Karl Hopwood

Safety Expert

Workshop Title:

Keeping young people safe in a digital world

Description:

The session will consider what children and young people are doing when they go online and what the risks are that they face – we will reflect on the latest research and also look at the technical and practical things that parents can do to help their children to benefit from all that the internet can offer whilst also staying safe.

Karl Hopwood is an independent online safety expert. He is a member of UKCIS (UK Council for Internet Safety) and sits on the UKCIS evidence group and the UKCIS education group as well as on the advisory board for the UK Safer Internet Centre and the education advisory board for CEOP.
He also sits on Twitter’s trust and safety council and the Roblox trust and safety board where he represents the Insafe network. Karl has worked for a number of key players in the UK and abroad including CEOP (Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre), BECTA (British Educational and Communications Technology Agency), the European Commission, the UN and several Local Authorities within the UK and in Europe.

As an ex-primary headteacher, he continues to work closely in schools across Europe with children, young people, parents and teachers to develop safer online behaviours and the promotion of digital literacy. Karl has been employed for the last 13 years as an in-house consultant for INSAFE which is the coordinating node of the EU Better Internet for Kids programme where he is responsible for the coordination of safer internet helplines across Europe.

Karl is the Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Marie Collins Foundation, a charity which supports young people who have been sexually abused and exploited online and is also a trustee of Childnet International. Karl has recently worked with a team developing a national online safety strategy in Rwanda and is also working with the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) to re-write their Child Online Protection Guidance.