety at a European level and participate together with other young people.
You can find out more about the work of the BIK Youth Panel on the EU's BIK Youth platform.
How can young people become members of the Youth Panel?
Interested young people between the ages of 13 and 18 can simply get in touch with us via our contact form. Previous knowledge is not necessary. The only important thing is that they are interested in online topics and want to contribute to helping young people navigate the Internet more safely.
- Click here for the contact form!
- If you have any further questions, simply write to: youthpanel☞ Please insert an @ here ☜klicksafe☞ Please insert a dot here ☜de
Proof of membership in the klicksafe Youth Panel
Those who get involved at a young age learn for life: for example, how to work in a team, listen to others, contribute ideas, discuss with each other and get things done together. Involvement outside of school is more than just a hobby or pastime - and should not be taken for granted! It shows that young people want to stand up for something, have their say, shape things and make a difference.
Our members receive a certificate for their participation in the klicksafe Youth Panel - because extracurricular commitment deserves recognition and must be visible!
What has the klicksafe Youth Panel already done?
The following projects and materials are a small excerpt of the work carried out in collaboration with the klicksafe Youth Panel. Particular highlights in the work of the klicksafe Youth Panel were
- Development and programming of thecyberbullying first aid appby young people from the Youth Panel.
- Development of the flyer"Tips for digital (survival) life"in which young people have dealt with what they see as the most important challenges for young people in the online world (note: this flyer is currently being completely revised and updated with young people)
- On Safer Internet Day (SID), a"Youth Talk"takes place regularly - an authentic format in which young people have their say on current topics in short videos. Here, members of the Youth Panel have provided information on the respective annual topic in three video series forSID 2021 ("Who makes my opinion?"),SID 2022("Fit for democracy - strong for society") and SID 2023 ("#OnlineAmLimit").
- Interactivequiz on the topic of "in-game purchases"for children and young people, created in cooperation between the Youth Panel from Austria (Saferinternet.at) and the klicksafe Youth Panel from Germany.
- klicksafe materials for young people are regularly reviewed by young people from the klicksafe Youth Panel, for example the two Actionbound games "In the bunker of lies" and "#cleanyournetweork". The feedback is then incorporated into the implementation of the offers.
- A former member of the Youth Panel has beena klicksafe youth juror for several years at the Data Protection Media Prize. There he judges submissions and awards the klicksafe youth prize on the subject of data protection. The DAME prize is awarded annually by the Berufsverband der Datenschutzbeauftragten Deutschlands (BvD) e.V. - klicksafe is a cooperation partner there.
