Meet Matej, Iva, Ana Marija and Viktorija from the School of Economics - SOEPTU "Kuzman Josifoski - Pitu" - Prilep, who together with their mentor Prof. Emanuela formed the team Pravnici.

The team developed the solution Save Zone - an educational website designed to combat digital violence, including cyberbullying, phishing and other threats in the online space.
The goal of Safe Zone is to raise awareness, educate and help young people use the internet safely, through useful information, advice and resources.

1. What exactly did you do with your project and how does it work?

We are the team "Ravnici". Although we had limited knowledge in the field of IT and website development, with the help and support of the hackathon mentors, we managed to realize our idea.
Our idea was to create a website through which any type of violence can be reported, with a special emphasis on cyber violence, since it is particularly prevalent today. We took the Croatian website for reporting cyber violence as inspiration, which is easy to use and accessible to all age groups.

On our website, the user has two options on the home page: “Report anonymously” and “Report”, where personal data is entered. After selecting, a form for reporting violence opens, where a photo can be attached as evidence. The report is automatically forwarded to the appropriate institution for further action. We as a team do not retain or process the report.  In addition, the website contains educational videos, presentations and other materials on cyber violence, created by us and our school. Important contacts and links from relevant institutions are also available, such as the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Megjashi, PET Station (which offers free legal aid) and others. The legal framework is also integrated with quotes from the Criminal Code of the Republic of North Macedonia, so that each user can be informed about legal protection. At the end, there is an "About Us" section, which explains who we are and why we created this educational platform.

2. How do you think your solution can help people and be used in everyday life?

We believe that cyberbullying is present in our community and that young people, who are most often affected, rarely have the courage to report it – most often out of fear or distrust, which is a big mistake. With our website, we want to encourage young people not to remain silent, but to report any violence.
It is especially important that we enable anonymous reporting, in order to protect the identity of the person reporting. We believe that this platform can have a real impact and serve as a useful tool in the fight against violence.

3. If you had the chance to upgrade it, what new thing would you add?

In the future, we would like our website to be improved to become fully functional. Our goal is for every user to be able to easily, safely and efficiently access the platform and report violence. We would also implement the ability to track the status of the report (if it is not anonymous), an improved mobile version, and possibly a chatbot for information and help.

4. What would you recommend to your peers in your school for safer use of the Internet and social networks, based on your experience from the "Click Safely" hackathon?

We would recommend that peers not respond to threatening messages and immediately take a screenshot or other evidence of the content. Such evidence can help them in a possible report. Also, to avoid visiting suspicious websites, as they are often fake and can reveal their IP address or personal data.
To be cautious when using the Internet, not to share too many personal photos and information, as they can be misused. The most important thing is to inform yourself and be aware of the risks, but also of the ways to protect yourself.

Every click counts – click safely!

The application will be available on the MKSafeNet resource base from September.