CyberMentors Yesterday, I was honoured to attend the launch of the CyberMentors programme, an important initiative created by the UK charity BeatBullying and with whom Mozilla has officially partnered. The programme aims to recruit mentors who monitor cyberbullying and whom young people can turn to for help and assistance whenever they feel they are being bullied on the web.

Cyberbullying can take lots of different forms, namely :

  • Sending nasty or threatening texts or emails
  • Posting abusive messages online - on a social networking site, in a chatroom, or using IM
  • Posting humiliating videos or pictures online, or sending them on to other people
  • Taking on someone else's identity online in order to upset them
  • Setting up a hate site or a hate group on a SNS site
  • Prank calling

I chatted with several cybermentors who shared with me some pretty horrifying stories of kids being bullied to the brink and in some cases, pushed to suicide. Cyberbullying is a REAL problem and yet, it has received such scant attention. Fortunately, things are changing now and it's starting to get the attention it deserves, thanks to the amazing work of Sarah Dyer, Director of New Media for Beatbullying.org and her team.

We’re extremely humbled to be a partner of the programme here at Mozilla. Our mission to help make the web a safe and open place and help improve the online experience of people everywhere, is furthered by helping to sponsor programmes like Cybermentors.

Indeed, as part of our partnership, Mozilla will sponsor the training of 10 Mozillians living Britain to become CyberMentors. The training is in London, so we hope to find SE England-based community members first - over time, the programme will roll out to the rest of the country. For more information on how to become a CyberMentor please contact me directly at william at mozilla dot com or my colleague Patrick Finch at pfinch at mozilla dot com.