The Cyprus Safer Internet Center has been active in Cyprus since the summer of 2006. The Center has been created as a part of the CyberEthics project which is cofunded by the Safer Internet Programme of the European Commission. Cyprus Safer Internet Center is a consortium made of five partners which are Cyprus Neuroscience and Technology Institute, Ministry of Education and Culture – Cyprus Pedagogical Institute, CYTA, The Olive Branch Foundation and the Pancyprian Coordinating Committee for the Protection and Welfare of Children. The Center serves as an Awareness Node along with it’s Hotline and the Helpline. The Helpline has been active since 2009 while the Hotline has been active since 2006. The centre undertakes various awareness raising activities along with the Hotline and Helpline services it provides. Through out aforementioned CyberEthics project Cyprus Safer Internet Centre, its partners, associated partners and advisory board have generated a widespread network across Europe on Internet Safety issues. Therefore, the Centre can serve as a link between the Commonwealth Initiative and the European Union for the good information flow amongst each other mainly on best practices in individual countries. Cyprus Safer Internet Centre can also willingly share the resources and experiences obtained during the course of the six years of implementing the CyberEthics project.
Mission & Objectives
“CyberEthics” concerns with the safe use of Internet in Cyprus, and serves the needs of all people that live on the island (i.e., also Turkish Cypriots and other minorities) addressing not only issues of pornography, but also racism (currently on the rise in Cyprus), gender discrimination and inappropriate use of peoples’ images. It operates as a combined Awareness Node and a Hotline.
The project also aims to engage actors from the government and the civil society, thus contributing towards the eradication of cyber crime through informed actions of European citizens and public institutions that aim to change behaviours, mentality and attitudes, giving special emphasis to rural and less developed areas of the country.
The project is cofunded by the Safer Internet Programme of the European Commission.
Its objective is to:
- Act as node of awareness network in Cyprus.
- Devise a cohesive, hard-hitting and targeted awareness campaign using the most appropriate media, taking into account best practice and experience in other countries.
- Establish and maintain a partnership (formal or informal) with key players (government agencies, press and media groups, ISP associations, users organisations, education stakeholders) and actions in their country relating to safer use of Internet and new media.
- Promote dialogue and exchange of information notably between stakeholders from the education and technological fields.
- Where appropriate, cooperate with work in areas related to the Safer Internet plus programme such as in the wider field of media and information literacy or consumer protection.
- Inform users about European filtering software and services and about hotlines and self-regulation schemes.
- Actively cooperate with other national nodes in the European network by exchanging information about best practices, participating in meetings and designing and implementing a European approach, adapted as necessary for national linguistic and cultural preferences.
- Provide a pool of expertise and technical assistance to start-up awareness nodes (new nodes could be ‘adopted’ by a more experienced node).
- Take an active part in European-level events and in the organisation of national, regional and local events for the Safer Internet Day.
- Cooperate with the hotline present in the country, if any, and Europe Direct.
- Cooperate with or establish a helpline from which parents and children can obtain advice on how to deal with harmful contact (grooming), harmful conduct (cyberbullying), harmful content and uncomfortable or scary experiences of using online technologies.
- Organise various awareness and dissemination activities designed for the intended target groups. Ensure that the hotline and helpline are known by decision-makers, relevant stakeholders and by the general public.
Membership
Cyberethics is member in:
Organizations who served as Partners
Since its launch, in 2006, the Cyberethics project has engaged virtually all relevant stakeholders as full partners (i.e., benefiting with funds) and/or associate partners (i.e, participating with their funding).
| Name | Project's Acronym | Dates of Partnership | Grant Given to Partner |
| Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation | CyberEthics GI | 01/09/2006 -31/08/2008 | 19360 |
| Cyprus Family Planning Association | CyberEthics GI | 01/09/2006 -31/08/2008 | 17465 |
| Cyprus Pedagogical Institute (CPI)-Ministry of Education and Culture | CyberEthics GII | 01/09/2008 - 31/08/2010 | 26720 |
| CyberEthics GIII | 01/09/2010 - 30/04/2012 | 22161 | |
| CyberEthics GIV | 01/05/2012 -31/10/2014 | 72889 | |
| CYTA | SafenetCY | 01/03/2007 -31/08/2008 | 65930 |
| CyberEthics GII | 01/09/2008 - 31/08/2010 | 22895 | |
| CyberEthics GIII | 01/09/2010 - 30/04/2012 | 19496 | |
| CyberEthics GIV | 01/05/2012 -31/10/2014 | 37516 | |
| Olive Branch | CyberEthics | 01/09/2006 -31/08/2008 | 16140 |
| CyberEthics GII | 01/09/2008 - 31/08/2010 | 27375 | |
| CyberEthics GIII | 01/09/2010 - 30/04/2012 | 50956 | |
| Pancyprian Coordinating Committee for the Protection and Welfare of Children | CyberEthics GII | 01/09/2008 - 31/08/2010 | 44915 |
| CyberEthics GIII | 01/09/2010 - 30/04/2012 | 56903 | |
| CyberEthics GIV | 01/05/2012 -31/10/2014 | 70519 | |
| University of Cyprus | CyberEthics | 01/09/2006 -31/08/2008 | 9360 |
| Youth Board of Cyprus | CyberEthics GIV | 01/05/2012 -31/10/2014 | Associate |
Organizations who served as Associate Partners
Since its launch, in 2006, the Cyberethics project has engaged many other relevant stakeholders as associate partners (i.e., participating with their own funding).
