Europol has won the 2026 European Ombudsman Award for Good Administration for Cyber Defenders, a free game designed to help children recognise and respond to online threats.
The project received both the overall prize — chosen from 48 projects nominated across EU institutions — and the category award for Excellence in Technological Innovation and the Use of AI, Europol announced on Thursday.
The award was presented by European Ombudswoman Teresa Anjinho during a ceremony in Brussels on 30 June.
Cyber Defenders is built on Roblox, an online gaming platform popular with children, and is free to play.
Players take part in interactive missions intended to teach them how to spot and respond to risks including fraud, identity theft and grooming.
Resources for schools and parents
Over the past year, Europol has also produced materials for teachers to use the game in classrooms, and resources to support parents and educators in discussing online safety with children.
The European Ombudsman Award for Good Administration is presented every two years to EU institutions, agencies and bodies for projects described as having a positive and visible impact on citizens’ lives.
Europol previously received a category award in 2019 for Trace An Object — an initiative that used public help to identify objects in images in an effort to rescue sexually exploited children — and won the public vote award in 2023 for NextGenerationEU, a law enforcement cooperation platform linked to protecting EU recovery funds.
