YouTube and the Institute for Strategic Dialogue want a safe and exciting web where young people can be creative, express themselves and belong. Be Internet Citizens has been designed to teach teenagers about media literacy, critical thinking and digital citizenship, with the aim of encouraging young people to have a positive voice online. The programme provides a strong foundation, empowering them with the confidence to become producers of online content, where they can express their identities, share their stories, make a social impact, and bring communities together.

What young people explore

  • Get creative with our hosts and guest YouTuber
  • Stay resilient and confident online and make negativity bounce
  • Use video to find your voice and bring people together
  • Navigate social media, check facts and escape social bubbles
  • Discover how to use online tools responsibly

Impact to date

Be Internet Citizens launched in UK youth centres in 2017 with a curriculum designed and evaluated by experts from the ISD (Institute for Strategic Dialogue).

The programme achieved PSHE accreditation in 2018 and is now used in schools across the country. It also offers teachers and youth sector workers the training and resources they need to deliver the curriculum independently.

  • 71% believed they’d behave differently online because of the programme

  • 92% of teenagers felt they’d gained new knowledge from Be Internet Citizens

  • 86% of teenagers felt it helped them gain new skills

  • 8 in 10 teenagers taking part said they were now confident about knowing what to do if they saw hate speech online

Source: Be Internet Legends and Be Internet Citizens: Impact Report (ISD, 2020)
A really good, engaging event which was both enjoyable for the young people involved and educational.
Abi Youth Worker from Sheffield
It was a great environment, greater facilitator, great feel of energy - some of the young people I brought loved being involved in the filming and all in all a good day - thank you.
Bethan Youth Worker from Merthyr Tydfil
The workshops were fun, thought-provoking and inspired some great discussions, helping the young people speak their truth, explore ideas together and develop the tools to confidently enjoy their online world.
Fusion
Be Internet Citizens is an incredible programme. The greatest outcome is the young people know that they can create a positive and powerful online platform to present themselves and inspire others in a brand new way.
Efe
The workshops were a perfect opportunity to prove that young people around the country are thoughtful, empowered, and eager to share their voices in a positive and powerful way!
Nadir

Teaching Resources

The Be Internet Citizens curriculum is made up of several modules, which can be taught in both formal and non-formal education settings. The modules cover key areas of digital citizenship, offering young people the opportunity to build their critical thinking skills while developing their knowledge of the online world through a range of engaging and creative exercises.

The brand-new Be Internet Citizens teaching resources include session plans, a set of handouts for young people, additional guidance and further reading for practitioners, and PPT presentation slides to support delivery.

We offer two sets of resources: A PSHE Association-accredited Unit of Work for secondary school teachers and a Community Toolkit for educators outside of the formal education space. You can download your copy below.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

  • Fact vs Fiction

    An introduction to dis- and misinformation, why people share false information online, how to identify it, and how to stop its spread.

  • Three Sides to Every Story

    Covers the different features of biased writing, why media content may be biased, how to guard against sensationalist content, and understanding the filter bubble phenomenon.

  • Us vs Them

    Introduces the ideas of unconscious bias and stereotyping. This is followed by a role-play activity that helps participants understand the ‘us vs them’ mentality, and reflect on how it can divide society.

  • Speaking Up, Speaking Out

    An introduction to the concepts of free speech and hate speech. Young people will learn the difference between the two concepts, and examine a range of effective responses to online hate and abuse.

  • Becoming an Internet Citizen

    Young people showcase their understanding of what it means to be a good digital citizen, and demonstrate their creativity through content creation or planning a social media campaign.

  • Download Unit of Work
  • Download Community Toolkit

Watch the roadshow videos

I put two teens in a closet and this happened

They said nasty things about my weight in my videos

Students in a classroom holding emoji masks in front of their faces.
Students in an assembly with a megaphone in the foreground