By Aduragbemi Omiyale
Some parents in Nigeria were recently lectured on some basic safety tools and features available on the Facebook platform to help keep children safe online.
The event was hosted by Facebook in collaboration with Cybersafe Foundation, a leading non-governmental organisation in the information security ecosystem in Nigeria.
The virtual seminar was designed to gather insights on the kind of online safety tips parents need; determine how they would like to receive these tips and equip them with digital skills needed to navigate the digital world.
Providing parents with these basic digital literacy skills while on their parenting journey is an important step in helping the next generation of leaders to better understand and utilise the power of digital tools to take full advantage of what the internet has to offer, Facebook said.
The Safety Policy Manager in charge of Africa, Middle East and Turkey at Facebook, Sylvia Musalagani, while speaking at the webinar, noted that, “Facebook is committed to the safety of users on our platforms and especially that of young users.”
“We have developed partnerships, policies, tools, programmes and resources that are aimed at keeping our users safe online,” Musalagani further said.
“By teaching parents how to use and access some of the basic safety tools and features on our platform, we are taking necessary steps in ensuring that the next generation are equipped with the online safety training they need to have better online experiences in the future,” Musalagani added.
While speaking on the partnership with Facebook, Cybersafe Foundation, Confidence Staveley, said “This roundtable presented a perfect opportunity for parents to provide feedback directly to Facebook on its current child online safety resources and desired additions or improvements that they’d like to see.
“We are pleased that the main sessions and breakout rooms made for very conversations and parents in attendance shared their opinions freely,” Staveley added.
In recent years, Facebook has trained thousands of people on digital literacy skills. In 2021, Facebook is preparing to train over 20,000 participants across Africa on safe, responsible and beneficial usage of digital platforms.
Adedapo Adesanya