Mumbai: Five teenage NetSafe Ambassadors have won an all expenses paid trip to London to represent New Zealand at the first ever International Youth Advisory Congress (IYAC) on internet safety and security. The five winners wrote winning scripts for a clip in NetBasics, Netsafe’s award-winning animated computer security series.
The New Zealand Federation Against Copyright Theft (NZFACT), representing the Motion Picture Association in New Zealand and the Recording Industry Association of New Zealand (RIANZ), sponsored the promotion of the competition, supporting its focus on the computer security risks of downloading pirated movie and music.
On 14 July, the five winners will fly to London for the IYAC, a global event hosted by the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre in the UK, involving nearly 200 young people in the development of a UN charter for children’s wellbeing online. On completion of the workshops the teenagers will meet celebrities and sport stars at a special "changemakers" event at Twickenham Rugby Stadium.
"The IYAC offers these exceptional young people a chance to make a positive impact in future decisions about young people and the net," said NetSafe executive director Martin Cocker.
"Digital piracy is the threat to the movie industry and other creative industries in New Zealand and many other countries in the world," said Motion Picture Association president and managing director, Asia-Pacific Mike Ellis. "Where consumers gather particularly the younger more vulnerable consumers, so do criminals. It is vital that we make our young people aware of the respect that creative content deserves, and safe from the risks associated with illegal file sharing. Our work with NetSafe is a great opportunity to do both."
"Pirates will take creative content from any and every source and distribute it online – it’s all about the money for them," said NZFACT executive director Tony Eaton. "The more the creative industries and other stakeholders like RIANZ and NetSafe cooperate, the more effective we can be in fighting these criminal. This project is a great opportunity to help raise our young people’s awareness about the downside of piracy."
NetSafe launched the NetBasics website www.netbasics.org.nz on 9 April. It provides advice to help New Zealanders keep their personal computers, data and information protected and secure.
