The Cyber Peace Initiative was launched at the International Youth Forum in Sharm el Sheikh in September 2007. It is a dynamic process that aims at systematically enhancing usage of ICT and Internet based tools to enable youth to participate actively in the communication, intercultural understanding, empathy creation, exploration of different cultural and national realities, and skills development that underlie sustainable peace enhancement. One of the seven tracks involved in this initiative is the Internet Safety Focus Group. This group is dedicated to raising awareness among youth about the potential dangers associated with the use of the Internet.

Over the past decade, the Internet has quite expectedly become a vital tool for Egyptians. Uses that Egyptians find for this tool have diversified immensely, and the age of Egyptians finding new ways to connect with Internet users both locally and globally has gone down and down. This fact creates great opportunities offering many young Egyptians the chance to broaden their horizons, both culturally and in terms of income with a click of a mouse button.

As a young person using the Internet in both my profession as well as in my personal life, it is clear to me that using the Internet must be done cautiously. The identified risks and dangers involved, whether these be social, intellectual, financial, or just psychological are quite frightening, but not less than the implications involved to personal security of young, unwary users. The lessons learned by more developed countries in which the Internet is more widely used, as well as the methods used to counter these dangers are vital for us. Theft of identity or intellectual property, online grooming, exposure to inappropriate content, or simple cyber bullying are hazards that create victims instead of opportunities.