Meet our Youth Ambassadors, who have been chosen to represent all 31 national youth panels of the Insafe network as the voice of the young generation today. Coming from different regions across Europe, they share their ideas on different issues related to modern media and digital lives through blogs and other sections of the Pan-EU Youth website, as well as through participation as Insafe youth representatives in international events.

RIIKKA, FINLAND

My name is Riikka and I come from Finland. As a youth panelist I have been working mostly with children and teenagers from Finland on how to behave on the internet and how to use different kinds of social media. In my opinion a better internet would be a place where youth could feel safe, respected and feel free from any kind of discrimination.
My hobbies include dance and playing the alto saxophone. I also like different kinds of sports and I like listening to any kind of music. I love meeting new people and travelling to new places.

IDA, SWEDEN

Hello I’m Ida, 2014 I got to represent Sweden in the youth panel at Safer Internet Forum in Brussels and after that I got the opportunity to become a youth ambassador. I go to a school in Sweden were we work with the Internet everyday. I think it’s important to listen to what youth all over the world has to say about the Internet, because it’s such a big part of our life. And that the opinions of young people are as much important as the adults and when we work together we’re going to reach the best results.

 

JOÃO PEDRO, Portugal

“I’m Joao Pedro and I’ve been a Youth Ambassador for about three years. Before that I was already a youth panellist for the National Awareness Centre in Portugal. Throughout that time, I’ve had the opportunity both to share and learn about online safety issues, as well as to get to know a lot of interesting people from all around the world.

“Young people’s opinions are very important to me and I believe they should be taken into account by politicians and companies. That’s why I’m involved in several projects, most of them connected to youth participation in debates.”

GRACE, Ireland

“Hey you guys! I’m Grace and I work with the Webwise Youth Panel of the PDST (Professional Development Service for Teachers) in Ireland. Together we strive to provide an education to everyone about the ever-changing internet and, of course, we take a particular interest in social media.

“My passion is people: how we think, how we interact, how we make plans, how we live. We do all of this online, and a lot of us do virtually everything online and that is why I love working as a Youth Ambassador. I get to work with so many new people all of the time and there’s always a new project to help with.

“The internet and technology are everywhere; it’s not something that can be avoided anymore! I personally can’t think of a man-made initiative as incredible as the internet. Everybody in the world has the ability to be connected, how incredible is that? There are people witnessing the intelligence of the internet who also lived through the days of only the extremely wealthy having a mobile phone. I find that amazing.”

ĽUBOŠ, Czech Republic

“Hi, I’m Ľuboš and I’m interested in IT trends, computer science and psychology. I’m currently leading Teen IT (a personal project of mine) and some school projects, such as the student magazine. Teen IT is an internet IT magazine for teenagers, where they can learn, discuss, and be orientated in technology. My first IT project was our basketball team’s homepage.
“I think the trend of technology is something that we can’t stop, so it’s really important to know about threats, issues and dangers. What I love about being a Youth Ambassador is that I have the opportunity to talk about problems and to find solutions.”

NOELIA, Spain

“I have been lucky enough to represent youth in several congresses here in Madrid, in association with ‘Protegeles’ which works against cyberbullying and all of its consequences.

I was chosen to participate in the European Congress in Brussels in 2013, where I met incredible people who taught me even more about online issues. By participating in these events I feel proud of the fact that I am representing so many young people that have so many things to say, so many ideas to change our vision and so many opinions that could make a difference.”

FLORIAN, Austria

“First of all, I am an informatics student, which is the main reason, why I’m interested in online issues. However, the online word also provides a great opportunity to improve our daily lives. Furthermore, it’s really important for all of us to stay safe and secure when browsing the internet, especially those who are not aware of potential online dangers. So, I hope that we can improve our safety together, when living our normal lives, united through the digital world.”

KATHRIN, Germany
“I started working on the safer internet theme four years ago in school, where I’m a youth panellist for the National Awareness Centre, klicksafe. I’ve already taken part in a number of Insafe events, such as the summer school in Romania, and the Safer Internet Forum, and Safer Internet Day celebrations in Brussels. I was also involved in the launch of the Youth Manifesto initiative, which is something really great – it’s an opportunity for young people to have their say on priorities for creating a better internet for the future. For me it is important to show everyone – and I really mean everyone: young children, youth, parents and grandparents – that the internet is not a place where lots of bad things happen, as we often hear on the news. I believe the internet gives great opportunities but we – and I’m including myself here because I’m still learning also – have to learn how to use it in the right way.

“The idea of peer education and the fact that youth from every country in the EU meet up to discuss themes around the internet is one of the greatest things I can imagine. I’m really lucky that I can take part in such great programmes and meet such great people!”