Hector swims north to help Bermuda children stay safe on-line

NZ’s Hector’s World® launches in Bermuda

New Zealand’s digital citizenship resource for two to nine-year-olds, Hector’s World®, has been launched in Bermuda during their national Tech Week ’10 celebration.

Bermuda is one of the countries with the highest levels of broadband penetration per capita in the world.

The minister of energy, telecommunications and e-Commerce, Michael J. Scott, JP, said: “In this age of advanced technology, the flow of information is readily accessible to even the youngest and most vulnerable members of our community. It is important to ensure that online access is safe for all our children.”

In May 2008, www.cybertips.bm and native Bermuda skink icon, Cyber Cyd, were launched. It is from this site that children can now connect to Hector and his friends.

Whether from home, school or even mobile phone, Bermuda children can enjoy the wealth of resources Hector’s World offers: animated episodes, puzzles, music videos, games, songs, and more.

The Hector’s World website is also a fantastic learning resource for use on the computers and interactive whiteboards in Bermuda classrooms.

Liz Butterfield, managing director of NZ charity Hector’s World Ltd says, “With Hector’s World education, we can build a holistic, digital citizenship learning foundation for young children, from their first online access. This can help them mature into confident and capable digital citizens.

“We are delighted to see Bermuda children now learning from Hector’s World. Our bottlenose dolphin Hector will enjoy visiting the classrooms of this beautiful island nation – it will remind him of home.”

Bermuda is the first Education Partner in North America and the Caribbean.

Hector’s World is already used in NZ, the UK, and Australia. There will be launches in other countries later this year.