Vodafone Ireland joins DCU Anti-Bullying Centre to launch online safety app Tozi

Vodafone Ireland Foundation has partnered with Dublin City University’s Anti-Bullying Centre to develop and launch Tozi, a first-of-its-kind app that offers support for children and young people by educating them through content, support, and advice on how to be safe and well online.

The research team at DCU’s Anti-Bullying Centre includes Prof James O’Higgins Norman, Dr Carol O’Toole, Teresa Di Manno, Derek Laffan, Dr Maryam Esfandiari and Dr Sandra Sanmartin Feíjoo. Their work provided data and insights to inform the design and development of the app. 

Speaking before the launch, Director of the DCU Anti-Bullying Centre and UNESCO Chair on Bullying and Cyberbullying Prof James O’Higgins Norman said:

“Our team worked with young people to co-design Tozi, a unique resource that we hope will create an environment that supports young people and their wellbeing online. We look forward to seeing the results of its use and to studying new interventions that will help children and young people stay safe online.”

DCU Anti-Bullying Centre has worked with the Vodafone Foundation team to provide subject matter expertise in the area of online bullying and the online safety of young people. 

Speaking about the partnership, Liz Roche, Head of the Vodafone Ireland Foundation said:

“We are delighted to partner with the DCU Anti-Bullying Centre for this very important project. Their academic rigour and active research has been invaluable in helping us to build a very useful tool for young people, and we are grateful to the whole team at DCU for their input.”

The app is available now at and on the Google and Apple app stores. It will be showcased to an international audience at an interactive workshop during the 2023 World Anti-Bullying Forum this October.