1.2 million children to be trained in online safety
Some 1.2 million children and adolescents of the country will be trained to stay safe online, under a project titled “Strengthening and Scaling Child Online Protection in Bangladesh”.
Unicef yesterday signed a partnership agreement with Bangladeshi telecom operator Grameenphone and Norway-based Telenor at a ceremony in a Dhaka hotel.
“All children in Bangladesh must be able to use the internet safely, by being equipped with skills and being able to use the internet in an enabling environment,” said Unicef Deputy Representative Dara Johnston.
Under the initiative, 400,000 parents, teachers and caregivers will be trained to support child online protection, as some parents prevent their children from accessing the internet due to fears about what they could be exposed to, and this denies children the opportunity to benefit from the internet.
“We hope this partnership will institutionalise the key top tips about child online protection and establish the foundations of ensuring that these become a key part of education for children in Bangladesh,” added Dara.
The project will also reach 20 million people through an integrated communications campaign, which supports awareness of child online protection and will engage at least 50,000 people in taking supportive action.
It will also convene policy stakeholders to agree on a plan to mainstream awareness on child online protection in Bangladesh.
Ole Bjorn Sjulstad, chief corporate affairs officer of Grameenphone, said, “As we move into the age of data, online safety has become a global issue for people of all ages, especially children, how it’s impacting our society and our future generations. But we cannot ignore how the internet has become a necessity for a child’s learning, development and growth.”
The partnership will also address offline protection issues through its focus on creating sustainable and embedded solutions inside schools. This will support creating a forum or Safe Clubs within participating schools where child protection issues can be addressed.
“As part of our global commitment to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 10: Reducing Inequalities, we are committed to educating four million children on child online safety across our markets by 2020 and today’s partnership is an important contributor to this endeavour,” said Manisha Dogra, Telenor’s vice president (sustainability).
Unicef Bangladesh, Grameenphone and Telenor have been collaborating since 2018 to help ensure children, parents and caregivers are aware of how to use the internet safely and to minimise risks through the programme titled “Be Smart, Use Heart”.
The programme completed its nationwide outreach by reaching more than 400,000 students, aged between 11 to 16 years, and over 70,000 teachers, parents and guardians.
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