Kaspersky Lab has become an associated partner of ENABLE (European Network Against Bullying in Learning and Leisure Environments) and supported its Hackathon event in order to nurture youthful IT innovation and tackle the global issue of bullying.
The ENABLE Hackathon took place on 13 October as part of European Coding Week 2015 and brought together young people, educational, children’s rights and anti-bullying experts and policy makers. The event encouraged young people to work in teams to design an app or creative tool, which will help reduce bullying. As associated partner, Kaspersky Lab selected the team with the most break-through technological solution against bullying, and awarded them with a special prize.
Janice Richardson, senior advisor at European Schoolnet and former co-ordinator of the Insafe Network and co-ordinator of ENABLE, says: “We are excited to have Kaspersky Lab on board as a partner. The company not only has exceptional technical knowledge, it also understands the importance of reducing bullying – and cyberbullying in particular – across the globe. The event is about both. There will be six winning teams at the Hackathon and the competition is set to be high. We want to see the young people develop their online skills, whilst we help them understand the dynamics behind bullying and guide them as they work in teams to find creative solutions to stop it.”
Within the event Kaspersky Lab announced the winning project that was named the most practical and useful anti-bullying solution by the ENABLE jury: Youth Panel team from Germany has developed the First‐Aid App for smartphones against cyberbullying. The application is addressing young people emotionally, referring to their daily life and usage habits. Using “helping videos”, the First‐Aid App is intended to give victims the feeling that they are not alone, provide vital information on where to find quick and efficient help within the online services where bullying has taken place (for example by locating delete, report buttons etc). This winning team consisted of four students and was mentored by Stefanie Rack, leader of the Youth Panel and media literacy officer at the EU‐project klicksafe.
“We are committed to making the Internet a safer place. Bullying – especially cyberbullying – is a very serious issue that has social and emotional implications. It is our mission to educate and support children and their parents in the fight against the threats they are facing online. Supporting the Hackathon provides us with another opportunity to do exactly that, says David Emm, Principal Security Researcher, Global Research and Analysis Team, Kaspersky Lab, – It was really hard to choose one project for the prize as all of the teams submitted impressive anti-bullying projects at Hackathon 2015. We chose the Youth Panel team because their idea of offering first aid to cyberbullying victims is very topical, helpful and easy to use. With this First Aid‐App anyone being bullied at school can easily find advice, useful information, support and encouragement, at the tip of their fingers.”
As a sponsor of Scuderia Ferrari, Kaspersky Lab has awarded the First Aid‐App team with a three-day trip to Italy to visit Maranello. The team will also attend the Ferrari World Finals at the Mugello circuit to live an exclusive experience.
