Telefónica and FOSI Hold an Educational-Training Workshop on the Responsible Use of New Technologies

Madrid, 25 September 2007 Telefónica and the international organisation Family Online Safety Institute (FOSI) are holding a series of educational-training workshops. "INTERACTIVE GENERATIONS: Growing up in a virtual world". Here, international representatives of several NGOs, government and industry will share their views on the impact of new technologies on the lives of children and their families.

Representatives of several NGOs, industry and the government will come together under the auspices of the Family Online Safety Institute (FOSI) and Telefonica to share experiences and put forward solutions to promote the responsible use of new technologies by children and their families.

The workshops, which will be inaugurated by the Madrid Children's Rights Ombudsman, Arturo Canalda, will celebrate Telefonica's becoming a member of FOSI. Some of the leading technological companies, NGOs and opinion makers belong to this organisation, which works to ensure the industry is self-regulated in a responsible manner and to identify, promote and inform the industry, parents and educators alike about the most innovative tools for achieving a responsible use of new technology. This event confirms Telefonica's commitment with society's most vulnerable sectors, especially children.

The workshop, which will be held on 26 September in the meeting room at Telefonica's headquarters, will involve three consecutive roundtable discussions, where international representatives of the various NGOs, industry and government will share their experiences and put forward ideas which can be used in children's educational and family circles to encourage and promote the responsible use of new technologies.

They will discuss the impact of new technologies on children's everyday lives, their relationships with their peers and friends and with their families; how learning methods have changed and what could happen if they do not know how to use these technologies in a responsible manner; and how governments and administrators are reacting to the problems they generate.

This falls within the framework of EU directives and is a result of the agreement signed in February 2007 according to which the major European operators will work together to encourage and promote the responsible use of new technologies.

Telefonica, as a leader in its field and a global supplier of telecommunications services, has committed to improving the quality of life for people, especially the most vulnerable groups, namely children. Among the actions undertaken by the company, we highlight the launch of a series of ad-hoc products and services designed for children, including filters and parental control systems to ensure a safe use of broad band and mobile technology, and awareness campaigns to develop the responsible use of mobile phones and the Internet. These campaigns will be rolled out in school and through information on the web pages of group companies.

About Telefonica

Telefonica is one of the world's largest telecommunications operators in terms of market capitalisation. Its activities are centred mainly on the fixed and mobile telephony businesses, with broadband as the key tool for the development of both of these. It is present in 24 countries and its customer base exceeds 212 million accesses throughout the world. It has a strong presence in Spain, Europe and Latin America, where its growth strategy is largely concentrated.

Telefonica is a 100% private company. It has more than 1.7 million direct shareholders. Its share capital currently comprises 4,773,496,485 ordinary shares traded on the continuous market on the Spanish Stock Exchanges (Madrid, Barcelona, Bilbao and Valencia) and on those of London, Paris, Frankfurt, Tokyo, New York, Lima, Buenos Aires and Sao Paulo.

About FOSI

FOSI is a non-profit-making international organisation whose aim is to act as a meeting point for technological leaders, NGOs, opinion makers and governments to find innovative solutions to promote the responsible use of new technologies. FOSI's mission is to identify and promote the best practises, tools and methods in the field of on-line safety. This is its challenge.