Save the Children PNG takes Online Safety advocacy to schools

Four primary schools in the nation’s capital, NCD have taken part in Save the Children PNG’s online safety I Am Digital Campaign.

While much of the campaign is being done online, SCPNG is taking a different approach to advocating on internet safety.

“Most of the information on online safety is not being viewed on Facebook by children between the ages of 13-18 because of the high cost of data,” said Child Protection Coordinator of SCPNG, Owen Suanga.

“This is the reason we must go to the schools physically and talk to them about being safe online so they can share this information with their friends and families.”

The school visit is part of Save the Children’s support toward NICTA and the PNG Safer Internet Committee’s Safer Internet Day 2022 campaign about being safe online for young people and informing them about online and cyber bullying.

The schools Save the Children conducted Online Safety awareness in included Coronation Primary, Sacred Heart Primary, Carr Memorial Primary and Bavaroko Primary.

Both the students and teachers found the visits very educational and helpful not only as teachers but also as parents.

Joe Lai, a senior teacher at Coronation Primary School said, “Some of the lessons that we teach in the classroom are in line with the IAmDigital Campaign.”

He was very impressed with the advocacy that took place and added, “We are in a digital age and Social Media especially Facebook, has become a big part of our life today.”

“Such awareness is very helpful, so that our students will understand how to use Social Media in appropriate ways.”

I Am Digital is a digital literacy and safety initiative that was first launched in December 2021 in Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Samoa and Tonga. The awareness into schools falls under phase 2 of the I Am Digital campaign that kicked off in January this year and included 3 more Pacific Islands countries which was Solomon Islands, Kiribati and Vanuatu.

The campaign aims to deliver targeted and localized information to educate and empower Pacific Islands teenagers, youth, and parents on how to have safer and more positive online experiences.

This campaign is a partnership between Save the Children and Meta (formerly Facebook) to create safer online experiences for young people in the Pacific.