| Name | Project's Acronym | Dates of Partnership |
| Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation | CyberEthics GI | |
| Cyprus Family Planning Association | CyberEthics GI | |
| Cyprus Pedagogical Institute (CPI)-Ministry of Education and Culture | CyberEthics GII | |
| CyberEthics GIII | ||
| CyberEthics GIV | ||
| CYTA | SafenetCY | |
| CyberEthics GII | ||
| CyberEthics GIII | ||
| CyberEthics GIV | ||
| Olive Branch | CyberEthics | |
| CyberEthics GII | ||
| CyberEthics GIII | ||
| Pancyprian Coordinating Committee for the Protection and Welfare of Children | CyberEthics GII | |
| CyberEthics GIII | ||
| CyberEthics GIV | ||
| University of Cyprus | CyberEthics | |
| Youth Board of Cyprus | CyberEthics GIV |
Advisory Board
1. Ministry of Finance (Department of Information Technology Services) - (Mr. Costas Agrotis) = Mr. Agrotis is the head of the department with a mission to provide high quality Information Technology Systems and Services to the Government and Citizens. Mr. Agrotis was elected as the Chair of our Advisory Board.
2. Ministry of Education & Culture – Mrs. Anastasia Economou (Head of Educational Technology Department Pedagogical Institute) = A strong partner that provides unlimited access to students and teachers across Cyprus. Responsible for training the teachers and creating safer internet curricula for schools. Mrs. Economou is the vice-president of the Board.
3. Ministry of Interior – Mrs. Elena Charalambous (Mass Communications Expert, Audiovisual Section Officer) = Mrs. Charalambous is our main contact to the Ministry of Interior.
4. Cyprus Neuroscience & Technology Institute (CNTI) - Dr. Yiannis Laouris = The Overall Manager of the CyberEthics project and elected Secretary of the Advisory Board. The responsibilities of CNTI are to coordinate the activities of the consortium and the Advisory Board while maintaining good collaboration between the many members.
5. Cyprus Police - (Cyber Crime Unit) – Mr. George Karkas = Senior Investigator of the Cyber Crime Unit of the Police is very active and cooperates closely with us. He has constant communication with our Hotline Coordinator, shares best practices in order to improve each other’s work and participates in joint presentations in schools and events.
6. Cyta– Mrs. Nicol Christodoulidou = Cyta continues to be one of our strongest partners and a vital member of our promotional campaign as well as a member of our Advisory Board.
7. Youth Board of Cyprus – Mrs. Eleftheria Christophorou = Youth Officer of the Youth Board of Cyprus who is actively involved in the activities of CyberEthics by organizing workshops, seminars and events, targeting mainly parents and children.
8. World Vision – Mrs. Mandy Yiamanis = Collaborates with us based on our common goal towards child safety and more specifically for this project, where security while using the Internet is our main objective. She is also our contact person with third countries (e.g. Armenia, Georgia, Lebanon, etc.) in order to provide the know-how needed to set up a Hotline, a Helpline and an Awareness node.
9. Pancyprian Coordinating Committee for the Protection and Welfare of Children – Mrs. Nineta Kazantzi = Our Partner and the one responsible for setting up and running of the Safer Internet Helpline as well as the leader of our Youth Panel.
10. Microsoft Cyprus = Mrs. Vanessa Antoniadou – Active supporters of the Safer Internet cause in Cyprus. Microsoft is an active promoter of the cause and participates in many of our events and promotional activities.
CyberEthics funding
The Cyprus Group is among the most active Groups in the world. They have secured an incredible number of competitive grants over the past years and implemented actions of over 3 million euro. The Table below documents the contracts, their value and their year of implementation.
