On 12th February 2008, 100 organisations in over 50 countries worldwide celebrate Safer Internet Day. In Brussels a first ever pan-European Youth Forum on Safer Internet is organised by the European Commission with the participation of Meglena Kuneva, the EU's Consumer Commissioner. The purpose is to increase dialogue between children and decision makers on safer Internet issues and to raise awareness of the best ways for protecting minors online. Safer Internet Day is organised under the patronage of the EU's Information Society and Media Commissioner Viviane Reding.

The annual Safer Internet Day takes place for the 5th time this year. To raise awareness of the less obvious online-risks, the Commission is organising a pan-European Youth Forum in Brussels. Thirty 14-17 year-old teenagers who had already taken part in national youth forums in Finland, the Czech Republic, Cyprus, Sweden, Great Britain, the Netherlands, Germany, Austria and Iceland have now been invited to Brussels. The teenagers, who met with Commissioner Kuneva, members of the European Parliament and industry representatives on 12th February 2008, identified the 10 most important online Safety Tips from their discussions on:

• Risks and precautions when using social networking sites and mobile phones;
• Awareness-raising tools and methods.

Safer Internet events organised in the EU at national level this year include:

• In Spain, Protegeles, the Spanish awareness centre, will launch a TV advertising spot "Life online is what you make of it", which will also be broadcast in other EU countries.
• In Poland, a toolkit for parents and children will be launched by a major cable distribution company. This toolkit, translated into 11 European languages, will be launched in several other European countries.
• In Belgium, a press conference will be organised at 10.30 in Les Halles des Tanneurs in the city center of Brussels with the universities involved in the Teens, Internet, Risks and Opportunities (TIRO) research project, funded by the Belgian Ministry of Science Policy.

The results of a competition organised worldwide to create internet safety awareness material will be published on 12th february 2008, as part of a worldwide blogathon for Safer Internet Day. The competition involved youth from hundreds of school classes and youth clubs. 665 entries in the competition have addressed the theme: "Life online is what you make of IT".