UKSIC Director awarded OBE in Queens New Year’s Honours

Will Gardner, Childnet’s CEO and UK Safer Internet Centre Director, has been awarded an OBE in the Queen’s New Year’s Honour List for his work in the field of children’s online safety.

Speaking about the award Will said:

“I am amazed and delighted to have been nominated for an OBE. This is a great honour for not only me but the whole team at Childnet. Childnet works very hard to make the internet a great and safe place for children and young people, and I am proud to have been CEO for the last 10 years.”

Will is an Executive Board member of the UK Council for Internet Safety (UKCIS), he also sits on Facebook’s Safety Advisory Board, and Twitter’s Trust and Safety Council.

Will joined Childnet in 2000, becoming CEO of Childnet in 2009, following his roles as Deputy CEO and Policy and Research Manager. 

In his time at Childnet Will has led the development of Childnet’s range of award-winning internet safety materials aimed at children, parents and carers, and teachers and schools.

Childnet is a UK charity that delivers education, policy and youth participation activities to help make the internet a great and safe place for children and young people. As a partner in the UK Safer Internet Centre, Childnet coordinates Safer Internet Day, which reaches millions of UK children every year.

The UK Safer Internet Centre is a partnership of three leading organisations: Childnet International, Internet Watch Foundation and SWGfL, with one mission – to promote the safe and responsible use of technology for young people.

The partnership was appointed by the European Commission as the Safer Internet Centre for the UK in January 2011 and is one of the 31 Safer Internet Centres of the Insafe network. The centre has three main functions: