Facebook partners with African NGOs for Safer Internet Day

Social Media giant, Facebook, has announced its partnership with more than 20 Non-profit organizations and government agencies in Africa in a campaign aimed to raise awareness about internet safety and security concerns.

In line with celebration of Safer Internet Day (SID) marked on 5th February (today), Facebook has reiterated its commitment to build a safer online world for all with a drive reaching 15 plus African countries.

The campaign covers most of sub Saharan Africa including Benin, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Ivory Coast, DR Congo, Malawi, Kenya, Ghana, Mauritius, Nigeria, South Africa, Senegal, Tanzania, Uganda, Zimbabwe and Zambia.

This year’s SID campaign slogan is, ‘Together for a Better Internet.’

In Kenya, Facebook is supporting Watoto Watch’s Safer Internet Day event for students at Ngunyumu Primary School in Nairobi.

The event is the launchpad for the “A Million Campaign”, which seeks to raise awareness about online safety among schoolchildren. Facebook is providing ad credits and safety booklets for the event.

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“The Internet enables us to connect with friends and family, access a wealth of knowledge and information, and express our thoughts and creativity,” , says Lillian Kariuki, Executive Director at Watoto Watch.

“Along with these positives, children also need to understand how they can manage online risks as they make use of the Internet’s resources. Our aim, with the help of Facebook, is to equip children with this knowledge.” 

Further, Facebook will support the SID by creating a family-friendly animation to help raise awareness of the Facebook Safety Centre, facilitate training sessions and sponsoring the printing of online safety awareness booklets.

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“We know that safety is a shared conversation, which is why we are excited to be working with so many stakeholders in Africa to make Internet a better place. Together with SID as a platform we can address emerging online concerns so that people and especially children and the youth can get most from their Internet experience,” said Sherry Dzinoreva, Public Policy Programs Lead at Facebook Africa.

Telecommunication company, Safaricom, will host celebration of SID at the Michael Joseph Centre, today. The Chief Corporate affairs Officer Stephen Chege will grace the occasion.