On Tuesday 24th May a few of our team took the trip up to London town to attend the Internet Matters first ever Digital Safety Awards evening. A quick jump, stomp and a couple of tube rides later we were all spruced up and ready for action.
The event was hosted in Ernst and Young Offices in London Bridge which allowed us the opportunity to take in the fantastic view across the Thames, including the Tower of London. There were drinks flowing and canapés circulating, all the key ingredients for a successful ceremony in place.
Best Product or Service for Parents/Children
After a quick intro from Baroness Shields we were straight into awards giving. First up ‘Best Product or Service for Parents’ which went to Net Aware, the NSPCC and O2 parent project launched just last year.
This was followed by ‘Best Product or Service for Children’ with our very own So You Got Naked Online resource shortlisted. This category was judged by young people themselves and, given that we’re living in the age of the ‘vlogger’, I guess it’s unsurprising that YouTube Kidswon.
Best Education Product or Service
‘Best Education Product or Service’ was next up and this was a big one with 3 of our own services shortlisted: the Professionals Online Safety Helpline, 360 Degree Safeand the Digital Literacy Resource. Due to this category having such a diverse variant of entries, the judges decided to award 2 winners.
We were ecstatic that the helpline was named as one of those winners, not least because since the service was first founded in 2011 it has been shortlisted and nominated for several prestigious awards but until yesterday had not won any. We can now proudly say our award winning helpline, a phrase which rolls off the tongue very nicely, particularly for the helpline practitioners.
Safeguarding platform tootoot picked up the other award in this category.
Best Innovation and Digital Safety Entrepreneur of the Year
The eCadets were worthy winners in the ‘Best Innovation’ category, one in which Childnet’s Digital Leaders Programme was also shortlisted. And finally, the ‘Digital Safety Entrepreneur of the Year’ was named as Vicki Shotbolt from Parent Zone.
All in all a very successful evening for the UK Safer Internet Centre and one which will stand out profoundly for our helpline. Well done to everyone who was shortlisted and to all the winners on the night. A massive thank you to Internet Matters for hosting such a great event.
