Samsung Electronics kicked off 2020 Blue Elephant Forum on November 27th. Partnered with the Blue Tree Foundation, the annual forum is part of the Blue Elephant initiative aiming to prevent cyber violence among adolescents.

At this year’s event, held virtually via YouTube, speakers revealed statistics on online bullying among teenagers and exchanged thoughts on establishing a preventive solution.

Since February, Samsung has been cooperating with Blue Tree Foundation, an NGO dedicated for school violence, Ministry of Education and Community Chest of Korea to raise awareness and prevent cyber violence among teenagers.

Five affiliated companies of Samsung Group: Samsung Electronics, Samsung Display, Samsung SDI, Samsung Electro-Mechanics and Samsung SDS joined in for the purposeful initiative.

□ Experts in each field present penetrative analysis and solutions on cyberbullying

Experts spanning diverse areas discussed preemptive solutions to address cyber violence fueled by the emergence of Phono Sapiens and distance learning environment caused by COVID-19.

The Chairperson of Global Futures Studies Association, Ahn Jong-bae and the author of the book Phono Sapiens, Professor Choi Jae-bong opened up the forum with their keynote speech on "Adolescents in fast-paced digital civilization."

The first part of the forum was titled, "Cyber Violence, the Pandemic of Hate and Aggression in the Digital World." The session included diverse speakers: a renowned forensic psychologist Lee Soo-jung, Web-Toon creator Park Tae-jun and those in the midst of cyber violence: a teenage student and a police officer. These specialists put together their expertise in discussing the reality and severity of cyber violence.

The second part of the forum focused on "Remedies for Cyberbullying When New-normal is Prevailing the Digital World," where professionals engaged in in-depth examination for presenting a solution.

In addition, the Blue Tree Foundation shared educational contents used in Blue Elephant for preventing cyberbullying. Teachers who tried out the contents with their students also had a chance to share their experience and feedbacks.

Corporate Citizenship Office of Samsung Electronics also took the stage with a presentation on "The Role of Business in Solving Social Problems and Generating Positive Values."

The CSR-dedicated organization explained the significance of academics, businesses and governments joining hands for CSR projects and introduced Samsung’s regional subsidiaries’ efforts on preventing violence online.

Other highlights of the event included a video message from renowned public figures including: Minister of Education Yoo Eun-hae, Chairman of the Board at the Blue Tree Foundation Moon Yong Lin, Founder of the Blue Tree Foundation Kim Jong Ki, President of Community Chest of Korea Ye Jong-suk, and President of Headquarters for Samsung Social Contribution Sung Inhee.

“Cyberbullying is like a razor-sharp weapon that threatens our children,” said Chairman Moon in his video message. “This forum invites experts and all those directly concerned to bring peace in the cyber jungle that the young generation is living in.”

“Our next generation is our future and our hope,” added President Sung, promising Samsung will support students to become a proud and healthy member of the society.

□ Blue Elephant seeks to reach 3 million students over the next decade

As part of the Blue Elephant initiative, researchers developed an indicator to define and diagnose juvenile cyber violence and created educational materials to address this.

The material outlines six prosocial conducts of honesty, pledge, forgiveness, responsibility, care and ownership, delivered through seven sessions of preemptive, on-site and at-home training.

Through preemptive training, students learn what cyber violence is and how to deal with it. On-site training provides in-depth understanding of the six prosocial behaviors as students compete against teams during fun activities. For at-home activities, teachers give instructions so that students can discuss the harm of cyber violence with their families.

Since October, instructors have visited 20 classes (450 students) in Seoul and Gyeong-gi Province. The program is slated to move online starting January 2021 for 84 classes (1,870 students) in seven schools across the country.

On top of educational materials, the program developed a website and an application to rally more people to take part in preventing cyber bullying. Through these platforms, users can get a non-stop service from reporting cyber violence, listening to experts and receiving follow-up counseling and support for the victims.

Blue Elephant initiative seeks to expand its reach across all educational establishments across the country starting 2021 and provide relevant education to 3 million students over the next decade.

Under the overarching CSR vision of ‘Together for Tomorrow! Enabling People’, Samsung Electronics is conducting a range of educational programs for the next generation to thrive in the future.