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Africa Safer Internet Day for 2023 launched

Elwin Mandowa

The 2023 Africa Safer Internet day commemoration has been launched officially by its conveners. The virtual launch on Wednesday brought together several players in the digital sector.

Series of activities have now been lined up by conveners to create the needed awareness about safer internet for users especially children.

This year’s commemoration will take place on Tuesday, February 7, 2023 on the theme: “Empowering the African child on safer internet.”

In a statement, the convener of the In Africa Safer Internet Day, ChildOnline Africa said programs such as schools outreach, community outreach, parent forum, policy dialogue among others will be held in various African countries.

Anne Rachel Inne, the regional director for Africa International Telecommunication Union told participants during the virtual launch that Africa still has much potentials in utilising the benefits of the internet.

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“Africa remains the youngest continent to access the internet fully. Our digital infrastructure is young, and people cannot afford it even when there is access. Nevertheless, we still have the potential to score massive benefits as we have seen from using the internet in recent years especially during the pandemic,” she said.

According to her internet usage comes with safeguards that must not be ignored least it becomes harmful to users.

“We as stakeholders have an important role to play here today. What we must do is to help our young ones become aware and build their capacity to handle the challenges inherent in the digital world.

Also, we must create participatory opportunities to encourage their engagement because it is an advantage for the children to be able to share their thoughts and experiences online for us to understand better where we have got it right and where we have got it all wrong,” Inne said.

John Omo, African Telecommunication Union’s Secretary General in a speech also said despite the many benefits that comes with internet usage we celebrate, children are also exposed to many risks.

“For instance, according to a recent study, nearly half of all children aged 12 to 15 have experienced some form of cyberbullying, while one in five have been the target of severe bullying. In addition, the number of reported cases of online child exploitation has risen dramatically in recent years, with authorities reporting a rise of more than 600% in just five years,” he said.

According to him “the exposure to inappropriate or harmful content is also a growing concern, with studies showing that children are increasingly exposed to violent, pornographic, and hate-filled content online.”

Dr. Tulia Aukson, the speaker of Tanzania’s national assembly on her part stressed the need for affordable internet access so everyone can utilize its benefits.

“Widening and uplifting Africa’s Digital foundation to provide high quality and affordable internet access for many people is amongst the issues we should be open to discussing. The other issue within the digital sphere is the safety and security of our connections,” she said.

She also highlighted the increasing cases of cyber bullying and fraud that has impacted users of the internet and called for action in that area.

“Online scammers, phishing, cyberbullies, malwares, and internet addiction which has been confirmed to be predominant amongst every 1/3 high school and university students etc. just to name a few, are very common cyberthreats and results we come across.  This is simply because technology has intricately woven itself into almost every strand of our daily lives,” Auckson mentioned in her statement.

The Africa Safer Internet Day commemorations are being led by Child Online Africa and partners which has over the years helped to encourage children’s online safety across the continent.

Activists push for better protection for African children online

Sourced from Africa Feeds

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