Online safety, as it pertains to children, needs to be embedded into the curriculums of schools in all countries across the African continent.
This is according to Marina Madale, executive: sustainability and shared value at MTN Group, noting some key components that can form part of raising awareness about online child safety.
Madale and Monde Twala, senior vice president and general manager of Paramount Africa, spoke to ITWeb about online harm and how their organisations have collaborated to equip young people with the knowledge and tools to navigate online risks through their Room of Safety campaign.
“What is happening is that there are pockets of excellence in some instances, there is emphasis on coding and robotics and basic computer literacy. We are saying this must go hand-in-hand with [child online protection],” said Madale, noting some protective mechanisms that can be tailored for African youth.
“In South Africa, for example, Google has been working with the Department of Basic Education and starting to entrench it into the curriculum. We want to scale that up into more countries.
“Additionally, it’s around ensuring there are helplines and reporting portals for more countries across the continent, so that every inch of the continent is covered and protected.”
According to her, other recommendations include ensuring that regulations are robust enough and cater for emerging technologies like AI [artificial intelligence], blockchain and quantum computing. “This is a very strong push, not only to regulate them but to use them to protect individuals online.
“The other is advancing research that is systematic and across the continent, to drive data-driven decision-making and behavioural support.”
As more young people come online, they increasingly face online risks, such as AI misuse, online stalking, exploitation, as well as online gender-based violence.
Research conducted by Ipsos, in partnership with MTN, across Nigeria, South Sudan, and Zambia revealed alarming trends in online behaviour among children aged eight and 17.
Based on the research results, one in 10 children in Nigeria and South Sudan reported being harassed online. On the other hand, 20% of children in South Sudan reported being bullied online, which was the highest among the three countries.
In Nigeria, the research revealed that 79% of adolescents aged 13-17 spend more than an hour online daily, increasing their exposure to risky online behaviour.
A further 30-40% of teens across the three countries admitted to adding strangers to their messaging apps.
Meanwhile, in South Sudan capital city Juba, children who spend more than an hour online daily are 17 times more likely to engage in risky online behaviour, as per the research.
Similarly, in SA, insights from the Film and Publication Board has revealed that the country has become a fertile hunting ground for online child sexual predators who increasingly use the Internet and social media to target minors.
According to Madale, MTN is of the view that connectivity should come with protection or safety by design, and enabling more people to be connected shouldn’t lead to opening the door to them not being safe.
As a result, MTN, working with different organisations, has been blocking child abuse sexual material off its networking in the countries where the telephony group operates, she stated.
Additionally, as part of addressing what is happening to children online and have youth voices speaking about some of the online dangers led to the release to Room of Safety platform.
Room of Safety is a partnership between MTN and MTV Base that focuses on child online protection and various aspects that come up in an online space. The 10-part series aired on MTV Base and digital platforms like YouTube.
The campaign was informed by the research across several African markets, with Twala explaining that the storytelling is anchored around lived experiences of teenagers and young adults, from cyber bullying, exposure to harmful content, and the impact of digital peer pressure on mental health.
Commenting on the synergies between MTV Base and MTN, Twala commented: “MTV Base is a youth platform and being in the market over the last 20 years, we’ve focused on going beyond just entertainment. For us, the edutainment element is very important.
“Room of Safety provides the tools that are built around engagement with young people. The tools are there, there is tech functionality to report…but I don’t think that us as parents are aware, let alone our children. This inspired us to ideate and come up with a vehicle [campaign] that’s produced in the energy and vibe that comes with being young and African.”
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