TREND MICRO COMPETITION PROMOTING ONLINE SAFETY AWARDS PRIZES TO A NUMBER OF IRISH SCHOOLS

Two sisters from St. Joseph’s College in Lucan are the winners of the Trend Micro 2013 “What’s Your Story” competition, which promotes online safety among school goers around the world.

Judith and Tessy Ehiguese created the winning video “Internet Sensation” for which they wrote a song and filmed an accompanying music video, to promote the many positive aspects of the Internet for young people. Minister for Children and Youth Affairs Frances Fitzgerald T.D. was on hand with Avril Ronan, Trend Micro to present the overall prize of €3,000 to St. Joseph’s College in Lucan this week.

“The Internet is an amazing resource for young people and at Trend Micro we want to promote the positive side of the Internet, while also encouraging school children to learn about digital safety”, explained Avril Ronan, co-ordinator of the Internet Safety for Schools & Families programme at Trend Micro.

Hundreds of entries were received, from both individuals and schools across the country, that answered the question "What does the good side of the Internet look like?"

The unique thing about this competition is that it is peer led - young people become advocates of their own message in promoting the positive side of the Internet as all entries are posted for public viewing, shared online and rated as well as final judging by a panel of online safety experts and anti-bullying champions.

Now in its second year in Ireland, this year’s “What’s Your Story” competition had a record number of entries from schools and young people all over Ireland. The site recorded over 35,000 public views, ratings and comments about the entries. The competition, run by Trend Micro’s Internet Safety team in Cork, has received huge praise from Webwise, antibullyingcampaign.ie, Discover Science, SmartFutures.ie as well as Suicide Aware, Facebook and other leading anti-cyber-bullying organisations in Ireland and also internationally.

“I was delighted to present Judith and Tessy with this award for their music video, ‘Internet Sensation’, which celebrates the opportunities of today’s digital age. Judith and Tessy did a fantastic job in bringing to life a teenager’s attitude towards the ever-changing online sphere. Touch screens and smart phones bring wonderful extra possibilities into the lives of children today. We need to control digital safety and promote the world of opportunities offered online. It’s a difficult balance to strike, but it is encouraging to see companies like Trend Micro promoting this positive message for young people in schools right around the country,” said Frances Fitzgerald T.D., Minister for Children and Youth Affairs.

Simon Grehan of Webwise, the national body for promoting Safer Internet usage, is a judge and advocate of the Trend Micro “What’s Your Story” competition. He said,

"It’s important that young people are given opportunities to demonstrate creativity, imagination, and problem solving through their use of digital technologies. The “What's Your Story” competition is one of those rare opportunities for young people to demonstrate that the online world can be a great place where they can explore, play and express themselves while also gaining the skills for a digital world. I’m proud to support it."

Other winners chosen by the judging panel for their creativity, appropriateness and effectiveness, each winning €500 include;

Age 8 to 11 Video: “Caught Up in the Net”, Eve Corbett, Co.Tipperary;
Age 8 to 11 Poster: “Having fun on the Net”, Niamh Cronin, Cork city;
Age 12-15 Video: “Amazing Uses of the Internet”, Patrician High School, Carrickmacross, Monaghan;
Age 12-15 Poster: “Manga Magic”, 6^th class, Scoil Mhuire GNS, Lucan, Dublin;
Age 16+ Video: “The Internet is Quitting”, Loreto College, Cavan;
Age 16+Poster: “Bringing the world to you”, Laura Groves, Co.Dublin.

Judith and Tessy’s entry has also been selected to represent Ireland in the European Award for Positive Content for Kids in Belgium later this month.

To view all the winners of the 2013 "What's Your Story?" contest, visit:

www.trendmicro.ie/whatsyourstory

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