Cyber Safety

Many existing online safety materials are generic and fail to consider the diverse abilities, preferences, and circumstances of those most at risk. As a result, these people are often left behind in the evolving digital landscape, lacking the support and tools needed to stay safe online. The Cyber Safety initiative in Ireland aims to create tailored, accessible cyber safety resources that meet the specific needs of vulnerable individuals in the digital world.

Co-creation with target groups

To address this, the Cyber Safety team uses a co-creation approach, engaging directly with target groups through interviews, workshops, and feedback sessions to understand their concerns, learning preferences, and the formats that work best for them. This collaborative process ensures that the final resources are relevant, engaging, and truly useful.

Once developed, the materials are tested with the same groups to assess their effectiveness and make improvements where needed. The ultimate goal is not only to increase awareness but also to actively support behaviour change and improve digital safety outcomes.

Through co-creation, participants expressed a strong preference for printed materials and social learning environments. In response, the project produced an information booklet and a card game, both designed to encourage discussion and shared learning in community settings.

The project is currently developing:

• Materials for adults with intellectual disabilities, another group facing specific online risks and accessibility challenges
• A video competition: participants will produce short videos featuring themselves sharing cyber safety tips
• A comic book series with strong visuals and simple messages, in print and online, with voice-over to accommodate users with reading difficulties or visual impairments
• A simplified version of the card game that encourages group-based learning

Libraries as local support hubs for online safety 

In addition to the project’s key objective to co-create cyber safety resources with vulnerable groups and ensure content is relevant, accessible, and tailored to their specific needs, an additional objective is to train librarians across Ireland in cyber safety, so that every public library can be a local support hub for online safety.

A core milestone will be the development of a flexible, inclusive cyber safety framework that can be adapted and used internationally. The project seeks to roll out this framework globally through strategic partnerships.

Its success will be measured by:

• The number of people reached through downloads from the project website
• through workshops
• The number of librarians trained
• The usability and impact of the project resources (as reported by users)

The Cyber Safety initiative has not yet been replicated elsewhere, but the co-creation model is designed to be adaptable, allowing it to be tailored to the needs of vulnerable groups in different cultural and geographic contexts. The project aims to localise their resources to make them accessible to different audiences, and ultimately establish a global network of partners who share our values and are committed to creating inclusive cyber safety resources.