Avoid catfishing, trolling or fake news – Telenor’s Digiworld teaches children to stay safe
(Islamabad, 19 June 2018) Does your child know how to keep their personal data safe, or recognise trolling? To keep children safe online, Telenor Group is launching a new interactive game, Digiworld, to be used by schools, pupils and parents around the world.
The internet can be a challenge to all of us. Who can you trust online? Is it ok to post that picture of your friend on social media without asking? Where is the line between humour and hurtful comments? Who can help when things go wrong? Being online provides boundless opportunities, but also some real threats.
“At Telenor Pakistan, we put a lot of focus on creating awareness on online safety and responsible use of internet.” Said Kamal Ahmad, Chief Corporate Affairs Officer, Telenor Pakistan. “Since most of school children and youth have access to internet, we have undertaken special initiatives like School Outreach Program, Stop Cyberbullying Campaign and integrated Safe Internet into our Telenor iChamp program to sensitize our youth on staying safe in the cyber world. Moreover, we’re fostering awareness against cyber bullying, online harassment, exploitation, fraud and similar crimes perpetrated in online space. I am positive that Telenor’s new interactive game ‘Digiworld’ will supplement our efforts by making internet safety education more fun and impactful.”
Digiworld builds digital resilience
Every child should be safe online. That is unfortunately not always the case. Between 14% and 36% of internet users aged 9-17 have had an upsetting experience online, according to a study done by Global Kids Online.
To combat the challenges posed online, Digiworld aims to foster young people’s digital resilience, helping them:
- understand when they are at risk online
- know how to seek help
- learn from the experiences of being online
- recover when things go wrong*
Children who are resilient are less likely to experience harm, and more likely to benefit from the opportunities online.
Developed by Parent Zone
The organisation Parent Zone specialises in digital family life, and has created the curriculum exclusively for Telenor. Digiworld is designed to help children aged 5-16, their families and schools. It is an online world with an interactive game and downloadable resources. We follow a day in the life of Lil’ Blue, who faces temptations, bullies and fake news online. In the interactive game, the player answers questions to navigate Lil’ Blue safely through the digital world. Part of the curriculum is designed to be used in an offline environment, to accommodate schools without internet connection.
“We are delighted to be working on this global project with Telenor, helping young people and their families develop the knowledge, skills and digital resilience they need to navigate the online world in a safer and more enjoyable way,” says Vicki Shotbolt, CEO of Parent Zone.
Digiworld is launched on telenor.com on Stop Cyber Bullying Day. All Telenor markets in Asia and Europe will localise the game and make it available to children and young people. The curriculum is part of Telenor’s commitment to the UN Sustainable Development Goal number 10, which speaks of reduced inequalities. Telenor aims to educate 4 million children globally in online safety by 2020, and only completed trainings in Digiworld will count towards this goal. Digiworld will be a supplement to the physical outreach programmes that Telenor is already conducting.
*The UK Council for Child Internet Safety (UKCCIS) Resilience Working Group’s definition.
