What is the history of this initiative?
In 2002, NetSafe wanted to include a new cybersafety character for young children in their NetSafe Kit for Schools. After much debate, the bottlenose dolphin was selected (for qualities such as intelligence, playfulness, kindness and loyalty) and he was christened Hector Protector®. Upon publication in 2003, the Kit became 'best practice' for New Zealand schools and Hector became New Zealand's new Cybersafety Ambassador.
At the end of 2003, NetGuide Magazine donated the proceeds of their NetGuide Web Awards to NetSafe to help fund animating Hector. This is when our fantastic collaboration with Auckland-based animation and production company Inkspot Digital Ltd began.
In late 2004, Microsoft NZ became our Foundation Sponsor and project development went into high gear with the successful launch of the Hector Safety Button™.
Development continued with the building of the website www.hectorsworld.com and the launch of the pilot episode in late 2005. The Board of NetSafe concluded that Hector's World™ had the potential to succeed as a global cybersafety resource for young children far beyond New Zealand, and to achieve this it needed to be a separate business entity with an educational and commercial focus, while also being a charitable entity like its parent NetSafe.
In May 2006, HWL, now a separate entity, became a resident at The ICEHOUSE, a government-funded University of Auckland business incubator programme. Here our new company could evolve with expert guidance as it defined its goals, planned its strategy and then set that strategy in motion.
In spring 2006, HWL received funding from the Digital Strategy's Community Partnership Fund to create four new episodes and supporting educational content. These episodes were launched in 2007 and, with the Pilot, can be freely viewed online.
In October 2007, there was a launch at Parliament of new versions of the Hector's World Safety Button™. These include a simple XP version, a deluxe XP version with multi character and multi language options, and a Vista version which installs itself into Parental Controls. A Mac OS10 version is still in development.
 
At the same time a poster campaign was launched encouraging children to 'Connect with Hector'. English and Te Reo Maori posters were sent to every registered early childhood service and primary school in New Zealand along with a cover letter from the Minister of Education, Steve Maharey.
In November 2007, Microsoft New Zealand completed their term as our Foundation Sponsor. Their sponsorship ended on a high note with Brett Roberts' speech at Parliament celebrating all that had been achieved with this partnership.
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