Google, PPDC, NERDC announce online safety initiatives on Safer Internet Day
Google, the Public and Private Development Centre (PPDC) and the Nigerian Educational Research & Development Council (NERDC) celebrated Safer Internet Day in Abuja today by announcing two online safety initiatives.
The initiatives are aimed at amplifying the importance of online safety for everyone, and particularly for younger Nigerians.
The first initiative will see Google, the PPDC and the NERDC partner to hold simultaneous online safety workshops in 32 Nigerian states.
The partners aim to educate over 100,000 secondary school students on how to stay safe and protected when using the internet through these workshops, which form part of Google’s Web Rangers programme. This is the first time such an event is being held on such scale in Nigeria.
The partners also announced that a Google-developed online safety curriculum is being integrated into Nigeria’s national curriculum over the course of the year.
“As the internet grows, so does the need for safety, privacy, and security online. Google is, and always has been, committed to helping make the internet safer and more useful for everyone,” said Google Nigeria policy manager Seember Nyager.
“Through initiatives like our Web Rangers programme, we educate young Nigerians in secondary schools to explore the internet and use our Google products safely. With Family Link, we empower parents to set digital ground rules by managing their Google Accounts, device, and app usage. Family-friendly products, like YouTube Kids, provide a safer online experience for discovery.
“Beyond our own products, we also want to help kids learn how to be safer, more confident explorers of the online world with programs like the one we announced today with the PPDC and the NERDC which will see a Google-designed online safety curriculum integrated into the junior secondary school curriculum across Nigeria.”
Said Nkemdilim Ilo, CEO, PDDC: “PPDC is proud to celebrate Safer Internet Day. It is a great opportunity to show the role we can all play in helping to make the internet a safer, more positive place. That’s why for the past four years we have joined Google, government and the rest of the world to celebrate internet safety and to help keep children safe online.”
“We are pleased to be collaborating with Google and PPDC to ensure that Nigerian students are safe as they explore the online world and maximise all the benefits the internet offers. That is why we have embraced the initiative to infuse online safety courses into the national curriculum for Nigerian schools. Safer Internet Day 2019 highlights the evolving challenges and opportunities that are presented to young people online, by calling attention to how the industry, government and the public can help to provide the critical thinking, knowledge, resilience, and support children need to be safe online,” said Prof Ismail Junaidu: Executive Secretary NERDC.
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