Beginning on June 1, an informational video was posted on those Latvian portals which are visited most often by young people, as well as on television, on screen in department stores, and on the homepages of local governments and schools.
The video reminds children that the virtual environment of the Internet is just as public a place as a school, club, caf� or library � places where we just do not reveal personal information to strangers.  As the campaign develops, there will be educational articles in children�s and teen magazines, as well as in other mass media outlets.
Educational seminars and discussions among schoolchildren, teachers and parents allowed specialists at the secretariat to determine that there is not enough information about security on the Internet at this time, and that is why ongoing public information and education are needed.
Special Assignments Minister for Electronic Government Affairs of Latvia, Signe B�li�a: �We very much appreciate the global network technologies which offer us such enormous opportunities, including unlimited amounts of information on the Internet.  At the same time, however, we must not forget the risks which are related to the use of these technologies.  Children and teenagers are the most active users of the Internet, and they often don�t think about dangers when they reveal personal information in the global Web.  That means that they can find themselves in very dangerous situations.�
The secretariat has called on the Latvian mass media to become involved in establishing a safe environment on the Internet and in focusing public attention on these issues.  In September 2006, in tandem with the Latvian Internet Association, the secretariat launched the �Net-Safe� project under the auspices of the European Union�s �Safer Internet Plus� programme.  It seeks to educate children, teens, teachers and parents about safe Internet use and to inform them about possible risks � emotional impact, misuse of other people�s personal data, fomenting of hatred, racism, violence, child pornography, paedophilia, etc.
In 2007, another project, �Hotline Latvia�, was established under the auspices of the same EU programme.  Its aim has been to establish a hotline in Latvia via which people can report on violations of the rules on the Internet.

STEPS TAKEN IN THE NET-SAFE AND HOTLINE LATVIA PROJECTS � A research project, �A Safer Internet Among Children and Adolescents� � this involved a survey of more than 1,000 respondents in four target groups � children up to the age of 13, adolescents aged 14 to 18, parents, and preschool and informatics teachers. The results of the study can be found at www.drossinternets.lv. � Establishment of a council to supervise the project � various specialists, experts and representatives of the following institutions: 1) The Secretariat of Special Assignments Minister for Electronic Government Affairs of Latvia; 2) The Latvian Internet Association; 3) The Economic Police Department of the National Police; 4) The National Inspectorate for the Protection of Children�s Rights; 5) The Ministry of Education and Science; 6) The R�ga University College of Pedagogy and Educational Administration; 7) The Faculty of Physics and Mathematics of the University of Latvia; 8) The R�ga Centre for the Protection of Children�s Rights and its youth movement, �Children Help and Protect Children�; 9) The Latvian Human Rights Centre. � The www.drossinternets.lv and www.netsafe.lv homepages � homepages with useful information about the risks which can be faced on the Internet and what to do when dangerous situations emerge. The homepages also offer users a chance to report on Internet pages with harmful content. � Seminars on safe Internet use, organised with the help of various experts such as specialists from the National Inspectorate for the Protection of Children�s Rights, from the R�ga University College of Pedagogy and Educational Administration, from the department of the National Police which deals with cyber-crime, etc.  There were seminars for informatics and preschool teachers (200 participants), as well as for Internet service providers (50 participants). � The Global Day on Safer Internet Use � the development of information for young people about the safer user of the Internet, along with participation in a global marathon of blogging. � The social and information campaign �Do THAT on the Internet, Too!� � a media campaign of public information about risks on the Internet.  The www.drossinternets.lv homepage was introduced, along with the possibility to report on illegal or harmful Internet content.  Advertising banners for the campaign were posted on Internet portals, and video clips about the safety of children on the Internet were shown on several television channels. � A creativity competition for schoolchildren with the title �Young People � Internet � Safety�, implemented in co-operation with SIA Lattelecom � the competition received more than 20 projects, including advertising texts, surveys, research about Internet use among young people, video films, video games, and other creative proposals which spoke to peers and informed them about safe Internet use; � Establishment of a telephone hotline to allow people to report directly on illegal or harmful Internet content.  All reports are analysed by specialists, and where violations of the law are found, reports are forwarded to the National Police for further action. � Summer seminars for children and adolescents in all of Latvia�s regions, with 15 schools hosting these events.  The seminars disseminated information about safe Internet use. Students used computers and the Internet to work on creative projects related to Internet safety. � A survey, �What Do Children and Young People Do on the Internet?� � during the seminars, there were surveys of 333 respondents aged 7 to 25 in all parts of Latvia.  The results of the survey can be found on www.drossinternets.lv. � The riddle competition �Guess and Know� in co-operation with Microsoft Latvia � the competition received 164 riddles, crossword puzzles, jigsaw puzzles, etc.  All of the contributions can be seen on www.drossinternets.lv. � Regional seminars for schoolchildren � �The Internet: Friend or Enemy?� � here students were educated about safe Internet use.  Teams of schoolchildren debated each other about the advantages and potential threats of the Internet.  There were 30 seminars of this kind at schools throughout Latvia. � A seminar for teachers, �Safe Internet Use and the Safety of Children on the Internet� � the event was held on the Global Safer Internet Day, and the seminar involved specialists from various areas � a representative of the National Inspectorate on the Protection of Children�s Rights, a lector from the R�ga University College of Pedagogy and Educational Administration who is also a psychologist, a specialist from the Organised Crime Division of the National Police, etc. The seminar was attended by 300 teachers from all of Latvia�s regions. � A series of radio broadcasts on safe Internet use on European Hit Radio; � An interactive test on www.draugiem.lv on safe Internet use; � A video competition, �Life Online is What You Gain From It� � this competition for children and young people attracted 85 participants, with 22 videos submitted.  The aim throughout the process was to facilitate safe Internet use. � The social campaign �Be Careful! On the Internet You Are on Stage!� � the videos from the campaign can be found on www.drossinternets.lv.  They were shown on Latvian television channels, Internet portals and department store screens. � The �Hotline Latvia� project was admitted to the international INHOPE association. FUTURE PLANS � An educational test for children and young people on the www.drossinternets.lv homepage, allowing young people to test their knowledge about safe Internet use and the related risks; � Another study of the existing situation, with results being correlated in August 2008 and then posted on www.drossinternets.lv. � Development and adaptation of informational and educational materials for teachers, parents, children and adolescents � recommendations and informational booklets for all target audiences, with the development of electronic training and presentational materials for teachers. During the course of the project, some 5,000 students and 400 teachers have been educated.  There has been information for parents and Internet service providers.  Another 20 young people were trained as trainees so that they can transfer knowledge to their peers at school. For more information: � Hotline Latvia: www.drossinternets.lv/pub/index.php?id=198 � Net-Safe Latvia and risks on the Internet: www.drossinternets.lv � Reporting on violations: www.drossinternets.lv/pub/report.php?lang=lat � The INHOPE association: www.inhope.org