{"id":5670,"date":"2025-05-29T11:13:58","date_gmt":"2025-05-29T10:13:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.medialiteracyireland.ie\/webwise-digital-citizenship-champions-programme\/"},"modified":"2025-05-29T11:13:58","modified_gmt":"2025-05-29T10:13:58","slug":"webwise-digital-citizenship-champions-programme","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.medialiteracyireland.ie\/ga\/webwise-digital-citizenship-champions-programme\/","title":{"rendered":"Webwise Digital Citizenship Champions Programme"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

by Catriona Mulcahy, Digital Content Officer at Webwise<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Eighty teachers from across Ireland have participated in the Webwise Digital Citizenship Champions Programme, a national initiative developed in partnership with Oide Technology in Education. The programme is designed to equip primary school teachers with the knowledge, skills and resources to effectively teach digital citizenship.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Throughout the year, participating teachers attended three workshops in local Education Support Centres, covering key topics such as media and information literacy, online wellbeing, and children\u2019s rights online.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Digital Citizenship Champions Conference marked the fourth and final workshop, bringing participants together with online safety stakeholders to explore strategies for engaging and supporting parents and guardians in guiding children toward responsible digital citizenship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The conference featured experts from the DCU Anti-Bullying Centre, Coimisi\u00fan na Me\u00e1n, and the ISPCC, while the keynote address \u2018From Passive Users to Active Citizens \u2013 Proactive Strategies for Fostering Digital Citizenship\u2019 was provided by internationally renowned parenting expert Dr Elizabeth Milovidov, who shared insights drawn from her global experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Dr Elizabeth Milovidov giving her keynote address<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Dr Milovidov called for a move away from fear-based approaches, promoting inclusive and empowering strategies for digital parenting and education. Her talk covered topics like misinformation, cyberbullying, AI and online peer pressure, highlighting the need for strong partnerships between youth, parents and educators \u2013 built on trust, critical thinking and open dialogue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A panel discussion brought together a diverse range of experts, including Dr Elizabeth Milovidov (Law Professor and eSafety Consultant), Prof. James O\u2019Higgins Norman (Director, DCU Anti-Bullying Centre), Karen McAuley (Director of Policy for Children and Vulnerable Adults, Coimisi\u00fan na Me\u00e1n), Fiona Jennings (Head of Policy and Public Affairs, ISPCC), Sandra Byrne (Principal, Scoil Nano Nagle, Clondalkin), and Sarah, a member of the Webwise Youth Advisory Panel. The discussion explored the key opportunities and challenges facing young people, schools and parents; the latest research insights; and the development of the Online Safety Code and emerging frameworks to better protect children online.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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(L\u2013R): Prof. James O\u2019Higgins Norman, Karen McAuley; Fiona Jennings, Sarah from the Webwise Youth Advisory Panel, Sandra Byrne; Dr Elizabeth Milovidov <\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The event also included workshops on school-home partnerships, digital resilience, and using Webwise resources to support parental engagement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The final word was given to the pupils of Moyderwell Mercy Primary School, Tralee, who spoke about what they like about the online world, the challenges they encounter, and what could be done to create the perfect online world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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