The internet has become an integral part of children and young people’s lives. The increased time spent online is prompting questions about whether they are in control of their internet usage. The low level of awareness of cyber threats and their potential impact is a serious issue that translates into the proliferation of incidents due to human mistakes. 51% of EU citizens feel not at all or not well informed about cyber threats and 86% of Europeans believe that the risk of becoming a victim of cybercrime is rapidly increasing. On the other hand, law enforcement agencies have noted that more and more teenagers and young people are increasingly committing cybercrimes. This is an international problem with considerable cost implications; it is estimated that crimes in cyberspace cost global economy $445B annually (CSIS report, 2014 in 20181). Understanding the behavioural and developmental aspects of cyber criminality is becoming increasingly important and underlies the necessity of a shift in focus from sanctions to deterrence and prevention. 

As a research project, RAYUELA brings together law enforcement agencies (LEAs), sociologists, psychologists, anthropologists, legal experts, computer scientists and engineers to develop novel methodologies that allow for a better understanding of the factors affecting online behaviour and particularly new ways of cyber criminality, as well as promoting the potential to act and behave young talents in the areas of cybersecurity and technologies. 

RAYUELA’s main goal is to better understand the drivers and human factors leading to relevant ways of cyber criminality, as well as empower and educate young people (children and teenagers primarily) in the benefits, risks and threats intrinsically linked to the use of the Internet by playing (gaming), thus preventing and mitigating cybercriminal behaviour. 

The Acronym of the project “Empowering and education young people for the internet by playing” was given the title RAYUELA, a Spanish word meaning Hopscotch in English. 

“Hopscotch (rayuela) is played with a pebble that you move with the tip of your toe. The things you need: a sidewalk, a pebble, a toe, and a pretty chalk drawing, preferably in colours. On top is Heaven, on the bottom is Earth, it’s very hard to get the pebble up to Heaven, you almost always miscalculate and the stone goes off the drawing. But little by little you start to get the knack of how to jump over the different squares and then one day you learn how to leave Earth and make the pebble climb up into Heaven” 

Julio Cortázar, Rayuela, 1963 

So, the Heaven of our Rayuela project is none other than contributing to make the Internet a safer and better place for children.