Google South Africa joined its partners in the Online Child Safety campaign and commemorated the tenth anniversary of the Safer Internet Day (SID) movement on Tuesday.
As previously reported by HumanIPO, SID is a movement which promotes the safe and responsible use of online technologies and the Internet.
“With over 8.5 million South Africans currently online (World Wide Worx, 2012) Internet safety is a top priority. We launched an Online Child Safety campaign last year, and today are pleased to be including SID in our efforts,” says Google SA Country Manager, Luke Mckend.
“We are partnering once again with a number of government and child protection organisations, jointly promoting the safe use of online space, and protecting children on the Internet.”
Stella Tembisa Ndabeni-Abrahams, Deputy Minister at the South African Department of Communications said: “Children are our primary consideration, especially as their exploration of the wide-open world of cyberspace increases; particularly on mobile phones.
“We are committed to supporting the role of the ICT private sector in protecting youth who have an online presence – we want to see South African children develop into the innovative, creative and critical thinkers of the future. By collaborating with Google on this noble initiative, we are sure that our intervention will go a long way in the creation of a community of ‘techno-savvy’ citizens who have the knowledge and power to uphold good values and morals online.”
As part of SID, Google hosted a number of Internet safety workshops for learners, parents and teachers at Johannesburg’s Dainfern College.
Google’s partners in this initiative around SID were the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund; Mxit; Parent’s Corner; Media Monitoring Africa; Childline SA; Department of Women, Children and People with Disabilities; Film and Publications Board; Department of Communications; and UNICEF South Africa.
The workshop sessions were aimed at equipping learners and parents with “the right tools and knowledge to prevent children from being exposed to inappropriate content online, and help them to browse the Internet safely and responsibly.”
Workshops at the event focused on four different topics:
* ‘Ranking your rights and responsibilities’;
* ‘Getting to know the online laws’;
* ‘The Responsible user’s guide to social media’
* ‘Where do you stand regarding responsible internet usage’.
