Relevant

In addition to its public policy initiatives within the United States and Europe, the Family Online Safety Institute is also involved with wider International initiatives.

Policy Initiatives

Online Safety Education Initiative

FOSI and many experts in this field, believe that in addition to filtering technology, we need more online safety education to reach parents and children alike. What is also acknowledged is that there is a wide range of approaches, messages, curricula and safety tips available, with little or no evaluation of their effectiveness or relevance in our Web 2.0 world. This project, the first of its kind to be undertaken by the Family Online Safety Institute, will do a stock-take of what currently exists, what impact these programmes and messages actually have, and synthesize the very best messages and approaches and present these at our next annual conference.

With the onset of convergence and the explosion of new types of digital content devices and new meeting places online, such as social networking sites, the need for a new kind of approach to the issue of online safety is essential.

This project will address the growing concerns of parents and teachers alike about the harmful content and harmful contact that children are increasingly exposed to online. It is our hope that with a combination of tools and rules, children will be both better protected and made more aware of the many potential dangers on the internet. We have already held a series of roundtables this year as part of this important initiative.

State of Online Safety Report

FOSI's State of Online Safety Report presents an annual snapshot of this critical area in a variety of countries, covering:

• legislation and regulatory regimes, 
  
• technology, 
  
• public education efforts. 

Our 2008 State of Online Safety Report is already available. (PDF)

Internet Governance Form (IGF)

This is an International initiative whose purpose is to support the United Nations Secretary-General in carrying out the mandate from the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) with regard to convening a new forum for multi-stakeholder policy dialogue.1 The next IGF Conference is between the 5-18 November 2009 in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt.

Internet Governance Forum

FOSI  Representative: Stephen Balkam & David Miles