- BT teams with all Home Nation FAs and Cybersmile to support new platform to tackle online hate
- Educational content, available to all online from today (14 February), features internationals from across Home Nations including England’s Harry Kane, Wales’ Helen Ward, Scotland’s Rachel Corsie and Northern Ireland’s Jamal Lewis
- BT’s Hope United team bring the initiative to youngsters across the UK with dedicated workshops over the coming weeks
BT is working with non-profit organisation Cybersmile to create an online education platform for young people designed to help tackle online hate, bullying and abuse. The modules are available to anyone, for free, from today at:
cybersmileeducation.org/cat/roadshow.
The platform comprises three modules focusing on upskilling users and educating them on how to be good digital citizens. The modules include content specific to each Home Nation and featuring players from across the four teams, including England’s Harry Kane, Kyle Walker and Jordan Henderson, plus Wales’ Helen Ward, Scotland’s Rachel Corsie and Northern Ireland’s Jamal Lewis, as they discuss their personal experience of online hate and abuse:
- Why hope beats hate: how hope can heal, empower, unite, inspire and save people.
- The impact of online abuse: the implications of online abuse and how everyone can be a better digital citizen.
- Digital self-care: Discover how to look after mental and physical wellbeing by keeping a healthy balance between online and offline lives.
Working with the Home Nation Football Associations (FAs), a roadshow will support the new platform with eight workshops for 10–18-year-olds in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Next month, two roadshows will bring the platform to more youngsters in England. Special guests will visit North Shields FC and Sevenoaks FC to deliver Hope United Roadshows which will provide local youngsters with content from the new educational platform.
The roadshows build on BT’s Hope United initiative – which launched last year bringing together a diverse team of football players to tackle online hate to understand the impact online hate can have, and what can be done to combat it. The Hope United Roadshow is the latest phase in BT’s ‘4-3-3’ strategy – a five-year plan that’s using technology and innovation in footballing communities across the UK to help change the lives of millions of players, coaches and fans.
Jordan Henderson said: “With social media abuse becoming more and more common, campaigns like Hope United have helped give players the confidence to speak out and say ‘this is not ok’. One of the ways we can bring a stop to this unacceptable level of abuse, is through education: BT and Cybersmile’s platform will show the next generation how to lead by example and be kind online.”
Pete Jeavons, Marketing Communications Director, BT, said: “Working alongside Cybersmile has allowed us to continue the vital work that Hope United kickstarted last year: to tackle the online hatred and cyberbullying that is sadly part of everyday life. We’re also incredibly excited to further support grassroots football communities across the UK as part of our long-term partnerships with the four UK Home Nations Football Associations to up-skill millions of players, coaches and fans.”
Scott Freeman, CEO of The Cybersmile Foundation, said: “Everybody at Cybersmile is proud and excited to be working with BT to educate and positively impact young people across the U.K. on a range of key issues. Cybersmile believes that education and awareness are key to changing behaviours and potentially saving lives, which this initiative has been designed to do.”
The Hope United Roadshow will also contribute towards BT’s Skills for Tomorrow target to provide 25 million people with the skills they need to make the most of life in the digital world. In line with BT’s purpose to Connect for Good, the new ambition aims to help more people across the UK have the skills they need to stay connected, tackle the digital divide and support the UK’s economic recovery.
Cake is the lead agency delivering the project, with Pitch handling PR and Essence Paid Media.
–ENDS–
BT – Lead Partner of the Home Nations
BT is lead partner with each of the four Home Nation Football Associations – The FA, Scottish FA, Irish FA and FA of Wales. Working with the FAs, BT identified the key areas of the game that needed the most support and developed the transformational 4-3-3 football strategy:
- 4 – to support the 4 Home Nations in partnership with each football association
- 3 – supporting the 3 football communities most in need of support – disability and para, grassroots, and women’s football
- 3 – 3 goals for BT: develop new innovation and technology in football; promote digital and skills initiatives; and a new generation of girls and women to participate in football
About BT
BT Group is the UK’s leading telecommunications and network provider and a leading provider of global communications services and solutions, serving customers in 180 countries. Its principal activities in the UK include the provision of fixed voice, mobile, broadband and TV (including Sport) and a range of products and services over converged fixed and mobile networks to consumer, business and public sector customers. For its global customers, BT provides managed services, security and network and IT infrastructure services to support their operations all over the world. BT consists of four customer-facing units: Consumer, Enterprise, Global and its wholly-owned subsidiary, Openreach, which provides access network services to over 650 communications provider customers who sell phone, broadband and Ethernet services to homes and businesses across the UK.
For the year ended 31 March 2021, BT Group’s reported revenue was £21,331m with reported profit before taxation of £1,804m. British Telecommunications plc is a wholly-owned subsidiary of BT Group plc and encompasses virtually all businesses and assets of the BT Group. BT Group plc is listed on the London Stock Exchange. For more information, visit www.bt.com/about
ABOUT CAKE
Cake is a creative agency specialising in sport, entertainment and culture, part of the Havas Group. Cake’s roster of clients include BT, EE, Commonwealth Games England (CGE), Major League Baseball (MLB), JD Sports, PayPal, The FA, PUMA, Sport England, NBA, Gordon’s, and Captain Morgan.
