Google partners with FPB to inform kids on Safer Internet Day

CAPE TOWN - Google has partnered with the Film and Publications Board (FPB) to empower learners, educators, and parents this Safer Internet Day.

Safer Internet Day aims to raise awareness of emerging online issues and encourages everyone to use the internet in a safer and more responsible fashion - all year round.

Launched in 2004, Safer Internet Day is celebrated annually on the second day of the second week of the second month.

The project was originally an initiative of the EU SafeBorders project and is celebrated in 130 countries around the globe.

The 2018 theme, "Create, connect and share respect: A better internet starts with you" is a call to action for every learner, stakeholder, teacher and parent to play their part in creating a better internet for everyone, but especially for the youngest users out there.

Working within this theme, Google and the FPB aim to connect to as many learners in South Africa in educating them about the importance of practising healthy internet habits.

“We know how powerful a learning tool the internet can be when used correctly,” says Fortune Mgwili-Sibanda, Public Policy Manager at Google South Africa. “But in order to get full value out of it, young people must be able to use the internet safely”.

The FPB and Google will hold a Safer Internet Day event at the Sport and Science Institute in Cape Town on 6 February.

The event, which includes a walkathon, will see learners from across the Cape Town Metro educated on safe internet usage and introduced to the Webrangers initiative.

Additionally, educators and parents will be educated on how they can help keep their children safe on the internet.

Throughout the week in which Safer Internet Day falls, there will be supporting workshops and outreach initiatives aimed at ensuring the wider community is onboard with message of creating a safer internet for its youngest users.