Soundwave Festival has come together with the mother of murdered teenager Carly Ryan in an effort to educate others to the danger of internet predators.
In February 2010 The Carly Ryan Foundation was incorporated in honour of the girl who was just 15 when her life was cut short in 2007.
The foundation was started by Carly’s mum, Sonya, who aims to create awareness and educate children and parents using the internet. She will work to expose the thousands of multiple identities paedophiles use to lure young children.
Carly Ryan thought she had met her dream boyfriend online. His name was Brandon Kane, a 20yr old musician from Melbourne. Brandon was in fact fictitious, an internet construct, the cyberspace alter ego of Gary Francis Newman, a 50 year-old predator and paedophile. In 2007, Newman convinced Carly to meet him and on a secluded beach at Port Elliott, South Australia he bashed her and threw her into the water to drown.
No Soundwave Festival has issued a statement from Sonya Ryan: "Every now and then we are literally stopped in our tracks," it reads. "Constantly surrounded with gossip and innuendo of the music industry. Who quit what job. Who got sacked. How many units did you shift? How do we approach the digital revolution compared with physical sales?
"For one moment...put down your cafe latte...walk out from your time wasting boardroom meeting and listen ...to get a firsthand account of Carly’s story and how we can educate teenagers on internet predators.
"The Carly Ryan Foundation Inc is honoured to be a guest on Walk The Plank at www.soundwavefestival.com next Wednesday, September 29 at 7pm (AEST).
"Our association is dedicated to promoting online safety and supporting victims of internet crime. We support parents and educate kids using the internet providing vital information about the real risks of online social networking sites. Reaching teenagers and young adults through the music industry is one of the mediums in which we aim to push this message, as an organisation it is important for us to be accessible to all young people."
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