Minister of Education Peter Fassbender issued the following statement in recognition of Safer Internet Day:

“Tomorrow is Safer Internet Day and this year’s theme is ‘Let’s create a better internet together’. With this in mind, I am proud to say we have some phenomenal students in B.C. doing just that.

“Twenty students representing public, independent and First Nations schools were selected to form the ERASE Bullying Student Advisory. For the past year, they have been advising the Ministry of Education on bullying and other student safety issues. They are also creating B.C.’s first provincial social media guidelines to provide direction for students, parents and educators on how to use social media ethically and responsibly.

“We all want a safe online environment for our children but there is only so much that adults can do. At the end of the day, it is going to be young people taking ownership of their online actions that will have the greatest impact.

“I look forward to meeting with these students in Victoria later this week and to learn more about their leadership in making our schools and communities safer, respectful and inclusive. I also want to get a sneak peek at the social media guidelines they will be releasing provincewide in the lead up to Pink Shirt Day on Feb 25.

“Safer Internet Day is a reminder that, through our collective leadership and courage, we can create a better internet together.”

Background on ERASE

B.C.’s Expect Respect and a Safe Education (ERASE) Bullying strategy is going strong in its third year. As part of the strategy, more than 10,000 educators and community partners have been trained to proactively identify and address threats. An online reporting tool (reportbullyingbc.edudata.ca) for students to report bullying as well as the web site ERASEBullying.ca is available to provide information and resources to parents. In addition, 60 dedicated safe school co-ordinators and teams are in place in all school districts and many independent schools.

Media Contacts:

Government Communications and Public Engagement
Ministry of Education
250 356-5963