30/04/2013

We are pleased to announce the Youth Achievement Competition winners. The Award, celebrated quarterly by the Insafe project, aims at encouraging young people to share achievements that have been made possible through modern media and the internet.

Under the framework of the European Commission's Safer Internet Programme, Insafe and INHOPE work together to deliver a safer internet, promoting safe, responsible use of the internet and mobile devices to children, young people and their families, and working to identify and remove illegal content online.

For the 2013 edition of the Youth Achievement Competition, almost one hundred exciting stories were sent to Insafe by children and young people from European countries and beyond. These clearly illustrate the very active role young people are playing as digital citizens, and the impact they are having on shaping our world of tomorrow. We are delighted to get this further proof of what we already know: young people have extraordinary skills which can be facilitated in the digital world.

Especially for Safer Internet Day 2013, we have chosen to award not just one quarterly winner but three, each from a different age category (under 9 year-olds; 10-14 year-olds; 15 year-olds and above). We are happy to announce that the winners of the SID 2013 Youth Achievement Competition are:

• Under 9: Stefan-Adrian Moromete, Romania, 8
• 10-14: Nina Devani, UK, 14
• Over 15: Dimo Yordanov, Bulgaria, 16

By playing car racing games and researching the manufacturing process of cars, Stefan Adrian Moromete has been able to widen his knowledge and embrace his passion: cars. He states he would like to become an automotive engineer thanks to the internet. In his own words “The internet is like an enormous book of science and technology at home.”

Nina Devani’s story left us speechless. Not only did she successfully develop an app for Android (Prompt me Nina) to secure users’ data protection, but also already demonstrated her entrepreneurial skills by starting her first formal business. Her contribution illustrates the very essence of this competition: how initiative, originality, motivation and the power of the internet can drive young people to excel. Nina puts it in a  nutshell: “Young people have a responsibility to influence change. We are the digital citizens of tomorrow.”

Dimo Yordanov was one of the ten teen delegates participating in the Bulgarian TeeNET Parliament which presented and debated ten rights they consider should be included in the first-of-its-kind “Charter of the Online Rights of the Young People in Bulgaria”. Dimo is an example of how young people can change policy by voicing their opinions.

Three young people from different countries and three different stories, but they all have several things in common: innovation, enthusiasm and remarkable digital skills. They offer true inspiration to every young person in today’s digital world.

All winners will be awarded and invited to participate in Insafe youth participation activities. All winners of the 2012-2013 Youth Achievement Award who are 14 years of older will be invited to attend the Insafe Summer Camp to take place in Romania from 7- 14 July 2013.

If you are a young achiever, post your blog on www.panEUyouth.eu and perhaps you will be the next winner of the Youth Achievement Award. If you are a journalist, parent or teacher…Watch this space!

Read the full article on Insafe and consult the press release.

About Insafe and INHOPE

Under the framework of the European Commission's Safer Internet Programme, Insafe and INHOPE work together to deliver a safer internet, promoting safe, responsible use of the internet and mobile devices to children, young people and their families, and working to identify and remove illegal content online. Find out more by visiting the Insafe and INHOPE joint portal at www.saferinternet.eu. Here you will find links to the various safer internet centre services, by country, along with news and events, and FAQs on safer internet issues. Alternatively, you can visit the Insafe or INHOPE websites direct (Insafe: www.saferinternet.org and INHOPE: www.inhope.org).