| # | Acronym | Contract | Dates | Total Budget (€) |
| 1 | SafenetCY | SafenetCY - Island-wide Safer Internet Hotline in Cyprus | 01/03/2007 -31/08/2008 | 301,646.00 |
| 2 | CyberEthics | CyberEthics SafeInternet Node: Campaign Group for island-wide awareness on safe internet | 01/09/2006 -31/08/2008 | 292,549.00 |
| 3 | CyberEthics II | CyberEthics GII: Island-wide combined Safer Internet Awareness Node, Hotline, Helpline | 01/09/2008 - 31/08/2010 | 575,263.00 |
| 4 | CyberEthics III | CyberEthics GIII: Island-wide combined Safer Internet Awareness Node, Hotline, Helpline | 01/09/2010 - 30/04/2012 | 456,997.00 |
| 5 | CyberEthics IV | Cyberethics GIV - Cyprus Safer Internet Center. Island-wide services for Safer Internet Awareness, Helpline and Hotline | 01/05/2012 - 31/10/2014 | 533,675.00 |
| 6 | SimSafety | SimSafety –Flight simulator for Internet safety | 01/01/2009 - 31/12/2010 | 647,615.00 |
| 7 | InetRisks | InetRisks - Changing Attitudes of Adults (parents) on Internet-Related Risks for Young Adolescents | 01/12/2008 - 30/11/2010 | 100,000.00 |
| 8 | EU Kids Online | Enhancing Knowledge Regarding European Children's Use, Risk and Safety Online | 26/06/2006 - 25/06/2009 | ca 18,000.00 |
| 9 | EU Kids Online II | EU Kids Online II: Enhancing knowledge regarding European children's use, risk and safety online | 01/07/2009 - 30/06/2011 | ca 18,000.00 |
| 10 | EU Kids Online III | EU Kids Online III: Thematic Network | 01/11/2011 - 31/10/2014 | ca 18,000.00 |
| 11 | IdentifEYE | Children, Data and Emerging Identities | 01/01/2011 - 31/08/2012 | 291,400.00 |
| 12 | 3CE | Cyprus Cyber Crime Center of Excellence for Training, Research and Education | 01/07/2014 - 30/06/2016 | 444,063.70 |
| 13 | UINFC2 | Engaging Users in Preventing and Fighting Cyber Crime - UINFC2 | 01/09/2014 - 31/08/2016 | 78,710.00 |
| 3,757,920.70 |
CyberEthics co-funding by friends, associates and the public
The operation of the CyberEthics safer Internet Center would have not been possible without the generous support of associates and their families, friends, and the public at large. Collectively, they have provided the necessary co-funding that was required in order to implement the 6 key projects which were only partly funded. the following table documents the funds raised for this purpose.
| # | Acronym | Contract | Grant for CNTI (€) | Funding by others (€) |
| 1 | SafenetCY | SafenetCY - Island-wide Safer Internet Hotline in Cyprus | 01/03/2007 -31/08/2008 | 301,646.00 |
| 2 | CyberEthics | CyberEthics SafeInternet Node: Campaign Group for island-wide awareness on safe internet | 01/09/2006 -31/08/2008 | 292,549.00 |
| 3 | CyberEthics II | CyberEthics GII: Island-wide combined Safer Internet Awareness Node, Hotline, Helpline | 01/09/2008 - 31/08/2010 | 575,263.00 |
| 4 | CyberEthics III | CyberEthics GIII: Island-wide combined Safer Internet Awareness Node, Hotline, Helpline | 01/09/2010 - 30/04/2012 | 456,997.00 |
| 5 | CyberEthics IV | Cyberethics GIV - Cyprus Safer Internet Center. Island-wide services for Safer Internet Awareness, Helpline and Hotline | 01/05/2012 - 31/10/2014 | 533,675.00 |
| 3,757,920.70 |
International Operations
In line with the organization's priority, to serve as hub with an international scope, the team has conducted the following trainings for experts of other countries. The trainings were organized in collaboration with the European Commission (the case of Turkey) and the World Vision CSO (the rest). The Cyprus Police Office for Combating Cybercrime supported the implementation of the trainings.
- Albania Training for the creation of Safer Internet Center (including exchange of Law Practice with their MoE for the protection of minors on the internet)
- Armenia Training for the creation of Safer Internet Center (especially for the establishment and operation of hotline)
- Georgia Training for the creation of Safer Internet Center (especially for the establishment and operation of hotline)
- Israel Training for the creation of Safer Internet Center (especially for the establishment and operation of hotline)
- Lebanon Training for the creation of Safer Internet Center (especially for the establishment and operation of hotline)
- Palestine Police/Safer Internet Center Training
- Turkey Safer Internet Center Training
Cyberethics in the media
For a complete list see Cyberethics Events.
Cyberethics organizing conferences and doing presentations in schools
The Cyberethics team has organized more than 10 conferences and has implemented hundreds of presentations in schools. For a complete list see Cyberethics Events.
Individuals employed and jobs created through the project
Click Jobs Created by the Cyberethics Initiative for a complete listing.
Structured Democratic Dialogues implemented within Cyberethics
- Insafe SDDP: Getting The Best Out Of Our Network - Problématique
- Insafe SDDP: Getting The Best Out Of Our Network - Vision
- Insafe SDDP: Getting The Best Out Of Our Network - Action plan
- Insafe SDDP: Engaging Educators - Defining the problématique
- Insafe SDDP: Engaging Educators - Defining the ideal means and ideal collaboration model
- Insafe SDDP: Achieving Max Media with Minimum Budget - Defining an Action Plan
- Insafe SDDP: Mobile Operators and Self Regulation - Defining an Action Plan
- Insafe SDDP: Safer Internet Day 2009 - Defining an Action Plan
Video
Products of the Cyberethics project
The Cyberethics project has created numerous products, promotional materials and resources to promote its message. Some are named and linked below: