Strategies Against cyberbullying For Empowering adults

SAFE: Strategies Against cyberbullying For Empowering adults is an Erasmus+ cooperation partnership in adult education focused on recognising, preventing and addressing cyberbullying affecting adults. The project brings together three organisations (Poland, Spain, Italy) to combine expertise in emotional intelligence, storytelling, and ICT/cybersecurity in order to equip adult trainers and adult communities with practical ways to respond to online harassment.

Whenever the term «cyberbullying» is brought up, we typically think of young people, adolescents or children. Contrary to the main perception that cyberbullying predominantly affects youth, it is a prevalent and concerning issue within adult groups as well.
According to the UN definition cyberbullying is an extension of traditional bullying in cyberspace. The same definition applies for adult cyberbullying and it encompasses a range of malicious behaviors perpetrated by individuals using digital communication platforms to intimidate, harass, or humiliate other adults. Our project is stretched purposely in Poland, Spain and Italy, where the national contexts in regard to adult cyberbullying are as different as complex which can serve as a way to focus on tailoring effective methods for mitigating cyberbullying and make a bigger impact.
In Poland, The Polish Foundation for Cyberbullying (2021) highlighted that despite its escalating impact, adult cyberbullying in Poland remains largely underreported. A 2021 survey by the Polish Psychological Association found that 38% of adults in Poland had been harassed online, often with long-lasting psychological effects, which also reflects the need to strengthen their emotional well-being.
In Spain, the situation takes another turn. According to the data of Mapfre Foundation(2020) Spain has the greatest percentage of cyberbullying worldwide, including adult cyberbullying. The same results came out by the First World Report of Cyberbullying (2022/2023) highlighting that Spain holds the first place worldwide for cyberbullying incidents with 2.050.000 cases including: adults, youth, adolescents.
According to a 2021 research by the Italian Ministry of Innovation, 28% of adults aged 30-60 reported being targeted by harmful online behaviors, such as defamation, threats, or privacy invasion through social media platforms and messaging apps. The Europol Cybercrime Report (2022) noted that Italy was among the top countries reporting incidents of online defamation and harassment, including cyberbullying against adults.

Our “SAFE” project brings value by applying best practices on addressing adult cyberbullying, using storytelling as a powerful tool to shed light on the lived experiences of adults in online spaces. In addition, cultivating emotional intelligence skills like self-awareness, self-esteem can foster a culture of respect in online spaces, mitigating the occurrences of cyberbullying incidents. Through this cross-border collaboration and by applying best practices for prevention
and support, the project’s impact extends at European level and beyond serving as a stepping stone for similar initiatives in different countries.

The main and specific objectives driving our project are as follows:

• To connect adult trainers to resources and training for recognizing and preventing cyberbullying behaviors
  1.1 To increase knowledge on adult cyberbullying and utilize storytelling to raise awareness about its consequences and impact on adults
  1.2 To build emotional intelligence among adults, focusing on resilience building, empathy, and self-esteem for handling cyberbullying
• To develop an Interactive Book that encompasses tools and strategies for adult trainers and adult communities to prevent and address cyberbullying effectively
  2.1 To provide a safe space for adults to create stories on cyberbullying
  2.2 To empower adult trainers and adult learners with necessary knowledge and tools to put it in practice against cyberbullying
• To broadly disseminate among adult trainers, adult learners and relevant stakeholders the developed
  3.1 To broadly disseminate among adult trainers, adult learners and relevant stakeholders the developed
  3.2 To amplify the effects of our campaign and increase the number of target audiences reached

1.Proyect Management:

• Monitoring of the progress, quality and achievement of project activities.
  -Project Monitoring
  -Quality Control
  -Draft Manual
  -QA Reports
  -Impact Evaluation
  -Dissemination Evaluation
  -Risks Assessment
  -Budget Control and Management
• Transnational Project Meetings (TPM’s): 2 participants per partner.
  –Kick-off meeting in Spain: Wednesday, 10th December 2026
  –Mid-term meeting in Italy: January 2027
  –Final meeting in Poland: October 2027

2.Implementation of the learning phase:

• Participatory Visit in Italy, 3 + 1 days February 2027 (+ 2 travel days)
  12 participants will be trained by Oriel in addressing and combating adult
  cyberbullying. Permacultura will transfer knowledge and techniques in using storytelling to raise awareness on this phenomena and also to empower adults who have faced such incidents in online communities.
  Each entity will send 2 book developers and 2 adult trainers.
• Participatory Visit in Poland, 3 +1 days October 2026 (+ 2 travel days).
  12 participants will be trained by CWE in using tools to help adults build emotional intelligence and effectively handle cyberbullying.
  Each entity will send 2 book developers and 2 adult trainers.

3.Creation of an interactive book:

• The skills and educational outcomes gained through the mentioned activities will be applied in developing the Interactive Book & Audiobook approach.
  Languages: English, Polish, Spanish, Italian.
• Course in Spain: 8 +1 days, March 2026 (+2 travel days)
  8 participants per partner (2 book developers per entity + 3 adult trainers + 3 adults). During the course, Permacultura will transfer adult trainers the methodology of the Book so that they gain knowledge on how to deal with cyberbullying in adult communities.

4.Creation of an interactive book:

• Multiplier events to introduce and disseminate the Interactive Book
  -Poland
  -Italy
  -Spain
• Internal workshops engaging local adults (with and without fewer opportunities): The adult trainers who took part in the Course will organize sessions to share the Book with other colleagues in their own communities and beyond.
• Consultation Periods: Each partner will offer opportunities for knowledge transfer and guidance on the tools and techniques used in the Interactive Book to other NGOs/entities that express interest in adopting it.
• Other dissemination Activities:
  -Creation of the project’s website
  -Success stories
  -Public relations
  -…etc.

Our project intends to provide precedent for similar initiatives combating adult cyberbullying across Europe. The project will:

• Reinforce adult trainers education and training
• Facilitate a deeper comprehension of adult cyberbullying among adult trainers
• Equip adult trainers with tools and strategies on how to help adult communities to handle cyberbullying
• Boost adult trainer’s skills in transferring their knowledge on cyberbullying to adult communities
• Raised awareness among adults on cyberbullying and increased emotional skills of handling it
• Increased emotional intelligence of adults in coping with cyberbullying
• Provided a safe space for adults through storytelling, seek advice, and collectively combat cyberbullying through mutual support
• Acquisition of practical skills in storytelling, enabling them to effectively communicate their experiences & share coping strategies

The SAFE project is expected to strengthen adult education responses to cyberbullying among adults by:
1) improving adult trainers’ capacity to recognise, prevent and address cyberbullying;
2) equipping adult learners with practical coping strategies and stronger emotional intelligence;
3) creating an Interactive Book (and related training/dissemination) that offers tools, exercises and storytelling-based methods to build empathy, resilience and safer online behaviour.

In the longer term, the project aims to generate a wider, sustained impact beyond the partnership by making the Interactive Book openly accessible (in English plus Polish/Spanish/Italian) and by enabling adult trainers and partner networks to keep using and multiplying the results across countries, contributing to a more inclusive and secure digital culture.