President Milanović Meets with Experts Working to Protect Children from Online Violence

The President of the Republic Zoran Milanović met today with representatives of the Center for Missing and Abused Children from Osijek, which for the past 19 years has been contributing to the creation of a safe and supportive environment for the healthy development of children and young people through prevention, education, counselling, and raising public awareness. The Center is also the coordinator of the only national Safer Internet Center, which has offices in Osijek, Zagreb, and Split, and plans to open one soon in Pula.

The main topic of the meeting was the protection of children from online abuse, as national research on peer and online violence among primary school pupils has shown that more than a third of children are exposed to electronic violence at least once a month. Particularly concerning is the fact that more than a quarter of pupils have received sexual or inappropriate content from strangers on the internet, warned the head of the Center, Tomislav Ramljak.

To address these challenges, the Safer Internet Center organized this year’s CyberGuard Conference, which brought together domestic and international experts in cybersecurity. The conference sought to provide answers to key questions of our time: how to protect children in the online world and how to create a safer digital environment for all internet users.

Representatives of the Center emphasized that their experts strive to be present in the field, especially in schools, as this allows them to identify problems more effectively. They stressed that education on safe internet use is essential and pointed out that computer education should therefore be mandatory in schools. The Center’s activities also include providing social services through a hotline for missing children, prevention programs, and a half-day care service for children and young people with behavioural difficulties from socially vulnerable backgrounds.

In addition to Tomislav Ramljak, head of the Center for Missing and Abused Children, the meeting at the Office of the President was attended by Ivan Ćaleta, head of the Safer Internet Center, Danijela Perić Krstulović, social pedagogue, and Tea Čičić, social worker. President Milanović was accompanied by Jadranka Žarković, Adviser to the President of the Republic for Education.

PHOTO: Office of the President of the Republic of Croatia / Filip Glas