Alhaji Musa
The National Telecommunication Commission (NATCOM) has on the 27th February 2021 joined other nations around the world to commemorate Africa Safer Internet Day with the theme “Positioning and Partnering for Child online Protection”.
Addressing students and pupils from different institutions of higher learning and schools, the Director General of NATCOM, DANIEL B. KAITIBI expressed the Commission’s delight in hosting students and pupils from different institutions of learning and schools in Sierra Leone to mark and commemorate such a wonderful day.
He said the internet has been and continues to be very advantageous to all humanity in almost all spheres of life. The online advantages of using the internet, he noted, ranges from sharing information and communicating from anywhere; enhancing educational pursuits, making it possible to work from home, among a host of others.
The Director General said , lamentably, with all of those goodies there are people whose interests only lie in online activities for all the wrong reasons. citing activities among others, which include: Pedophilic behaviors (sexual abuse and exploitation), sharing violent images, Online harassment, victimization and cyberbullying, Illegal and unethical data harvesting (identity theft) and Phishing.
He further disclosed that there are some bad elements in society who lure children into bad habits underscoring that children are the most vulnerable groups in society.
D G Kaitibi maintained that it is a collective responsibility to stand up and be counted with respect for protecting children on-line, knowing fully well that they are our country’s future.
He said it is in that light that the theme for this year is apt i.e “Positioning and Partnering for Child Online Protection.”
The Director General said they are partnering with other organisations to mitigate this menace which, according to him, is in line with the ITU Child Online Protection Initiative revealing that it is an international collaborative effort.
He assured the students and pupils from different institutions and schools of the Commission’s willingness to continue to raise awareness about child online protection in schools and communities.
Giving the keynote address, on behalf of the Minister of Information and Communications, the Acting Director of Information, Emmanuel Turay, thanked NATCOM for organizing such an event to celebrate AFRICA SAFER INTERNET DAY with students and pupils from various institutions of learning in Sierra Leone
He said the emergence of the digital age has drastically changed the traditional way of life and has given rise to many opportunities for both adults and children.
“Nowadays, the internet provides a platform where information and experiences can be shared, creativity can thrive, and knowledge can be enhanced,” he pointed out adding that
since its inception, Sierra Leone for the first time in 2018 commemorated this annual event with the launching of the Safer Internet School Initiative by the First Lady of the Republic of Sierra Leone, Her Excellency Mrs. Fatima Bio at the Atlantic Hall in Freetown.
Turay furthered that the Ministry and its partners plan to support the establishment of Safe Internet Clubs in selected schools in Freetown, Bo, Kenema, Makeni and Port Loko by 2022.
“The project will be extended to more schools in other districts by 2023,” he also disclosed stating how there are plans to provide support and training to focal teachers and interested students in pilot schools on online safety, child sexual exploitation, cyberbullying, grooming, fake news and the internet being a reservoir for knowledge.
He said the Ministry, together with other stakeholders, will be doing awareness-raising campaigns on radio and TV in all the regions noting that those campaigns will include discussion programmes on online safety and other focal areas.
Hawa C. Bah, the Desk Officer disclosed that it was the responsibility of ITU to ensure that Children in Africa are protected while using the Internet, emphasizing that “we have the legal responsibility of protecting our children while they embark on using the internet”.
Madam Bah noted that the responsibility of Internet regulators and other partners was to ensure that laws were legislated and implemented to ensure that children and young persons are adequately protected from online abuses.
The peak of the event was when NATCOM facilitated the participation of a student of the Freetown Secondary School for the Girls( FSSG) , Odia Tarawallie, to participates in a virtual meeting with other pupils in other parts of the country .
The vote of thanks was given by Alphonso Manley, Chairman of the Civil Rights Coalition who coordinated the attendance of students, pupils and teachers for the event.
