Nigeria celebrates Safer Internet Day!

Safer Internet Day 2016 was celebrated across the globe on Tuesday, 9 February. In our round up of events and activities which took place to mark the day, we hear from the Nigerian Safer Internet Day Committee which coordinates the campaign in the country:

Date 2016-02-16 Author Nigerian SID Committee Section awareness, sid
"The SHIFT project has been convened to celebrate Safer Internet Day. This event is celebrated across the world to initiate awareness about the internet and promote its safe use. The Nigerian Safer Internet Day 2016 event was held at Calabar Community Hall, Surulere. With 167 students from 10 public high schools in attendance, the event was anchored by Ms Magdalene from Nigeria Info radio station.
 
"A welcome address was given by Mr Felix Iziomoh, Executive Director, International Centre for Leadership Development Nigeria (ICLDNG), who gave a brief introduction on the objectives of the SHIFT project and the importance of ensuring a safer internet among young people. He emphasised the importance of young people understanding their use of the internet and also the positive benefits of its use.
 
"Mr Chris Ibe from the African Youth Initiative on Crime Prevention gave a goodwill message, welcomed the participants, and outlined its partnership with ICLDNG and the history of that partnership in helping youth development in Nigeria. He maintained that it is important for a nation to build its youth as it is important for its own growth. Participants were shown a video on Facebook, as one of the most popular social media internet platforms in the country. Mr Doyin of ICLDNG expanded on the lessons from the video, including the use of the privacy settings available on the Facebook platform.
 
"Mr Ariyo Muritala from the EFCC (Economic and Financial Crime Commission) presented the risks and consequences of engaging in cyber crime, and explained the meaning and the intent of the internet. He also emphasised the importance of young people not going into cyber crime and the risks involved in negative uses of the internet. He noted that being a 'Yahoo Yahoo' or being a 'Maga' (fraudster) has consequences, and that students should use the internet for positive outreach.
 
"The next speaker, a representative of the Education District IV, Mrs Fowosere S.O, welcomed students, teachers and parents to the event, and also pushed the agenda of the day: safer internet in Nigeria. Mrs Nweke, DigitalSENSE Africa Media Limited, and Mr Don Pedro, Chairman of the Actors Guild of Nigeria Lagos Chapter, then highlighted the use of media, mobile devices and the film industry. They emphasised that, as the world is becoming mobile, it is important for the youth of today to be cautious about what they watch and what they access on the internet. Mr Pedro outlined the dangers of social media, and he encouraged the 'think before you share or click' campaign.
 
"Next, a video on the dangers of social media was shown which showcased the risks of posting all sorts of information online. It emphasised the importance of 'thinking before you share' especially where the audience is different. The students also participated at this point and gave their views on how to pick associations online.
 
"Ms Olamide Egbayelo, Digital Media Manager of the Paradigm Initiative Nigeria, gave some online safety tips. She emphasised the need to protect your data and watch what you say online because the internet never forgets. She also gave the students tips on how they can ‘play their part for a better internet' in line with the theme of the day.
 
"Mrs Biodun Odunukwe gave her views about how students can spend valuable time on the internet, but she also emphasised the importance of students being focused on their school work in relation to spending all their time online, while Ms Heather Caton from the World Genesis Foundation, Arizona delivered a presentation via skype, first with a video on cyberbullying. She gave her thoughts on the issue and how students can identify it, and shared different ways in which students could react to cyberbullying encouraging them to ‘be a hero'. Finally, a video from Mr Otunte Otueneh, from the Internet Society Nigeria Chapter was presented via Webex.
 
"The event came to a close with a quiz in which every school present participated, while books and magazines from DigitalSENSE Africa Media and Economic and Financial Crime Commission were shared with each school representative for use in the school library."
 

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