Stories Behind the Change ┃ The Schoolbag
THE SCHOOLBAG ┃ We slipped a little digital safety into it — for safer experiences online.
School mornings have almost always followed the same routine: the schoolbag ready, notebooks carefully arranged alongside the textbooks, the pencil case tossed somewhere in between and, sometimes, a sandwich or an apple that you would only discover during the long break. You would put the bag on your back and head off, without giving much thought to all the things you were carrying with you.
We, adults, often say that the future is carried in children’s schoolbags. And every morning, hundreds of thousands of children across Moldova put their schoolbags on their backs and head to school.
In recent years, however, they have started taking a phone, a tablet or a laptop along with them, too. The world in which they discover, learn and explore no longer stops at the classroom or the school gate. It continues online.
The internet offers children a world full of opportunities, but it also exposes them to a range of risks. And “La Strada” knows all too well what those risks can mean.
In recent years, protecting children has meant much more than teaching them to be careful about who they communicate with online or not to talk to strangers. It has meant helping them understand more deeply the world they can enter with a single click; helping them recognize where a joke ends and humiliation begins, where friendship ends and manipulation begins and, above all, making sure they know that they are allowed to say “no,” ask for help and speak up whenever something makes them feel unsafe.
“La Strada” has chosen to reach children before they need help.
In classrooms, at workshops, through conversations with teachers and parents, at summer camps and national events, and through thematic lessons, games, campaigns and educational resources, we have talked about things that do not always appear in school textbooks, but that can help children navigate a world that changes from one generation to the next at an extraordinary pace.
Over the 25 years of “La Strada”, thousands of schoolbags have made their way into schools, carrying conversations about respect, boundaries, trust, safety and responsibility.
Some children may not remember every lesson. But they will remember that there is an adult they can turn to for help. That they never have to send a photo they do not want to share. That no one has the right to humiliate them, online or offline. That if something upsetting happens to them online, it is never their fault.
Looking back at all the children across the country whom we have reached and engaged with, we can say that the most valuable things a child can carry in their schoolbag are not books, but the confidence and ability to make safe choices that protect them.
Over 25 years of work, “La Strada” has contributed to raising generations of children who are better informed, more confident and better prepared to know and protect their rights — including in the digital world.
10,000+ children and adolescents have participated in educational activities focused on online safety and healthy relationships.
1,000+ schools have implemented thematic activities using educational resources developed by “La Strada”.
6,000+ teachers have been trained to prevent and identify situations of abuse and exploitation.
100+ educational resources (guides, lessons, games and video materials) have been developed for children, parents and teachers.