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The event, part of the POLSECURE trade fair in Targi Kielce, became a space for substantive yet emotional discussion about the mental health of young people and the role of adults in building their security, including in the digital world.
Experts unanimously emphasised that peer violence and cyberbullying are not marginal phenomena, but an everyday reality for many children and teenagers. – The proof of the development of civilisation is not rockets, but how we treat each other – said Dr Halszka Witkowska, pointing out that the scale of the problem should be an impulse for real action, not just a diagnosis.

The conference presented data from the Empowering Children Foundation regarding the operation of the 116 111 helpline. As Katarzyna Talacha explained, the topics most frequently discussed by young people are mental and psychosocial health (39% of contacts), peer relationships (23%) and family problems (19%).  Violence and abuse constitute another 6.5% of reports, but – as emphasised – they are often present in the background of other conversations.

Ewa Domańska from NASK – National Research Institute also spoke about the dangers of the Internet, pointing to the so-called disinhibition effect; she pointed out that young users are more likely to cross boundaries that they would not violate in the offline world, and access to social media, formally from the age of 13, in practice begins much earlier.

A reflection on the mental health of young people was an important element of the conference. Halszka Witkowska from the Polish Suicidology Society pointed out that one in seven people committing suicide in Poland was under 18 years of age; in this context, the “glass” metaphor was particularly significant, illustrating the accumulation of risk factors – from individual problems, through situational, environmental, to social and cultural ones – which at some point may lead to a crisis.

The conference program also included speeches by representatives of the Police  - Michał Stasielowicz spoke about the activities of the Central Bureau for Combating Cybercrime in life-threatening situations, emphasising the importance of rapid response and cooperation between services.

Retired inspector  Grzegorz Jach, Plenipotentiary of the Chief Commander of the Police for Education for Safety presented preventive activities implemented under the PaT program, pointing to the role of education and building awareness among young people.

The Targi Kielce conference demonstrated that counteracting violence – both in the real and digital world – requires the cooperation of many groups: public institutions, schools, parents and non-governmental organisations. This is a systemic challenge, but also a very personal one – because, as the participants emphasised, behind every statistic there is a specific child and their story.