Digital Innovation Hub Trakia is launching a new youth initiative – Cyber Guardians – dedicated to building knowledge, confidence, and a culture of mutual support in the field of cybersecurity among young people.
The initiative is being carried out in partnership with the Rotary Club Pernik and aims to build upon the standard approach to cyber awareness. The focus is not only on ensuring that young people know how to protect themselves online, but also on enabling them to be helpful to others – their peers, parents, teachers, and members of older generations, who are often more vulnerable to online scams, social engineering, phishing, and other digital threats.
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The first training sessions under this initiative are already laying the groundwork for a practical model in which students and young people learn about real cyber risks, basic rules for safe online behavior, and how to recognize fraudulent messages and attempts at manipulation, as well as how they can respond and seek help if they suspect a cyber incident.
“Today, young people shouldn’t just be taught how to protect themselves in cyberspace. They must also be prepared to act as defenders of others in need—their peers, their parents, and their grandparents. True cyber resilience begins when knowledge turns into mutual aid,” said Dr. Hristian Daskalov, Chairman of the Board of the Digital Innovation Hub Trakia and President of the Rotary Club Pernik.
The Cyber Guardians initiative will be rolled out in phases through additional educational resources, hands-on workshops, informational materials, meetings with experts, and collaborative activities with schools, youth communities, and local partners. The goal is to present the topic of cybersecurity in accessible language, yet with real practical value—so that young people can recognize risks, respond appropriately, and build trust as the “first line of support” in their communities.
The partnership with the Rotary Club Pernik gives the initiative a strong community and volunteer-driven character. Rotary is a global network of over 1.2 million professionals, leaders, and active citizens united by the idea that people should work together to create lasting positive change—in their communities, around the world, and within themselves. The organization was founded in 1905 by Paul Harris in Chicago; the original idea was for people with diverse professional backgrounds to exchange ideas and build meaningful friendships, and over time this vision expanded to include humanitarian service and community support.
Rotary’s mission is centered on serving others and promoting integrity, understanding, goodwill, and peace through a fellowship of business, professional, and community leaders. The organization’s core motto—“Service Above Self” – reflects precisely this principle of active civic responsibility
In this context, Cyber Guardians naturally combines the expertise of the DIH Trakia in the areas of digital transformation, cybersecurity, and innovation support with Rotary’s public mission of service, leadership, and support for local communities.
Through this initiative, DIH Trakia and the Rotary Club Pernik will work to build a new kind of youth cyberculture – one in which digital literacy, responsibility, and solidarity go hand in hand. The goal is for young people not to be passive consumers of technology, but active participants in a safer digital environment – capable of helping, warning, guiding, and setting an example of responsible online behavior.
Cyber Guardians will continue to evolve as an open initiative with the potential to bring in new partners, schools, experts, and volunteers who share the understanding that cybersecurity is not merely a technical issue, but a matter of trust, culture, and community resilience.