Safer Internet Day 2024 Celebrated in Nepal
Lalitpur, 7 February 2024 Safer Internet Day 2024 was celebrated on Tuesday, 6 February 2024 in Nepal, with the slogan “Together for a better internet”.
The National Child Rights Council (NCRC) and ChildSafeNet organized an online safety infotainment event on 6 February 2024 in Bhaktapur, in collaboration with Genuine Secondary School and WorldLink.
Ms. Indra Devi Dhakal, Member-Secretary of the NCRC and the chairperson of the SID Coordination Committee Nepal chaired the program, hosted by Genuine Secondary School hosted the event in their premises in Bhaktapur. Sharing the data of online crime against children in Nepal, she highlighted the importance of protecting children online. She said, “Technology is not bad in itself. We need to raise awareness on the safe use of the technology and the NCRC is committed to protecting children online.”
Mrs. Anupa Bhandari Jalan (Head of CSR) from WorldLink implies her opinion saying “WorldLink provides internet service not only in urban parts of Nepal, but also in distant and rural areas of the country. Along with running our business operations, we have a specific responsibility to change society and the country. We have been giving initiatives focused on women’s empowerment, mental health campaigns and awareness, safety and hygiene, and free Wi-Fi in public spaces.
As an internet service provider, WorldLink has a special focus on and plays a vital role in the online safety of children. Essentially we have been conducting information programs related to Internet Safety and Safe Internet through WIA – Online Risks and Safer Internet Behaviors Project for children in various schools and organizations, and through our additional value-added service SafeNet we are promoting the safety of children’s Internet use among our customers, including the features of Parental Control, Content Filtering, Blocking websites and Apps, and Time Control.
As a result, it encourages children to use the internet safely, to achieve positive results in their online behaviour, and to use the internet positively for their future“.
School students performed online safety awareness songs and dances to raise awareness of online safety. They also took part in quizzes and debates on child online safety.
Renowned artist Yaman Shrestha performed an online safety awareness song and entertained the crowd with his beautiful songs. Over 800 children and teachers from more than 10 schools were present in the program. Bhaktapur Municipality ward members (wards 10 and 5), social workers, and parents also participated in the program.
Mr Dan Rono, Chief of Child Protection at UNICEF Nepal said, “Safer internet helps children to learn and express themselves creatively and we all have the responsibility to protect children online.”
Welcoming the participants, Mr Anil Raghuvanshi, Founder and President of ChildSafeNet, said, “Safer Internet Day provides us an opportunity to talk about the positive use of technology and how we all can work together to protect children online.” Mr Ananta Ghimire, Principal of Genuine Secondary School, said that safer internet is very important for education and schools need to educate children to use the internet safely.
More than 170 countries celebrate Safer Internet Day yearly to promote a safer, positive, and responsible internet for children and young people. Although Safer Internet Day 2024 is on 6 February, ChildSafeNet and many organizations will promote the campaign on Internet safety through weeks or months of actions.
The campaign calls upon governments, policymakers, law enforcement agencies, telecom regulators, tech companies, internet service providers, media, and other duty-bearers to fulfil their responsibilities to make the internet safer for children and young people. It also calls upon young people, parents, carers, teachers, social workers, the private sector, schools, and communities to help in creating a better and safer internet.
ChildSafeNet, a specialized organization working to protect children and young people online, has been coordinating and promoting Safer Internet Day in Nepal, and contributing as the Safer Internet Day national secretariat since 2019. Moreover, a Safer Internet Day National Coordination Committee has been formed in Nepal, chaired by the Member-Secretary of the National Child Rights Council, the nodal government body for child rights in Nepal, under the Ministry of Women, Children and Senior Citizens.
This year, forty-four organizations, including UN agencies, INGOs, NGOs, CBOS, the private sector, and media houses, have expressed solidarity with the Safer Internet Day in Nepal.
News Source: https://ictframe.com/safer-internet-day-2024-celebrated-in-nepal/